Hi I was wondering what everyone is using for their hf antennas and how you are feeding them. I want one to home build. I was thinking maybe a longwire, inverted v, or inverted l but I'm open to suggestions. I was also wondering how I should feed these. twinlead? coax? thanks.
HF antennas
- Thread starter crazyboy
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Bucko
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I am sure you have looked at the antenna section in the Wiki by now, there is a lot of options there. You will get a lot answers on this and I can pretty much guess what they will be. Myself I have used several types over the years, long wire, V's, dipole's etc and they all have their performance advantages in different bands. Right now I am using a two element wire ( 75ft & 25ft ), the coax sheild is grounded to the tower ( tower is grounded of course ) and the coax is fed through a antenna tuner. This setup works pretty well without a large noise level, of course I am always trying a different setup. I never fed with twin lead but my guess would be a better chance for a higher noise level. A Windom works well too as you probably have read several times. Good luck on your antenna project, hope it works out well for you..
crazyboy said:
I recently built a 75' dipole and fed it with 300 ohm twin lead, going to an antenna tuner with a built in 4:1 balun.
I can hear everything from 10m-80m with NO problem. I currently have it hooked to my Yaesu FT-897 and it works GREAT.
Save your money and build one yourself (like you stated).
K3GI
Member
In addition to my Cushcraft MA5B, I have an 80 meter loop that has been up for about 10 years (with minor repairs as needed). The loop is about 270 feet of 14 gauge wire supported by trees. I feed it with 450 ohm ladder line into a 4:1 current balun and then run coax from the balun to the shack. It works all bands 10--80 meters. I've worked Australia with it on 20 and 17 meters. The loop does need a tuner to work, but both my hf rigs have built in tuners that work just fine with it.
My next project is a 160 meter loop. Got everything I need to put it up, now just need the "round to it."
Lee, K3GI
My next project is a 160 meter loop. Got everything I need to put it up, now just need the "round to it."
Lee, K3GI
Well we are speaking of antennas and feedlines. I something at todays meeting of my local Ham group that is do not bury the feedline coax untless you have the type can be buried.
Hi Crazy and all,
Jumping the gun or putting the cart before the horse you are. Antenna design, performance and propagation are sciences in themslves, I suggest you do your study homework before asking questions. When you have a bit of knowledge under your hat you'll be in a position to ask more intellegent questions about specific subjects. Right now you're just trolling for answers, I see confusion on the horizon.
By the time you're through you'll have a place that looks like the home of a copper spider that's never done. You'll try this and that based on a specific set of GOALS, no two alike because no two antennas and no two sets of conditions are alike. The long and the short of it is there are many bows and many arrows, you have to know what to use to hit any given target and then you have to be an archer. You'll never be an archer by asking questions, you have to STUDY before you can choose your weapon.
Just a muse, "I shoot an arrow in the air, where it lands I know not where." Well, an archer knows exactly where it landed, right where he wanted. A signal is like an arrow, wave propagation follows similar principles. Shoot high and it falls down and short, shoot low and it falls flat and long. Radio waves do the same, it's all in the vertical takeoff angle. Are you getting the picture? You choose the antenna for the job, the signal will come to land where you want it.
When you're ready to ask questions remember to ask the right questions to get the right answers. When you have a sufficient knowledge base you'll know which questions to ask. For now try this one, "Where do I get these study materials?" and you're off to a good start.
Dave, please bear with me a moment.
"I something at todays meeting of my local Ham group that is do not bury the feedline coax untless you have the type can be buried."
Even with a few words missing I get the idea, burial may result in cremation. While I'm in the mood for poking fun, you reminded me of how I used to tell CBers how to cut through the skip interference and work the ground wave, bury the antenna. Oh, ladder line is better than coax for transmitting because the signal finds it easier to climb up to the antenna. On the other hand coax is better for receiving, it slides right down and doesn't go bumpety bumpety bump on all those spacers. (;->)
Jumping the gun or putting the cart before the horse you are. Antenna design, performance and propagation are sciences in themslves, I suggest you do your study homework before asking questions. When you have a bit of knowledge under your hat you'll be in a position to ask more intellegent questions about specific subjects. Right now you're just trolling for answers, I see confusion on the horizon.
By the time you're through you'll have a place that looks like the home of a copper spider that's never done. You'll try this and that based on a specific set of GOALS, no two alike because no two antennas and no two sets of conditions are alike. The long and the short of it is there are many bows and many arrows, you have to know what to use to hit any given target and then you have to be an archer. You'll never be an archer by asking questions, you have to STUDY before you can choose your weapon.
Just a muse, "I shoot an arrow in the air, where it lands I know not where." Well, an archer knows exactly where it landed, right where he wanted. A signal is like an arrow, wave propagation follows similar principles. Shoot high and it falls down and short, shoot low and it falls flat and long. Radio waves do the same, it's all in the vertical takeoff angle. Are you getting the picture? You choose the antenna for the job, the signal will come to land where you want it.
When you're ready to ask questions remember to ask the right questions to get the right answers. When you have a sufficient knowledge base you'll know which questions to ask. For now try this one, "Where do I get these study materials?" and you're off to a good start.
Dave, please bear with me a moment.
"I something at todays meeting of my local Ham group that is do not bury the feedline coax untless you have the type can be buried."
Even with a few words missing I get the idea, burial may result in cremation. While I'm in the mood for poking fun, you reminded me of how I used to tell CBers how to cut through the skip interference and work the ground wave, bury the antenna. Oh, ladder line is better than coax for transmitting because the signal finds it easier to climb up to the antenna. On the other hand coax is better for receiving, it slides right down and doesn't go bumpety bumpety bump on all those spacers. (;->)
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