Amateur (Ham) Radio BS and Callsign Thread!

Ya, I am kind of leaning towards HI-Q antennas also. Their just huge and I want their Shakespeare Hummer mount..

 

I'm seriously considering a HI-Q just to get away from having to manually tune my coil every time I want to change bands. Truth of the matter is unless you're on 80m or 160m mobile, a hamstick or similar works just about as well as the most expensive alternatives.

 

Yep, the hamsticks are a lot cheaper too Also, the bandwidth @ 2:1 VSWR for the Hi-Q-5/160 on 1.8Mhz is 19kHz and 80m is 35kHz. however, efficiency and usable bandwidth from 40m - 10m is a lot better..
I still want a HI-Q dipole for portable use.

I am still "up in the air" as to which way I am going, no pun intended.

 

I picked up a BuddiPole Deluxe Long (with the standard coils) for portable use.
It does a fantastic job for 40-10m. Can be tuned on 6m, and 2m also.

If I pick up the big coils sometime later it will also do 80, although I honestly don't care

I want a Hi-Q 4/80 for the truck because I'm too lazy to re-tune for other bands, so if 20m is dead, I just turn the radio off.

 

IMHO screwdrivers in my ORDER http://www.gs-mfg.com/, http://www.scorpionantennas.com/, http://www.hiqantennas.com/. If not those id make something like this http://www.buzzbar.com/w8uzzjeep.html

 

Holy cap hats batman!!! That's a pretty cool setup on that Jeep. I think I will order one of the MFJ-1906HD fiberglass 38FT pole to replace a heavy Rohn 40' one I am using for a CCD 20/40 dipole.
W8UZZ makes some really cool stuff!!!

I was also looking at the buddipole for portable use also and with the MFJ mast above, that may work well.

 

http://www.mgs4u.com/fiberglass-push-up-mast.htm
Ive had the MK-8-HD outside for 2+ yrs and still looks NEW. I did not paint like the hexbeam fiberglass.

 

Those are great radios. A while back, Waste Management in my town was getting rid of all there icom radios in the dump trucks and going back to cell phone. My buddy had some connections and bought 40 of them for $800. 3 days later, his garage got broken into and stole a boat load of stuff including the radios.

 

Well, I decided to swap in the IC 7000. Currently using a mag mount (works for now) and a Wilson 1000 cut for 28.500Mhz. I did grab a Tram adapter so I can use a 20m hamstick (while parked) until I figure out a more permenant solution. Tempted to order a LDG at-100 for a 102" whip which would get me 10m-17m. I prefer a resonant antenna though. Hmmm?

 

Icom radio, Comet antenna/mount, and Relentless bracket. I am 2m ready!



(also I have seasonal allergies)

 

Build a tray it's easy and cheap an SD keeps it from resting on connections

 

Hey fellow ham'ers! just want to show you my setup and would like some feedback from all you experts out there. I have a Kenwood TM281a with 1/4 wave Larsen antenna mounted to the hood. My main concern is the hood pinch on the coax cable. Any of you guys and gals who have the same setup please share your experience or issues. Thanks

 

Mine is like that, no troubles.

 

I would have mounted closer to the windscreen and just routed in the wiper cowl..

 

I had my VHF/UHF on the edge of the hood at first. I did actually end up damaging the coax after about a year.
I think not having the antenna move with the hood will make it a little easier to adjust how the coax sits.

I might recommend drilling two holes in the vertical section of the mount, and running two zip ties to hold the coax securely in place along side the mount.

 

Thanks for the tip Where do you currently have your coax mounted to?

 

I have a CBI hood mount for one of my antennas. I ran the cable in through the driver's door, into the trim and under the carpet. No pinch points.

 

I would get the CBI hood mount only if they made one for NMO style connectors. The concept of mounting it to the hood hinge bolts would solve my issue.

 

Just drill it out, I had to for the VHF connector.

 

I would not want to push 50 watts of RF into my head like that. Get it up on the roof, and it will serve as a nice ground plane and create a better transmission pattern. W1VVK