H-800 Skymatch?

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JHARKNESS918

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Does anyone have any experience with the skymatch antenna. I am not having any luck with a par end antenna, and was thinking of spending some more money on this one!!
 

ka3jjz

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A bit expensive, but it's a very good one.

what problem are you having with the PAR? What are you trying to hear? Not hearing something is not enough - be more specific. Keep in mind that propagation is notably crummy right now due to being at the solar minimum; you really have to be familiar with that subject to take full advantage of tuning around on HF. Mind you, you don't need to be a scientist, but you really need to know the basics. The wiki has a few links on the subject.

73s Mike
 

cristisphoto

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Jul 15, 2004
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Because there are so many different anttena companies
The best thing one can do is check the return policy where you buy it
and test it IF it doesn't work out let the store managers know
AND try something else...
If the manager suck then Don't buy there...
There aer PLENTY of Online stores that won't Suck
SOOO
Also check Eham
and
Strong signals for reviews
And GOOGLE/Yahoo etc the heck out of your chosen/eyed models...
ANywyas
Good Luck
And happy scanning
Crista
 

ka3jjz

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You know before you give up on the Par, there's several things to check;

a. How good is your coax that connects up to the box? Are you sure your connections are solid?

b. I would also check your grounding, if you are using one.

c. I just read the manual - those configurations they show are not the only possible ones - there are many others. Don't assume that any other configuration would not work.

d. There is a AOR3000 Yahoo group - you might post a couple of questions there - it might be something very simple.

e. Finally, I have heard that Dale and his techs are reachable by email.

I just refuse to believe that the antenna isn't working - there have been too many good reports with it. I more suspect good old operator error at some point. 73s Mike
 

brandon

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I have both and I like the PAR better. I originally bought the H800 when I lived in an apartment. It works pretty good but now that I have a PAR mounted outside and far away from the house I stick to that. I find the H800 does a nice job on the lower bands below 10 MHz. Once you get higher it seems to drop off a bit IMHO. The H800 is a good AM DX antenna it pulls in stations that are distored on my PAR.
You can't go wrong with the H800 but I think the PAR is better bang for the buck.
 

JHARKNESS918

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Philadelphia, PA
I guess I just got frustrated. I actually read up on propagation, which I knew nothing about, and learned a bunch, thanks to you guys in the forum. I have been trying different configs, and each seems to do different things. I guess I just have alot to learn. I am used to getting a scanner, plugging it in and going......I gotta learn a bit more patience. I re-grounded the box on my par...stepped back...had a beer... and started listening to HurricaneNet on 12325 USB....y'all were right. Dont know if thats a good indication on my config this time...I live about 15 miles northwest of Philly...but seemed to pick up quite a bit...thanks for all your help and I will keep you posted!!
 

brandon

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HF is interesting. Sometimes its crap and other times everything comes in.
With my PAR I can listen to Dakar MWARA from my location in SoCal during the evening. I think that is pretty good considering when I was in an apartment I couldn't do it! My antenna isn't mounted very high either probably just 10 ft higher than the ground up on the back fence. Nothing fancy here.

I recommend using time stations and VOLMET broadcast to test signals. I try to pick up WWV (Colorado) and WWVH (Hawaii) on 5, 10, 15 or 20 MHz to tell how good the bands are. I also use CHU Canada on 3330, 7335 and 14670 for testing... I think someone said that broadcasts from Ottawa, Canada. HF is wacky tonight because 5 mins ago CHU was strong on 7335 and now I can barely hear it. On 3330 I hear them with more reliability but there is a ton of background noise from static crashes due to lightning in the desert.
 

ka3jjz

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Jarharkness918, you hit the nail right on the head. HF is not like scanning; it's subject to very different rules and is quite dependent on the weather on Sol, not just the the weather locally.
This kind of stuff is learned bit by bit; reading up on the things in the Wiki as well as focusing your interests (military, amateur, broadcast) will bring you up to speed.
Oh yes I'm sure this was a typo - the well known Hurricane Watch net is on 14325, for those that weren't aware of it. 73s Mike
 

gcgrotz

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Feb 21, 2006
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Savannah, GA
The best all around ant I've used lately was the Carolina Windom 80 from Radio Works. It was a good ham band antenna but also worked very well on all shortwave bands and even down into the AM band. They make an SWL version that's about half the size of the 80, you can easily make your own too using plans in the wiki or from Grove's web site. My CW80 got torn up when the city cleard some trees out of the pipeline right of way where I had strung it. Hey, they could have warned me ok?

I've since moved to a small lot and have a PAR antenna with the termination inside a junction box and the wire loosely stapled to a wood fence that's 4ft high. I'm pleased with it so far, it picks up Radio New Zealand every morning on 9.870 until signoff at 05:00Z. I plan (soon) to install the box at ground level on my shed with a ground rod and some short radials, pull up vertically as much as I can with a rope in a nearby tree (probably 20-25ft) and then pull the rest horizontally back toward the house and tie it off to a tv mount on the roof (2 story house). This will give an inverted L antenna as far as I can get from the house on this 50x125' city lot.

If you look in the antenna wiki there is an article from Wellbrook that describes this particular type of installation.

Of course the practical solution is get as much of it as high as you safely can!

Also keep in mind you are still in a learning curve with the '3000 so just keep at it and be patient. Patience is more important than anything when monitoring HF.
 
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