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Old August 31st 05, 06:03 PM
Richard Harrison
 
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Dan wrote:
"We may use this model for a couple of things."

Dan attached a posting from Reg, G4FGQ.

Reg`s description of the "Centre-Fed Dipole - Radiation from Coaxial
Feedline" tells it as it is.

About 45 years ago, I (Richard Harrison) worked for a company exploring
for oil in the Chaco Jungle of Bolivia. Communications were by HF radio
at all sites in the jungle and at offices in Cochabamba and La Paz.
Radios were Collins 30K-5 transmitters and 51-J receivers at all
locations. All antennas were center-fed 1/2-wave dipoles up only about
1/4-wave due to economics and generally were broadside to some favored
direction. The feedline was also about 1/4-wavelength for convenience,
but the antennas loaded, took a lot of power and the 30-K finals dipped
OK. Soil at the radio sites was mostly sand and didn`t really ground
anything very much. The length of the coax presented a high impedance to
the outside shield of the coax cable at the dipole, whatever it might
have been.

At 1/4-wave antenna height, directionality was small and whatever the
coax radiated, it likely filled-in any nulls.

All stations could clearly hear all others all day, so the operators
were satisfied. Much of the radiation was straight up so we likely
bebefitted from near vertical incidence propagation. The transmitters
shook the aether with their power, but the 51-J has a nice dial but not
much else. Nevertheless, everything worked.

My previous employer had given away all its 51-J`s, they were so sorry,
and replaced them with Hammarland SP-600`s. I didn`t take a 51-J, I was
using one of the Super Pro`s.
My experience is anecdotal.

Best regards, Richard Harrison, KB5WZI