| Author |
Message |
    
Musky
| | Posted on Saturday, September 13, 2003 - 8:33 am: | 
|
I am looking for some info on stacking a pair of PDL II's. I cannot locate a stacking kit. Does anyone know where to get one or if they are worth the trouble? Ever see any in action? Just wondered how much better they would work paired up, db gain, rejection, etc. How far apart, how high, etc. Any info would be greatly appreciated! |
Bullet
| | Posted on Saturday, September 13, 2003 - 11:27 pm: |
|
maco makes stacking kits but if you really want to try to get most of the 3 db gain from stacking with quads you will want to go out wider than these kits. out to 24-36ft if its possible for you to do this. |
Bruce
| | Posted on Saturday, September 13, 2003 - 11:29 pm: |
|
musky
Gain you will get 3 db about 1/2 S unit |
Taz
| | Posted on Saturday, September 13, 2003 - 11:43 pm: |
|
Yeah, maybe only 3db, but the receive is whats really affected! |
Bruce
| | Posted on Sunday, September 14, 2003 - 2:24 am: |
|
TAZ the GOZINTA = GOZOUTA if you gain 3 db transmitt you will gain 3 db receive. Now to GET 3 db there will be a decrease in foward lobe width and frount to side will go up but in the frount lobe you will see 3 db. |
Taz
| | Posted on Sunday, September 14, 2003 - 9:21 am: |
|
Receive makes a big difference. If I could gain 3db I would be happy. |
DE
| | Posted on Sunday, September 14, 2003 - 10:44 am: |
|
I agree with Bruce...
If by adding on elements to an antenna you increase the gain but also require an ever increasing and complicated support structure and size. You will reach a point where the complexity does not justify the results. |
Highlander
| | Posted on Sunday, September 14, 2003 - 5:21 pm: |
|
I think a four element quad would be simpler. |
Musky
| | Posted on Sunday, September 14, 2003 - 7:35 pm: |
|
Hmmm.........I was hoping that it would be a good and fairly simple project, as I can still get the original PDL's. I guess the coax/phasing/matching them could be an issue as well. I have a PDL on the way and kinda looks like it will have to do for now. I guess a Moonraker 4 is a much simpler task and will hopefully uprade to them someday. I also heard that a 22' boom might be needed to join the PDL's, and that is a bit much for my location. Would look pretty imposing though! |
Bigbob
| | Posted on Sunday, September 14, 2003 - 10:00 pm: |
|
Imposing?Try stacked Super Lazer 500's now that's imposing!But where I live just putting up a white lightning will raise the neighbors eire. |
Scrapiron63
| | Posted on Monday, September 15, 2003 - 8:08 pm: |
|
I knew several guys that ran stacked PDL's back in the CB days of the 1970s and 1980s. They really worked good, the front and back rejection seemed like it was several times that of a single PDL. Like Bullet said, the wider apart the better. The closer beams are stacked, the more they act like one beam, the idea is to get them to work like two beams, that's how you get more gain. These guys made their stacking kits, one of them also built a crank up tower for his. During the storm season he would crank them down as low as possible, which was about 36 feet, and they still worked good at that height. I bought this setup several years later, but sold the beams and tower and later gave the stacking kit to a friend. He used it to stack PDL 4's. I'll have to check with him, but I believe this kit was 22 to 24 feet. The matching harness is no problem. You need some 18 ft lengths of good 75 ohm coax to connect the beams to your 50 ohm coax that comes inside. You can put it together with T connectors. They do look very impressive, to me anyway, and because of the compact size and light weight of the PDL's, they stand up straight and level, especially on these heavy duty homemade kits. But heck I think any of the stacked beams are pretty, like the old Hygain and Mosely 3 element verticals, now there's real beauty, lol, and don't even mention stacked 5's, I can't stand it. haha. The downside to these large antennas is keeping them up there, and everything needs to be heavy duty, tower, mast, rotor, everything. Been there and done that, thats why I run a 3 element maco. scrapiron |
Musky
| | Posted on Monday, September 15, 2003 - 9:57 pm: |
|
Thanks for all of the responses! I decided that where I live, I should not test mother nature too much. I live on Lake Erie and we get some very bad storms/wind/snow/ice.......you name it. I ordered a set of Moonraker 4's today! I also have a set of PDL's previously ordered on the way! Guess it wouldn't hurt to have an extra set of discontinued beams for a backup. I also guess I cannot go wrong with the 4's and would be alot less fuss for me at this time, but maybe down the road I will stack em' if I ever get to move away from this somewhat brutal climate. |
Bigbob
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 16, 2003 - 8:03 pm: |
|
Hey Scrap,I saw a cartoon in a ham mag. 10 yrs. ago,a guy had a 350 v-8 geared down to turn his array,lol. |
Scrapiron63
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 16, 2003 - 10:46 pm: |
|
That V-8 should turn that baby. Years ago I knew a guy that had a crank thur the wall of his radio room, he had it rigged so he could turn his beam by hand, just cranked it around till he got the best signal.lol, worked pretty good. |
Highlander
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 17, 2003 - 6:27 pm: |
|
Hey Musky, share your source for PDL-II's with me?
dnpaul@shout.net |
|
