Does anyone use an outdoor Vertical antenna for SW?

[SCPD]

I've been using my loop antenna now for a while and I'm just looking to add another antenna. The T2FD (which was suppose to be my savior) was a failure. That antenna just requires too much space. It needs serious height and space for ideal reception - and even then, I'm not 100% sold on it.

I'm thinking of getting the Apex antenna from Universal Radio. I have a 10ft mast that I can use. I'll put it a good 50ft away from the house and at least 30-40ft from other houses. So it should be nice and quiet. I may lose some gain but I'm curious to find out if the low-noise vertical will make up for it.

Here's a link to the antenna: http://universal-radio.com/catalog/sw_ant/1026.html

 

[CLynch7]

I've been toying around with the idea of building something like that using a 102" CB whip. Would be a nice change from the longwire I usually use.

 

[k9rzz]

Of course, I always use a vertical on the car (Hamsticks) and this one I put up yesterday on a temporary basis.

25ft of aluminum tubing mounted on an 8 ft 2x4, 5 elevated radials, small top hat, and fed with window line through a tuner in the shack. 30 countries and counting yesterday and this morning. It really plays well on 6mhz.

 

[SCPD]

Where'd you find the aluminum tubing? I've checked a couple of hardware stores (the big ones) and they never have anything like that. They have the standard piping but that stuff is thick and heavy. I would love to find just simple aluminum tubes (1/2" max) for a homemade vertical.

I can get copper pipe in 10ft and 20ft lengths but that stuff is expensive these days!

 

[k9rzz]

This is pretty big tubing, I'll measure it tomorrow. Ages ago I built a 40m (33ft long) out of copper tubing for our college ham station. OH! It was a pain to get in the air and it eventually did come crashing down, but man-O-man, did it get out. That tubing will last a lifetime (AL or CU), consider it an investment. Old TV antennas are a good source as well.

 

[SCPD]

I just found this place online. I'm still looking them over but the cost isn't that bad on the AL products. Copper is just too expensive to play with.

Custom Metal Fabrication | Online Metals | Cut 2 Size Metals - ESMW

 

[k9rzz]

Another source. Not sure which is a better deal:

Texas Towers, Aluminum Tubing Page

 

[beejay]

Try using thin-wall electrical conduit. Only comes in 10 ft. sections.
However two sections can be coupled together with compression
fittings. Set the bottom end in some kind of insulator ( pop bottle ? )
Connect a wire to it and away you go. Done it for years !
beejay

 

[prcguy]

Yes if you consider active antennas, otherwise no due to problems matching a short antenna to coax and the additional noise pickup from a vertical antenna.

A short, unloaded passive vertical whip on HF will be potentially thousands of ohms impedance at HF/VLF and much of your signal will be lost in feeding coax to your radio. You can probably use a 9:1, 12:1 or higher ratio transformer to help ease the pain but in the end it may be no better than just using a VHF/UHF Discone for HF reception.

On the other hand an active HF/VLF whip can work well if placed away from noise sources. The active part is generally for matching the high impedance to coax rather than being a "preamp".

I occasionally use a semi kit AMRAD active whip which will hold its own with other active antennas costing upwards of $500. It used to cost about $75 to assemble, ordering parts from various sources. This antenna was designed and refined over the years by some very bright VLF enthusiasts trying to receive stuff from across the Atlantic in the presence of strong AM broadcast and killer LORAN transmitters nearby.

My AMRAD works great and sometimes pulls out signals that a 100ft long center fed G5RV cannot. Check out this site for more info on the AMRAD.

http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/0109031.pdf

prcguy

I've been using my loop antenna now for a while and I'm just looking to add another antenna. The T2FD (which was suppose to be my savior) was a failure. That antenna just requires too much space. It needs serious height and space for ideal reception - and even then, I'm not 100% sold on it.

I'm thinking of getting the Apex antenna from Universal Radio. I have a 10ft mast that I can use. I'll put it a good 50ft away from the house and at least 30-40ft from other houses. So it should be nice and quiet. I may lose some gain but I'm curious to find out if the low-noise vertical will make up for it.

Here's a link to the antenna: Apex Radio 303WA-2 Shortwave antenna. ApexRadio

 

[nanZor]

One thing that concerns me is the marketing about a "passive antenna being resistant to crossmod / intermod". Maybe I am losing something in the translation.

In the end, this antenna is supposed to be a dc-to-daylight antenna. Even if it proved to be magically resonant everywhere, it is still only what - a 6 foot tall vertical? You can make a paper-clip resonant on 160 meters to about 100 percent efficiency, but to RF it is still only 3 inches tall.

I'm sure it works as well as a 6 foot antenna could.