Exactly.
After all there is some gain at 0 degrees, very small of course,
but would anybody consider that as the TOA.?
It appears that many consider TOA of little importance, but just consider
a antenna with a single feed point such as a big yagi for 20m with say
a 60 foot boom. Even with the high gain its TOA is in the region of 13
degrees
where smaller boom antennas will be about 14 degrees.
Now say we have another antenna with a single feed that has a TOA of
10 degrees with the same gain as the big yagi !.
Which antenna will OPEN the band ? They do NOT open at the same time
even tho they have the same gain so where Reg states that no amount of
changing or shaking the antennas is going to make a scrap of difference to
the" hop" distance is patently incorrect.
As an aside losses in a signal is directly related to the number of hops
that it takes
one hop less to communicate means a louder signal.
You can design a single feed antenna with a TOA of +/- 25 percent
from the norm which makes a terrific distance to the "hop " distance,
especially
if the lower contour of the main lobe is below the competition, as the lobe
will
be noticable thinner with a low TOA. You can ,ofcourse, lower the take off
angle
by using multiple antenna feeds ie stacking but that is another matter of
discussion.
Regards
Art
"Cecil Moore" wrote in message
...
wrote:
TOA is deemed to be the angle at which maximum gain occurs.
Seems like you are fishing for something, but you will not get
it from me.
The problem seems to be that the definition of TOA is
not standardized. Literally, TOA can be any angle but
has a special meaning when quoting EZNEC. Neither my
antenna books nor "The IEEE Dictionary" define TOA.
I did a search for "take off angle" and "TOA" on my
ARRL Antenna Book CD with zero results.
--
73, Cecil, W5DXP
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