6'n'2

Finally, finally got the Cushcraft A148-10S up in the air. Bought the antenna (and rotator and IsoPoles for 2 m and 70 cm ... and some speakers) from the widow of N5HZX 2.5 years ago. Hemmed and hawed (and then thought about it some more) and finally put a plan together a few weeks ago.

Originally, the top of the mast -- that's a ChannelMaster or Radio Shack 30' push-up pole -- had the old RS discone with the KB6KQ loops below. Well, I had those two loops way too close together and had poor SWR on both of them. Hasn't stopped me from working both coasts, XE, CO, and HI on 6 m (tuner!) and a 455-km contact on 2 m (with 3:1 SWR!), but still ...

So, the rotator is now at the top, with a 1-m mast above that holding the 2-m loop. I also dropped the 6-m loop to about the 20' level.

Ha - pretty close to flat SWR on both antennas! With spouse's help, I also got the SWR down to 1.4:1 on the beam. Interestingly, after I got off the roof entirely, the SWR is much closer to flat. I thought 15-20' away was enough for a good reading, but I guess not.

Now, I just need to work someone on the new beam. Made some 6-m contacts with the loop in the new configuration and heard a station near Dallas on the beam, but couldn't work him.

Oh, one other thing. The guying is crap. :-) I need to work on that, clearly.