10 meter antenna question

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cdurham24

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I was given a Radio Shack HTX-10 10 meter radio by my father in law(Elmer) in pursuit of my ham license. I will be testing on April 14th so I hope to be on the air very soon. My question is regarding antennas. I currently have a Workman B100 CB Base Antenna(11 Meter) that is advertised as working on 10 meter as well. I also have an antenna tuner to match the resonance. My questions is can I use the Vertical CB Antenna with decent results or is it worth it to purchase(or Build) a dipole. My problem with the dipole is I only have 1 small tree in my yard and wouldn't be able to hang it there. I do have a 20 ft shed that is free of power lines, and would like to elevate the dipole with PVC and mount it horizontal N-S on the roof of the shed. I have been unable to find a concrete answer on whether this would work or not.

Note - At first I was die hard looking for a 2 meter, but after reading more about the 10 meter radio I have, I am increasingly interested in 10 meter. If there are any "10-heads" on here I would love to chat to learn more about this meter band. I am 23 and am completely enthralled with Ham, and am looking at a long happy life with this hobby. Thank you for reading.
 

wcu02mpa

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10 meter fan

I routinely operate 10 and 6 meters. I keep a Motorola Syntor X9000 in my vehicle and run 10 meter FM often. I rarely am on 2-meters as it is more for just local chat. 10 meters is about DX and even if people are local on 10m, they are about seeking DX as well. I run a Larsen NMO-27 for my mobile; not the best choice but it works just fine. Your situation is the dipole is better for DX, but local FM work would be better suited with a vertical. Either works fine for SSB or FM DX. When you start 10M you wont look at 2M the same. They both have their place, but 10M DX will have you hooked.
 

SCPD

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I talked to Morocco from Alabama today using the same radio as you with 25 watts and a Antron 99 vertical....answer your question?...lol
 

LtDoc

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To answer your question, that antenna can be retuned for 10 meters and should work okay. Also nothing wrong with making a dipole for 10 meters, that way you'd have both polarizations. In some cases, either of them will out-do the other because of the differences in polarization.
The only thing that's half way expensive about making wire antennas is the feed line, the wire is pretty cheap. Nothing really specifically required for that wire, it just should be strong enough to hold up it's own weight and the feed line. After that, it's whatever you happen to have available.
Have fun.
- 'Doc
 

hamstang

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I have talked on 10 meters nearly every night for the past 20 years. 10 is fun because even though we are a local rag chew group, sometimes the band opens up and we talk thousands of miles. We use horizontal polarization for ground wave local rag chews. I met this local group 20 years ago when I lived in a condo and was using an indoor dipole hanging from the ceiling. Good luck on your test.
 

cdurham24

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So what I'm gathering is not a huge noticeable difference between the vertical and dipole and it's probably not worth the extra effort of building and hanging a dipole antenna. Its worth mentioning that the Workman B100 antenna is a 39" wire wound fiberglass vertical. I am located in central illinois and am hoping to engage in conversation with a 10 meter group out of missouri, so it sounds like i should have no problem what so ever. I'm totally psyched about getting my call sign and firing up the rig! I just wish more people my age were into it, I'm afraid I'm jumping on a bus with a 1/4 tank of fuel, just riding till it stops.
 

zz0468

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I was given a Radio Shack HTX-10 10 meter radio by my father in law(Elmer) in pursuit of my ham license. I will be testing on April 14th so I hope to be on the air very soon.

I've played around with those radios and they actually pretty decent. Performance is modest, but when conditions are good, it's enough. When conditions are bad, it's enough for local work.

My question is regarding antennas. I currently have a Workman B100 CB Base Antenna(11 Meter) that is advertised as working on 10 meter as well. I also have an antenna tuner to match the resonance.

After a quick look at the antenna on the web, I don't think that's a wise choice. A tuner will make the radio happy with a lousy antenna, but it won't really help with the antenna's performance. You'll be better off with a dipole. Save the B100 for the CB rig in an installation where you don't really care how lousy it works.


I do have a 20 ft shed that is free of power lines, and would like to elevate the dipole with PVC and mount it horizontal N-S on the roof of the shed. I have been unable to find a concrete answer on whether this would work or not.

Sounds fine. I ran some dipoles on PVC masts and they worked just fine, and held up ok for the few years they were up. Some people here will tell you how bad that is, but if it's what you have, or what you can afford, it'll work just fine.

Note - At first I was die hard looking for a 2 meter, but after reading more about the 10 meter radio I have, I am increasingly interested in 10 meter.

Excellent! You'll be getting off to a much healthier start in your ham career than you would if you started on 2 meters.

If there are any "10-heads" on here I would love to chat to learn more about this meter band. I am 23 and am completely enthralled with Ham, and am looking at a long happy life with this hobby. Thank you for reading.

10 meters is a FUN band. It gets some outrageous openings, and can open up even when the sunspot cycle is at it's minimum. At the last minimum I worked Japan, South America, Cuba, and all across the U.S. while mobile. But we're NOT at a minimum, so conditions can be a whole lot better.

You'll have a good time with that radio, and a dipole. Lose the B100. It'll be a big disappointment, especially with a low power radio like the HTX-10
 

cdurham24

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Mar 22, 2012
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Central, IL
I understand that the workman antenna is not the ideal choice but I have that antenna because I a
Also an avid cb user like many hams I started on a cb but now I want to engage in conversation that doesn't revolve around smokeys and fuel surcharges. Thank you all for your support I think I will cut my teeth with the vertical and put a dipole up this summer.
 
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