Can anyone help of knowing someone to install a roof antenna for newbie to ham radio I live in orange county new york, new windsor to be exact there are plenty of trees and I don't have any idea of what antenna is best also. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated.
Installing of antenna
- Thread starter Senior37
- Start date
Welcome to RR!
You've asked a very broad question. You'll have a better chance of getting helpful answers if you provide more information.
Saying "I need an antenna for ham radio" is like saying "I need cars for my car".
That which is "ham radio" covers a very broad spectrum of frequencies (pun intended) as well as user preferences. An antenna for 160 meters, for instance, is going to be a lot different than an antenna for 70 cm. Yet both are "ham radio" antennas. An omnidirectional antenna is going to be different than a high gain (directional) Yagi antenna.
Need to know your budget as well.. What you're willing to spend.. Over or under $1000.00 ?
A directional antenna is generally better than an bi-directional or omnidirectional antenna. A directional antenna focuses the RF in a particular direction. However, a directional antenna will generally require a tower and a rotator so they are more complicated and expensive to install than other types.
A wire antenna, whether a traditional dipole, an off-center fed dipole (OCFD), or an end-fed halfwave dipole (EFHW), is generally easier to install than a directional antenna on a tower. This type of antenna will generally have a dog-bone pattern in that they will work best in two opposite directions. But, you'll need the required supports and you'll need to get the antenna relatively high off the ground in order to get the proper take-off angle for working DX stations. OTOH, a low-mounted dipole can be very effective for working less distant stations.
A vertical antenna is omnidirectional but generally requires radials along the ground to work effectively.
A wire antenna, whether a traditional dipole, an off-center fed dipole (OCFD), or an end-fed halfwave dipole (EFHW), is generally easier to install than a directional antenna on a tower. This type of antenna will generally have a dog-bone pattern in that they will work best in two opposite directions. But, you'll need the required supports and you'll need to get the antenna relatively high off the ground in order to get the proper take-off angle for working DX stations. OTOH, a low-mounted dipole can be very effective for working less distant stations.
A vertical antenna is omnidirectional but generally requires radials along the ground to work effectively.
Nice radio--even nicer as a gift! You will also need a power supply if it was not included.
As for an antenna, @AK9R had good advice.
Know that the Icom 7300 is a multi-band HF radio. Since it operates at relatively low frequencies (the highest frequency TX/RX is 54 MHz), any multi-band antenna will be rather sizeable.
Personally, I'd recommend an OCF (off center fed) wire dipole as a starter antenna. They're relatively cheap to buy assembled, but even cheaper (and easy) to make one yourself. Another design is a G5RV. They're relatively easy to string up (and take down) and are fairly broad banded.
You'll also need feedline between the radio and the antenna. Times Microwave LMR 400 would be a good choice. You should also have a lightning protector, such as one from Polyphaser.
As you progress in the hobby, you may decide to upgrade to a different antenna(s). You may also branch out to VHF/UHF with either a handheld or base/mobile radio. The good part is that you can use the same power supply and the corresponding antennas are considerably smaller.
Was just being silly about the price.. (And kind of illustrating the scope of the hobby). But for HF you can spend plenty on an antenna.. This one would work great with your IC-7300 InnovAntennas 18481.LPA13 InnovAntennas 13 Element HF Log Periodic Dipole Arrays | DX Engineering Of course you'd need a thousand or so extra for a tower and rotating system etc.
Another thing you haven't mentioned is the size of your yard or lot.. Wire antennas can be over 100 feet long and are generally strung between poles or trees. (You mention you have trees, so that's good).
Besides the off center fed dipole, a good basic antenna is the G5RV. You can construct one yourself --> G5RV Multiband Antenna Or buy one commercially --> MFJ MFJ-1778 MFJ G5RV Multi-Band Antennas | DX Engineering
