Long Beverages overrated

By Tom Rauch, W8JI

Topband Antenna mail list, 14 October, 2000

I have reservations about using multiple-wavelength-long Beverages.

First, the loss in the antenna limits the directivity increase as it is made longer. That won't hurt much, but what it does mean is you often won't get the sharp pattern you expect. The extra wire may not be worth it.

Second, I've found that with distances as small as two wavelengths or more...the signal is almost never in a stable phase relationship at both places at the same time. This means the signal will have random phase and amplitude differences and not "add" properly in the wire.

I used to think the first reason was why I was always disappointed when comparing long Beverages (over 2wl) to shorter Beverages, but after playing with antennas spread over a large area I find that a signal often has different fading times on an identical antenna just 1000 feet away on 160 meters!
Now I believe that effect is a big player in why I never saw a significant improvement with long Beverages compared to 1 wl antennas.