Ham Radio Help Desk

Here are some details regarding the next, and probably last, phase of my 43 Foot DX Engineering vertical installation.

This post is very late. The actual date of the events within it are just before March 2009 in preparation for the Virginia QSO Party.

In the many posts within this site, it is no secret my examination of various vertical antenna solutions with comparison between BigIR and the 43 Foot products a big part of this. Check out all the 43 Foot posts on HHD here…
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If you have been reading this web site you will recall I have paid much attention to the 43 foot antenna manufactured by DX Engineering and Zero Five Antennas.

After much simulation and trading the benefits against pitfalls, I purchased the DX Engineering 43 foot antenna kit with the balun.

However, a shiny aluminum antenna in the back yard would attract the kind attention I just don’t need. Research on the Internet reveals several solutions including:
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A reader asks…

I am thinking about getting a 43′ vertical to use on 160 to 10 meters.

Has anyone calculated the coax loss for 100 feet of RG-213 coax, especially on 80 and 160 meters?

Would it be beneficial to build a remote tuner [like below] and place it at the base of the 43′ antenna to reduce coax loss?

Remotely Tuned 43 Foot Vertical Antenna

Well I went ahead and purchased the 43 foot antenna kit from DX Engineering during that sale they were having till the end of last year.

This is the story of how I constructed the ground mount for it.
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We have looked at the 43 foot antenna available from DX Engineering and Zero Five alongside the BigIR product from SteppIR. In addition, the BigIR was simulated using the optional 80 meter coil.

Both antenna types approach the vertical HF antenna problem with unique solutions.
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As we continue our EZNEC simulation research for the 43 foot and BigIR antennas we finally are looking into the 80 meter band.
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Continuing our NEC Shootout between the 43 foot vertical available from DX Engineering or Zero Five and the adjustable height BigIR antenna available from SteppIR antennas we now analyze them in the 40 meter band.
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Continuing our NEC Shootout between the 43 foot vertical available from DX Engineering or Zero Five and the adjustable height BigIR antenna available from SteppIR antennas we now analyze them in the 20 meter band.
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Continuing our NEC Shootout between the 43 foot vertical available from DX Engineering or Zero Five and the adjustable height BigIR antenna available from SteppIR antennas we now analyze them in the 15 meter band.
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In a previous post we promised to analyze the merits of the 43 foot tall tuner-required antenna vs. the adjustable BigIR vertical from SteppIR. We did and here are the results.
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