portable HF antenna?

[hjvan]

Needing recommendations for a decent portable HF antenna (store-bought or home-made)? What about one of those wound up coil antennas, are they any good?

 

[ka3jjz]

For what kind of radio - one of those widebanded handhelds, a small HF Portable, a tabletop? For the first 2, no more than 20 or 30 foot of wire is about all they'll handle without having overloading problems - depending on where you are (signals on the East Coast tend to be stronger than on the West, are you in an urban area, ect.). Tabletops have many different options - take a look at the Shortwave and Utility wikis for more information

73s Mike

 

[hjvan]

i mean portable, as in "on the go". something i could connect to a wide band hand held clipped to my belt with earphones in walking down the sidewalk. I thought maybe there'd be some type of long wire type antenna that a person could roll up and put in their pocket.

 

[Al42]

I thought maybe there'd be some type of long wire type antenna that a person could roll up and put in their pocket.

Whether you roll up the excess or cut it off makes absolutely no difference. A 100 foot roll of wire in your pocket, with 3 feet unrolled to reach the scanner, is a 3 foot antenna. And a pretty poor one, since it's sitting against your body for almost the entire length. There's a reason you see Humvees with ludicrously long antennas on the back. Even the might of the entire US Army can't modify the laws of physics the slightest little bit.