I put up an SAL-30 as well because it fit the space I had. Used it two seasons...tried several minor changes but it never performed as advertised at my site. Sold it to some contest station out west.
Cecil K5DL Sent from my iPad > On Aug 1, 2019, at 1:32 PM, Lee STRAHAN <k7...@msn.com> wrote: > > Agreed Chuck, > I maybe read David's post differently than he meant it to read also. > This progression from TX antennas to loops to Beverages to 8 circle arrays > is exactly how Hi-Z began. It is because the 8 circle is head and shoulders > above all other choices at this location that Hi-Z Antennas even exists. Many > different antennas have been tried here as well including loops and long > Beverages. Many more comparisons have been made between different types that > say under correct hardware application conditions and propagation conditions > the best signal to noise reception for DX stations is with the 8 circles. All > this says nothing about bang for the buck, real estate, or ease of > installation which is a whole different way of looking at this. > Where low angle DX is concerned I have actually measured the signal to > noise ratio of signals from different receiving antennas and indeed at my > location the best signal to noise reception follows the best RDF antenna. It > may be true that a SAL-30 is appealing for other reasons but there is no way > it would ever produce as good a signal to noise ratio on 160 meter DX signals > as a properly operating 8 circle. Active or passive either one. The SAL > antenna makes a great contest antenna as it has a wider beam width which > hears more contest stations than the very narrow 8 circle patterns. Some Hi-Z > contest users actually use both antennas so when a weak one comes along they > switch to the 8 circle. > I suggest ones that have not seen them to view Frank W3LPL's videos on > receiving antennas. This is a very good presentation. > > Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX4eLmJWNeo part 2 > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyZR9uMBnIo > > Everyone's mileage may vary. > > Lee K7TJR > Hi-Z Antennas > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Topband <topband-boun...@contesting.com> On Behalf Of Chuck Dietz > Sent: Thursday, August 1, 2019 10:40 AM > To: Rodman, David <rod...@buffalo.edu> > Cc: topband@contesting.com > Subject: Re: Topband: Which RX antenna is better? > > Your results of the order of performance of these antennas are somewhat > different than other, published results. I wonder if the composition of your > ground would have something to do with that? Good or poor soil? Also, how > long was the Beverage? > I have a SAL-30, which is by far my best receive antenna since I had to take > down my Beverages, but my take away was the Beverages beat the SAL-30 most of > the time. This is over medium to good soil. I would have expected the 8 > circle to be better than all the others at least 90% of the time. (At least > over good soil.) > > I have been pondering which receive array to put up in a new location with > plenty of room, so I have been looking at this. > > Chuck W5PR > >> On Thu, Aug 1, 2019 at 11:19 AM Rodman, David <rod...@buffalo.edu> wrote: >> >> >> >> >> This is possibly a more complicated subject than just performance. I >> gave a lecture on this topic, comparing a Hi-Z circle 8, SAL-20, >> SAL-30, beverage (unidirectional and bidirectional and BOG) and the K9AY >> array. >> >> >> In this talk, I considered performance as a factor, but also >> considered maintenance, size, mechanical stability, cost and ease of >> construction and installation. >> >> >> All things considered, the top 2 at my QTH were the Hi-Z circle 8 and >> the SAL-30. >> >> >> Here is a quick summary of my findings. >> >> >> Circle 8: highest cost, most complex to install and construct, >> requires large footprint of land, best of all antennas as it requires >> almost NO maintenance and performance second overall to the SAL-30. >> >> >> SAL-30: modest cost, modest install and construct, modest footprint, >> requires minimal repairs (usually to the coupler wires) but overall >> performance best of all for directionality and gain. >> >> >> SAL-20: modest cost and somewhat simpler than SAL-30 to install and >> small footprint. Performance almost identical to the K9AY array. >> >> >> K9AY: modest cost but slightly more complex to construct as compared >> to >> SAL-20 and about the same size. Performance less than SAL-20 due to >> fewer directions. >> >> >> Beverage unidirectional: mechanical stability good when constructed >> with copper coated steel wire #14 or larger. Gain fine when desiring >> only 1 direction. Depending on the location may be placed in half a >> day from start to finish. >> >> >> Beverage bidirectional: mechanically unstable when constructed with >> commercial products using either RG6 or twin lead. Requires frequent >> repairs due to fatigue or failed connections. Performance overall is >> not on par with other directional arrays. >> >> >> BOG: simplest of all antennas to construct, install and maintain. Can >> be installed in an hour or two. Should be unfolded at spring time >> each year to keep wire from being incorporated into lawn. Convenient when >> only 200' >> available. Can be band specific. >> >> >> >> Just a quick summary. My location does not lend itself to beverage >> construction. about 2/3 of my 25 acres are heavily and complexly treed >> with brush so overgrown that it can be a chore to do almost anything >> for installation or repair. This is why I prefer the SAL-30 overall. >> The circle 8 took me one summer (as my only project to install) by the >> time the land was cleared, site measured, antennas constructed and all >> the coax installed. The trade off is that this antenna has been the >> most mechanically stable of any antenna that I have ever had. >> >> >> --- >> David J Rodman MD >> Assistant Clinical Professor >> Department of Ophthalmology >> SUNY/Buffalo >> >> Office 716-857-8654 >> _________________ >> Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband >> Reflector >> > _________________ > Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector > _________________ > Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector _________________ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector