I got cables made for the test, and got two antennas tested in my garden. Fortunately the weather kept dry for the tests.
Test setup :
Signal generator,
Test antennas, mounted on a 3m mast :
- 10m half wave vertical
- 6m half wave vertical
3 RX antennas .
- The R6000 on a 3m mast antenna in the other end of the garden
- The V-2000 antenna a bit closer, but at 6m
- The 4m half wave, not far from the R6000, also at about 6m
I had intended to use a R7100 RX, but the s-meter had far too much drift, probably due to heat, so that was discarded, I was then using my IC-7100 and IC-7300 in the shack, with a combination of the aforementioned antennas. Much more stable S-meter readings.
The paint is purchased from a military surplus shop, and is spray paint. One can could cover the two antennas.
No significant difference could be detected in the signal levels on either 10m or 6m. The paint had been approved by me for reducing the visibility of aluminium antennas for HF, 6 and 4m. More paint has been ordered.
When I get my R-6000 antenna for 6 - 20m painted, I will make some pictures of the visibility before/after the paint job. This time it is not just a test, so it should be more thorough and even ;) .
Why do I paint my antennas ?
Well, I like to have as extensive an antenna system as possible, but a "normal" system of that sort would be extremely visible to neighbours. A lot of my antennas for HF, 6m and 4m have trees as background (not the sky), so all shiny objects, like aluminium antennas become all too obvious, especially in bright (and low angle) sunlight.
The paint tested is "NATO Green", and I have also some brown and matte black paint that I intend to use sparingly, probably making some lighter and darker spots on the antennas, improving the camouflage effect.
