I have a 6BTV that I'm about to install. It will primarily be used for
80/40/30 meters. Some questions:

I could elevate it, if it would improve performance. The manual says not to
ground the radials or the antenna base, so I could mount the unit on an
insulated mast, and string the radials at a 45 degree angle....

Or I could place it near the ground, or try a metal mast, or....

Any experience/suggestions?

Gary K5QT

My 2 cents -- my experience with 1/4 wave verticals with ground radials has
been pretty miserable. With many many radials and good ground would probably
be Ok.

When I put the 1/4 wave up on the roof with four radials slightly
drooping -- wow what an improvement.

Also I have had good luck with the Cushcraft end fed antennas with no
radials

Your radiation may vary - hi hi

--
Lamont Cranston

The Shadow Knows
"AA5QT" wrote in message
...
I have a 6BTV that I'm about to install. It will primarily be used for
80/40/30 meters. Some questions:

I could elevate it, if it would improve performance. The manual says not
to
ground the radials or the antenna base, so I could mount the unit on an
insulated mast, and string the radials at a 45 degree angle....

Or I could place it near the ground, or try a metal mast, or....

Any experience/suggestions?

Gary K5QT

If I interpreted the manual correctly, it indicates one should insulate the
antenna base from a pole or tower that is nearing 1/4 wavelength. It didn't
seem to caution against conventional mounting if the tower or support pole was a
different length....

The manual seems to provide reasonable information regarding the use of radials
at 45 degree droop, recommending their use if possible. Ground mounting is
generally noted as being less desirable than roof or elevated mount with 45
degree radials...

I have a 5BTV and the antenna on the higher bands (10, 15, 20, 40) has
reasonable bandwidth, but on 75 meters the bandwidth is extremely narrow, do
much so it is nearly useless unless you have a single frequency you normally
use... Sitting on the ground, using two radials per band provides acceptable
performance on 10-40m, but on 80, it took 4 radials to get the swr down to
1.5:1, and even then, the bandwidth between the 2.0 swr points is only about 60
khz at best. You really need to pick your operating frequency for 80m. In a
few weeks I'm going to try to roof mount it to see if I can get a wider
bandwidth on 80m.

Good Luck!

--Rick AH7H


AA5QT wrote:

I have a 6BTV that I'm about to install. It will primarily be used for
80/40/30 meters. Some questions:

I could elevate it, if it would improve performance. The manual says not to
ground the radials or the antenna base, so I could mount the unit on an
insulated mast, and string the radials at a 45 degree angle....

Or I could place it near the ground, or try a metal mast, or....

Any experience/suggestions?

Gary K5QT

Rick,
I suspect that '60 Khz' was a slip of the typing
fingers, 'cuz that ain't bad for a 5btv on 80 meters.
Most commercial vertical antennas that cover 80 meters
(and some on 40 meters) have a very narrow range. The
5BTV is no exception...
'Doc