Shortwave Listener (SWL) Newbee Question - Is My Dipole Antenna Set-Up Right ?
 

* Windom Antenna -vice- Dipole Antenna
An alternate Shortwave Listening (SWL) Antenna design
that could be rigged in the same space would be a
Windom Antenna (Off-Center-Fed-Dipole) of 70 Foot
Tip-to-Tip with a Short-Arm of 27 Feet {8.7MHz} with a
Long-Arm of 43 Feet {5.4 MHz}; and Tip-to-Tip of 70
Feet {6.7 MHz}. The Windom Antenna would give you
a little better broadband Characteristics then the Dipole
Antenna.


I just put together a spread sheet and played with different
combinations of long leg and short leg lengths and I am missing
coverage with this dipole. I did find the 43 ft and the 27 ft combo
you suggested to be best and easiest for me to do. I did not mention
that the attic is L shaped. I used the 35' each leg thinking a balance
dipole meant the legs were of equal length. I can add upto another 7'
extension to the end of the revised 43' leg in the future. I popped my
knee last night while in the attic and will have to wait several weeks
for it to heal and strengthen before I do too much attic crawling.
Getting old sucks :(
Adding the extra 7' will add some coverage mainly in the 60m band.

Thanks for the advice.
Brian

Shortwave Listener (SWL) Newbee Question - Is My Dipole Antenna Set-Up Right ?
 

In article .com,
wrote:


* Windom Antenna -vice- Dipole Antenna An alternate Shortwave
Listening (SWL) Antenna design that could be rigged in the same
space would be a Windom Antenna (Off-Center-Fed-Dipole) of 70 Foot
Tip-to-Tip with a Short-Arm of 27 Feet {8.7MHz} with a Long-Arm of
43 Feet {5.4 MHz}; and Tip-to-Tip of 70 Feet {6.7 MHz}. The Windom
Antenna would give you a little better broadband Characteristics
then the Dipole Antenna.


I just put together a spread sheet and played with different
combinations of long leg and short leg lengths and I am missing
coverage with this dipole. I did find the 43 ft and the 27 ft combo
you suggested to be best and easiest for me to do. I did not mention
that the attic is L shaped. I used the 35' each leg thinking a
balance dipole meant the legs were of equal length. I can add upto
another 7' extension to the end of the revised 43' leg in the future.
I popped my knee last night while in the attic and will have to wait
several weeks for it to heal and strengthen before I do too much
attic crawling. Getting old sucks :( Adding the extra 7' will add
some coverage mainly in the 60m band.

Thanks for the advice.

Generally, the bigger the antenna the better it will work at a lower
frequency. Generally, the antenna will work well at the frequency it is
cut for (resonant at) and higher. There are a few exceptions to this
like when you are at two times the design frequency the antenna will
work poorly so when you cut the antenna for a certain frequency choose
a value that does not cause an even harmonic to fall on a higher
international band.

--
Telamon
Ventura, California