I do realize that my experiences with them are different than what lots of users experience. ..ie from my experiences they work lots better than what some others have experienced and are more directive than what some others have experienced.
I also realize that I am risking being burned at the stake for sacrilege for some of what I will say in various replies about BOGs over the next couple of days...but I'll risk it.
First of all, what concerns me about Jim's test is that when he put his hand on his rx, signal levels jumped greatly. I have been using BOGs mostly DXing out of a car or a truck and have never experienced that. My BOGs pass under the truck door and then go to the quantum phaser on the passenger's seat. If I am using the R8A or B I put the phaser on top of the rx on that seat. If the BOGs enter from the driver's side they pass under my legs. In a few minutes I will end this post and head out to DX and I am using the E-1 today as it is easy to use and I just put it in my lap and prop it up against the steering wheel. Once again..I experience no signal changes due to holding the rx. Perhaps there's something different about Jim's rx..one which I am not familiar with. Jim may want to ground his rx to his car chassis although when I tried that with the R8A it didn't matter.
Jim was DXing in a park It is not practical to put in ground rods in a public park nor are transformers necessary for this sort of quicky DXped. I've compared transformers to direct hook up here and directivity is the same. I did get just a bit more signal..from the transformer..but the dB or two gain due VSWR improvement from transforming about 250 ohms to 50 isn't going to get you any better domestic DX at night.
As for Jim noticing those DFW stations of the side of the antenna I cannot say why, but it would useful to compare to a BOG aimed south right at DFW from OKC. I will say that skip can start early and especially on the high end..ie his 1600 Asian format.. from DFW.
Phasing two that are parallel and of different lengths so that you don't phase cancel everything turns even short BOGs into a world class antenna system. Right now I have about 325 ft // 195 ft aimed about 320 degrees. I did a quick test at 5:15 which is two hours prior to Fargo sunset. I phase nulled Chicago 1200 but there was no KFNW yet. However, and without retweaking the phaser when I tuned up to 1660 Fargo was dominant and with no tweak of phase or amplitude. Reducing the phasing or switching to a single wire had Fargo lost into a clearly stronger mix of the Palatine TIS and the Michigan stn on 1660. Phased BOGs work MUCH MUCH better than a single one here in the RF jungle that is the mdwest. The back end null tends to be nice and remains good over at least a +/- 45 degree angle from he direct back end.
I'll close by stating that my experiences are with BOGs on nicely cut grass...ie cut like a lawn or a football field or across dirt or much up my driveways..ie ON THE GROUND..rather than across foot high grasses and undergrowth in forests etc.
At these lengths, directivity is greater on the high end.73 KAZ Barrington IL..but it will soon seem like I am DXing in MN on that direction Phased BOG System
----- Original Message ----- From: "Nick Hall-Patch" <nhp@xxxxxxxx> To: "Mailing list for the International Radio Club of America" <irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, September 27, 2009 12:52 PMSubject: Re: [IRCA] BOG (Beverage On the Ground) test today: mixed results (w/log)
At 05:03 9/27/2009, you wrote:I tried out a BOG (Beverage On the Ground) on the MW BCB band for the first time today. Here are some of the details and results. The nuts and bolts: I used my Yaesu FT-897D, and a 500' spool of stranded 14 gauge green ground wire purchased (for $25) from Lowe's. I simply stripped the insulation from about an inch of one end of the wire, folded the stripped section in half, and inserted it into the center conductor hole in the SO-239.Hi Jim,I suspect your BOG signal strengths and perhaps directivity might have benefited from using a matching transformer and perhaps a separate ground for the antenna from the receiver ground.There are a number of references available, for example:http://www.seed-solutions.com/gregordy/Amateur%20Radio/Experimentation/Beverage.htm (look at the "Basic Beverage Antenna" schematic as it shows the concept of using a separate ground; termination is optional)http://www.isp.ca/ve3nh/rxant.htm (although I wonder about the -61 material recommended here)http://n1eu.com/topband/BeverageXfmrs.htmand the detailed information on building them at http://www.dxing.info/equipment/Commercial versions are available also, usually at premium prices.You didn't seem to have noise problems at that site, which a transformer and separate ground would be most useful in mitigating, but it would be interesting to see whether signal strengths and directivity also improve.best wishes, Nick ***************************** Nick Hall-Patch Victoria, BC Canada
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