Gary, My L wire started out from the formula L (ft) = 234 / f (mHz). Wasn't quite long enough and wound up adding a couple feet to it. But first, we had to get to a zero reactance spot, and that meant (for my installation) adding two feet to the total wire length of the FCP, as compared to what was on the W0UCE web page. That "may" have been because my FCP is only five feet off the ground, as opposed to the recommended eight feet. You didn't say if you were making one for 80 or 160 meters. Mine was for 80, so your figures may be different. When we lengthened my L, we also added the length to the FCP. But - and I highly recommend this - make a graph of your antenna's X, R, and SWR readings before doing any pruning / tuning, after installing the FCP.
My graph showed exactly where the whole thing reached zero reactance, and it was a matter of bringing it down a few kHz from there. It also showed that I had another 80 meter antenna on my property that was being coupled to the inverted L, screwing up the entire thing! I eliminated THAT problem, and everything with the FCP and inverted L fell into place! It is my understanding that the vertical part of an inverted L is the most important, and the more of it in the up and down plane, the better. Good luck, and let us know how it works out for you. 73, Jim / W6JHB On Thursday, Mar 8, 2012, at Thursday, 12:14 PM, Gary Hinson wrote: > ... and thank YOU Jim for your encouraging words. I do have the space for > several quadrillion radials but not the energy to cut them all into the > ground below sheep/cattle/deer foot level. So I'm waiting for the postman > to deliver some cores from Amidon, and I'll give an FCP a go. > > One thing is not v clear on W0UCE's site is the antenna: he shows an > inverted L coupled directly in - it looks v simple but my inv-L will be > different so aside from trimming the length and maybe configuration of the > L, are there any other tricks to achieving system resonance? I have tall > fir trees to hang the antenna from, so mine will be close to a quarter wave > vertical I hope. > > 73 > Gary ZL2iFB www.G4iFB.com > > PS Please don't feel compelled to respond - I'm going to enjoy > experimenting with it in any case! > > ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
