Does antenna orientation make any difference?

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ต.ค. 2021
  • One man's observation of different radiation patterns that evolved from choosing different antenna installation orientations. What are your thoughts?
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  • วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี

ความคิดเห็น • 161

  • @thomasstandley6309
    @thomasstandley6309 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    Actually, I'm not sure the issue doesn't have as much to do with "Ham density" in different parts of the country than just the antennas themselves. I spend most of the year in South Texas and summers in Northern Lower Michigan. I use fan dipoles, OCF dipoles, EFHWs and I have a DX Commander in each location and I get roughly the same results you do in both Texas and Michigan when I run WSPR. The Michigan antennas are on 80 acres in a low noise area, a minimum of 50 feet from the house, usually on long wires at 46 or 50 feet up and in Texas where I have much less space to work my single long wire antenna is at about 43 feet although I'm very close to salt water. And in Texas, I'm in small city and noise is an issue and that isn't great particularly for verticals. But at the end of the day, I suspect there are a whole lot more HAMs in the Midwest, East and Southeast than in the West (excluding California and that's whole different discussion because of mountains). I don't have a problem with POTA QSOs, or QSOs in general, in those Western states but there just not as many to be had.

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      That's very good feedback, Thanks. The plot deepens!

  • @Tommy_Boy.
    @Tommy_Boy. 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Nice video! Love this kind of real-world, real conditions, data video stuff. 👍 Nice as a comparison for others to see. ⚡📻

  • @rubentiosejo5774
    @rubentiosejo5774 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Hello Steve I have a Palomar Engineering Bullet 50:450 (9:1) HF Unun, 200 KHz-30 MHz, 500 Watts, End Fed Antennas 135' wire. Antenna starts at the SW at 35' to NW at 45'.
    Farthest contact in SSB Phone is Russia, Italy, Mariana Islands, Canada, Brazil, Spain, & Australia.
    Using FT-991A w/ a MFJ-993B Auto Tuner and a 150' DX Engineering RG-8X PL-259 Low-Loss 50-ohm Coax Cable Assemblies DXE-8XDX150.
    Been lucky on this set up based on my QTH.
    FT8 get farther out and all over the map. Japan dominates FT8 in my location beats the # of QSO on Domestic Stations.

  • @davidtrotter7488
    @davidtrotter7488 2 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Hi Steve, I hope you are well.
    I really enjoy your videos, so thank you for the time and effort you put into publishing them.
    I found your tests very interesting. I am only a HAM of a few years and maybe use the radio on HF a few times a month. My first HF antenna was a ZS6BKW in an inverted V configuration, probably about 9 meters or 30 ft at the centre above the house and about 3 meters or 10 ft at the ends. Looking down on the antenna from the sky the legs were not perfectly 180 degrees, probably more like 160 degrees. Roughly in a South East / North East orientation from my QTH near County Durham in the North East of England. This antenna worked fantastic and seemed to favour a South East pattern. I know that my QTH in the UK means I hit a lot of stations in Europe and there is mostly ocean in the East and North East from me. But I felt like north Africa, and Portugal are always a struggle compared to stations in Russia or Serbia.
    I wanted to get on 80m and set up an 80m EFHW. This is about 7m up a tree and then about 32m sloping down in a North East direction to a height of about 5m. While this antenna is also working very well and I seem to get more bands, I feel the performance on some of the bands like 40m and 20m is much worse than the ZS6BKW. Interestingly, I felt the radiation and reception pattern seems very similar with both antennas. But the EFHW is more susceptible to interference, and not as goof as receiving. I also feel I could easily break into a pile up on the ZS6BKW using 20 Watts against some Italian stations using maybe 1KW.
    I did have both wire antennas up at the same time, but was experimenting with my 2m / 70cm VHF / UHF antenna setup. I had the ZS6BKW attached to that mast and it was awkward to remove it with its ladder line and legs every time I wanted to make mast adjustments. I have the VHF / UHF antenna sorted now so may put the ZS6BKW back up soon as it is such a good antenna. But as I am not as active on the radio as I would like to be due to work and life, so its not urgent and the EFHW works very well. I am 90% morse code anyways on HF and 100% SSTV on 2m so its not like I need the most efficient antenna systems for these modes, especially CW.
    I think your comments on factoring all the things like the time between the tests are very interesting as its a difficult measurement to consider when you think about the band and propagation conditions. Also time of day is a factor. I always think about the stories I heard as a kid about the electricity grid taking strain and seeing a spike in consumption when the adverts for the most popular soap opera comes on in the evenings.
    So what you said got me thinking. It would be interesting to know from your test, what other factors such as a TV program came on 2 hours after your first test for example, which could mean you received less stations at that time because people went out the shack and did something else. Or maybe even the population of active HAMs in the middle and West of the country is less. I would also think it would be interesting to know how much aeroplane scatter is playing a factor in the tests. You just have to look at Flightradar24 to see how much reflective metal is in the sky.
    Thank you for the great video, so interesting as this kind of thing is the essence of our hobby which is to experiment and try different setups as the results are stimulating and thought provoking.
    Best 73s de David, M0XLS

