Stacked V Quads versus...

[2RT307]

Hey guys, seeing all the posts about 4 and 5 element vert/horiz beams got me thinking back to the old days. I had a friend that played with antennas quite a bit, and he used to run a stacked set of V quads. He later ran a Moonraker IV. He always told me that he thought the stacked V quads ran circles around the Moonraker performance wise. I also remember Pete, a Needlebender Club member from Canada, having a pretty wild setup of 3 inline V Quads. Unfortunatly, Pete passed away a few years ago,and I never really got a report of how well his setup performed. I was wondering if anyone knew of how well it worked?



73,
RT307

 

[2RT307]

Wow, 80 views and no comments. Can ya'll see the picture?

73,
RT307

 

[w9cll]

Yep we can see the pic. I never saw one in use and till recently didn't know it existed but clearly stacking beams has been done many times. I would assume that each added element would add about 3db to the forward gain but rejection and beam pattern would be greatly improved. So I guess I am saying it probably works just fine.

I was going to build something similar years ago for EME work but ran out of time and $$ to complete the project.

Was looking to build something like this

 

[2RT307]

That's pretty cool! Pete's setup was pretty unconventional, as most stacked V quads that I've seen use a pole similar to the say you'd stack say, a 3 element beam. My buddy that had them stacked the "normal" way said it worked great for him, and that the back door rejection was better than the Moonraker. I just thought more people on here might have used a similar setup to this, and there would be some input. Guess not that many people use the V Quad... I know CBRadiomagazine tested a single one and thought it worked pretty good. Very lightweight, so a heavy duty rotor and tower aren't needed, and the price is certainly right for the performance you get.

73 and thanks for your response!
RT307

 

[vkrules]

Yep we can see the pic. I never saw one in use and till recently didn't know it existed but clearly stacking beams has been done many times. I would assume that each added element would add about 3db to the forward gain but rejection and beam pattern would be greatly improved. So I guess I am saying it probably works just fine.

I was going to build something similar years ago for EME work but ran out of time and $$ to complete the project.

Was looking to build something like this

Any thing over 2 elements you have to double the number of elements to get 3 db gain, not 3 db on each element, and that's the max not allowing for loss or mismatch.A 5+5 v is still an awesome ant and I take my hat off to the gent.

 

[vkrules]

Stacking delta loops works but it takes a lot of hardware on HF. . Most people go for yagis stacked vertical on the same tower. Stacked quads deltas and quagi are fairly common at uhf however. Here have a look at the yagi 2 meter EME array of w5un

 

[2RT307]

vkrules, that's a pretty elaborate setup there, too. I have talked to a friend that ran stacked Moonrakers up in Decatur, TX for a while (until the wind got 'em) and he told me he used to listen to stations over in Shreveport and down in Houston via ground wave with that setup. That's 250 to 300 miles. Incredible receive that's for sure. Unfortunately, the propagation into Canada to where Pete was and where I was in Texas stopped bouncing the right way about the time he put the V Quad setup in the air... so I never really got to find out how it performed for him before he passed. I would think it was a heck of an antenna though.

73,
RT307

 

[Marconi]

vkrules, that's a pretty elaborate setup there, too. I have talked to a friend that ran stacked Moonrakers up in Decatur, TX for a while (until the wind got 'em) and he told me he used to listen to stations over in Shreveport and down in Houston via ground wave with that setup. That's 250 to 300 miles. Incredible receive that's for sure. Unfortunately, the propagation into Canada to where Pete was and where I was in Texas stopped bouncing the right way about the time he put the V Quad setup in the air... so I never really got to find out how it performed for him before he passed. I would think it was a heck of an antenna though.

73,
RT307

307, I don't know where you're located, but for the most part I'm northwest of Houston about 8 miles, so I'm pretty much in the city for sure.

I also remember the presentation by the guy that built this V-Quad, and I think I could relate about the same story as you have above. I didn't know that he had died however.

A time to two I might have talked to your friend in Decatur, Tex, but I don't remember for sure. Over time while I had my 4 element yagi up about 27' above the Earth and over my house I talked to guys in the Dallas/Fort Worth area using backscatter most of the time with my beam pointed NE from Houston. I had a couple of buddies in the Franklin/Waco areas that had beams up about 100' feet and could get into Houston almost daily. Back then there were times when I could talk 200 miles and more to the San Antonio area on a ground plane, but that doesn't happen much anymore and for sure today. There are too few folks left on the radio anymore to even peak my interest.

Too bad too.