WorldwideDX Amateur Radio Forums

thanks guys . robb i dont know what the full usable tx range of the antenna is since i only have cb 40 here . i don't have a real sigma 4 , i have a homemade one with 4 basket elements like the vector 4k . and thanks for the suggestions . from what i understand these are not wide bandwidth antennas so i was thinking a tuner would be needed to cover the range of a rci 29xx or magnum 45/257 .

im just trying to get a good idea of what it would cost me to get a little taste of the pork butt band .

I don't want to scare you off of the Ham butt band, but you will be a fair portion into it once you get a tuner.

It will only be too easy for you to make your own 10-40m dipole for next to nothing. From there, a tech license will allow you to get what Hams call 'a real radio'. Which will have great filtering and adjacent freq rejection and cool, smooth RF output. It will spoil you.

After you do that for awhile, you will want to do more than just listening on 40, 20, and 17m. You will want to talk there.

And to think it all began when you bought your first ham tuner. You won't be the first, and maybe not the last. Besides, the idea of running 1,500 is as much a thrill as building your first hot rod too . . .

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BASE: Kenwood TS-2000 w/Alpha Delta DX-CC, Diamond X50A, Sirio SY27-4, and IMAX 2000.
MOBILE: Galaxy DX99V w/RF Limited CR-577 mic, Sirio Z-180. Yaesu FT-8800R & Diamond NR-770.
"...2 WR-011..."

Booty: You might consider just "Bread Boarding"(building) your first tuner. They are really quite simple...The PI network is a good all around start...or the Simple "L" network works well and can be just what you need for minor adjustments using coax feed antennas. Granted not the most effective design,but simple to construct and easy to use.

I have used about every basic design,
T-Network/L-Network/Pi...etc...Presently a Link-Coupled(Johnson Matchbox) and a double "L"(homebrew) for two of my antennas feed with 450 Ohm Ladder Line.
Just something to ponder, rather than purchase...your a good builder of "Thingies"(Sorry Doc)...so now your ready to take the next step...COOL..
Let me know what you decide...I may have a few tips and component items here you could use...
Looking forward to it future "Porker"
All the Best
BJ

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Yaesu FT-950 + FT-817 / Kwd TS-450sat
Yaesu FT-450at Mobile
Antennas are 95% of your signal,
"A dime in the antenna is worth a dollar in the transmitter any day"

AWWW Booty a future pork butter in the making

Nothing like having a morning cup of coffee, turn the rig on and find out how the weather is, In Asiatic Russia using 100 watts

A lot of sites explain in detail and just how to build home brew tuners, but for SWL purposes you may not need a tuner to just "listen" in on the 10 and 12 meter bands.

dentron or mfj dentron would be the best,i have a johnson viking but hard to find...73s de JW

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FT450d,TS520,RCI2950dx and 2980wx,seven Siltronix 1011d,FT250r ht,motorola maxtrac300 uhf SWAN1200x

The best 'simple' advice for a tuner for your antenna is that it should be rated to handle at least twice the power you think you might ever use. Why? Because of how tuners are typically 'rated' for power. As in bigger numbers makes you think it'd be more capable and manufacturers take advantage of that by using 'Pep' values. It's always a nice thing to have more capability than what you need. It all comes down to 'spacing'. The space between the turns of a coil and the space between the plates of a capacitor. The narrower/smaller those spaces the less voltage it takes to 'jump' or arc over. Any impedance transformation means higher than 'normal' voltages, so think 'bigger'.
And then, the bigger those capacitors and coil are the 'wider' the range of impedances the thing will be able to handle. So the 'size' of a tuner can be a very, very rough gauge of what the thing can do. The bad part about arcing is that it always leaves traces, 'bad' spots that contribute to easier arcing the next time. Those 'bad spots' can be polished out, or fixed, but it's a lot of work.
The warning that 'Robb' gave you is also something to think about cuz it's true! Once you get a taste of what's possible, it's kind'a hard not to want another taste...

- 'Doc