Shorting the Loop
 

I have seen mention the idea of shorting both ends of the
loop and using this as a differnt kind of antenna. Anyone
know about this idea. My 540' loop is still in the process of
construction. How, why, and for what might I use this
alternative rigging? How would I hook it up to the tuner or
transmitter and what might it be good for. What would you
call a loop shorted this way....I know "shorting" is not
exactly the right word here.


Bill K6TAJ

Bill,
I've 'shorted' an 80 meter loop to load it as a
'sort of' 1/4 wave wire on 160 meters. Disconnected
the 'ground' side of the ladder line and connected
it to the 'hot' side of the tuner (with the 'other'
side of the ladder line). Certainly nothing to brag
about in performance, but it did work. I said a
"sort of" 1/4 wave wire because it's length really
isn't a 1/4 wave long. (Maybe a very 'fat', but 'short'
1/4 wave wire?) Probably didn't work very well because
I don't have any radials in the ground, just a very good
safety ground.
I suspect your 540 foot loop won't load the easiest,
but should make for at least a 'fair' signal on 160 if
you 'shorted' it. But, at 540 feet, you shouldn't need
to 'short' it anyway...
'Doc