Last year I wrote about using the PE1BVQ 3 band endfed in the PACC contest. Because of large winds the antenna kept sliding in. But overall it did actually just as well as the HF5B on the tower except for about 3dB more noise. A vertical antenna in a contest is a good choice if propagation is good around you, but if you need extra gain it can't compete. However, I don't have a large multiband beam at the moment so I have to think about something else to improve my 20m signal. I would prefer to setup a antenna that does equal or better as my endfed and has a lot less noise. I was thinking about a phased vertical system first, but what I want is too complicated to setup at this time. I also thought of my endfed put up higher in the air with radials beneath. But I doubt it is any better as my vertical on top of the tower. So, I came up with the idea to use my GFK mast to make a delta loop for 20m. You can find a lot of drawings and designs on the internet about this antenna but they are all different, I posted a question about these different designs on a dutch hamradio forum and I got even more confused since everyone had other views on it. However, through the forum I found this link to some interesting delta loop designs and a usable formula. It is in dutch, and they use 1:2 balun instead of 1/4 wave 75Ohm coax, but what is left is the same in all languages. My thought is configure my deltaloop with one corner up in the mast. Fed at the corner at the north side to get the best radiation to the south. This way I have minimum interference from my neighbours solarpanels. Most of my QSOs on 20m in a contest are in the southern direction on 20m. A few are to the east and west but almost nothing to the north. The plan is to construct the antenna saturday or sunday depending on the weather. More about it hopefully in the weekend.
Last year I wrote about using the PE1BVQ 3 band endfed in the PACC contest. Because of large winds the antenna kept sliding in. But overall it did actually just as well as the HF5B on the tower except for about 3dB more noise. A vertical antenna in a contest is a good choice if propagation is good around you, but if you need extra gain it can't compete. However, I don't have a large multiband beam at the moment so I have to think about something else to improve my 20m signal. I would prefer to setup a antenna that does equal or better as my endfed and has a lot less noise. I was thinking about a phased vertical system first, but what I want is too complicated to setup at this time. I also thought of my endfed put up higher in the air with radials beneath. But I doubt it is any better as my vertical on top of the tower. So, I came up with the idea to use my GFK mast to make a delta loop for 20m. You can find a lot of drawings and designs on the internet about this antenna but they are all different, I posted a question about these different designs on a dutch hamradio forum and I got even more confused since everyone had other views on it. However, through the forum I found this link to some interesting delta loop designs and a usable formula. It is in dutch, and they use 1:2 balun instead of 1/4 wave 75Ohm coax, but what is left is the same in all languages. My thought is configure my deltaloop with one corner up in the mast. Fed at the corner at the north side to get the best radiation to the south. This way I have minimum interference from my neighbours solarpanels. Most of my QSOs on 20m in a contest are in the southern direction on 20m. A few are to the east and west but almost nothing to the north. The plan is to construct the antenna saturday or sunday depending on the weather. More about it hopefully in the weekend.