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      Hey David! Thanks for watching and glad it got you thinking! I agree - there isn't really a perfect antenna other than "the one that's in the air right now"

  • @ryaneickmeyer6191
    @ryaneickmeyer6191 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Very cool video, thanks for putting this together. Did you ever find out more why you didnt see more contacts from the west coast?

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  ปีที่แล้ว

      There are a lot of reasons, including just "today isn't your day". If it "never" works its an antenna problem that you can fix by designing a better system, outside of that the variables change so much that "sometimes" is good enough.

  • @BeavistheLizard
    @BeavistheLizard ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Aw Cool.. my first computer was a VIC 20! I found an "introduction to basic - Part 1" tape for it just recently, I think that's probably all we have left of it.

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  ปีที่แล้ว

      Hey Phil - Good Eye. I have a retro tech channel where I play with and repair old tech: th-cam.com/users/TemporarilyOfflineRetroTech

  • @stephen1711
    @stephen1711 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    There's a lot of population density to be considered in your plot as well. I found it particularly interesting that neither the RX or TX patterns really changed significantly with your antennas orientation. I've found WSPR more effective in measuring the subtleties your looking to demonstrate. My experience has shown global population densities vs true antenna pattern are easier to feel out at any given moment of propagation on the planet providing some classic graphical patterns of antenna performance and thus full understanding.

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      There are so many variables that come into play here. Most important is just get on the air and have fun with it.

  • @dougtaylor7724
    @dougtaylor7724 ปีที่แล้ว

    Great idea. Nice comparison and well presented.

  • @betmulligan6192
    @betmulligan6192 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Really informative for this new ham. Thank you.

  • @yekim0007
    @yekim0007 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    You are on a roll. I am learning so much from your videos so big thank you for that. I am using a dipole about 15 feet up. I've tried Flat, inverted V and vertical with it. I am running 20 watts and I can't really get any contacts within the US. I am in Eastern Nebraska and most of the FT-8 contacts that I get are extreme south. Mainly into Brazil, Chile Ecuador etc. Not alot into the US. I think I'm going to lower my height and see if I can get more of a vertical take off and hopefully get some US contacts. I have yet to get a single contact north of my location. Ive tried orientating North to South and East to West with the same results. I did go vertical and I got into Hawaii but I think I will lower the height and see what that does tomorrow. Thank you for the insight and I will update my results. 73 my friend

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  ปีที่แล้ว

      Excellent, looking forward to the results. What kind of dipole is it?

    • @yekim0007
      @yekim0007 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@temporarilyoffline I'm only a Tech for the time being so I only focused on the 10m band but its just a homemade dipole I whipped together out of PVC and speaker wire. It works tho. I hit Angola on FT-8 yesterday at 7989 miles away on 20 watts.

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  ปีที่แล้ว

      @yekim0007 fantastic! You're on the right track!

