Trying A Different Approach

[XmasScotty]

Having very little luck with the ISO that I purchased. Giving up on it for right now. Maybe wait until the spring to try my luck with the f**king thing.
So now I'm thinking dipole, which I'm sure you are all going to tell me I should have done in the first place. Well, I have space issues, which is why I decided to try my luck with the ISO to begin with.
I do not have enough property for a 160m dipole antenna. So I'm thinking of a75/80m (1/4 wave length is the modus operandi, good people) with a manual tuner in line.  Is this kosher? If not, what is for someone with very very little electronic background (other than successfully making FM antennas with coat hangers)?

Thanks!

Scotty

[ff]

So now I'm thinking dipole, which I'm sure you are all going to tell me I should have done in the first place.

No shoulda woulda coulda from me, Scotty.  It's good that you're trying things, noting what happens, and recalibrating.  That's why this is an ART.  You can get ideas from the books and the blogs but in the end your successful setup will usually be an amalgam of techniques with you own little twist here or there.  I'm a dipole guy myself because I have space and I never operate below 48 meters.  As to your setup, I'm assuming you are operating MW.  A dipole or other horizontal antenna is quite problematic for low freqs unless you have the ability to get it REALLY HIGH.  The WHOT guys operated around 1620 KHz and had their end fed Zepp strung between two apartment buildings at the eighth floor.  That's what I mean by high.  I'm not familiar with any horizontal designs that differ from this.  My take would be to stick with a vertical and try to run at least 4 ground radials away from the base.  Also you'll want to base load it.  You'll need to do some experimenting to get all this juking right but I believe this to be your best bet for MW.  Good luck with your setup...

[redhat]

Getting on MW is not for the faint of heart.  Most of the short antennas all of us are force to work with are a bit cranky and every install is different.  I'm a vertical kinda guy because they work for me and are easy and fast to deploy.  If your going to do MW with little space, try a 43' vertical base fed with a matching network.  Cheap, and if it doesn't work out, you can always shorten it and use it on 43 meters

+-RH

[Stretchyman]

Top loaded T is your best bet.

Does need a good ground but all LF antennas will (you can used raised radials)

Just get as much vertical as you can, load the top symmetrically with horizontal wire(s)

Check where its resonant and just base load to get it where you want.

I'll be having a go on M.W. soon and will be using this style of antenna.

Check;

http://qsl.net/ei7ba/low_band_antennae.htm


Str.

[Antennae]

Try a large magnetic loop for the low frequencies. Its a loop with a capacitor on one point and a way to feed it.  You can set them on the ground.  Just keep it away from metal objects and living organisms   . And don't touch it when its transmitting or the high voltage could damage you.

Here's a cool website about a guy who has a fairly big magnetic loop ( Read the paragraph "160m Performance Recap"):
http://www.brisdance.com/vk4amz/Loop5.html

He said it works better than other antennas for close and far contacts. And even though its not super efficient at the low frequencies, it looks like its a lot more efficient antenna than what most other people have for low stuff. 

Here's a handy calculator:
http://www.66pacific.com/calculators/small_tx_loop_calc.aspx

And another loop website to help out with feeding it:
http://www.nonstopsystems.com/radio/frank_radio_antenna_magloop.htm#construction-Mk-2

-Copper pipe is pretty strong stuff. Its easy to solder. Ask a buddy, he might have all the tools you need to solder. I bet you could prop it up with one 2" PVC pole and some tethers. 
-The narrow bandwidth is the biggest pain in the butt. To adjust it you need to reach up and twist the capacitor manually or make a motorized remote adjuster (probably not going to happen).

But if you only need it for a single frequency:
-get a cheap variable capacitor
-tune it to your frequency
-measure the capacitance on that capacitor
-make a capacitor with the capacitance you need by using a length of coax cable (coax that can resist high voltage). 
-And theoretically this coax capacitor could be adjustable a little bit by some stripping off of the protective outer layer so you have the woven shield exposed and you could slide the shield up or down as you need and keep it in place with a zip tie or string...

This youtube video has a magnetic loop. Notice its pretty * portable *. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3oP6VAG3gs

[Stretchyman]

Hmm, Yes Loops are OK, but for MW the minimum diameter for decent efficiency on 1.5MHz is over 24' with a circumference of 80'.

That's with 2' tubing.

Your B/W will be less than 1KHz, so.....

Good luck with that!

Would be a good antenna (and a more manageable size) for the more 'usual' frequencies.

I'm sticking with my top loaded T.

Worked for Marconi!