[bars] 20m Directional Antenna

Mon May 22 13:33:30 EDT 2023

Hi. After years of the trap dipole in the attic, then the 6 band Buckmaster off center fed dipole outside, I went the KIO hexbeam 6 band solution. Leandra is correct about the “investment” required for a stand alone crank up tower ! Stepped it down to 4 sections of the Rohn 25-G with a tilt over base. Much less in cost. Lot of labor in digging the hole, making the form, getting the rebar, getting the concrete then raising the tower and antenna! (See my QRZ web page). Love my hexbeam. Best of luck. 73 Greg

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On Monday, May 22, 2023, 13:08, Leandra MacLennan <leandra at leandramac.com> wrote:

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Jason:

Let’s go back to your original question. Why do want/need a 20M gain antenna?

What are your goals?

   - Are you a contester?
   - Are you chasing DX?
   - Do you have a regular net you want to participate in on 20M?
   - Are you handling traffic on 20M on CW/SSB or using Winlink/Vara on 20M?

If you are doing the first 2, contesting or chasing DX, I suggest finding a multiband antenna.

Next, what is your budget?

If you want a permanent solution for your home that will stay up 24 hours/day through all seasons with wind/rain/snow/ice, you are looking at a minimum $15K investment in a tower, concrete, beam, rotator, guys, cables, lightning protection, and $1K /year for maintenance and insurance.

There are less expensive solutions where you can put a mini tower on your house roof (you will need XYL approval and depending on your town you may need a building permit), but you still will need to buy the beam, rotator, cables, lightning protection, etc. (minimum $5K) and maintain it.

You should have someone who has put these antennas and towers up do the installation or assist you.

There are temporary solutions such as the Buddipole hexbeam (about $2K for the full kit) which are designed for a weekend operation.

Another temporary solution would be use an old extension ladder as a “tower” and mount the rotor and a small Mosley beam on it.

If you have high trees you could build a 20M half square or even better, a 20M curtain antenna. These antennas are very simple to make and can be easily built with just wire. They only need to be mounted high enough so the vertical wires do not touch the ground (there is high voltage at the bottom of the vertical wires so make sure the ends cannot be touched by a someone passing by the antenna). These antennas have gain over a dipole. The pattern is fixed, and the gain is broadside to the antenna. I have built and used a 15M half square antenna made from 18 AWG scrap wire and I have been very impressed with its performance. In an on-the-air comparison test, using 100 watts on 15M SSB with a ham in Texas, the half-square antenna, mounted at 12 feet, was far better than a multiband 80-6M OCF antenna mounted at 30 feet. The half square and curtain antennas are vertically polarized which makes them poor for local, groundwave contacts unless you are communicating with another ham with a vertical antenna, but the low angle vertical polarization is great for DX.

Half square antenna

https://w6af.com/makerspace/build-your-own-ham-antennas/half-square-antenna-easy-wire-dx-antenna/

Bobtail curtain antenna

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cnc14VW8Ro

https://www.simplehamradioantennas.com/2018/09/bobtail-curtain-antenna-post-1623.html

General information about half-square, and bobtail antennas

http://www.hamuniverse.com/wb3aywcurtainantennas.html

   -Leandra AF1R

From: bars <bars-bounces at w1hh.org> On Behalf Of Paul Pellegrini via bars
Sent: Monday, May 22, 2023 11:14 AM
To: bars at w1hh.org; Jason M. Sanroma - K1NAD <K1NAD at sanroma.net>
Subject: Re: [bars] 20m Directional Antenna

Jason –

Putting up a directional antenna requires some planning.  Here are some ideas/tips for you to think about.

Do you want to use a rotator?  Do you have a specific preferred direction like the USA?

Where do you want to mount it?  Tower?  Side of the house?

How high will it be?  60 feet is a great height for a 20M yagi, but very good results can be obtained by mounting it at 20 feet or 30 feet.  You may be able to get to 20 to 30 feet high by mounting to the side of your house.

Weight and size are important.  I found a 20M yagi on dx engineering that weighs 45 pounds and has a 24 foot boom.

You may want to consider a smaller triband beam like a cushcraft A3S.  It weights 27 pounds and has a boom length of 14 feet.  There will be a gain penalty with this beam compared to the monoband yagi, but it will be easier to handle on the ground if you are trying to install the yagi.  However, on the plus side you get 3 good dx bands.

Rather than doing a new purchase put out a squawk here on the BARS website and ask if anyone wants to get rid of a yagi antenna.  You will need to take what you can get but you may be surprised with the response.

Happy hunting and good dxing.

de K1VK - Paul

On Sunday, May 21, 2023 at 08:20:57 PM EDT, Jason M. Sanroma - K1NAD <k1nad at sanroma.net> wrote:

Hello,

I am looking into getting a 20m directional antenna set up at my QTH. But I am not sure exactly what I am looking for at the moment and would like to hear some suggestions if any of you have any.

I have a few specific questions that will help to form my choice:

   - 1.What are the key factors to consider when selecting a directional antenna for 20-meter operations? Are there any specific specifications or features I should be looking for?

   - 2.Could you please suggest some reputable brands or models that have proven to be effective for 20-meter communications? If you have personal experience with any of these antennas, I would greatly value your insights.

   - 3.Are there any particular antenna types that are known to perform well for 20-meter operations? I would like to understand the pros and cons of different designs, such as Yagi, Log-Periodic, or Magnetic Loop antennas, in order to make an informed decision.

   - 4.Considering the budget aspect, are there any cost-effective options or DIY antenna projects that I could explore? I am willing to invest time and effort if it leads to a more affordable solution without compromising performance significantly.

   - 5.Lastly, do you have any additional advice or tips that could help me in my quest for a 20-meter directional antenna? Any personal experiences or lessons learned that you would be willing to share would be invaluable to me.

Thank you for your time and I hope to hear some of your suggestions!

73,

Jason Sanroma K1NAD

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