Fixed Station Dual Band Antenna Advice

[mpd709]

First, I'd like to say hello to all in the forum as this is my first post. I have really enjoyed reading the threads and learning all about radio. What an awesome website.

I am new to fixed station antennas and need some help please. I am wanting to install a antenna for dual band 2m and 440 with a height between 35' and 50'. I've looked at 1 and 1.5 in. conduit at Home Depot and Lowes and searched the web for masts and poles. I would like to make the purchase local to avoid freight costs. I don't want to spend a lot of money and don't want to use guy wires. It would be mounted on the edge of the house from the ground or mounted from the edge of the peak. I'm not interested in any roof mounts such as tripods, etc. I don't want to upset my neighbors too bad. Any advice would be very appreciated.

I also wanted the advice of you experts on which antenna might be best. I have been comparing the Cushcraft AR270B, Diamond's New X300A, and Comet GP-6, which are all pretty close in similarity and height, as far as advertisements go. I would like to try and reach repeaters 100+ miles away in northern Missouri. I plan on using a low loss cable such as LMR400, etc. for about a 75' to 100' run. Any opinions are welcome here and thank you!

 

[RISC777]

I would vote for the "edge of the house from the ground" for that kind of height. (Easier to ground, too.) The height you speak of only mounted to the house (soffit/fascia) and not using the roof, that's a lot of weight.

I've been looking at the hardware store also and am thinking going with the heavier screw together conduit versus using couplers. You know the weather local to you, but for me I definitely will have to guy this one just like my other.

 

[KC4ZEX]

My suggestion would be to use at least 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 inch pipe, and mount it from the ground up at the highest point of the roof. And if you are not guying it i wouldn't go more than 9 ft above roof, or you will have wind problems. All the antenna's you mention are good but 100 miles is a pretty good stretch. You can probably expect 70 or a little better. You may have to go with a high gain beam to get 100 miles or better.

 

[Hoofy]

I didn't check out the stats on the antennas you listed but I would choose the one that claims the highest gain. The 100 miles to a repeater is going to be a real stretch with any of the listed antennas depending on the terrain. The suggested beam may be the only way to get in to them.

For your installation, I agree that pipe or conduit will work fine as long as you attach to the house as high up as you can and don't go above the support more than suggested. Commercial antenna masts will be more rigid and resist flexing more and could be used for the last section that the antenna fastens too. Good luck.

Hoofy

 

[ReceiverBeaver]

Beavers recomment the Hustler G6 Series base antennas. Very heavy duty and commercial grade. Many sold commercially as such yet they are made and marketed for hams. Over a dozen varieties made for differing frequencies. 6 db gain and the main awesome feature is that they're especially broadbanded. Will cover the ENTIRE mentioned ham bands with a 1:1 flat SWR accross.

I use the G6 144B for 2 meter only and the thing has a 7 mhz bandwidth. Goes from 142.5~149.5 strait through with no SWR. Incredible!

The dual band version is the G6 270R They are $170 at Ham Radio Outlet but shipping will be FREE. HRO ships free all orders over $100

Don't gripe about the price. You get what you pay for. There's no such thing as great AND cheap.

An awesome mast pipe is ALUMINUM conduit. Strong but lightweight. Comes in 10' sticks. Available at electrical supply houses. Save time and call around on the phone to find it. Standard antenna-connection mast is 1 1/4 inch.

Good luck, have fun

 

[Skypilot007]

I found some galvinized steel fence poles work well for antenna mast. They are very rigid and the poles I found are 17ft long. I've had one straped to my chimney for a long time with a 24ft antenna on top of it.. It hardly moves in the wind at all. No guys.

 

[Tweekerbob]

Here is a quick and dirty Line of Sight calculator which does take into account the curvature of the Earth. Use your height above sea level and add that to the elevation of the top of your mast to get a fairly close idea of how far you can go.

You might want to go a bit higher, like a 500 or 1000 foot tower (your neighbors sure will love that ), to come even close to 100 miles, much less anything further.

Keep that coax run as short as possible and don't forget to waterproof your outside connections.

Ryan

 

[AG4WI]

I have used the Cushcraft ant. and iit is a very good ant. but you need to know the evelation of the repeater ant. . I think to have reliable contact 100 miles away the only chance you have will be a good high gain 2-M and 440mhz Beam ant. Check to see if the repeater is on ECHO LINK! That would be the easy way to use the repeater + 100,s of others all around the world.
If you have not used ECHO LINK. GOOGLE it and try that.
You can link your Radio to your computer and talk any place around the world on 1 watt.

 

[mpd709]

Thanks to all that replied to my post. I haven't made a purchase yet, but hope that I can soon, before it's too late for storm season. I've been reviewing comments about the Hustler G6 and G7 and some report that the G7 doesn't hold up against wind. I guess, it would be better to compare the G6-270R, but I haven't seen any discussions on it. Obviously I want a good dual bander that will be strong against wind and I am curious if anyone else can offer suggestions. Is there any difference for TX/RX between the fiberglass and the stainless antennas?

Also another question about masts. Comparing a 30ft pushup pole, EMT aluminum conduit, and steel conduit poles, which would hold up better at a height of about 30-40 ft without the use of guys? Decisions, decisions I know, but I want to do it right--the first time. Thanks again!

P.S. The wind here during storms does not usually exceed 50 or 60mph but, I know that it can

 

[kb2vxa]

Hi MPD and all,

Again I'll cut through the other posts and get right to the point from a ham's POV.

"First, I'd like to say hello to all in the forum as this is my first post."
After reading this it's likely to be your last. (;->)

"I have really enjoyed reading the threads and learning all about radio."
I get a good laugh out of some of the threads tangled as they are, but you won't learn much about radio here. Since you appear to be a new ham I suggest you crack the books and learn about radio, then take it up with the more experienced hams over at QRZ. This is a site devoted to monitoring and most are casual hobbyists having little to no technical knowlege and will lead you astray. Not to down the guys, they're a great bunch but they're not elmers.

You don't need to waste mast by running it all the way from the ground when all that really matters is the topmost supports and what's above. If you can't locate an eave mount you can make one with a short wall mount at the peak and an angle iron brace under it. Lacking angle iron I once used a 2X4 which worked very well for many years. The most important part is securing the mounts to the house, hopefully the lag screws have something to bite into. I never trust what lies beneath aluminium siding, it could be rotten. As for the mast itself, heavy wall aluminium EMT comes in 10" lengths at your local electrical supply house. Alternately a Rat Shack steel TV mast is very strong but a bit heavier. Use only one section since without guys you shouldn't go any higher!

"I would like to try and reach repeaters 100+ miles away in northern Missouri."
If you can do it with an omnidirectional antenna of any kind it'll be a miricle. What you need for that is a Cushcraft Long Boomer or equivelent mono band Yagi beam. No way on God's green Earth can the sort of mount you have in mind hold that monster so I suggest you rethink your position. Such would go nicely on a tripod with short mast sections or atop a tower, please yourself and forget the neighbors, it's YOUR house. Oh, if you must kowtow to the HOA Nazis you shouldn't have moved in there in the first place, FREEDOM is more important than aesthetics.

Hopefully my 30+ years of experience comes in handy, if you have any specific questions don't be afraid to ask me or another ham, you can tell us by our callsigns. Digging the engineers out may be a bit more difficult. (;->)