"Jeff Liebermann" wrote in message
...

On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 12:05:51 -0700, "Wayne"
wrote:

Needs to be either in the attic, or on a metal patio cover.
A vertical on top of a 20 foot pole "might" be possible.

Currently I am using a 1/4 wave vertical mag mount on top of a metal patio
cover. I also have a half wave dipole in the attic.

# Are you doing CW and SSB at the bottom of the 6 meter band?

Yes.

snip

Thanks for the info Jeff.

I guess I wasn't specific on the interests. So far, just CW and SSB. I
have mostly been getting a HF 7-28 Mhz antenna set up. Now I'm looking at
6.

A rotary array would be difficult in the attic, but switched directive
arrays may be possible.

Otherwise, I'm mostly limited to antennas on the patio cover. A rotary beam
would be possible, but at a low height of about 15 feet.

Time to spend some effort with EZNEC.

Wayne
W5GIE
Redlands, CA

On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 17:46:19 -0700, "Wayne"
wrote:

I guess I wasn't specific on the interests. So far, just CW and SSB. I
have mostly been getting a HF 7-28 Mhz antenna set up. Now I'm looking at
6.

Well, you can ignore most of what I scribbled. Welcome to horizontal
polarization. My guess(tm) is that a horizontal yagi or dipole in the
attic is going to have problems due to all the wiring and possibly
conduit in the attic. A vertical is at least mostly away from the
wiring, but a horizontal antenna lands right in the middle of the
mess. There's also the not so wonderful noise produced by electronic
ballasts, LED lighting inverters, and ceiling fans. I guess(tm) that
an outside cross polarized vertical or loop antenna would work better
than anything horizontal inside the attic.

A rotary array would be difficult in the attic, but switched directive
arrays may be possible.

Or, a non-rotating electrical wire horizontal yagi between the
rafters. There are also temporary antennas that can be rolled out
when needed, and hidden when the neighbors arrive in force:
http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj/6mRopeYagi.htm
Because all of the CW/SSB action is at the very bottom of the band, a
narrow bandwidth antenna works just fine.

Time to spend some effort with EZNEC.

I suggest 4NEC2 instead:
http://www.qsl.net/4nec2/
The program includes a substantial number of common antenna models to
plagiarize.

Dual 5/8 wave 50 Mhz vertical (without matching xformer):
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/antennas/gnd-plane-02/index.html

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

"Jeff Liebermann" wrote in message
...

On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 17:46:19 -0700, "Wayne"
wrote:

I guess I wasn't specific on the interests. So far, just CW and SSB. I
have mostly been getting a HF 7-28 Mhz antenna set up. Now I'm looking at
6.

snip

Time to spend some effort with EZNEC.

# I suggest 4NEC2 instead:
http://www.qsl.net/4nec2/
# The program includes a substantial number of common antenna models to
# plagiarize.

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

By the way, I have no homeowner's association constraints. It is a normal
sized house on a small lot that slopes down in the back, and has no suitable
trees.

Wayne
W5GIE
Redlands, CA

"Wayne" wrote in message
...

# Are you doing CW and SSB at the bottom of the 6 meter band?

Yes.


Now we are getting somewhere. For 6 meter ssb you normally want the antenna
to be horizontal. There is about a 20 db differance if the antennas are not
the same. You are not going to be able to work very far on 6 metes with
simple, low antennas unless the band is open. When the band opens, it is
possiable to work thousands of miles with low power and not very good
antennas. I worked from North Carolina to Canada with 10 watts and an
antenna that was a 40 meter dipole during one opening.
As for vhf you first want to get the antenna as high as you can, and then
make it as big as you can. Height is usually beter than size for local
work.