Base A99 and Y Quad both? Or apart? Tough decisions

[TruckerKevin]

My setup right now is an A99 on a 39" foldover tower, with another 15 feet of pipe, giving me about 54' from ground to base. I can't seem to hear to the north as well as to the south, would have to be the trees surrounding it. I am not entirely happy with this setup.

It would cost me $200 to get a tree guy to remove all branches.

SO,,,,, I bought a Maco Y Quad and rotor to put in its place (or even maybe run the 99 on top)

Now remember the A99 is currently surrounded by trees (almost touching it).

Now a local ham just told me, since I have enough scrap tower I should just put the quad up on its own, about 40 feet. He said I should do that, instead, staying far away from the 99 (and not near trees) that I would be better off. Then I would be able to switch back and forth at will and have the quad (both v and h) for skip.And the two are far away apart from each other.

My last solution I could put the quad on the A99 tower and get the whole thing up to 72 feet by adding my 20' scrap tower and some more pipe. BUT that will be a royal pain,,, I would have to deal with some serious fabrication AND guy wires (our kids ride 4 wheeler close to there).

I just want to know who thinks my best direction to take

A: Mount Y Quad where the 99 is and call it a day

B: Put the Y Quad on its own 36' tower far away from the 99 and have 2 setups

C: Put the Quad where the 99 is, raising it up to 72' and deal with the guy wires and other associated issues with fabrication etc. but getting it above the trees because it will be worth it in the long run

Confused? lol

 

[undertaker]

I would go with B

 

[TruckerKevin]

I’m liking to hear that, it’s going to be much simpler

 

[undertaker]

yes it will be much simpler........

 

[midnight special]

diffently b

 

[Road Squawker]

@ HF frequencies, trees do not interfere as much as you seem to think they do.

 

[TruckerKevin]

I just figured it was the trees, because I get audio reports from people as far south as i24 which is about 30 miles, but I lost people to the north at exit 83 and I live off exit 71. I’m not sure what else it would be?

 

[Marconi]

I just figured it was the trees, because I get audio reports from people as far south as i24 which is about 30 miles, but I lost people to the north at exit 83 and I live off exit 71. I’m not sure what else it would be?

Hey Kevin, here is an idea to test if your experience noted above is repeatable and you would like to test an idea. An idea that might inform you why you experienced the difference from N to S.

IMO, some trees are worse than others and some areas heavy in trees can make a real noticable difference between roadways for sure.

Drive around a little in your mobile and if you watch closely, you may see what folks in my area call "dead spots" and sometimes in the process...you may be lucky to find a really good "hot spot."

You may have to play with your radio settings like the squelch or RF gain a little to keep the radio from amping up all the audio signals.

 

[TruckerKevin]

I’m wondering if it’s the lake. We have a huge lake to the north, and runs parallel to the interstate at around that area. It’s a muddy lake

 

[Marconi]

I’m wondering if it’s the lake. We have a huge lake to the north, and runs parallel to the interstate at around that area. It’s a muddy lake

The most obvious dead area in my area SE of me and is on I-10 East in an area where swamps and inland brackish water flood with fresh water in Buffalo Bayou at the headwaters of the Houston Ship Channel area.

You can go back to the city about 5 miles north and get on a long bridge that crosses the Bayou in a mobile and you can be heard for miles...probably in all directions.

You just have to check it out in your area.

 

[sunbulls]

B for sure…Three heads are better than one, the A99 mainly for monitoring or short distance and the switchable polarity Maco for long distance coms. For durability reasons, I would also suggest upgrading the Maco’s gamma match to the 4600 or higher. I hope those upgrades like gamma match, more coax, selector switches etc., doesn’t break you budget. If not, it will end up one sweet system that has backup.

 

[TruckerKevin]

I have a dosy meter that was given to me that has the H/V/HV switch built in and I have a 500 foot roll of coax so I have the equipment, I just need it to quit raining for at least one day to get this job done!!! It has rained for a week solid here in Southern Illinois

I appreciate the advice, I am not an antenna pro by any means

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

I’m wondering if it’s the lake. We have a huge lake to the north, and runs parallel to the interstate at around that area. It’s a muddy lake

I have heard that large iron ore deposits can cause dead areas. I don't know if it's true or not.

 

[sunbulls]

Sounds great! Keep in mind the VERT/HORZ position ties in both VERT and HORZ coax meter inputs to the radio at the same time. In your case, I would use the AUX position for the A99 and use the VERT and HORZ inputs to the corresponding beam elements. I would probably never use the VERT/HORZ position, at least not for transmitting. I’m not big on tying antennas together, but that’s just me.

Mayfield, KY isn’t too far from Southern Illinois. Turn your beam down south sometime and listen on 26.875 during the early morning hours. There’s a great bunch of guys on that frequency, usually from 7 to 9 AM. If you ever talk to Charley, tell him the guy from Western NY says HI!

 

[TruckerKevin]

Hey cool thanks for the great advice!!!! I sure will Sunbulls!