Pacific Coast Salty Dog Antenna Test 4 Element, "2X2" 75 Meter Vertical Array overlooking Salt Water Tom, N6BT & Mike, K6AJ (with Mike's dog, Tule Bear,a Chesapeake Bay Retreiver)
	The 210 degree long path direction is about 25 degrees to the left (east) of perpendicular to the coast line. The four (4) verticals are standard Force 12 EF-180BV's: 34' tall, linear loaded, with two (2) elevated radials. The driver (front) elements of each 2 element parasitic vertical is within 12' of the edge of the cliff. The wire fence that surrounds the array to keep out the cows cannot be seen, although it is more than 300' long. The ocean is approximately 25' below the cliff area. The beach is all rock, with no sand beach areas. Sea otters are common and there are many hawks, eagles, owls, ducks, brown pelicans and other sea birds. The white posts on the left are supporting the eastern-most radials for the eastern 2 element vertical,which is seen just to the right of the posts. The white posts at the far-right (center of the photo) support the western most radials of the east 2 element vertical, almost visible. There are two, white center posts that are shared by both 2 element verticals to support the radials towards the center of the 2x2 array. The "stuff" at the end of our tire tracks is a fire pit and operating table, along with a wooden cross to the right of the tracks that is about 8' tall that was put up dozens of years ago. We park by the fire pit, unload the equipment and set up on the table. The generator stays in the bed of the truck and the exhaust is always down-wind. The truck(s) are used as wind breaks. Typical 5AM temperature is 54 degrees F.

One might ask, why in the world would someone go to all the trouble of setting up a "temporary" antenna to work a very short morning opening when you have to get up at 3:30AM, drive for 45 minutes and sit outside running on a generator to operate? The reason is two fold: a) to verify an antenna design, thereby validating the computer model; and, b) to have some fun using an incredible top of the line antenna, thereby expanding our knowledge, understanding and horizon of antenna performance. Along the way, we will also pick up additional pieces of useful experience and techniques.

Original operating set-up. We now use plastic shields around the equipment & a thick towel for the bench. Rig is a TS-850S and Ten-Tec Titan (power supply on bench) that puts out about 1,200 watts with the 4500 watt generator running everything. Coffee cups are in the microwave.	Wire fence (>300') installed to keep out the cattle encircles the entire antenna, which is to the left. A few cattle are in the background, on the far hill. Fire pit is to the right. Generator is in the bed of the truck on the left.

The vertical was historically labeled a poor antenna selection, unless there was absolutely nothing else to put up. On the low bands, 160 and 80/75, verticals did enjoy some good results, but the advent of rotary 80/75 meter dipoles and Yagis have become the antenna of choice. When at even modest heights, these are amazingly effective antennas and consume very little real estate, compared to a vertical and its need for radials. Due to the efforts of "Team Vertical", verticals entered a new era of prominence beginning with the contest team of 6Y4A during the A.R.R.L. DX Competition in 1997.

The team organizers devoted months of research and testing on verticals, comparing the actual performance to the computer models. These tests were conducted in a salt water marsh, part of San Francisco Bay. The subsequent World Record and total QSO scores of 6Y2A in the 1998 CQWW CW Multi-Multi competition surprised everyone. All the antennas were verticals and this was the first time verticals had been selected for a serious competition and had set a world record. What made it more impressive was that it was done from a 2-point country (to the USA), so the number of QSO's had to be much higher than from the typical 3-point location. Since that time, there have been 6Y2A presentations in the USA and Europe on vertical antennas. The information has been shared on several web sites authored by team members and Force 12 has expanded its web sites to include it as well. The information has proliferated so fast that others not related to the research or operations are writing about it. As recently as the last week in December (2000), someone mentioned over the telephone they had recently read an article about using "gull wing elevated radials", were the author accepted credit for the discovery. Credit should be given where credit is due, so proper credit for the research on verticals by salt water and the subsequent proof of their high performance goes to:

The excellent performance by the verticals and vertical arrays in Jamaica and Venezuela has pompted other DXpeditions to select verticals. Force 12, Inc. has loaned verticals (lightweight DXpedition units used by Team Vertical) to many groups in the last two (2) years, including the exceptional performance by K5K (Kingman Reef), with more than 80,000 QSO's in 8 days, placing them 3rd for DXpedition QSO totals, regardless of location, number of operators, equipment and duration.

