HAM antenna at home? (1 Viewer)

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Trunk Monkey said:
Radio Shack 25 amp off Ebay, cheap.
Click to expand...

I've used a low amp Radio Shack for misc 12 volt needs for many years. Problem is, I noticed this last weekend it's putting out 19 volts. Guess nothing lasts forever.
 
Trunk Monkey said:
Nope, still have to order an antenna. Maybe Christmas.
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I'd suggest you ask Santa for the ARRL antenna book, building antennas is fairly easy and cheap.

Teach a man to fish........;)
 
My dad made me a roll up J pole antenna. It was in one of the AARL magazine articles. I use it in the garage. I just use a push pin in the drywall to hold it in place. It works great. I can hit a repeater about 78 miles away on 5 watts. And folks sound crystal clear. I'm thinking it cost about $10 to build. It is just Coax, some wire, electrical tape and a BNC connector.
 
I'm still waiting on delivery of the ARRL Antenna book I ordered.

In the meantime, I'm curious if anyone has suggestions for a base antenna for HF. I'm interested in a wire antenna, and I have anywhere from 30-100 ft of clear 'space' on the property depending on what I use for anchoring points (trees, house, etc. . . ). The key though is that I need (want) an end-fed system b/c I don't want the feedline of a dipole dropping down the center of the clear 'space' in the yard as it would draw more attention to the antenna and would no doubt be damaged by either the kids or the lawn company in no time (I'd bet less than two weeks best case).

I think a lot of the local nets are on 80m so I'd like to start there. I'm sure 20m and 40m would also be active at some point in the future. I've considered just going with a screwdriver vertical that could also be used on a the cruiser when at a campsite on wheeling trips (I don't think a screwdriver would survive the actual wheeling part of the trip and I wouldn't want to risk it!). However, everyone tells me that the screwdriver or any other vertical will not perform as well as a wire antenna for HF base work.

Also, I'd love recommendations for a VHF/UHF base antenna that would allow for great distance. As mentioned before, I have a J-pole mounted at about 30' on my house and it does very well. But I'd like the ability to reach some of the repeaters that are further away and are seperated by the rolling hills of Missouri. I'm thinking a directional of some sort, but I'm just not knowledgeable regarding Yagis and beam antennas. I suppose to really make it useful I would also need (want) a rotor on the mast so I don't have to spend a ton of time on my roof trying to get the right direction dialed in.

So, thoughts on an end-fed wire antenna for HF and/or a directional for vhf/uhf (with our without rotor suggestions)?

ON EDIT: I should add that I will initially be using an Icom IC-7000 for a base station rig, so I've got two antenna ports (HF & 2/70). However, I'm seriously considering (not yet planning) on the Kenwood TS-2000x as a base station radio, and it has 6 antenna ports (2 for HF & 6m, 1 for 2m, 1 for 70cm, 1 for 1.2 GHz & 1 for an HF receive antenna) - so I have the option of putting up several wire antennas, but I'd still like them to be end-fed for the reasons above.
 
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Miescha said:
I'm still waiting on delivery of the ARRL Antenna book I ordered.

In the meantime, I'm curious if anyone has suggestions for a base antenna for HF. I'm interested in a wire antenna, and I have anywhere from 30-100 ft of clear 'space' on the property depending on what I use for anchoring points (trees, house, etc. . . ). The key though is that I need (want) an end-fed system b/c I don't want the feedline of a dipole dropping down the center of the clear 'space' in the yard as it would draw more attention to the antenna and would no doubt be damaged by either the kids or the lawn company in no time (I'd bet less than two weeks best case).

I think a lot of the local nets are on 80m so I'd like to start there. I'm sure 20m and 40m would also be active at some point in the future. I've considered just going with a screwdriver vertical that could also be used on a the cruiser when at a campsite on wheeling trips (I don't think a screwdriver would survive the actual wheeling part of the trip and I wouldn't want to risk it!). However, everyone tells me that the screwdriver or any other vertical will not perform as well as a wire antenna for HF base work.

Also, I'd love recommendations for a VHF/UHF base antenna that would allow for great distance. As mentioned before, I have a J-pole mounted at about 30' on my house and it does very well. But I'd like the ability to reach some of the repeaters that are further away and are seperated by the rolling hills of Missouri. I'm thinking a directional of some sort, but I'm just not knowledgeable regarding Yagis and beam antennas. I suppose to really make it useful I would also need (want) a rotor on the mast so I don't have to spend a ton of time on my roof trying to get the right direction dialed in.

So, thoughts on an end-fed wire antenna for HF and/or a directional for vhf/uhf (with our without rotor suggestions)?

ON EDIT: I should add that I will initially be using an Icom IC-7000 for a base station rig, so I've got two antenna ports (HF & 2/70). However, I'm seriously considering (not yet planning) on the Kenwood TS-2000x as a base station radio, and it has 6 antenna ports (2 for HF & 6m, 1 for 2m, 1 for 70cm, 1 for 1.2 GHz & 1 for an HF receive antenna) - so I have the option of putting up several wire antennas, but I'd still like them to be end-fed for the reasons above.
Click to expand...
Do a web search on Random wire and Beverage antennas.
 
rusty_tlc said:
Do a web search on Random wire and Beverage antennas.
Click to expand...

Looks very interesting - thanks Dan!

Do all end-fed antennas require direct connection to the tuner (no feed line)? Not a big deal I guess, just another factor in planning.

I can't wait for the dang antenna book to get here (I also ordered the extra class study guide since it was brand spanking new and I'll likely need several years to pass the test :)).
 
Installed an Arrow 3 element antenna yesterday. Just have it on a 7' piece of PVC zip tied to a fence post, coax coming through our fresh air intake for our furnace and over to my computer desk in the basement. I've got to say, I am very impressed with it. Mostly it's just compared to what I had been using (mag mount antenna sitting in the window sill). For $40 plus the cable and connectors, it's great.
 
I have built all manner of jpoles, slim jims and ladder line jpoles. All of them worked great but had long term reliability issues. I currently use a Diamond X50 mounted to the chimney. Excellent antenna and not to large and very durable. I live in Wisconsin so weather plays a big factor.
 
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