Another new Beverage Antenna

Dave Mueller

Yesterday I finally got the chance to install a 6th Beverage receive antenna. The new one is pointed at 160 degrees – about the line separating zones 30 and 32. The new antenna should help not only with VK/ZL, but also Europe long path on 40 and perhaps even 80m. This had to be a short one, about 450ft long, because the housing area and fence meant that I would have to place the feed point deep into the jungle – the deeper I go, the more coax loss countering the performance gain of a longer antenna. I ended up using about 500ft of RG6 to reach the feed point from the remote coax switch that is already 400ft from the shack.

Last night the antenna seemed deaf. While laying in bed – the light bulb went on in my head – I was a doofus and had forgotten to splice the two pieces of wire I used to make up the antenna. Essentially I had been listening on an unterminated, 75ft long Beverage. After I fixed it this morning, the new antenna seems to be hearing normally now.

Here’s the splice point I had forgotten yesterday. A terminated 450ft long antenna hears better than an unterminated 75ft long one!
Yes – the beverage transformer is housed in a Tic Tac box. It’s all I had at the moment, and I only care to keep the transformer somewhat dry and protected from the rain.
Yes – the beverage transformer is housed in a Tic Tac box. It’s all I had at the moment, and I only care to keep the transformer somewhat dry and protected from the rain.
The new wire passes through an area used as a late WW2/immediate post-war dump. These are beer and liquor bottles dated 1945-1947. The Beverage passes through a field of Beverage containers – good luck?

Today, when I finished the splice, I had to clear off a tree that had fallen on my old North American Beverage. The insulators I use allow the wire to slide through them – so tree falls like this normally do not break the wire and allow the antenna to still function.

Nice day in the jungle – sunny and not too damp today
This tree fell when it became overgrown with vines.

While walking the 045 Beverage, I crossed some cigarette butts under the antenna. I had heard a couple gun shots last weekend – pig hunters – but didn’t realize that had been in the vicinity of my wires. Either they did not see them (the #18 cu clad wire is almost invisible) or they are respecting them. Copper theft is very prevalent on Guam but most hunters I’ve seen in the area are responsible people and I let them know what the antennas are for (and that the cu clad wire is almost worthless as scrap). The fact that there are hunters in the area are why I do antenna work mid day, when the hunters are not active (pigs are active in morning and evening) and why I wear colorful clothing and make a lot of noise. I don’t want to be mistaken for a pig or deer!