Antenna for Beginner
- Thread starter VSmith17
- Start date
We are at the peak of the solar cycle and the higher HF bands have been jumping. A dipole for 10 meters is only 16 and a half feet long.
You will need to trim it and tune it before you transmit but for receiving it would work fine. A choke balun at the center would help cut down the noise and would be worth buying or making as it could be used for other bands by making the wires longer. You could even simply attach the dipole wires direct to the coax and start receiving.
If you have a transceiver, disregard the RX-only comments because you will key the mic up. There is no doubt about it. Firstly, since this will be in an attic, DO NOT USE any high-impedance antenna, such as an end-fed antenna, because the fire risk is significantly increased. High Impedance = High Voltages and possible arcing. I would never install an antenna in my attic because the fire risk is too high. The only antenna I would use in an attic is a commercial-made VHF/UHF in a fiberglass radome.
If you have some height, the best option is a dipole in the Inverted "V" configuration; otherwise, a flat-top dipole is preferable. A 10-meter (16-feetish) antenna is ideal, as it avoids the need for any bends or contact with other objects. Do not let the ends near or touch anything. Tuning will be fun.
If you have some height, the best option is a dipole in the Inverted "V" configuration; otherwise, a flat-top dipole is preferable. A 10-meter (16-feetish) antenna is ideal, as it avoids the need for any bends or contact with other objects. Do not let the ends near or touch anything. Tuning will be fun.
Good info and point about keying up the rig. Even if the operator does not do this if they get into the digital modes it's likely to happen by mistake when trying to configure the computer interface. One thing I do that would help on this a lot is when I do not intend to TX I turn the power all the way down. My rig does not have a full TX disable (some might) but I can drop the power down to 1 watt or so and that should help prevent forest fires or damage to the rig.
All antennas of every size and type will have a super high impedance point on them, not just end feds. Even the tips of a 2m 1/4 wave ground plane element is super high impedance and will have high voltage on it. I've seen arching from running 1500w with defective antennas or parts of the antenna rubbing on something metallic but I've never heard of starting an attic on fire due to a ham antenna up there. Anyone else heard of this?
If a tuned end fed half wave (EFHW) will fit in your attic you can certainly use insulated wire and install it away from anything combustible and use fire resistant guy strings to hold it up.
