Antenna for ICOM 7100?

[joshuashaw1985]

I need help and advice on what antennas to buy for the ICOM 7100. Do I need to separate antennas to operate on HF and VHF/UHF? To my understanding I see that there are two outputs for different antennas but I don’t understand entirely.
I am new to ham radios and going through a course to get my license as we speak. Looking to learn as much as I can from you more experience folks. I want to make sure I know what I’m up against price wise before I purchase the 7100. With that said please let me know your thoughts on what you think I will need to go along with the 7100. Is it necessary to have an auto tuner? Etc.

 

[AK9R]

Generally, antennas that work well in the HF bands don't work well for 2m or 70cm...and vice versa.

I think you'll be happier with the overall performance if you have 1 antenna for HF and 1 antenna for 2m/70cm.

 

[kb5udf]

The two antenna jacks on your radio, I believe correspond to HF/6m (1.8-54mhz) and 2m/70cm (144mhz and up). If you did have an antenna that covered 1.8-440mhz you would need a combiner to connect it to the HF and vhf/uhf inputs on your radio. However, unless you are desperate for space, no one is going to suggest you do that. What you really want is separate antennas one for shortwave/6m and one for local work vhf/uhf.

There are antennas which claim no tuner needed for HF such as this one, that is well spoken of on this forum: EFHW-8010

Generally, 2m/70cm antennas don't need a tuner; you tune the antenna if needed and then its fine; most ham base antennas come pre-tuned. Lastly, don't skimp on coax, especially for vhf/uhf or your signal will be wasted both ways.

Let us know more about your personal setup/lot/home location and people can advise you better.

 

[jwt873]

If you're just getting your tech license, VHF/UHF is wide open as long as you follow the band plans... But for HF you'll only be able to operate phone on 10 meters between 28.300 and 28.500 MHz. A simple dipole or vertical for ten meters is your best bet-- You can buy them outright pre-assembled or construct them yourself. Here's how to build a dipole (this link also has some basic antenna theory so you can start figuring things out) --> https://www.electronics-notes.com/a...dipole-construction-80-40-20-15-10-meters.php

For VHF/UHF, there are many dual band options.. Here's one low budget example. --> https://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1073

 

[jazzboypro]

According to the manual



I'm pretty sure that when you will on a HF frequency the radio will automatically select ANT1 and it won't be possible to change it to ANT2. The opposite will be true when on an VHF/UHF frequency. So i would say yes, one antenna for VHF/UHF and another antenna for HF

 

[popnokick]

I have had an IC7100 for more than six years. VERY happy with it. DON'T limit your HF antenna to simply a 10M dipole or other band-restricted antenna. You'll be wanting to upgrade to General and need a good HF antenna. Even if you don't upgrade you're going to want to listen to a lot more than 10M with the excellent general coverage receiver that the IC7100 has. The MyAntennas EFHW-8010 mentioned in this thread is an excellent multi-band HF antenna. Also consider an Off-Center Fed Dipole (OCFD), which are all multi-band by design. And yes, plan on a tuner. I use the LDG Z100A which is made to interface directly with the ICOM 7100 and other ICOM rigs. It's an autotunes; pushing the TUNE button on the radio's control head activates the tuning process.

 

[AK9R]

LDG Z100A

Just be aware that the Z-100 is limited to 30 watts using digital modes.

The LDG AT-200ProII has the same seamless user interface with Icom radios and is rated for 100 watts on digital modes.

 

[jwt873]

DON'T limit your HF antenna to simply a 10M dipole or other band-restricted antenna. You'll be wanting to upgrade to General and need a good HF antenna. Even if you don't upgrade you're going to want to listen to a lot more than 10M with the excellent general coverage receiver that the IC7100 has.

That's true. I never though of receiving when I recommended a 10 meter only antenna.. The 7100 is an excellent Short Wave receiver.

And.. Was just thinking.. Don't overlook Six meters (50 Mhz).. Techs have phone privileges there and if there are any repeaters in the area, a six meter antenna will let you access them. Six Meter Antennas — I've Tried a Few - K5ND (For FM you'll need to be vertically polarized and for SSB, its horizontal)..

 

[popnokick]

jwt873 makes a great point about not forgetting 6 Meters where as a Tech you have all privileges. The MyAntennas EFHW-8010 will NOT work on 6M.... but nearly all of the Off-Center Fed Dipoles will handle 6M with a tuner. Yes, they are horizontally polarized but when 6M is open most of the action is on FT8 and SSB... both horizontally polarized. However, I have had very good results with 6M FM repeaters with my OCFD antenna. The BEST news? Your IC-7100 will do it ALL - FT8 / FT4, 6M SSB and FM. The 7100 has a built-in "sound card" digital modem so all you need is one single USB cable to your computer to handle all the popular HF digital modes. No need for an external modem (e.g. SignaLink, RigBlaster, etc).

 

[KC5AKB]

Great radio