Good morning, like to no what type of wire will be good for a 160m loop antenna, mostly be used for 160m thru 40m bands, and like to no what type of wire to build this out of, prefer a wire that will stand the icy weather we get here in the north, so what type of wire is everyone else using for this ?...
160m loop antenna ?
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prcguy
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Is your goal DX or regional stuff within a few hundred miles? For DX on 40m you want 1/2 wavelength off the ground which is about 65ft but that would be about 1/8 wavelength high on 160 making it an inefficient cloud burner. 40m DX and 160m NVIS efficiency would be better at around 133ft but you would need to get it up around 266ft off the ground to make it a good DX antenna for 160.
This is why most successful 160 DX guys and girls use a vertical or inverted L over a ground plane as it’s very difficult for most people to get a horizontal 160m antenna high enough to be effective.
This is why most successful 160 DX guys and girls use a vertical or inverted L over a ground plane as it’s very difficult for most people to get a horizontal 160m antenna high enough to be effective.
I read where some guy hung a 160m loop up, his was 574ft long and how well it was doing for him.......
The way my yard/ property is laid out probably not going to matter what I hang up here, surrounded by tall mountains here, it just opens up into the South and East directions, get some DX, but not like I'd like to, lol...
Still have that ocf dipole, but it's not in the air at the present time.....have several tall tree's in the yard, some are over a 100ft tall, and others 50-60ft or so, mostly runs a long the back of the house near the bottom of the mountains and some out on the creak bank....
I have moved a couple of my antennas ( EFHW 8010/4010 ), over the years looking for a better performance from them, but appears to be about the same results.....really beginning to think it's just the location I'm in here.....
Any recommendations on a different antenna setup ?....
I don't run a amplifier here, just a 100 watt radio....always like to tinkle with these wire antennas...
The way my yard/ property is laid out probably not going to matter what I hang up here, surrounded by tall mountains here, it just opens up into the South and East directions, get some DX, but not like I'd like to, lol...
Still have that ocf dipole, but it's not in the air at the present time.....have several tall tree's in the yard, some are over a 100ft tall, and others 50-60ft or so, mostly runs a long the back of the house near the bottom of the mountains and some out on the creak bank....
I have moved a couple of my antennas ( EFHW 8010/4010 ), over the years looking for a better performance from them, but appears to be about the same results.....really beginning to think it's just the location I'm in here.....
Any recommendations on a different antenna setup ?....
I don't run a amplifier here, just a 100 watt radio....always like to tinkle with these wire antennas...
prcguy
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I’ve played with a number of 160m antennas and none of the horizontal types worked very well. In one case on a camping trip I put up a large 160/80m trap dipole and could not get ahold of anyone. I deployed a military 32ft vertical whip with auto tuner over ground radials at the same location and I heard a lot more people and made many contacts. I have a remote controlled station on the east coast that had a 94ft ZS6BKW dipole at the time and a 43ft vertical with antenna tuner at the base over lots of ground radials. The ZS6BKW only heard a few 160m stations where the vertical picked up conversations every 10KHz across the band and I could talk to most of them.
This ocf dipole I have when it was up it tuned on a 160m band, have talked to a few stations on 160m when I was using it....may just hang it back up and use it for awhile.....what type of coax u all recommend using on it ?.....
If I use the cmc choke inline on it, it will be on the ground it to will be a long run of coax, looking at about 70ft high and another 75ft to the shack....
If I use the cmc choke inline on it, it will be on the ground it to will be a long run of coax, looking at about 70ft high and another 75ft to the shack....
Oh, at first I thought you were looking for a vertical loop antenna.
W1NMF gets best DX receive performance so far on 160m with the following:
It is 100 square feet, 10' x 10', using 4ea. 10' 1/2" copper sked M in a closed and shorted loop.
Don't forget to add the toroid before the final soldering!!
The one turn shorted loop itself is the 'primary' and the secondary is 3 turns from the toroid to an LNA.
It is very broadband and goes well up and past 40 meters.
Best DX so far on 160m was an atoll in the Cook Islands from eastern Mass. It stinks on transmit.
Am trying to force it down to 630m but so far not much result so am trying to load the 10 X 10' square with more #75 mix ferrite.
W1NMF gets best DX receive performance so far on 160m with the following:
It is 100 square feet, 10' x 10', using 4ea. 10' 1/2" copper sked M in a closed and shorted loop.
Don't forget to add the toroid before the final soldering!!
The one turn shorted loop itself is the 'primary' and the secondary is 3 turns from the toroid to an LNA.
It is very broadband and goes well up and past 40 meters.
Best DX so far on 160m was an atoll in the Cook Islands from eastern Mass. It stinks on transmit.
Am trying to force it down to 630m but so far not much result so am trying to load the 10 X 10' square with more #75 mix ferrite.
