Subj : Looking into HAMing... To : Angus McLeod From : Deuce Date : Fri Aug 19 2005 12:00 am Re: Looking into HAMing... By: Angus McLeod to Deuce on Thu Aug 18 2005 21:05:00 > > 3) What should I be looking at for antennas to start off? Should I even > > consider picking up a used antenna? What I was thinking of to start off > > basic whip-style mobile andtenna... one for each band. Would I be better > > spending the money on an antenna tuner and building my own antennas? Bui > > own damn antenna tuner? Would building my own end up costing me more? > > You have not said if you mean for HF or VHF, whether it is to be mobile or > fixed, multi-band, directional or omni- or what. > > For fixed, omni- VHF then I'd recommend a home-brewed J-pole. Dead simple > to construct, works well, not an eyesore, prolly cost ya a buck, and if > you want more gain you can easily build a co-linear J-pole. > > For fixed, directional you can build your own yagi, but a quad or helix is > actually easier, and gives good performance too. If you want real high > gain you could build (or buy) a long-boom yagi, add more turns to your > helix or more elements to your quad. You'll need a rotator of some sort, > even if just the 'Armstrong' type. > > VHF mobile, you'd be better of with a mag-mount whip or similar. You can > run a J-pole or other homebrew antenna mobile, but they tend to be a bit > of a bitch to build and mount *neatly*, so I'd say buy a mag-mount. > > HF fixed, omni- I'd suggest buying (or building) some sort of vertical, > but expect high levels of noise. I don't know what your realestate is > like, but a horizontal loop is cheap, easy, invisible, and gives fair > omni- performance, but needs to go high, and takes up some space. Or you > could build a crossed-dipole array fairly easily, for omni- performance. > If you used inverted V's instead of true dipoles, you could build one with > only a single high point (mast/pole/etc). Do not ignore the viability of > a random wire and a tuner. My first 8P <-> VK contacts were with an old > transformer unwound, and the wire tossed outside and over a tree. > > Fixed directional, there are a HOST of wire antennas for you to play with, > from simple delta-loops, square loops, dipoles, inverted V's, G5RV's, etc, > before you even begin to construct a yagi. And again, a quad is probably > easier to construct than a yagi, and has good performance. > > HF Mobile is tough to build. Not impossible, but not easy. Particularly > if you need it to be multi-band. I'd look to buying something like an > Outbacker if you can get one at an affordable price. I thought I had mentioned I was thinking both a 2m and a 20/30m rig. Initially I don't want to get too into antennas until I have a better feel for whats around here... so I was thinking of three whips... 2m, 20m, and 30m. I was considering building a multi-band J-pole... start with tuning up the 2m then just add to the bottom as I get better at it and want lower frequencies. Something along the lines of this: http://archimedes.galilei.com/raiar/cpprcts.gif But it seems that to start, a whip is probobly the cheapest/easiest thing to grab. I wasn't thinking of getting into directional until a year or more down the road... and then if I want to put something in my camper, it's straight forward. given the cost of copper pipe though, it seemed like a set of whips would probobly be the faster thing to get me working on having more. I consdered a random wire, but it seemed I'd need to worry too much about matching impedence and such. As for my real estate... it's ideal except for one bit that worries me a bunch... I've got overhead power lines along the back alley, and they extend to the house. I'm right at the edge of town, and nobody is picky about looks and whatnot (I've got a digital TV antenna on a 30' boom on the roof already) going up high isn't an issue unless I need to build a tower or some other money-sucking project. Plus of course in Canada, the local authorities don't actually have the right to make antenna rules for amateur radio (though you're still expected to "consult" with them before you build a tower) So yeah, I'm looking for cheap, easy, omni, fixed. I don't want/need good until I have a better feel for what I want to do and what's around here... --- þ Synchronet þ ``Penguins make tasty snacks'' .