Denny wrote:
Alan, the rhombic is a relatively inefficient antenna that 'may' give
you significant gain in point-to-point service, which is why it was
popular in the early days of commercial and governmental radio
services...
For ham radio it is less attractive due to the real estate it requres,
due to the cost of the poles (it usually needs to be supported at a
number of points along each leg to stop excessive whipping in the
wind)... Less attractive because it requires retuning of the matching
unit for small changes in frequency...Less attractive because it
confines your communications to a narrow angular beam...
Being a long ways from the other population centers of the world you
may be in a situation where you find it effective... Most of us
don't...

cheers denny / k8do


I have to disagree with some of your statements Denny..

I used rhombic's over the years and they can be very efficient if
properly fed they do not require constant tuning. Their bandwidth can
be quit good. and you only need 4 pole if properly installed. I use
large rhombics before that went through 100 plus M.P.H. winds without
any problems. They are relatively expensive to install properly . the
matching situation can be handled easily with Baluns or open wire
feeders. only problem you may have is comming up with the terminating
resistor.. Their kinda hard to find cheaply today.

Remember that they are very good point to point radiators and rx
antennas if you calculate things right for your desired path .. they
also can provide multi lobes to favored directions if desired. and that
is somewhat dependent on your operating Frequency and the size of your
Rhombic.

If I had the room I'd consider rhombics for Sure.. W6AM used them for
years and as one who worked that station from many places on this earth
I can tell you he was never the weakest signal on any band.
73 Dave kc1di