This is a big antenna, I only managed to use it a handful of times with a 3m kite to lift it into place as I didn’t have any trees large enough to get the height needed.
This antenna is made from a single piece of 2.5mm wire 167.4176m long. Wire 1 (Horizontal wire) is 75m long and exactly 1m above the ground for its entire length. I used plastic electric fence poles to hold it in position over such a long distance.
The two diagonal wires are 46.2088m long with the peak being 28m above ground.
The SWR plot for this antenna covers most of the DX section of the band, exactly where I wanted it.
With an SWR of less than 2:1 across the DX portion of the band this antenna is easily brought into tune with a typical internal ATU found in most base station radios these days.
If you have an SGC Autotuner or similar, you can use it in place of the 1:1 Balun to broadband this antenna. It will then be easily made resonant across the entire 160m band.
Like the 80m Delta Loop this antenna is super quiet on receive, something that is even more important on the 160m band where there’s often high levels of QRN.
Like all delta loops the max radiation is through the loop, so it’s important to keep this in mind when erecting it.
Like the other Delta Loop antennas, it’s not got huge gain however, it’s rare for any amateur radio enthusiast to have any gain whatsoever on the 160m band. This antenna gives 2.84dbi @ 24 deg, a very useable angle. There’s benefits to be had at 6 Deg too, making this antenna great for top band DXing.
Once again, the deep null in the centre of this antenna means it doesn’t work well for local contacts. There is a reasonable amount of ground wave so very local contacts are easily achievable.
Summary:
Total Wire Length: 167.4176m
Horizontal Wire Length: 75m @ 1m above ground
Diagonal Wire Lengths: 46.2088m
Wire Dia: 2.5mm
Height at Centre: 28m
Feed Type: 1:1 Balun in bottom corner (Can use coax if necessary or automatic tuner)
Impedance: 50 Ohm
SWR: <2:1