shortwave antenna

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JHARKNESS918

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I just got a ar3000a and was wondering if i can rig a quick antenna for picking up USB in the 4 to 25 MHz area. I am planning on doing some research to get a real one, but wanted to know what I should do in the meantime. Thanks in advance for your help!!
 

ka3jjz

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There are so many designs that it's almost too many....check the Antennas wiki (which is linked in the sticky at the top of this forum). If you can get something outside a nice inverted L, maybe fed through a balun would be a simple solution. Too, many folks love the Par End Fed antenna - I must admit I've never heard a bad word about that one.

73s Mike
 

LarrySC

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I built long wire type ant's for years. I stopped when I made a Windom. I can hear a frog fart in Fargo with Windom on my FGR-8800 Yaesu. If you have room or make it smaller: 66' wire about 22ga. Cut at 24' x 42'. Insert a TV Antenna Type Balun 4:1 ---- 300ohm to 75ohm. Put one end as high as makes good logic. Feed with RG-59 or 58. Put "F" conn on coax for balun end. The way you get it in the air is something you will have to figure out. Both legs are [+]. Not +/- like a diapole. Good Luck.
 

k9rzz

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One of the best SWL antennas I've ever had was 20 ft of telescoped aluminum pipe, mounted vertically on the top of an 8 ft wooden 2x4, fed with 'window line' to a tuner in the shack. I had 5 radials, each approx. 20 ft long from the ground portion of the feed point. This antenna *ROCKED*. It is sensitive to low angle DX signals, it can be tuned to any frequency from the shack, the feedline has practically no loss, and the feed point is elevated off the ground to also minimize losses.

John K9RZZ
 

JHARKNESS918

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well...thanks for the help... i just received an endfedz ef-swl hf end fed antenna from grove...now what...the manual was confusing and not sure how to hook it up....ready to give up.
 

W4KRR

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JHARKNESS918 said:
well...thanks for the help... i just received an endfedz ef-swl hf end fed antenna from grove...now what...the manual was confusing and not sure how to hook it up....ready to give up.

I have that same antenna. It's pretty easy. There's a screw terminal with a nut on the little black antenna box. You connect the antenna wire to it, and string the wire outside between two poles, two masts, two trees, or any way you can to get the wire up as high as you safely can. There's a second screw terminal that's used for a ground, I connected a length of wire from it to an 8 foot grounding rod driven into the ground. Then you get a length of coax cable long enough to connect to the SO-239 connector on the bottom of the black antenna box to the back of your radio.
 

JHARKNESS918

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I currently have a 15' mast mounted to my garage roof where my equiptment is .. the total height is about 30 feet. If I affix the end of the lead to the top of the mast, should i bring it down at an angle to the edge of the garage and then straight down to the box? The only problem I am finding is that I am using nowhere near the 45' of wire. Maybe that is what is confusing me. Picture a pitched roof garage, at the back of the garage at the peak is my dipole mast. My equiptment is towards the front. I could email some pics if it would help (and you wouldnt mind). I just got the itch. I have my AR3000A hooked up to the scanner antenna and picked up traffic on 11.175.... I just know that the new antenna would make a great difference and am getting antsy!! Thanks for your help!
 

W4KRR

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JHARKNESS918 said:
I currently have a 15' mast mounted to my garage roof where my equiptment is .. the total height is about 30 feet. If I affix the end of the lead to the top of the mast, should i bring it down at an angle to the edge of the garage and then straight down to the box? The only problem I am finding is that I am using nowhere near the 45' of wire. Maybe that is what is confusing me. Picture a pitched roof garage, at the back of the garage at the peak is my dipole mast. My equiptment is towards the front. I could email some pics if it would help (and you wouldnt mind). I just got the itch. I have my AR3000A hooked up to the scanner antenna and picked up traffic on 11.175.... I just know that the new antenna would make a great difference and am getting antsy!! Thanks for your help!

You can experiment with how the wire is run. It isn't that critical. Mine is hanging under the eve of my house; I live in an area where you aren't supposed to erect outside antennas. Not the ideal situation, but it works pretty well. It doesn't even have to be in a straight line. I would try to use all of the 45 feet, or at least as much as you possibly can.
 

JHARKNESS918

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thanks for your help, Ken. Ive tried a bunch of different configs and have quit for the day. I cant seem to find one that works any better than the standard telescoping antenna that came with the unit. I first tried tying up the end to my flagpole (18') looping it over the mast with my discone (30') and back down to the black box....horrible signal!! I was getting frustrated that i would be trying a new config and would have the 45' of spaghetti laying on the ground and it would come in until I moved it a little. I now have the black box mounted right off the ground, the antenna goes up vertically about 6' and then horizontally towards the northeast for the remaining 39' or so. I have been using 15.000 AM to try to get the config correct..Do you recommend anything else to tune to? I live northwest of philadelphia and think I picked up USCG on 15.889(?) USB out of chesapeake breifly...tomorrow is another day!!
 

W4KRR

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JHARKNESS918 said:
Another morning...more frustration...I think I have to move if I cant get this antenna to work!!

It may be that band conditions are just not that good now. It may not be the antenna's fault at all.
 

JHARKNESS918

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It was better last night. I rigged a rubber loop on my antenna instead of just draping it. I ran the end through the loop(about 27') and let the end hang down. Its sort of a slope and a vertical. Pulled in some stuff. I live just northwest of Philadelphia and picked up alot of radio checks on lsb ... a couple from florida and Arizona...weak but readable..and the moderator was south of cleveland. The only thing i noticed is that the hf government frequencies i had to adjust after the new config. For example 11245 USB (USAF GHFS) didnt come in clear until i tuned up to 11246.1 USB. Is that normal or should i do something else? Sorry, the freq as listed was 11175 USB , had to tune to 11176.1 to understand the voice!!
 
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