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 ?
- Thread starter k8niv
- Start date
prcguy
Member
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
Member
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.
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