Horizontal long wire MW aerial.

[colly0410]

So far as I can make out the with the Beverage antenna the vertically polarized wave (E field) from the transmitter starts to tilt from the perpendicular as it passes over the imperfect ground, the wave tilting over produces a horizontal component in the E field, that horizontal E field is parallel with the ground as is the antenna wire and the oscillating horizontal E field causes a changing current to flow along the wire as per usual.

The far end of the antenna is terminated to ground via a resistor, the value of which matches as best as possible with the characteristic impedance of the line, that terminated end should point to the favoured direction of the transmission(s) the receiver end needs to be matched too.

In depth there's a bit more to it! but that's the basics as I understand it.

So....would Colly's horizontal short antenna have responded in a similar way...it might have done...?

EDIT: Post crossed....!

Lawrence.  

My aerial  was lined up north east - south west & was very good for receiving radio's 1 & 2 from Droitwich  in a south-west direction so suppose it could have been a beveridge type aerial, also good for radio Luxembourg & AFN from the south - east, they would have been broadside on, but as they were skywave they would have had the polarisation twisted, so good for them as well. Didn't have a resistor at the far end so would have been bi-directional.. 

[Crackle]

Change of mind, I may be able to rig a new aerial without any ladder work.
If I could throw a line over the house and back around the chimney and erect a 6m wooden mast in the garden.
Please can you advise on the best dimensions for x and y.
The earth rod will need to be clear of the concrete path at the back of the house.
Will an earth such as this be of any benefit?
I only want to use it for MW LW and occasional SW listening.

Thanks
Mike

[Murphyv310]

Hi.
I use on occasions a horizontal long wire that runs atop my fence, it's only 1.2 metres above ground level but 20 meters long. It works well enough considering my QTH suffers with a lot of QRM. It's not as good as the loop or the EWE when I had it.
The earthing rods are behind the shed.

[Mike Watterson]

A big tuned loop is better.
The 20m wire very good for SW with an aerial tuner. It needs series inductance (about 3mH more for LW) for MW, but not as much as a car radio needs.

[Murphyv310]

Hi Michael.
Nice to see you around, was beginning to think I'd said something. Only kidding.
Hope you are well.

[Crackle]

I have made a start on my new aerial, I hope I am not wasting my energy and money.
The first plan is to install a new dedicated RF earth.
I have been chiselling a channel through the 2m wide concrete path outside the back of the house, from the soft ground to the house wall, just a little bit more to finish now. I plan to lay the earth cable from the new RF earth, in the channel and then put a weak concrete mix over the top.
I am following a convenient crack which goes across the path at this point, which is making it easier, but I still have to keep stopping to rest my wrist from using the club hammer.
   

My son has also been practising his chucking, and I now have a rope around the base of chimney, I have been looking at it and feeling maybe it is too thin at 5mm, so may decide to pull a thicker rope through, say 8mm. 
   
(the kink in the gutter was caused when the neighbours perfectly good but slightly tatty looking aluminium gutter was replaced with a poorly fitted plastic gutter and they lifted my last section to meet their incorrectly installed one.)

I picked up a Global AT2000 ATU for about £5 at a boot sale last year, Has anyone had experience of these.
   
Mike

[Murphyv310]

Hi Mike.
Your 5mm rope should be ok so long as your not using heavy wire, just make sure it can't chafe on the chimney brickwork, if it can even a thicker rope will and it could break too. One other tip that comes to mind is your RF earth. If the ground is dry under the concrete it will be less efficient, you could augment it with a little watering hole or better still use a series of earth rods, I did this at the back of the shed and it makes a noticeable difference.

[pwdrive]

Don't forget to earth your earth (extraneous conductor).....?

Lawrence.

[Crackle]

Sorry Lawrence
Can you explain that, if you mean connect the earth to the house earth I was hoping to avoid that as the house earth has a load of noise on it from the mains.

Mike

[pwdrive]

That so far as I know is the dilemma, legalities of DIY water supply aside, suppose there was no water supply in your house, you bring in a supply underground in a metal pipe into the house, would you bond the metal pipe back to the MET (Main Earth Terminal) ?

Lawrence.