ILA vs. Conventional Antenna Test
by Jake....NØLX  12-14-2002

Conventional Antenna- copper tubing 12' 2" x 3/4" i.d.
                       vertical
                       ground system- 8: 12' 10" wires
                       resonant- 18.140 MHz @1.4 swr
                       feed line- 50' RG-8X no tuner used
                      
Ionic Liquid Antenna- PVC tubing 12' 2" x 3/4" i.d. (thin wall - not sch.40)
                      vertical
                      probe- stainless steel 2 1/2" x 1/4" bolt
                      ionic liquid- NaCl+H2O/ 1180 sg
                      natural resonance- 17.900MHz @2.9 swr
                      ground system- 8: 12' 10" wires
                      feed line- 56' RG-8X
                      tuner- MFJ 941E  (1.0 swr)

Spacing between antennas- 60 feet
Rig- Icom 706 MKIIG
Power- 25 watts throughout testing
Location- Golden, Colorado
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QSO#  Call    Time    A- Convent.     B- ILA
                                   me/him             me/him
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1.   KDØYZ   1840    58/57                53/57
                                    58/59                55/57
 2.   N8RZU    1914   48/56                36/55
                                    59/56                57/55
 3.   N6QYS    1920   58/55                54/53
                                    58/54                55/51
 4.   W7EC      1925  58/57                52/55
 5.   K6REE    1930   57/59                55/58
 6.   NØGWN  1935   57/56                55/55
 7.   KW6LA   2013   57/58                56/57
                                    57/57                55/56
 8.   KR8L       2021   57/53                51/51
 9.   W3FF      2025   59/58                57/57
10.  N5JI         2040   56/56                55/55
11.  KL7XL    2043    57/57                53/53
12.  N7AVH    2047   57/58                50/56
13.  VE6MID  2112   54/54                54/53
14.  W8EGB  2124    58/59                57/59
15.  KC4VG   2150   57/58                56/56
16.  W5SAN  2155   59/59                57/58
17.  W6FLU   2159   58/57                57/56
18.  K5KZ      2230    55/56                51/55
                                    56/58                54/56
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END OF TEST
Results:

Signal strengths (in S-units) on TRANSMIT were:
copper=7.3 avg      ILA=4.6avg
A difference of 2.7 S-units for a -16.2dB loss on the ILA

Signal strengths (in S-units) on RECEIVE were:
copper=6.8avg       ILA=5.4avg
A difference of 1.4 S-units for a -8.4dB loss on the ILA

Noise levels   copper= S-3   ILA= S-0  for a 18dB improvement on the ILA
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Notes:
*I was able to obtain two different reports from some contacts
*Fifty feet of coax would not tune ILA below 2.0:1 SWR. Added six feet.
*ILA  natural resonant frequency changed when checked through tuner but set to bypass ~19.5 MHz
*A-B switch used for instant switching between antennas to eliminate ionospheric variations
*Subsequent tests have shown that a 1" diameter ILA is the minimum optimal size
*Portions of test witnessed by Bruce, KGØSH