End to front looking down the beam through
the triple reflector.
The mast is just forward of the radiator in the foreground.
Big Bertha was a modified Cushcraft 17B2, vertically polarized top suspension antenna. There were 4 added elements for a total of 20 and a boom length of approximately 33 feet. Theoretical gain was 19 db. Rotator = armstrong type with the mast offset to just 6 feet from the working end of the antenna (27 ft. overhang!). Thus the name Big Bertha. Rotation was easy and fast. Just grab a stick (the tiller) at the end of the beam and swing it. (See below.)
Yours Truly at the rotator end
holding the "tiller"
Big Bertha was used successfully from the deck of the house (approx 15 ft above ground level) to work over 100 miles with one watt on FM.