[600MRG] Loading coils....

[Pat Hamel]

Many of you heard my 600 meter inverted-L antenna and some of you saw
pictures of it before the computer crashed.
There is a patch of "woods" about 200 feet long and 50 feet wide just over
my back fence. It is due to a drainage ditch running through the neighbor's
property rather than at the fence line. I used trees to support the antenna.

When the trees are wet (most of the year here in South Mississippi) they
soak up the signal, which is why I had such good results for the week or two
when the February weather got down to freezing. 

I had a few thousand feet of hamfest-surplus hook-up wire and an electric
drill, so I twisted up pairs and ran 11 pairs between two pieces of copper
pipe for a capacitive loading flattop.
My first loading coil was at the base and was eight wires twisted wrapped
around a dollar-store large flower pot.

All my radials over 20 feet long point toward Cuba and South America (our
world traveler with baby-bottle-loaded-mobile-whip received me from a
Mexican resort where he was at a conference).

The local ham club made up PVC 160 meter antennas with copper tape which
worked well.
I used one layer of fiberglass and the copper tape to make an elevated
loading coil (16 inch diameter and 16 inch tall) located just below the top
hat (painted green to blend with the trees). The elevated coil allowed me to
get as much of the base current in the air as possible. It worked much
better than the base loading coil.
I took it down last spring to allow experimentation with other antennas.
The coil is available for anyone who wants it, but I don't know how to ship
it.

"Family" has delayed me getting back on the 600 meters, but a transmit loop
is still possible this season.
I am using a shielded receiving loop stuck into the cement table about six
feet from the back of the house to copy WSPR reliably.

So-- there are many ways to create a functional antenna on 600 meters. 
The NBS book with the old calculations is still on the www.500kc.com web
site under dopwnloads- if one cold night you want to look for a "better way"
for your own location.
73 & Merry Christmas,
Pat W5THT & WD2XSH/6