144/440 SSB antenna

[jazzboypro]

Hello all,

I would like to get my feet wet on 144/440 SSB. I don't have an antenna for this yet. I understand that a Yagi is in order for this. I have seen quite a few on the internet but don't really know which one to pick.

I would like an antenna that has a manageable boom length (let say no more than 6-7 feet) At the moment a rotator is not something i want (i will mage to rotate the antenna manually to try and find a sweet spot) Since i don't know that to expect in terms of activity i don't want to spend a fortune but i want something decent.

I would feed the antenna with LMR400 (Or better ?). The antenna will be connected to my 9700 and i will need a switch because the 9700 is already connected to a GP-3 for FM repeater work and D-Star.

Any suggestion on an Antenna and a switch ?

Many thanks
73 De VA2FCS

 

[RU55]

You might consider building your own antenna. It is inexpensive. You can build several for the price of one commercial antenna.

Build your own cheap VHF & UHF Yagi antennas

cheap-yagi.pdf

 

[jwt873]

I used a Cushcraft A440-11S for SSB for quite a while.

A449-11S, 440-450MHz, YAGI, 11 ELE, 350W

A449-6S/A449-11S 440 MHz Beams Use one of these 440 MHz beams for your FM/Packet needs. Both work great for vertical or horizontal polarization. Product Manuals Download Product Manual

mfjenterprises.com

The antenna is described as a 440-450 MHz antenna, but it tunes and works great down at 432. It's only 4.2 feet long. It's easy to turn with a small antenna rotor. I used it to talk simplex SSB reliably up to 80 miles and over 200 miles using digital. (Make sure you mount it horizontal for SSB)

I've since replaced it with a 21 element M2 antenna that's 14.6 feet long.

I've never used a small 2 Meter Yagi.. My favorite is the Cushcraft 13B2.. 15 feet long with 13 elements. Using digital modes (FT8 and MSK144) I've managed to log and confirm 16 US states and three Canadian provinces.

 

[prcguy]

You can get on 2m or 432 SSB just fine with a vertical and I've found more people running vertical than horizontal. It also depends on how wet you want to get. There are some dual band Yagi's with 3 elements on VHF and 5 elements on UHF that would have similar gain to something like a Comet GP9 but in horizontal pol. I ran an M2 2M5WL Yagi for awhile which is 33ft long with 16.84dBi gain and it hung over my neighbors property when pointing some directons. It did some amazing things like I could talk right over a 5,700ft mountain range to a guy with a similar antenna and we had lots of signal running less than 100mw at each end.

I also found in every case I could not talk an inch further in SSB mode than in FM mode. There should be a good 6dB or so advantage using SSB just in the noise floor reduction from using much less BW but in every long distance SSB contact I had even right at the noise floor I would ask the other party to go FM briefly and they were shocked we could still communicate and in some cases FM sounded better, even at 200+ miles. There can be a slightly lower noise floor using a horizontal antenna and it depends on location.

 

[k9wkj]

a simple Halo will get your feet quite wet
I have been using one of these off and on https://wt4eantennas.com/
worked both CO and Fl from here in WI on FT8 during the June contest
as well as around 300 miles FT8 on UHF
this little antenna lets me get it up much higher for both bands

 

[jwt873]

Never thought of a halo.. I know a fellow runs VHF/UHF halos on his car. Definitely good way to begin. M2 makes them as well, although they're a bit more expensive.

70CM HO LOOP, 430-436 MHz

M2 Antenna Systems, Inc. is a blend of technical expertise and common sense approach to accommodating your needs. We have over 32 years of experience designing and building antennas and systems to satisfy the ever expending communications needs.

www.m2inc.com

2M HO LOOP, 144-144.5 MHz

M2 Antenna Systems, Inc. is a blend of technical expertise and common sense approach to accommodating your needs. We have over 32 years of experience designing and building antennas and systems to satisfy the ever expending communications needs.

www.m2inc.com

And speaking of VHF SSB.. The Persied meteors are active right now. I -just- worked Iowa this morning on 144.150 MHz using MSK144 meteor scatter. (635 miles).