Western 2 elements of the 2x2 just before sunset. The driver is on the right (10' from the cliff). Parasitic reflector is on the left. The elevated radial on the right-hand side of the reflector is visible. The linear loading is not visible, but starts about half-way up the element and goes to the ground, where it is secured using porcelain insulators and wooden stakes. Tuning is easy - move the tuning jumper to the proper point across the linear loading. The dark spots on the upper part of the vertical are the section joints, which have been taped to prevent salt water from running down inside the antenna.

Vertical Arrays and How to do a Real Test - The computer models showed that a pair of 2 element verticals (4 verticals total) spaced 5/8 wavelength apart and fed in phase would have the same performance (raw gain figure) as a full size 3 element Yagi at close to 2 wavelengths high (2 wavelengths = 518' on 75 meters). Team Vertical designed and built several of these arrays with impressive results and used larger 3 element vertical pairs in a steerable configuration in Venezuela. These were on the 20-10 meter bands. The largest arrays on the low bands were 2 element verticals on 160, 80, 40 and also 4-squares on 80 and 40. Although testing was done on-site in both Jamaica and Venezuela comparing verticals to Yagis, there was a lingering need to test one of these arrays against a Yagi back in the States. This would verify the model, answer the questions and further underscore the incredible effectiveness of verticals by salt water.

Discussions were conducted on the best approach for a longer term test. It was decided that using the 75 meter long path from the west coast would be a reasonable choice. There were several very effective rotatable Yagis on tall towers and hill tops in California. The effective height of these Yagis is at least 400', so a 4 element, "2x2" vertical array on salt water should be a good match - according to the model. There was another known horizontal array that was fixed in direction and there were also a few good 4 square vertical arrays with extensive radial systems.

West Coast 75/80 meter Long Path - This is a propagation "mode" that generally follows the terminator, which is the boundary between daylight and darkness. It is perhaps 150-200 miles wide, or maybe 25 minutes wide on the clock. This path begins in the fall, around October and goes into spring, about through March. Speaking only for the low bands, the west coast is able to work via a southwestern path, generally following the terminator, into Europe, the Far East, western Asia and Indian Ocean areas, all of which are the "long way around" the earth (up to about 16,000 miles). As the terminator traverses westward across Europe bringing nighttime, the West Coast and Midwestern USA can work into this terminator zone and somewhat to the east of it (total darkness). The terminator in Europe (and Asia, etc.) brings an enhancement on the low bands and those of us to the west can work these stations, as long as we are either still in darkness, or at least, not in daylight. As time moves on, the terminator progresses to the west across Europe and progresses to the west, towards the West Coast. The best time is when stations on both ends of the path are in the terminator zone. This is a unique few minutes and the enhancement can be incredible. As daylight begins on the West Coast, the time available for long path is coming to a close and will be over when the sun rises, give or take some minutes.

The four (4) tall white objects are the 34' linear loaded verticals. The shorter white posts are 8' PVC supports for the radials.

California is a large state, almost 1,100 miles in length, so making comparisons during the long path opening would not be simple. Southern California will be in full daylight before the sun is rising in the north. Besides the terminator passage, the majority of the rotatable Yagis begin in central California far to the north of the test site and continue to Oregon and Washington, where there are additional wire arrays. The area selected for the 2x2 vertical array test was in an area of California where nobody had ever done concentrated operation on 75/80 long path from a good location with a good antenna. I had operated from the home QTH (30 miles east of the test site) during the past two seasons since moving from the Bay Area; however, there is a 200' hill only 800' away, directly in the long path direction that obviously shields this path. I had used a rotatable dipole and verticals in single, 2 element and a 2x2 array (over ground). My local experience was obviously limited, except for comparing the vertical array combinations, as they were up simultaneously. The 2x2 had been an impressive improvement over a single 2 element.