  • @ralphwilmot6351
    @ralphwilmot6351 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Interesting tests, to be more conclusive you would need to also consider which frequency you are on, especially time of day, grey line etc. On My EFHW tuned for 80m which runs from my QTH West to East 20 feet high rising to 40 feet and sloping away to about 15 feet in the East. On 20m at 1000z FT8 30watts in S England, most of Europe to the East up to Russia heard and worked. Same settings at 1300z I start to hear and work US off the back of the EFHW to the West. Also further out to the East, into Asia and if conditions are good VK on both short and long path in the afternoon. Almost nothing from Africa and the South apart from Spain, Italy.
    If I change frequency to 18.100Mhz at 1400z and conditions are good, contacts from both E and W including US and South America until Evening when conditions change after Sunset, usually best to QSY to 40m and 80m and similar contacts to those of daylight hours. Also interesting to setup WSPR and do tests with better results on each HF frequency. It makes all the difference on a EFHW. G4PEY

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Thanks for sharing your results. If I can find a waterproof+wifi wspr transmitter, I'd be game to test that out. Really, this is where the human element comes into play - you can really only deduce a feeling about how all of this works because of the variables that you can't control in the testing. The sun will always do what it wants, other operators may not operate that day, etc, etc, etc. But we can still tell that 20m is good for DX and 80m is good for local comms close to sunset because of our human nature to try to bring understanding to the table.

  • @mikeramsey9747
    @mikeramsey9747 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    My 80m-10m EFHW is running E-W, Goes vertical to 40 ft, then across the yard to a tree about 50 to 55 feet. Propagation using WSPR really acts a lot like a vertical, with the exception that I don't see much to the west beyond the US. I might eventually try running the antenna in a N-S orientation to determine how that does, but overall I'm pretty happy with everything.

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      There you go. One day it will be different enough that it's worth the effort to change it! Until then, keep having fun!

  • @corneliusm.booker6642
    @corneliusm.booker6642 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Great information for my next POTA outing.

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      My rule for POTA: as long as it's not on the ground!

  • @paulpannell8724
    @paulpannell8724 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Were the NVIS, inverted V and the sloper all a east west configuration? Learned a lot from this. Thank you for the great videos.

  • @Blue-Collar-Radio
    @Blue-Collar-Radio 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I like experiments like this. Great video!

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      It was a lot of fun to see the differences, thanks for watching!

  • @ericboone182
    @ericboone182 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Being new to Portable operation I was really looking forward to this video. However I seem to miss several items. Where you are located. Why you change the orientation from north south to East West and then the directional orientation on the sloper. Would have loved to hear a commentary on each different configuration, and your thoughts on them! Thanks Brett

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Hey Brett, at the time I was in Wisconsin. The only reason I change orientation was to show you the results displayed in the video so that you could see they were "different", but maybe/maybe not "different enough". The video demonstrates that a wire in the air is better than an argument about perfect placement... and maybe helps with "How to I setup my antenna for that last state I need in WAS"

  • @Tump2010
    @Tump2010 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    great video.
    it was nice to see the difference.
    I would like to see next how a resonant wire vs non resonant wire affects reception.
    You wouldn't need to mess with baluns etc if it was a single wire and receive only, we know how resonance affects transmissions.

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I have run a non-resonant antenna with a tuner and it does sound better when tuned. I think that has more to do with making the radio happy at 50Ohm then about hearing better signals though.

    • @VK7DBX
      @VK7DBX 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I'd like to see your results with a efhw at 19 metres high.

  • @bduff5004
    @bduff5004 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Thanks... getting ready to setup the ARRL EFHW and trying to figure out the deployment. Wanting to go from NC coast to Europe as a start

  • @TheArtofEngineering
    @TheArtofEngineering ปีที่แล้ว

    For your inverted Vee does the Grid tracker show DX if it happens...without zooming out?

  • @stahme10
    @stahme10 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Thanks Steve all good info.

