[BC] Slant wire feeds vs series fed

[JYRussell@academicplanet.com]

KGVL still has a 24/7 slant wire with 1kw.  Tower is 184'.
Yes, there is a SLIGHT egg shape to the pattern, but, contrary
to what some GM's might think, it's really not enough (in our case)
to think you can pull up the ATU and suddenly swing the cverage around
to pick up listeners in otherwise lost areas!
(*i think* 1kwatts.com, or such, has a decent topo & coverage map)
(the standard dot-circle maps are only approx, and come out round.)

   In fact, close-in, inside the stronger contours, it wouldn't make
any difference at all to move our ATU.   Only out around the .half Mv area.
figure the inner contour as a nice neat circle, and the outer as a bit egg 
shaped.
If you're going to sell to the stregth of your signal, on a station tht has 
been
grandfathered in to comply (as far as the 24/7 slant at 1kw...) why risk 
losing that
by filing the 302 to move the ATU?? Especially when you are *maybe*
going to pick up some coverage in areas that would still be ! marginal !...
somebody even once suggested that our arrangement, figuring the radial
system, slant, conductivity, tower height, etc. all figured up to *possibly*
come out to an ERP that is slightly higher than 1K ( the license still specs
TPO and base current.)

  Oh, yeah, that's right... the GM's buddy said we didn't have to do all 
that.
Said nobody would ever know.  Just swing the ATU around until
you hit the city you want - which in our case is 40 miles away
inside a high urbanized area with a ton of industrial electrical service to
the factories!
Geesh.  Took a bit of arguing, but finally I won out.
|-< I wouldn't do it, so it still sitting there, with a decent coverage
and it's a legally functioning piece of history. (circa 1947)

   the only trade that I would think was fair would *maybe* be
to scrap the slant-wire and go to the folded or skirted arrangement
to pick up a more wideband antenna.  But if you ain't going to
use it, again, WHY spend the money for the work and material, giving
up what you've got, without a solid gameplan WHY?

Jason

> There is a SLIGHT directional effect where the feed wire field tends
> to cancel the tower field however if the feed wire is close in (which
> force a higher attachment point) I think that should be very minimal,
> almost non-existent. The real problem, as I understand it, is there is
> no programming in the FCC computer for a slant wire feed because those
> programs predate the NEC. Thus, the FCC is unable to predict the
> high angle radiation of a slant wire at night. That, however, did not
> stop them from authorizing PSSA's and low power night service to Class
> III's back in the days of the show cause orders. So, there are quite
> a few of them in service at night, although none with more than about
> 240 watts, and most with far less.
>
>