The closest known Yagi to the test site is a 2 element, about 120 miles and the closest 3 element is about 180 miles, both to the north and slightly east. This placed the 2x2 test array a good 20 minutes earlier in sunrise. The stations farther north in California have a later sunrise yet. To the south, K6UA in San Diego had both a fixed Yagi array and a rotatable, but it is almost 400 miles to the south and a lot to the east. California is oriented more east-west in the lower half of the state (not north-south).

Nevertheless, this was an excellent test ground for the 2x2 vertical array. The long path could be worked prior to the terminator passing through the test area, where most of the state is in darkness. We would also have the opportunity to operate while the better propagation was to our east, in Southern California, Arizona and New Mexico. We would have a wide variety of situations for comparison.

Distances are deceiving on large arrays. The 2x2 array is 285' wide, including the radials.

Anyone who has worked the long path knows the key is hearing. The test site was several miles from any small city and the nearest house was at least a mile away, over a hill to the east. There were no power lines within sight and there was only ocean towards the long path at 210 degrees. The generator, a Honda 4500 watt (2 cylinder, liquid cooled) was tested and found to have minimal noise. Unless there are storms in the Pacific, the ambient band noise hovers around S5, down to S2-3, when the sun is up and the band is essentially gone for DX.

Preliminary Observations - It is now the first week of January 2001 and after operating 2 or 3 times a week for a month, one observation has become quickly evident using the new array: long path stations can be heard and worked much earlier than originally thought. My long path experience was primarily from the Bay Area, some 150 miles north. I had been "programmed" to the Northern California time frame. A common routine on 75 meters is that the large stations call CQ, attracting DX stations, and then others can work them as the conditions allow. Waiting for this scenario to unfold from the test site meant the opening was on the down slope and had already moved up north. We made this mistake a few mornings and then realized we had to arrive earlier to coincide with New Mexico (e.g. W5YU), Arizona and Southern California openings. We have since worked long path Europe when the Midwest had the favored propagation zone. It was apparent that we needed to participate with the southern and eastern stations to bring up and work the DX. This means we meet at 4AM, drive to the site, set up, turn the key on the generator and are on by 5-5:15AM. The last 2 miles or so are off-road, so it is wise to use 4WD vehicles and go slowly. We pass by a lot of sleeping cows and we don't want to have a confrontation with a bull that we rudely awoke! The microwave oven making hot water for coffee takes the chill off in the 50-55 degree temperature and typical early morning breeze.

Every morning brings in long path DX. As soon as the rig is turned on, there are DX stations available. We have been spending more time listening and comparing our ability to hear than actually transmitting. We run about 1,200 watts output with the Ten Tec Titan driven by 50-60 watts from the TS-850S. The high voltage on the amplifier sags to 1800 volts, as the generator is the limiting factor. We do not run the microwave when we are transmitting, but the lights need to be on! We are able to hear and work everything from turn-on to sunrise. There have been only 2 stations that someone with a large 3 element Yagi copied better than us during all of the times we have been at the site. That morning we had static crashes from an off-shore storm. Our sent reports are right from the S-meter and are on par, sometimes better, than the Yagi stations. Our received reports are also comparable (including some S9+20 reports during an exceptional opening), especially considering our amplifier is straining to get out 1200 watts.