  • @G6EJD
    @G6EJD 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Hi, an extremely useful and practical analysis of different antenna types, I’d like to try to do something similar, can you let me know what software you used to plot received WSJT reception, 73

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  2 ปีที่แล้ว

      pskreporter.info is the link, click on map display, fill out the form at the top and hit the Go button. I'd recommend going into the options and turning on "Hide Faint Monitors", "Hide Monitors if no reports" and other things that make sense.
      Also, in one of your WSJT-X settings tabs, there is an option for reporting your own info to pskreporter.info. I'd recommend turning that on as well. This will allow you to see signals you've heard on the map, as well as those people that have heard you.

    • @G6EJD
      @G6EJD 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@temporarilyoffline Tnxs, I've got it working now, great tip, thank you 73

  • @ozone385
    @ozone385 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I am in South Dakota, my antenna is a end fed random wire about 53' long 18 ' above ground, 4' above house. Its orientation is East/ West fed at the West end. I have about the same 40 meter pattern as you. de N9TDE

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Interesting, I try to always run my antennas north/south. I know that antennas like this are supposed to be omni directional, but I've (felt like) running n/s gives me more e/w propagation.

  • @thebugg333
    @thebugg333 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I have an off center MJF in an inverted V around 25-35 feet off the ground north to south. From SE WI I heard and talked to IL, OH, CA, TX, NY, FL...so just about touching the continental US. For international, Canada, UK, France, Canary Island, PR, Italy...from memory. Mostly between 20 and 40 meters. Happy given my limited space and under 100w of power. I hear stations going over 1,000w and they hear me just as fine from me pushing 50-100w. I had a vertical, thought it would be great for limited space and it just picked up noise and I could hardly reach out far. I may build a dedicated 20 and 40 meter from spare parts to hear if there's a big difference with a tuned antenna.

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Antennas are fun - as long as you're making contacts or learning what needs improvement. That's all that matters.

  • @owlcricker-k7ulm
    @owlcricker-k7ulm 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    what band are you using? In Montana 10w on 40m is regional and 20 gets 800 to 2000 miles. I haven't tested various ants and configurations simultaneously, but band selection tends to be more critical than antenna for distance. Your test inspires me to test more.

    • @owlcricker-k7ulm
      @owlcricker-k7ulm 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @AJ K band?

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Thanks Owl! I was running 40m at 20w for the test. Band choice is also very important. I might do that one next.

    • @owlcricker-k7ulm
      @owlcricker-k7ulm 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@temporarilyoffline TNX, I have tested verts against verts but the various deployments is a great idea. At this point my approach is longer is better and verts for distance but more by feel rather than data. TNX for the inspiration.

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@owlcricker-k7ulm Let me know how it works out.

  • @ggggg4030
    @ggggg4030 ปีที่แล้ว

    Question: I live near the shore of Lake Erie. Is it reasonable to assume that I can get pretty good US coverage, maybe excluding west coast, on 40 meters running it sloped north to south?

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  ปีที่แล้ว

      Yes. I'd run N/S to get (slightly) better east/west coverage. I'm in NW Wisconsin during these tests, so my coverage would be pretty close to yours.

  • @jmount1200
    @jmount1200 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    HF is so up and down! The next say you could have made it to the west consistently. I have a difficult time heading East with only 10 Watts usually with an inverted V EFHW. Great video!

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Exactly - get a wire in the air and have fun with it!

  • @Savi_W1SAV
    @Savi_W1SAV ปีที่แล้ว

    From my location, just east of Los Angeles, I find a particular cone of silence and transmit centered on Colombia. This occurs regardless of propagation, transmit power, etc. I am running an EFHW in the inverted L configuration oriented east-west.
    Have you considered the issue is geographical? I've come to believe my cone of silence is in line with some of the mountains surrounding the Los Angeles area.

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  ปีที่แล้ว

      The only real issue I have is making contacts into Canada. I believe I'm either too close or there aren't many hams in the parts of Canada that are in the right skip zone for me. I'm not complaining at all, just showing the different ways that different antenna orientations effect your propagation and hoping to share something that someone can use in their setup.

  • @Delivers92130
    @Delivers92130 ปีที่แล้ว

    I’m going to activate Fort Frederica, Georgia in august. Using a G90 with EFHW XTenna I hope to get more DX and finally get Vermont for WAS. I live in San Diego an am going to FLETC for some schooling. Wish me luck!

