Perfect HF antenna solution for my situation.

The Alpha Antenna Vertical Sr on a 6ft tripod is the perfect solution to my situation. My HOA has a “No Communications Antennas” covenant.

I have been using my Alpha Sr Vertical for several months now. During contests, I can work most of the DX I hear. When the band is open, I can consistently get through the pileups in one or two calls using an Ameritron 80B.

I have had DX stations tell me I was 59+, very strong and ask what I am using for an antenna. When I tell them an Alpha Antenna Vertical on a 6-foot tripod, sometimes they come back and ask, ”What did you say you are using for an antenna?” in an amazed, almost in a voice of disbelief, “A vertical on a tripod?”

I am using 4 counterpoises with the antenna. I have experimented with HF horizontal elements but cannot really say whether my transmitted signal was any better or not by adding the horizontal radiators. I do need to experiment more here, primarily for 40 and 80.

We all know that there is no magic antenna, but the Alpha Antenna vertical does what it is designed to do and does it well. Easy for me to put up and take down and stay off the HOA radar screen.

Steve, the owner has always been there to answer my questions as I work to see if I can make the antenna perform even better than it does.

Steve takes the time to explain the design philosophy, other considerations, trade-offs and why he chose to implement what he did. He also offers up other suggestions for experimentation.

My next experiments are to try using the Vertical Sr. as a 24 or 33 ft vertical with the additional of wire and slope the wire towards a tree. I also have an Alpha Antenna Moto Marine Antenna. I never found much time to use it on the boat, so I am going to also use it as a 24 or 33 ft vertical same as the Vertical Sr, but vary the slope of the wire to the tree so one should perform better on the lower bands and the other better on the HF bands. I am also going to experiment with the signal strength due to directivity of one having the sloping wire-oriented north to south and the other east to west, but while maintaining a constant slope.

I also have an Alpha Antenna 6-160 HF J-Pole which I used to use before I purchased my amplifier. I have the J-Pole hooked to an older backup rig and the receive performance is amazing. I am able to make contacts on it, but do not use it much as it is hooked up to my secondary rig. Looking back at the logs, I was able to work DX with it, although I do recall it took a little more work using it with 100W than the Vertical with an Amplifier. But the J-Pole is oriented pretty much horizontal. I should probably try and add some slope to it at some point in time and then run some 100W and less comparison tests.

I do sometimes switch between the J-Pole and the Vertical to see which has the stronger signal. On 6 meters, I was getting a better signal on the J-Pole, but it is higher off the ground than the Vertical at around 20 feet or so. The J-Pole is usually better on 40 than the Vertical, but due to the extra length of the J-Pole, that should be expected. Funny thing is that sometimes it is the other way around. 80 seems to be a toss-up. 20, 15 and 10 usually favor the Vertical.

In summary, the Alpha Antennas provide me stealth solutions that keeps me off the HOA radar screen, are quick to put up and take down and work very well. And also give me something to experiment with.

KF9RM

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