The sun had been rising around 7AM during December. At this time, we could easily hear all of the European stations being worked by the more northern West Coast stations later in their opening, but could not work them effectively. Listening to both sides of a couple QSO's with ET3VSC after our sunrise was frustrating! We could, however, work a DX station at their sunset, providing our sunrise was no more than 20 minutes prior, such as FR5DX. Additional rare DX, such as 9K2 and 4Z typically showed up in this later time frame. It would be better if they would come up 20-30 minutes earlier. Perhaps they were also "programmed" by prior operating to the later openings and activity that favors Northern California, Oregon and Washington.

The Antenna - The 2x2 vertical array is constructed using 34' tall (11 meter) verticals. To make up the rest of the 1/4 wavelength electrical length, they are linear loaded. The design is similar to the stock Force 12 EF-180BV vertical, except these are made from lots of old tubing from previous tests, meaning they have extra holes. The linear loading is secured to ground stakes through porcelain insulators (this is a high voltage point). Each element has two, elevated radials that are a minimum of 8' above ground.

The spacing between driver and reflector is 35'. The radials are tuned, with the reflector radials at 3.700 and the driver radials at 3.750 MHz (as close as practical). Mike came up with clever techniques to minimize radial supports and also in ways to make radial length adjustments. The reflector element is tuned first (driver feedpoint is open) to 3.725 MHz, with a hairpin matching coil across the feedpoint. This gives a nice, easy to see dip on the analyzer, down to 1.2:1 or so. The hairpin is left in place after the balun and analyzer are removed. The driver is tuned after the reflector and is set at 3.785 MHz, also matched with a hairpin coil. If an analyzer is used, such as the MFJ, be careful to check the frequency counter on the unit. With narrow banded antennas, the accuracy is very important. The one we use reads 15 kHz high, which needs to be taken into account when adjusting the elements and radials. This 15kHz is 25% of the 2:1 VSWR bandwidth. Using this unit on 160 always requires validating the tuning with the rig.

Each 2 element parasitic array is aimed exactly at 210 degrees (true, not magnetic). Thanks to perhaps the most knowledgeable person on this path, Bob, W6RJ for verifying this exact direction for the majority of long path openings. We would be in trouble if it were incorrect. Since the array is fixed, openings to the west and NW are not achieveable. The 3dB bandwidth is only 50 degrees. We checked the direction several times using a compass, GPS and the North Star. The horizontal spacing between the pair of 2 element arrays is 155' and the direction is double-verified by shooting a line between the two drivers and the two reflectors at 300 degrees true (210 plus 90 degrees). It is important that neither 2 element is leading the other. Equal length feedlines of new RG-213U (90') are attached to each driver and then attached to a "T" fitting between the two 2 element arrays. A single core Amidon 2.25:1 balun is used to match the main 50 ohm feedline to the two 50 ohm feedlines connected in parallel at the "T" (25 ohms). The main feedline is 9913-flex and is 100' long.

	Elevation comparison between the 2x2 Vertical by salt water and a 3 ele Yagi at 390' (3 lobes). The 2x2 has a single lobe, with energy (and receiving capabilitity) lower than the tall Yagi. Maximum gain on the 2x2 model is 13.75dBi.
	Azimuth comparison between the 2x2 Vertical by salt water and a 3 ele Yagi at 390' (3 lobes) at 5 degrees. The 2X2 has +4dB at 5 degrees. The 2x2 pattern shows two "ears" to the sides and a narrow back lobe.

The array is placed just inside the edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean. The cliff is about 25' above the rocky beach area. The land is pasture and cows are always around. The land is owned by a generous local amateur who also suggested we build a wire fence around the antennas to keep the cows from destroying it and he provided the wire. Mike is a big fellow and he pounded in the metal posts for 300' of fence and strung all the wire, while I was tuning the antennas. This was the last step, so it was all done after sunset. The array took three full days, dawn to dark, to erect.

Morning sunrise looking through the eastern 2 elements. We are close to the end of long path operating. We can usually hear long path Europeans for at least 30 more minutes, but are usually unable to contact them. The exception is (sometimes) if their sunset time occurs within 15-20 minutes after our sunrise.

