Horizontal vs. Vertical orientation?
As I tell everyone:
“only The Great Spirit knows – beforehand – how any antenna will perform...
us Hams find out after its up.”
Shown below are two
reports:
Rick, KC9NIY gets
better TAK-tenna performance with Horizontal orientation.
Andre, N9RWG gets
better TAK-tenna performance with Vertical orientation.
Are radials needed?
No.
A vertical dipole
does NOT need radials.
TAK-tenna is a dipole
antenna.
Typically, the
“vertical” we use is the quarter-wavelength monopole...also known as the
“Marconi.”
Marconi – the genius
that he was – discovered that the performance of a vertical antenna was aided
by wave REFLECTION from the ground surface under and around it.
The textbooks
describe this effect as being from an “image” of that aboveground vertical antenna
as if it was actually buried in the ground and equal in size to the vertical
antenna sitting directly above.
Of prime importance for good vertical antenna performance
is the QUALITY of ground conductivity!
Poor dirt = Poor conductivity = poor
reflection = poor performance.
Radial wires are an
attempt to correct for this poor ground conductivity.
The not-so-good news
is that a relatively large surface area surrounding the vertical base needs to
be laid out with
these wires...how many...how long ...’depends.’
Fortunately for us
Hams, the performance for a vertical DIPOLE is a different matter...
and radials are NOT needed...because you are
using A COMPLETE antenna!
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7'th month review |
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I've had the TAK-tenna 40 now for
approximately 7 months. I have used the antenna at various heights from
approximately 10' to 36' mounted on a monopole mast.
Coax run is
approximately 65" with approximately
30' of it buried some 4" underground.
That is
hooked to a FT-897 with a LDG 897 Tuner. Max power is 100W. The QHT is 312' ASL
in
My property
overlooks the
falling to
the SW through West.
Several people have reported good results with the TAK-tenna mounted vertically
a few feet off the ground, hot side up.
I tried
that for about two weeks without much
success.
That isn't
to say it won't work for you, but it didn't for me.
For my location I have found horizontally
mounted at 32' seems to give the best performance.
When I
lower the antenna I've found that I get better short range ( NVIS ) performance
such as KY, IL, TN and
better
long and DX performance as I raise it; nothing overly surprising there.
For example when
80-400 mile
contacts with the antenna at 16 feet.
Raised to
32' I'm normally fairly deaf to stations in
On several occasions when there have been stable band conditions I've found
cooperative Hams who have
worked
with me to check directional characteristics of the TAK-tenna.
The
procedure was straight forward.
Starting with the antenna's cold side pointing at the remote station I would
rotate the antenna through
180 degrees while doing a slow count.
The remote
station would then report the S readings at various numbers which told me where
the
antenna was pointed at that time.
Not
controlled or scientifically valid methodology, but it gave me an idea of what
was going on.
During the
rotation I typically got 1-2 S change
although one person reported no change at all.
Whether
others can reproduce this I don't know, but those are the reports I received.
I've
managed to make contacts on every band from 160-6m, but the TAK-tenna is not
suitable as a
160 and I
don't believe it is advertised as such.
The antenna
works to a fashion on 80 and I've made numerous contacts on 80 and several on
60, but the
majority
of contacts have been on 40-20-17 with a fair number on 30m primarily due to
band openings.
All were
done with a tuner. I have worked CW, SSB, RTTY, PSK and a few SSTV.
The
majority of contacts have been SSB and PSK.
As far as performance goes I have worked all but 3 states with the TAK-tenna.
I have made
SSB contacts with
I've made
SSB contact with all the provinces in
I've also
worked all continents. Some of the more interesting contacts have been
I've also had QSO's with most of the
The most
recent was the K5D Desecheo Is DX Expedition on 17m SSB.
In the
Going
South, I've had several contacts with the
I've read a number of comments from people who criticize the fact that people who
give good reviews to the
TAK-tenna do so without side by side comparisons. That's a fair
criticism.
However, if
I had the room for a multi-band vertical and all the required radials, I'd
probably have one.
Same for a
stacked Yagi on an 80 foot tower and if I didn't mind repairing, replacing or
re-stringing a multi-band
dipole
every time the wind blew over 40 mph which breaks numerous limbs I might go
that route.
As it is
I've managed to make a number of interesting contacts using a very inexpensive
antenna without a
whole lot
of muss and fuss.
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A fun antenna that is a real lifesaver for restricted
users! |
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I live in a second floor apartment in northwest I tried a MFJ telescopic antenna-tuner, with very poor results,
so much so, that I thought that my radio had gone kaput! I mulled over purchasing the TAK-tenna 40 for quite a while,
read the reviews and finally gave in (what the heck, right?). When the antenna came, I was able to get it assembled in no
time, as the instructions were easy to follow. I tuned the antenna with a Radio
Shack SWR meter and nailed it at 7.220, in less time it took to put the
thing together. With my landlord watching with a very critical eye, I mounted
the antenna horizontally out of a window. I was surprised to get an email from Steve, the maker of the
antenna, who asked me how it was working out. He suggested that I try a vertical
orientation, and I did. WOW! I had more contacts
that I could shake a stick at! Although my wife probably wants Steve's head on a spit (because
I am planted at my shack when I am not at work), I am extremely happy. mount, tune and (of course) talk on. I'm happy, the landlord is happy, and the wife is not happy (but
valentine's day is coming), and I can enjoy playing radio. The customer service was wonderful, and something that is
extremely rare these days. This is a great antenna that you absolutely cannot go wrong
with. |
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Here’s Andre’s TAK-tenna 40 outside his
shack window...