  • @dangermandave67
    @dangermandave67 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Interesting. What about inverted L? I wonder whether the orientation of your coax has any influence on the radiation pattern, since the shield forms a counterpoise. I've been attempting some HF packet radio, without much success, and I wonder whether my main problem is that I'm located in Utah and the packet nodes in CA and CO might be in my skip zone. Maybe I'd be better off with an NVIS antenna instead of the 1/4 wave whip I've been using.

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I haven't run an Inverted L, would be interesting to see how that works. I'd try NVIS in your situation, especially if I had a portable EFHW

    • @dangermandave67
      @dangermandave67 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@temporarilyoffline Modeling seems to show a low take-off angle from the vertical leg of the L. I think that's what Walt K4OGO was observing. Would be interesting to see a comparison using your methodology.

  • @kb9mtd-aaronwebb
    @kb9mtd-aaronwebb 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I have an end fed strung from the transformer to end @20 ft to a tree to the north and the remainder attached to a fence. It's 66+/-. Oriented from the south going north. My pattern is either Texas or South America, without fail. I don't have the space to orient EW so I slope it from roof level to a horizontal L to the fence again. No real change in pattern.
    It does matter what band I am on though!

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Thanks Aaron, I bet every band is a bit different also.

  • @n5itn
    @n5itn 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Very good presentation.

  • @WH6FQE
    @WH6FQE 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I finally settled on a G5RV Jr set up in an inverted V with the center at 14 feet off the ground and the ends down to about 3 feet off the ground. I was able to get the WAC award over the first weekend of using that antenna at 100 watts so I can get DX on it, but it is also close enough to the ground that I get local on-island and within state contacts for our morning HF net here in Hawaii. 14 feet high at the center is giving me the best of both worlds with this antenna.

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      A lot of people hate that antenna, but it works just fine forwhat it is

    • @WH6FQE
      @WH6FQE 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@temporarilyoffline yeah, and here in Hawaii we have very small yards and HOA’s everywhere so we are extremely antenna challenged here. The G5RV Jr is the largest antenna I could squeeze into the yard. As a compromised antenna, it does what I need it to do as long as the sunspots cooperate with me.

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@WH6FQE that s the ham radio spirit. What freq is the HI HF net on?

    • @WH6FQE
      @WH6FQE 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@temporarilyoffline either 7.088 or 7.188 depending on conditions and local interference

    • @WH6FQE
      @WH6FQE 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@temporarilyoffline every once in a while they have to drop down to 3.888

  • @dirtysquatch7036
    @dirtysquatch7036 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I'm in oregon and ran a Radio wavez double bazoka 10m dipole as an inverted V with the feed point about 16-20 ft off the ground. I could regularly hit the Caroline's, Tennessee & Georgia... nothing in my own state really though. California and Washington was about the closest.

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I'd bet it would be hard to do intra-state comms on a double bazooka dipole - If you and your friend were in the same state and ran lower antennas or verticals it might work better - but I wouldn't complain about making contacts to the other coast at all!

    • @dirtysquatch7036
      @dirtysquatch7036 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@temporarilyoffline yea. Long rang it worked great! New Zealand, and some other countries that way. 100watts

  • @phildurall7466
    @phildurall7466 ปีที่แล้ว

    Interesting findings TO! Time to pull out the CAHR EFHW and test a config with 40' running up the pole vertically, and the remainder at an angle tethered to the ground and see what that yields. 73 - KF6IF

  • @joecormier6720
    @joecormier6720 ปีที่แล้ว

    I have a question may seem kind of dumb. But I really don't know the answer. What is the best size coax cable when you're doing mobile I guess it's called?

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  ปีที่แล้ว

      Best for POTA or portable is something like RG174: amzn.to/3Tw151q it is lossy, but we want pack-ability. Another choice is RG316: amzn.to/3UBJUwE - I have used this and it looks less flexible. These are compromises because of wanting to pack up and go. RG213 would be best, but won't fit your backpack.

