11th FEB 2026 80m Long Path season concluded.... or has it?

 So, I was just about to wind down the 80m three elements phased array I designed with great help of articles from G3WZT and software he has written to calculate values for phasing network, with known mutual coupling impedances of all three elements....even though I changed the design at the end to hybrid coupler system to acomplish symmetry... I was getting great  F/B and Gain to one direction but very little to another....I heard station drop of the back when "looking" west-ish, but little drop seen the other way around... measurements shown mutual coupling to other elements around, metal roof, 160m TX vertical, even though left floating, represented 1/2wl element in the air... so more and more de-tuning has to be done. And all because of small property where I keep all my antennas for TX... it really is tiny space, specially for low bands, but still, there is fun to be had...

So at the end the final array, which I might actually keep for another season, as it performed so well, is made of:

Central folded monopole/vertical loop... 50 Ohms direct feed with 40+ clip on ferrites (1:1 choke would need shortening the feed line to accomplish same phasing!). This is sitting on a ground screen covering whole garden and some extra 200 radials on top...all now covered by grass.

Rear element to the west, which is near full size 1/4wl element, with mild top loading, set to resonate on 3525kHz, with 1000pF HV CAP in series, moving the resonance to 3750kHz. With a simple relay I can switch CW / SSB. This is also sitting on the ground screen with 16 1/4wl radials just added for fun...no real change in impedance.

Front element is a funny 11m tall alu tubing with 2 x 10m top loading with hairpin at the base. Actually same goes for the rear, hairpin matches the 29ohms to 55ohms and for front element, 18ohms to 48 ohms. 

For phasing I am using modified 4SQ phasing box, for 8 directions, which allows me to select each individual relays, so I can achieve correct phasing and also have broadside / omni pattern. 

Actually for simplicity, I will be using simpler setup next season, consisting with 2 elements only, as I have tested that also by simply removing the 3rd el. out of equation and I only seen very very small change in gain, which is what I am after as I dont usually listen on TX antennas over here....mindough I was trying it and when conditions were really good I could hear everyone on TX antennna, but the SNR was pretty bad, given the close proximity of the TX array to house(s) and shack in the middle, so the local noise pickup is unfortunate....well, nothing RX antennas can't sort hi.

Even model shows nearly 2dB better gain of 3el over 2el, it is so hard to get the phasing "right on the monney" that I might go for simplicity and reliability over the complexity and just find the 2dB elsewhere...actually, might already found them hihi...

So now, I am thinking about the past season, what went wrong,  what went right, I had to balance the pros and cons (ie.losing two GU78b tubes in the process, which cost around 750EUR a pop, with taxes/postage)and finding the culprit to be a faulty changeover vacum relay (only DPDT Vacuum relay I ever saw) which had up to 100ohms resistance on both RX and TX!) and hence ultra-fast spikes on the screen grid, and eventually shorting the G1 and Cathode due to extra heat. I managed to get the3 2nd stube going again in a funny way.. after being cold, and applying heaters...within a 3-4 minutes the G1 and Cathode become a dead short. Applying a G1 voltage without protection opens the fault (burns it open) and after that tube works 100%, gets 100% power output, no flashovers, nothing...  But I have to keep it running (I mean heaters on, and fan blowing slowly) which is still cheaper to ordering yet another tube. Anyway, lesson learned and I movede to old technology and for low bands DXing I repurposed the old beast, I call "Fireplace" which uses GU81m Soviet pentodes, and four of them (yes, 4) for total anode dissipation of 2400W (which is actually less than GU78b) but efficiency, instant on capability with directly heating cathodes, virtually undestructible structure and graphite anode, and ultimate stability, with tubes wired as grid driven triodes, gives it edge over the smaller, but more fragile PA I am using daily). 

On RX antennas - I tested 9 Circle RX Array, I tested single 1200ft(330m) beverage, pair of them in end-fire(staggered) configuration, and also I tested the BSEF, broadside / endfire array, consisting of broadside array of two staggered beverages (yes, four in total) which proved to be a master of RX antennas, but unfortunatelly useless mostly, due to fact LP signals change the azimuth as the grayline moves across and anywhere from East all the way to sout-southeast...so best comproimise is end-fire array of two beverages, 120deg and 150deg, with option to select each individual or to phase them using NCC-2, software or even something simple like QRM Eliminator... 

As I am writing this, being 11th FEB 2026, I am seeing a spot for AL K7MV and Bob N7UA on 3796, but I hear a distant voice in the noise which I can not read...but then I recognize Bob's voice quite clearly in about 2 minutes. I am running to schack to engage the 4xGU81m PA (I don't like idea of running that think remotely) and after confirming all is tuned up I return to my detached schack, and when I don't hear anything, I try to call N7UA de OK2IT few times and to my surprise, Bob comes back much louder , saying he needs 5 minutes to turn something off. I wasn't even sure, the opening would last 5 minutes, as I was getting closer to sunset, but guys on the other side were moving from their sunrise, and also fast. 

Well 5 minutes later Bob's signal actually improved to lovely 45, and that is a same report I received also and I got asked to listen for another station... the hint from DX Cluster was obvious and the voice was recognizable... but it was not even on the edge, it was well over it, so I had to gie report of 23-24, as my noisefloor is around S3-S4 level, and I was not getting 100% copy... I did clearlty heard my report which wasn't great either, but 33 meant AL heard me little better than I did hear him. I guess still space to improve the RX system even more. 

So to conclude, I don't really expect to work Bob, nor anybody else on 80m over longpath until next fall, and I hope it will be again already around CQ WW SSB, for zone 3! What a nice suprise that was!

Now, the hard numbers... and I understand if you will laugh, as there are not many stations to be worked on 80m via LP (put SSB aside).

N7UA,K7MV,N6TR,WA6DON,NR6Q,N7RY,W7WA (I am missing Charles K0RF from UT whis season..he was workable over LP on CW last season).

Most frequent/regular was Bob N7UA, with signal always way above anybody else, showing that great location is the biggest advantage, with the massive array coming close 2nd most important factor, as Bob isn't just loud, he hears well. AL K7MV is improving a lot and his signal was really great at times. Mike N7RY must have good location as single vertical on his side works really well. Don WA6DON puts up good signal from CA, but was overshaddowed by Greg NR6Q who is running his new 80m 3el YAGI @ 130ft with excellent results. In the peak of the season Greg was producing S8 S9 signal into Europe. 

Dan W7WA must hae excellent location as even with simple setup he was being heard well.

And biggest surprise was Tree N6TR/7 who was solid CW Q5 copy signal most days.

So I would like to Thank you all for QSOs. Also thanks to all my friends on 80m SSB DX who help me along the way, you all know who you are.

Few pics...excuse the mess..