The first QSO with the 2x2 array was with an LU after sunset. Actually, we could not make the contact until we fed only one 2 element and not the 2x2. Changing to a single 2 element boosted the LU signal from S7-8 on the 2x2 up to S9+15. This clearly demonstrated the narrow beamwidth of the 2x2. Mike worked him on one call barefoot with a 57 report using the single 2 element. The amplifier finally warmed up and I worked him with 59+10. Amazing what a little power increase can do. We heard only one other west coast station work him and it was a marginal QSO.

The Saturday before Christmas, December 23rd was a day to remember. We turned on the rig about 5:15AM and heard someone who we thought was a local. Hah - it was OH5BR and he was 20 over 9. Conditions were absolutely amazing. Too bad the mornings are not all like this one. Dale, K6UA said this happened only 3 or 4 times in the last 40 years. Other mornings are minimal, but we always hear and work long path DX. Some mornings only certain regions seem to be active: VU, RU9, etc. OH, SM, LA are on most every day, but not always. Being able to work into the UK area from our location is most difficult, as our sunrise is before their sunset. Be that as it may, we have already worked into that area twice and have listened over the speaker as we are having a cup of coffee, copying the many western Europeans the northern West Coast stations are working after our sunrise. Too bad we can't reach them at this time, too. Under some circumstances, perhaps we can, so we will keep trying.

Overall assessment - The simple conclusion is that the 2x2 performs just as predicted. It is right in there with 3 element Yagis at an equivalent height of around 400'. It hears as well and transmits as well. At times, it transmits better than expected. Those with Yagis might be at odds with this assessment, but it is demonstrated in real life. It is a fixed antenna, so it is not as versatile, but having up four, 34' tall verticals by the salt water is an excellent antenna. It is not difficult to install and requires no tower and no extensive radial system. One does need access to the location, which is not available to many people in this area. The site is also temporary, requiring a generator and setting up the station every time. If you like to get up early, go for a drive, set up by floodlights, listen to the pounding surf, see the stars reflecting off the ocean, operate in cool temperatures and a chilly breeze, this is for you! Besides enjoying an outstanding, high performance antenna system, you might feel like you are participating as an amateur radio pioneer.

The tides do not seem to make any discernable difference. We have operated during both low tide and high tide, with performance being the same, as best we can tell. The farthest the water is from the base of the cliff, under the antennas is estimated at 80-100' for low tide and within 10' at high tide. The research done for 6Y2A showed that a vertical should be within a 1/4 wavelength of the water boundary, so this is nominally within the 65-70' range. High tides "feel" better mentally and the last weekend of December had 15-20' waves, with spray higher than the cliff. Each trip, we check the antennas before operating, because salt water environments are rough on antennas.

The antenna will be up through most of the winter, long path time frame. Rain will prevent using it on a regular basis, as it takes 4 or 5 days for the road to dry out. Whenever possible, however, this 2x2 will be on the air. We have also used the site to test new 40 meter verticals, so when 75 meters is closed, we move up to 40. Now, where is that skillet and the eggs and the bacon?

The Salty Dog? Like a typical hunting dog, Tule Bear likes to chase things and also likes to climb/slide down the bank to the ocean. Not bad for 9 years old. She will look up at Mike (knowing he cannot stop her), turn around and jump into the ocean. After having a romp in the surf, she will make her way back up, shake off the salt water and take a nap in "Dad's" truck. Mike then has to give her a bath when they get home. The only part of Tule Bear that is annoying is asking us to throw the only thing around - cow chips - especially at 5AM. She will find one just the right size and drop it at our feet, expecting us to play. Apparently, Tule Bear doesn't understand the long path is open.........wait until the sun is up, dog!

If you have any questions on this information, or any Force 12, Inc. products, please contact us.

Back to Home Page