I took K9BF’s TA-33jr down a few weeks ago because it didn’t look too secure and I wasn’t able to get it up high enough to play well on 20. I had entertained the thought of building an East/West-firing lazy-H array to replace it. But, that would have required me to move my high 40-meter dipole, probably the best antenna I’ve ever had for that band. I decided instead to build a Moxon, which seemed to be a fitting tribute to W4RNL, who recently became an SK. The Moxon has about the same gain (albeit in one direction) over ground as the lazy-H and a little fatter beam. It’s not yet operational; but, I’m working on it.
The 160-meter matching portion of the 80-meter dipole needs to be adjusted and repaired. I didn’t use big enough RF chokes in the switching network and they got burnt.
I might do something to the southeast if I like the performance of the Moxon, too. Hopefully, the beams will give me the edge I need to make some more QSOs on 20 in the Sprint and SS this Fall.
Grad school is really sapping my energy. We’ve been on the road a lot and the end is not yet in sight! Plus, there’s real work to be done, too.
