Antenna Tuner all band vertical

[daveleonard]

Is it possible to use a vertical antenna with an antenna tuner to propagate on all amateur bands with reasonable results. I know impedance matching is important and the tuner will only match the transceiver with
the antenna so my feedline and antenna will be close to 50 ohms. But with the tuner will I be able to make the vertical work on all bands, VHF, UHF and HF?

 

[zz0468]

Is it possible to use a vertical antenna with an antenna tuner to propagate on all amateur bands with reasonable results.

It's possible, but there are a lot of variables to be considered. A vertical antenna with an inadequate ground system can provide a perfect match, and be a very poor radiator. Also, as you go higher in frequency, the pattern can develop lots of nulls and minor lobes, making it a poor performer.

But with the tuner will I be able to make the vertical work on all bands, VHF, UHF and HF?

All bands? You may (but probably not) be able to find a tuner that could get you a match on all bands, including VHF and UHF, but that doesn't mean the antenna will be usable.

A single radiator can be made to absorb all the RF from the transmitter on jut about any frequency, but it won't necessarily radiate it in a manner that you find useful.

 

[teufler]

I don't know of any tuners that handle hf and vhf/uhf..I have an mfj \vhf tuner and a Denton Hf Tuner but I have never tried them outside of what they were designed for.

 

[dksac2]

If you get a Gap Challenger, it will do 2 meters, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 40 and part of 80 meters with no antenna tuner needed. It will be under 2 to 1 at band edges and much less in the middle. This antenna does not need a tuner to radiate signals at low SWR and is not any kind of dummy load as some are.
I have one and they are great DX antennas. 10 and 15 meters can be a little weak (Not all that bad, just not as strong as the other bands, look at all the contacts I have on 10 and 15 meters on QRZ.com, type in KF7VXA), but when those bands are open, it will make contacts all over the world. The other bands are fantastic on this antenna. I just started logging my contacts not too many months ago and don't log them all by any means, mostly just new or special station one's. It's a vertical dipole so it does not need 40+ radials. It has 3 radials, but they are an unsidedown top hat for 40 meters.
Go to EHam.com and look at the reviews on the Gap Challenger. There are about 5 pages of very happy people who have and use them. The only people who put them down are those who have never used one, they rock ! Look up my page on QRZ.com and see all the places I've made good contacts. These antennas work great with 100 watts or with an amp. They are not a yagi at 70 feet, but for a multi band Omni vertical are great.
I talked with New Zealand (one of the harder countries to get, especially from my lousy QTH) tonight and the guy said I was the loudest, best sounding station on the west end of the US. I was using 500 watts and with a 10 over 9 signal, could have worked him with 100 watts, others were using 1000 to 1500. The antenna is a great value at $350.00. It's almost a plug and play. No coils or traps to go bad or eat signal strength and easy to assemble and put up, nothing to adjust on the antenna like the others, so no putting it up and taking it down a bunch of times to adjust SWR. I break most DX pile up's in less than 5 calls, but not all. Most last for 20 years with nothing going wrong with them. Other bottom fed verticals can't say that. Some are darn good, but none better overall than the Gap and the Gap put out almost 100% of the signal it receives, others don't.
I get compliments on my signals all of the time on 100 or 500 watts and consistent high signal reports.
It will not radiate UHF, but does 2 meters like most 1/4 or 5/8 wave 2 meter antennas, decent signal. Height is not all that great for 2 meters, that's the only limitation, but you will make plenty of simplex and repeater contacts with it.

73's John KF7VXA

 

[daveleonard]

That's great news John. That eliminates the expense of a tuner right there. I am not sure I can find one here in the Philippines but if I can I will give it a go for sure. Before I retired when in the States I used a 5 band Cushcraft but had to have a separate antenna for 2 meters. Because of space over here this would be great. I will try to find a photo of one on the net so I can get an idea about it. I'll start with E-Ham.
Thanks again my friend and best 73's. Dave, former KD4HOL.

 

[daveleonard]

I have one other question John. I had planned to mount a vertical up 40 to 50 feet in the air. This would be best for line of sight 2 meter work. But then I read that the Challenger needs ground radials to work properly so is mounting it that high a good idea or not so much? If not, it is hard to reconcile its use on 2meters line of sight. Otherwise the Challenger sounds like just what I need.

 

[dksac2]

The Challenger can be mounted on a roof. The radials are 25' each, three of them, so it can't go on a pole. The antenna is 42' tall and uses a good part of the antenna to radiate on all bands.
Mine is mounted on the ground level and the 2 meters works great. It might not be as good as a 2 meter antenna mounted 50' in the air, but it will get quite a bit of distance.
Do a search for Gap Antennas and it will take you to their web site. There is a lot of info and reviews there.
Most all of the American dealers carry the antenna, $350.00 US. It comes in one medium long box, so while not cheap, the shipping should not break you, especially at the good selling price.
Good luck with your station, sorry to hear of so little room. I have a pretty good size piece of land, so I can put up much or anything I want, it's just my lack of money that stops me from putting up a tower with Yagi's. The Gap has been fantastic. A vertical is not as good as a stack of Yagi's on a 70' tower, but sometimes is better, maybe 10% of the time. It all depends on the conditions.
The Gap's very low angle of radiation gives it a great deal of distance. It will usually do 3 hops for as much as 8000 miles, but lately I've made 2 contacts over the pole. One to Sweden and one to the South Island of New Zealand on 20 meters. Those were contacts of many, many thousands of miles. Except for some distortion of the audio caused by going the long way which is normal, the signals were very clear. We both gave S-9+ reports. I was running 500 watts at the time, but I'm betting with an S-9, I could have made the same contacts at about an S-7 barefoot.
I wouldn't worry too much about the distance with the 2 meter, the company says there is 8db gain on 2meters with this antenna. From use, I'd agree with their figure.

73's John KF7VXA

 

[yo3fvr]

Hi! For portable activity, I use two similar whip antennas: MAAS HVT-400 and PROXEL PRO-X1. Both can be used without ATU, but you have to adjust the whip length in order to obtain the best SWR. I working with low power, up to 5 watts with FT817 or PFR3 and up to 15 watts in 10m band (with a MAAS DX-5000). In that configurations, with antennas mounted on the car's roof and helped by the propagation, I succeeded QSO with all continents ( except Australia and Antarctica ). The price is around 50 EURos/antenna. Best 73 from YO!


Best 73! de YO3FVR