"Richard Clark" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 21 Mar 2005 23:36:02 GMT, "Dale Parfitt"
wrote:

Not even close.
...
The real problem here becomes
the ability to properly illuminate the dish with a feedhorn.

Hi Dale,

What feed horn? Let's stick to what is and not what might be. A
dipole is perfectly capable of seeing any surface generated even if it
is not particularly the most optimized focus.

Besides, this is hardly on the scale of 10-24GHz and all such
discussion presents Point Locus Parabolic Reflectors. The original
poster is seeking a obtainable goal, not a theoretical maximum. The
discussion of his provided links show a simple achievement of 10dB
which is not shabby by any means.

73's
Richard Clark, KB7QHC

Hi Richard,
I have worked with parabolas for years- the current dish is a 14' w/ 0.36
F/D and illuminated with a scalar feed. A dipole is perhaps one of the worst
feeds for a parabola. If you're going to put the surface up why not take
full advantage of it? It takes little if any additional work to properly
illuminate it.

Dale W4OP