  • @peterklauke2068
    @peterklauke2068 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    This is great stuff for "Just a newbie"

  • @tommycheshire5508
    @tommycheshire5508 ปีที่แล้ว

    What was the orientation of the slooper antenna?

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I'm afraid I don't remember. More than likely it was north south with the feed point to the north at ground level.

  • @zigzagfly1635
    @zigzagfly1635 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

    What map software are you using ?

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      This is pskreporter.info, great site!

  • @stephenwade8093
    @stephenwade8093 ปีที่แล้ว

    My thoughts on your pattern out to the east could be influenced by the water running down the east side of the USA, De VK3HJW

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I agree! Not a lot of hams in the Atlantic Ocean

  • @souta95
    @souta95 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    NVIS are good for in-state QSO Party contests.

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  2 ปีที่แล้ว

      I run an 80M NVIS for my states QSO party, get massive pileups after 5pm when the band opens up more.

  • @Hyperion953
    @Hyperion953 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    A Commodore 64 in the back, you the boss! 😂

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  3 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Thanks! Here you go: www.youtube.com/@TemporarilyOfflineRetroTech

  • @aarongriffin81
    @aarongriffin81 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    You can clearly see where the NVIS hops are. It creates a wave beginning from your location and the first bounce back to earth is the first wave, then it bounces back to the ionosphere and back again. The more power and concentrated signal the more bounces. All of your antennas tested would reach much further with every few feet you raise them. About 1 wavelength above the ground is great for working the world but many people cannot attain 65ft for the entire antenna.

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Good eye! If you have an antenna with a lot of lobes, you can even use these maps to see them. I love FT8 for this.

  • @Siskiyous6
    @Siskiyous6 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Nicely done TO

  • @paulhastings3109
    @paulhastings3109 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    NVIS is there a minimum height above the ground. For HF. 40 mts

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  2 ปีที่แล้ว

      well there are diminishing returns ;-). I was at 3ft. I might try it at a lower height just for grins. 6"... let's see what happens!

    • @rearickjb
      @rearickjb 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@temporarilyoffline You may want to raise your 40M NVIS. At 3 feet, you are already well into the diminishing returns. I have run a 40M dipole on an antenna modeling program, and looked just at gain at the 90 degree takeoff angle or straight up. The height that produces the best RF energy for NVIS would be around 21-23 feet off the ground. At 3 feet, that same antenna shows a 10db loss at NVIS or 90 degree take off. There are many people out there talking about putting the antenna close to the ground, but if you look at good data, it will show there is a point that the ground starts having a very negative effect. I would also recommend for testing like this, install two antennas at the same time, with separation, and use a coax switch to bounce bank and forth. Propagation changes quickly and you really want to transmit from each antenna at almost the same time. If you tested these antennas in a different order hours apart you could have come up with the same results do to propagation changes, and not the antenna efficiencies. I enjoy comparing antennas myself, but it can be difficult to have enough room and ways to reduce the variables to get relatively good data. I have center fed dipoles on 80, 40, 20, 15 up full time. I tend to use those as my standard for comparison of any test antenna I put up. I can record the result in a spread sheet, and as I change antennas I can see how they would compare to the dipole and each other. Hope some of this may be helpful in the future and have fun! N3YUG Jason

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@rearickjb thanks Jason, one of the points I was also demonstrating is that its more important to get on the air then anything else, and you will get some results in almost any configuration. I know a lot of folks struggle with how to get an antenna installed in the first place. I appreciate the tips.

