Kenwood TK716H VHF Apartment Setup

[2492]

Hello All,
I'm going to be moving into an apartment soon, and needed some help on Xmitting/Receiving. I was wanting to get the Astron ss-10/12/or18, specific for the 7160 and put a 1/4wave magnet mount ontop of the radio/power supply. I wont be able to put an antenna outside the apartment. Any Idea's or Suggestions?

 

[MTS2000des]

NEVER EVER put an antenna on top of a power supply! EVER. First, you risk damaging the power supply from RF, second, you risk damaging the radio with a high SWR, third, you'll get crap performance on both TX and RX.

There are plenty of antenna options that are MUCH MUCH better for RF safety, radio and power supply preservation, and TX/RX performance.

A roll-up J-Pole can be tacked into a window and AWAY from you and your radio (other side of the room is ideal). Keep in mind, your 7160H on high power is rated at 50 watts. That is ALOT of RF near field to you, it may also interfere with your stereo, TV, cable modems, PC's and anything else within a few feet of the antenna. It would be ideal to put the antenna OUTSIDE on your patio if possible, closest to the balcony.
Or even put a small vertical in a planter and run the feedline through a window. If anyone asks, it's a TV antenna, and it isn't mounted to their building. Or just take it inside when they come over.

I strongly recommend placing the antenna outside if possible, "intennas" are a compromise and you will minimize interference to and from other devices. There are many noise sources on VHF spectrum in the typical residential environment these days. Getting the antenna outside and away from those sources makes for better RX and minimizes the chance of your TX interfering with something else.

 

[MTS2000des]

Here is one of the roll-up J-poles I was mentioning. Note this is a dual band version tuned for the 2 meter (144) and 440 (440MHz) ham band, but an antenna like this is also easy to construct using simple designs for the commercial bands if needed.

J Pole Ham Radio Antenna 2 Meter 440 for VHF UHF Transceivers Free Shipping | eBay

 

[mmckenna]

Indoor transmitting antennas in an apartment would likely mess up your neighbors electronics also. If you really don't have any other options, you need to get the antenna on a suitable ground plane. That could be on a file cabinet, a cooking sheet, etc. Still, it would be a good idea to keep the power turned down.

You'd really do a lot better by figuring out a way to get something outside. If you have a balcony, do like MTS suggested above.

For the power supply, a 12 amp supply would probably work fine, but it wouldn't hurt to have one slightly larger than what you need. If there isn't a big price difference, go with the larger one. You never know when you might want to add more radios. The additional capacity might come in handy.