 

[W8HDU]

I work 2m SSB/CW. At home I have a pair of HyGain VB-28FM antennas (H-pol), and in the truck just the whip. (Looking to build a halo this winter). Watch sites like DX Tropo and when see enhancement line up with your QTH, then get on and start checking around. I've also done 6m SSB/CW, but on the road I tend to hang out on 52.52 FM Simplex

 

[prcguy]

When I had a pair of stacked loops up I had a better signal to most horizontal stations just using my Comet GP9 vertical. If you haven't tried VHF/UHF SSB at all yet just give it a try with your existing antenna, you might be surprised.

Never thought of a halo.. I know a fellow runs VHF/UHF halos on his car. Definitely good way to begin. M2 makes them as well, although they're a bit more expensive.

70CM HO LOOP, 430-436 MHz

M2 Antenna Systems, Inc. is a blend of technical expertise and common sense approach to accommodating your needs. We have over 32 years of experience designing and building antennas and systems to satisfy the ever expending communications needs.

www.m2inc.com

2M HO LOOP, 144-144.5 MHz

M2 Antenna Systems, Inc. is a blend of technical expertise and common sense approach to accommodating your needs. We have over 32 years of experience designing and building antennas and systems to satisfy the ever expending communications needs.

www.m2inc.com

And speaking of VHF SSB.. The Persied meteors are active right now. I -just- worked Iowa this morning on 144.150 MHz using MSK144 meteor scatter. (635 miles).

 

[vagrant]

I also recommend you use what you have with the vertical and see how much activity is in your area first. That means calling as well as listening and I expect there will be more to catch on 144.200 than UHF, so park it there and see what's what.

I have the M2 6m/2m/70cm horizontal loops and they work for the SSB call freqs, but I typically use them when I am around 6000' ASL in the Sierra Nevada's. It is hard to beat a 6000' antenna tower. I use them when I am lazy and because they provide omni coverage and easy to set up. When I'm camping for a few days I will typically use a five element 6m Yagi and a 2m/70cm Elk log periodic on top of that.

 

[jazzboypro]

Lots of interesting suggestions here. So far i seem to be doing better with the 8600 connected to my discone than with the GP-3 connected to my 9700. I have not heard much so far.

 

[Lauri-CoyoteFrostbite]

.

I am not sure where you are located Jazz, how much activity is near by or are you after DX - is your closest stations a long way off ?
If its a modest range I endorse the 'Halo-Squalo' antennas.

During a recent trip to the summit of Pikes Peak (Colorado--14,115' elevation) we use a Gabil 1.25 metre/ 70cm "Square Halo" and talked all over the Free World on 1.25.
Granted, the altitude played a big part in this deal.



_____________________________________________________________

Later, impressed enuff with the Gabil antenna I bought one for 2 metre's/ 70 cm. On a subsequent mountain-topping, this time from the top of Mount Massive (Colorado, 14, 429') using an (old) Icom 202, a Mirage amplifier and this antenna --we kept a SSB sked with a friend near White Rock (Los Alamos,) New Mexico, ~280 miles.
Given-- our contact down in NM had a big beam array and QRO, but this was not bad for my simple "squalo" antenna..... and one that could be back-packed..... great for SOTA.

We briefly tried it with a handheld on 70 cm, --446.0 MHz ---with more local results (after co-ordinating on .52 FM)---
------------"full quieting" at 40 miles.--------------

GRA-YG1443 ***

What I like about these Gabil antennas is how sturdy they are, how easy they assemble, and how they achieve a very low SWR requiring no tuning.

................and No, I get no kickbacks from this testimonial


Lauri




_________________________________________________________________

***Amazon


.

 

[jazzboypro]

.

I am not sure where you are located Jazz, how much activity is near by or are you after DX - is your closest stations a long way off ?
If its a modest range I endorse the 'Halo-Squalo' antennas.

During a recent trip to the summit of Pikes Peak (Colorado--14,115' elevation) we use a Gabil 1.25 metre/ 70cm "Square Halo" and talked all over the Free World on 1.25.
Granted, the altitude played a big part in this deal.