  • @dandypoint
    @dandypoint ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I have a few comments. When you said the wire was configured north or south or east and west I think you meant that was the way the wire was running. To be clear I usually add that the wire is broadside N/S or E/W so there is no confusion. However with a low half wave antenna it really makes no difference as there is probably no directivity to speak of at that height. As you get closer to half-wave high you then will notice a null forming off the end. The nulls will be much sharper and are what you will notice. On 10 meters my dipoles are high ( in terms of wavelength) and have deep nulls while the pattern between the 3 dB points is quite broad. I use three dipoles on a switch for the 10 meter contest and get dramatic results when switching them! My 40 meter dipole at only 55 feet seems almost omni directive by comparison.
    Regarding NVIS, as long as you are below the critical frequency, whatever goes straight up will come back down, but that is not to say you will not be heard out to 1000 miles or more. There will be no skip zone.
    Any horizontal antenna at say a quarter wave high will have its peak radiation angle straight up. However the 3 dB point angle is still going radiate a quite significant signal and will cover a good distance.
    The vertical should have a good null straight up and and normally be significantly down close in to the antenna. The low inverted V will be very similar to any low horizontal antenna. I would expect no directivity if it’s low and increasing directivity as it’s raised. A sloping half-wave wire tends to skew the broadside pattern a little toward the low end. Again this is noticed more and more as the antenna height increases.
    It is very difficult to notice 3 dB of difference but 6 dB being an S unit can be detected if conditions are fairly stable. I once tested a horizontal wire, 70 foot vertical and a mobile antenna on 40 meters over about an 8 hour period listening to CHU Canada time signals just above 40 meters. Depending on the time each antenna was clearly the best!

  • @andyM7XTT
    @andyM7XTT ปีที่แล้ว

    Wouldn't an inverted L give you better results as you have the vertical and horizontal parts???

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      It is a little more complex than that - and I'm no expert either... but different antennas have there "peak" performance at different locations along the wire. From what I understand, the "peak" of an EFHW is the center of the wire, so you want as much of that center part as high as you can get it. I guess that's part of the fun of it all.

  • @rodneywhitfield5754
    @rodneywhitfield5754 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Yes it does, vertical, horizontal, vertizontil… yes it matters..,

  • @ronrico2620
    @ronrico2620 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Where are you? Really helps knowing the start position

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I was in Wisconsin for this one. I thought I mentioned it in the video.

  • @submarineradioman5535
    @submarineradioman5535 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Of course it does!

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Now we know. Just a fun little experiment to share.

  • @Jazzclub101
    @Jazzclub101 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Where is your location inrelation to the map
    I am lost based of ur location
    It would clarify alot

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  5 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I'm in North West Wisconsin in this video. You'll only really face regional issues - like in my map I don't have many stations to the north because that part of the world is too cold for many hams to be in. If I moved further south, I would have an equally circular map. If you lived in UK, you'd probably have a dead spot to the west for the big ocean and so on for other areas.

  • @lostinkansasonasunnyday305
    @lostinkansasonasunnyday305 ปีที่แล้ว

    How is the sloper oriented? E W or N S

  • @billbrown3414
    @billbrown3414 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    A lot of uncontrolled variables in your analysis, especially with propagation. As someone else pointed out the density of stations is much higher in the eastern half of the country. I think you should throw in another test for comparison: repeat with the antenna horizontally at 60-75 ft elevation. (My 50+ years of hamming have taught me one thing about hf wire antennas: The more wire you can string together and the higher you can hang it, the better your signal will be.)

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Yeah. That was actually what I was trying to show in thr video z get a wire in the air and have fun... worry about "perfect" when you're chasing that one rare station or have that friend that you just can't reach. Thanks for watching and I'll run the higher antenna when I can, sounds like fun.

  • @Ei2iP
    @Ei2iP 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    WSPR would be a better, and run a few test over 24hrs...FT8, most are not running low power, folks are running a few hundred watts, where are the WSPR folks are a bit more disciplined 5w, 10W, 100W etc. Just a thought.
    For DX, elevated vertical is the way to go, 40M elevated vertical (6ft from the ground) with two or more elevated radials, I can work VK, NZ and Asia, simple and cheap antenna on a 12M pole.
    Ground radials, I wouldn't have the patience or time in putting them down.
    I don't do NVIS, as not interest in Inter EI/EU contacts...

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Thanks for the tips Robbie! An elevated vert with tuned counterpoise is in my future.

  • @AlvinMcManus
    @AlvinMcManus 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Thoughts?? before this video I have nuthin". I'll get back to you after I watch it.

