big elements

[33 the kid]

if i change my elelments to 1 inch , from 5/8 inch will there be any difference in performance, or is it just a waste of money

 

[Jay in the Mojave]

Hello 33 the Kid:

Well run your antenna program with two each 102 inch dipole antenna elements. One at .625 and one at 1.0 inches diameter. Then run a SWR sweep measurement say from 25 to 30 MHz. And see what the analytical (computer generated measurement) says. Print out the SWR sweep measurements, and see the differences.

Then take two 102 inches long .625" (5/8 inch) and two 1.0" diameter pieces of aluminum tubing and make a dipole antenna. And a real world SWR sweep measurement. Now compare the analytical to the measured SWR measurements.

This will give you a good indication as to the SWR and center frequency that each dipole will have.

Will it be worth the money? I don't believe it will significantly increase the beams bandwidth, but it will take more power. That is if the existing matching system can handle it.

Just what do you mean, is it worth the money? What are you trying to accomplish?

Jay in the Mojave

if i change my elelments to 1 inch , from 5/8 inch will there be any difference in performance, or is it just a waste of money

 

[33 the kid]

i have severe high winds and the macos dont hold up so i found some nice boom to eleement plates that i could put a bigger stronger element on instead of fixing the little ones every 6 months or so,its just a thought

 

[W5LZ]

Will the differences in diameter at 27 Mhz make ~that~ much difference electrically? No. Some, but mostly in the resonance frequency rather than other things (even then, not enough to worry about). Mechanically is a different story, it could make the difference of not having to re-do the thing every so often. Will it? Beats me...
- 'Doc

 

[33 the kid]

sounds like a winner i'll make some bigger elements this spring and hopefully i won't be afraid to look up at the tower anymore

thanks