View attachment 125893

_____________________________________________________________

Later, impressed enuff with the Gabil antenna I bought one for 2 metre's/ 70 cm. On a subsequent mountain-topping, this time from the top of Mount Massive (Colorado, 14, 429') using an (old) Icom 202, a Mirage amplifier and this antenna --we kept a SSB sked with a friend near White Rock (Los Alamos,) New Mexico, ~280 miles.
Given-- our contact down in NM had a big beam array and QRO, but this was not bad for my simple "squalo" antenna..... and one that could be back-packed..... great for SOTA.

We briefly tried it with a handheld on 70 cm, --446.0 MHz ---with more local results (after co-ordinating on .52 FM)---
------------"full quieting" at 40 miles.--------------

GRA-YG1443 ***

What I like about these Gabil antennas is how sturdy they are, how easy they assemble, and how they achieve a very low SWR requiring no tuning.

................and No, I get no kickbacks from this testimonial


Lauri

View attachment 125892


_________________________________________________________________

***Amazon


.

Hello Lauri it's always interesting to hear about your experiences, i have read quite a few of your posts. I am located roughly 17 miles north of Montreal in the province of Quebec. At this point i am not looking to contact any particular station, i don't really know what to expect i'm just starting to experiment on 2 meter SSB. I've sent an email to the club members to find out what activity is going on in my area. So far i'm not getting good results with the equipment that i have...I think some patience is in order here...

I have received good suggestions on antennas bout it's a bit difficult to spend the money on a good antenna without knowing if the results will be there.

As someone suggested, maybe i should build my own antenna and see if it's better than my vertical. At any rate, i will be monitoring for some time with what i have. It's summer over here and a lot of people are on vacation so activity is pretty calm around here at the moment.

In the mean time, i'm having fun

 

[k9wkj]

do get setup for FT8 as sad as it is, FT8 is about all the activity there is anymore
can always tell if the band is behaving

 

[jazzboypro]

do get setup for FT8 as sad as it is, FT8 is about all the activity there is anymore
can always tell if the band is behaving

Good idea, i'm not a fan of these kind of modes but it could certainly provide some valuable info.

 

[k9wkj]

Good idea, i'm not a fan of these kind of modes but it could certainly provide some valuable info.

if more folks would embrace JS8CALL we can get the best of both worlds and more!

 

[prcguy]

In my area we have chit-chat going on most every day on 2m SSB voice and at least three evening nets during the week. I can't recall seeing activity in the FT8 or other data region. Maybe its there when I'm not looking.

do get setup for FT8 as sad as it is, FT8 is about all the activity there is anymore
can always tell if the band is behaving

 

[k9wkj]

In my area we have chit-chat going on most every day on 2m SSB voice and at least three evening nets during the week. I can't recall seeing activity in the FT8 or other data region. Maybe its there when I'm not looking.

lucky you!
I can scare up a few FT8 contacts most days
and with the meteor shower there was a flurry of MSK144 going on (see that every morning)
we had a informal ssb net after our Monday night net on the repeaters, but that has faded away
the lack of affordable allmode radios has really driven a stake thru the heart of weak signal fun

 

[jwt873]

In my area we have chit-chat going on most every day on 2m SSB voice and at least three evening nets during the week. I can't recall seeing activity in the FT8 or other data region. Maybe its there when I'm not looking.

By agreement, 2m FT8 takes place on 144.174. You can check activity by going to Display Reception Reports

The FT8 software that people use reports their activity to this site over the internet. PSKreporter takes the info and puts pins wherever a station has heard someone's transmission or someone else has heard their transmissions. You'll see the most activity during the day.

Fill in the top area as follows:

On [2m] show [signals] [sent/received by] [anyone] using [FT8] over the last [1 hour]

You'll see all the FT8 activity in the world. Just about all the activity takes place during the day. (The screen cap below was taken just before I posted this message): It shows the FT8 activity in the US over the last 1/2 hr.

 

[jwt873]

By coincidence. While I was reading the forum I was doing some weak signal work at the same time. I *just* had an SSB contact with N0PB in Missouri on 432.120 MHz from Canada on SSB - 781 Miles.

 

[k9wkj]

I *just* had an SSB contact with N0PB

I worked him today as well