  • @thequarantinecatholic
    @thequarantinecatholic ปีที่แล้ว

    "the entire state of Wisconsin " great break down!!!!

  • @K1OIK
    @K1OIK 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Why are you wearing headphones? Who is nevis?

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  2 ปีที่แล้ว

      I can't remember a time when I didn't wear headphones. Its "Nevets", a nickname that my uncle gave me.

    • @K1OIK
      @K1OIK 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@temporarilyoffline You wear headphones in the shower, outside, at work? Nevis has an antenna format? "You're taught to believe with nevis?"

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@K1OIK Sometimes, Yes, Yes, Yes, I was.

  • @lostinkansasonasunnyday305
    @lostinkansasonasunnyday305 ปีที่แล้ว

    Think about population centers. East and SE are more populated and closer.

  • @lawrence3242
    @lawrence3242 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    What are you saying?

  • @fiacobelli
    @fiacobelli ปีที่แล้ว

    A c64 on the shelf?

  • @TheIaindavidson
    @TheIaindavidson 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Your maps look a lot like population density maps of North America, I suspect your signal is going west just fine, there are just less people to receive.

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  3 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I agree with that assessment 💯🔥

  • @1shARyn3
    @1shARyn3 ปีที่แล้ว

    You mention FT8 but sounds more like you are referencing SSB.
    15 meters, 20 watts, FT8 from DM65, QSOs from Tasmania, Antarctica, Madagascar, Australia, Kenya, .... mornings, and evenings. Heck, I get your ranges on 6 meters and Chile and Argentina on 10 meters .... (all via DX Commander). Best SSB on 30 watts, 15 meters --- Ireland. You need to get away from trees and move to the desert.

  • @thebnbaldwin
    @thebnbaldwin 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Did you ever figure out the problem to the west?

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Yeah, I moved! 🤣

    • @thebnbaldwin
      @thebnbaldwin 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Are you like a nomadic ham now?@@temporarilyoffline

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I am! youtube.com/@livingforalivingrv @@thebnbaldwin

  • @thomasmaughan4798
    @thomasmaughan4798 ปีที่แล้ว

    "Does antenna orientation make any difference?"
    Yes. Female antennas behave differently than male antennas such as MFJ's "Big Stick". Oh, not that kind of orientation 🙂

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  ปีที่แล้ว

      Ha! You should have seen my original thumbnail for this video. It would not have gone over well

  • @thomasjehn4529
    @thomasjehn4529 ปีที่แล้ว

    It's not pronounced NVIS. It's pronounced NVIS!

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  ปีที่แล้ว

      Oh, thanks. I don't want to say it wrong!

    • @thomasjehn4529
      @thomasjehn4529 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@temporarilyoffline Like your work, learn a bunch. got my thumbs up for the video.

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@thomasjehn4529 Much appreciated!

  • @democratpro
    @democratpro ปีที่แล้ว

    This was not good at all, too many issue to address. Also, inverted Vee IS NVIS🤦🏾‍♂️

  • @mrfancypants29
    @mrfancypants29 2 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I have been a ham since 1992 and never heard of a “Nevvis” style antenna before. It wasn’t until you explained the antenna that I figured out that you meant NVIS “Near Vertical Incident Skywave”.

  • @amnchode
    @amnchode ปีที่แล้ว

    Propagation is everything. This is my transmit from my 66ft EFHW N-S Inverted-V, on my X6100 running 10W on 40m in San Antonio (done 15 min ago): i.imgur.com/l2tObpI.jpeg

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  ปีที่แล้ว

      It sure is! Its nearly impossible to measure antennas back to back because of band conditions changing - too many variables. Its good to "get a feeling", but near impossible to account for all variables.

  • @ralph9987
    @ralph9987 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    This could have been a great video. Unfortunately you didn't stick to a constant direction of the elements and you didn't keep as many variables the same. Changing all those variables makes a comparison as useful giving a bicycle to a fish.
    Shame 🫠

    • @temporarilyoffline
      @temporarilyoffline  9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      You missed 100% of the point of the video.