Recommend a Vertical for me

[edfiero]

I'll be moving soon and am thinking about what antenna to put up at the new shack.
I'll have access to a 40 ft tower.

I can put back up my old 5/8w Maco or was thinking of going with something like the Vector 4000. I have no complaints with the Maco, but I'm not sure what I'm missing out in other antennas.

I use no more than 100 watts.

My primary goal is DX. Is there such a thing as the best antenna for me?

 

[sp5it]

My primary goal is DX. Is there such a thing as the best antenna for me?

5-7 element Yagi. Horizontal, no doubt. Forget verticals.
Mike

 

[JAF0]

If you put your Maco V58 back up you'll probably have better luck with shorter range DX, like 300-700 miles...

...than you would with a Vector 4000 - which will only work as long as the top doesn't bend, snap & fall off like mine & two of my friend's did!!

It's a great design, just a weak-assed execution, and they tend to have mostly a low TOA so long DX is great but your V58 should beat it for shorter DX - like we've been having lately.

There's ways to rebuild it that make it a strong antenna, and I went into it in another thread a few weeks ago, but I don't recall where, sorry.

A 2 element Quad is compact, light and strong if you build it right, and would do you great service for DXing, especially if it's horizontally polarized.

 

[The DB]

I love how people think that their is a large difference in TOA between these antennas. It shows just how misunderstood TOA really is...

Seriously, unless these antennas are mounted at or just above ground level you will not see anything like the difference in TOA being described above. Even 20 feet of height to the base of the antenna is enough to make the difference at most a few degrees, and that difference gets smaller the higher the antennas are mounted. Any real install and you are likely to not even notice said difference.

Seriously, if you see enough of a difference between these two antennas mounted at the same spot to have the kind of difference being suggested, then you have a problem with one of your antenna setups, and you should look into fixing it.


The DB

 

[fourstringburn]

I would say go with a Yagi also especially since DX is your primary goal. This directs a larger part of your signal ( and receive too ) where you want it.

The advantages to verticals is ease of install and omni directional patterns, but no real gain compared to a Yagi.

You already have a 40 ft. tower so why not take advantage of it?

You could go with a smaller and lighter one like a Maco 3 element. You'll need a rotor to take full advantage of using a Yagi.

Those $100 light weight rotors will work on a small beam.

I used both a Maco 5/8 and Imaxx 2000 verticals and at the same heights, there wasn't any noticeable difference. What The DB posted above is correct.

So the choice is yours but I would just use the 5/8 wave you have or if you really want a big improvement, then go with a Yagi.