Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Hygain Vertical Performance

The Hygain Vertical I purchased has been working well. I hope to run it thru more on-the-air tests over the next few weeks. But during the ARRL /140 contest, it performed well and I made contacts on 10M, 20M, and 40M with it. I have learned a lot about short vertical antennas and I hope to try some other things with it.

For a quick review, the antenna is the Hygain 18VS model. Total cost is $100. It is 18 feet tall and has a loading coil at the base. This is just about as simple as an antenna gets.


I have mine put in an umbrella stand so I can move it to the patio when we mow the lawn. I have a number of radials (minimum of 4) that I attach to the base of the antenna and one ground wire from the antenna base to a 12 inch stake driven into the ground.

This week, I have 10 radials attached to the antenna. Four of the radials are 17 feet and 6 are 13 feet. They are just laid on the grass.

The loading coil tap can be set to make the antenna resonant on just about any frequency from 10M to 80M. I set the tap so the antenna is resonant on 10M. So when I switch to 10M, I do not need my antenna tuner. When I am on 20M, 30M, or 40M I have to use my antenna tuner to get the SWR down under 2.

One of the ideas I have been thinking about is purchasing an antenna tuner to fit at the base of the antenna. These are a little pricy at about $260. That would make the antenna an all-band for sure. But, if I did that, the total cost of the antenna and tuner would be about what a screwdriver-type antenna would cost.

So, the addition of an automatic tuner and more radials are in the plans. I will install the antenna permanently after mowing season is gone. I'll drive a post in the ground to mount the antenna on. I think this will give a much better ground and perhaps improve the way the radials work. The antenna will really be ground mounted instead of 10 inches off the ground.

...AR