On 4 abr, 14:45, BobS wrote:
Anyone using the PAR Electronics EF-SWL Antenna please advise if a
ground is necessary. Will using the PAR without a ground be any better
than a 50' random wire? I live on the second floor of a condo and only
can use a very thin hidden wire from my receiver to a nearby tree. No
ground available. I read all of the glowing reviews of the PAR but all
of them are using a ground. Unfortunately I don't have that luxury. Any
other recommendations appreciated.
Thanks...Bob

Hello Bob,

Universal Radio mentions USD 66.95 for the antenna. It is probably
worth the price, but it doesn't mean it is better then a home brew
construction or give better reception with respect to your current
setup.

Spring has arrived and noise (from new electronic devices) increased
(on a very fat strip dipole in the top of the attic. I decided to try
a similar setup as you are considering.

As floating ground I used the metal frame (about 8' * 3.5') that holds
the windows. The antenna is 25' of wire with d=3mm and leaves the
house at a height of 14'. It runs partly horizontally and party
vertically.

The transformer/common mode choke has same functionality as the PAR
antenna. In addition I can disable the 1:9 impedance transformer
(while the common mode filter remains). I use a narrow band tunable
preselector to avoid "noise" from intermodulation products.

Especially on the low HF, reception (S/N ratio) is better then with
the dipole under the roof. Signal output is significantly higher.
Bypassing the 1:9 impedance transformer does reduce the signal output,
but doesn't change the S/N ratio. So the improvement in S/N doesn't
come from the 1:9 transformer, but just from the outside wire with
respect to the indoor strip type dipole. Note that the dipole also has
a 1:9 transformer with separate common mode filter.

The dipole, in some cases, is better then the outdoor wire with 1:9
transformer and common mode choke (less signal output, but better S/N
ratio).

Maybe this info can be helpful to you with regards to the purchase of
the PAR SW antenna.

Best regards,


Wim
PA3DJS
www.tetech.nl
in case of PM, don't forget to remove abc from the address.