Inexpensive antenna for 10 to 180 meters

[SR385]

Money spent on a good manual tuner is well spent. You'll use one for almost anything you concoct out of wire to great advantage.

I got the Palstar AT1KM, the entry level model just to see what it was all about. My only regret was that I didn't suck it up and just buy their top model. The one I got is great but the top model is more efficient yet and will deal with full legal power a bit better.

My tuner has allowed me to tune up a ridiculous, randomly strung, not measured end-fed hunk of wire for use on 80m and it even loads it up on 160m. It's tons easier to tune up than people make it out to be as well.

1) Flip rig to low power on FM
2) Tune rig to band
3) key up and spin the inductor crank until it dips to the lowest swr
4) Adjust the capacitor for lowest swr..sometimes you need +/- a turn on the inductor and another tweak
5) Check again with full power
6) Switch back to SSB or whatever and go.

After a few runs, you get to memorize the inductor setting and it's even faster.

 

[W5LZ]

SR385,
I agree, no matter what the 'conventional' thinking is about tuners, they are very handy things to have around.
And like any particular piece of equipment there are some general things you ought'a know if you haven't used one before, or for a long time.
It's best to use as little inductance (number of coil turns) as possible. By nature, coils are sort of lossy. Necessary in some cases, but they still introduce some small losses, so use the least that you can get away with.
It's possible for a tuner to give 'sort of' wrong indications (like any other device), maybe not the lowest SWR at some points before finding the actual lowest SWR. Those "close but no cigar" points are usually very 'small', 'touchy', easily gone by. If you think of them as a 'dip', they are sort of 'shallow', if that makes sense. The 'right' one will be the one with the least amount of coil used. Don't bother measuring the amount of coil used with a micrometer, it just isn't worth it, "close" really does count.
***A word about 'losses'. Anything, including the feed line it's self, will introduce some losses if it's between the transmitter and the antenna. Until those losses get to be sort of 'much', they are normal and nothing to worry about, so don't.***
In general, meaning that there are always exceptions, the older style, 'old', bigger, ugly tuners tend to work as well as any of the new ones. "Yeah, so?" ... So that means that they are usually cheaper, if money is a criteria to start with! They also usually mean that they are not going to do the 'work' of finding the best impedance match for you, you have to do that 'work'. ('Work" is a four letter word but it really isn't that bad. ) That 'work' can also 'pay' for it's self in that you can make some really weird, odd, stupid looking antennas work just fine, which is the point, right? [Trust me, it's worth the look on someone's face when they see your 'antenna'!]
A safety ground on a tuner is a very nice thing to have, not to mention an 'RF' ground. (A 'safety ground' protects you. An 'RF' ground protects your radio and makes the tuner's job easier.)
The best advice anyone can give about tuners is to get a good one. 'Good' is not measured in $$$ and 'looks', it's measured in ability. As much as I like a tuner, none of them do miracles, they only make some things easier. Having gone through a bunch of them I've found that almost all of them work fine depending on how 'unreasonable' the antenna is for what it's being used for. Manufacturers usually advertise their tuners ratings in 'PEP' (bigger sounding numbers, right?). So having a tuner that's rated for twice whatever power level you intend to use is sort of mandatory (3 or 4 times that power level doesn't hurt anything except your wallet).
What's the best part about using a tuner? SWR (in most cases) just doesn't matter anymore... except if you're using coax. Ladder-line RULEZ!
- 'Doc

(if that doesn't start something, people here are smarter than I think they are ... Oooo, that's a good one too!)

 

[SR385]

I've got my 135' doublet with homemade 4.75" ladder all ready to go. 14ga for all of it, with spreaders I cut from acrylic sheeting, drilled on a drill press and fixed the wires in place using hot glue on both sides of the holes.

Right now my house is torn apart with siding contractors working on it. Just cut myself a nice box through the wall for a proper bulkhead. They think I'm insane.

I just have to get myself an aluminum plate as the bulkhead ground point and rewire my station ground and get myself some insulators for the ladder line.

Three days, no radio, I'm having withdrawals. Hopefully I get myself back on the air by next weekend.

Best hobby ever.

 

[Moleculo]

If you use Ladder line for the doublet (or whatever antenna), remember you need to use some kind of stand-offs from your tower or mast. Also, you can use coax if it's easier and not worry about the stand-offs. If you do it that way, you'll need to use some sort of balun. There is some loss involved when you coax, but depending on the length of the run, it may not be that important compared to the convenience.

 

[park]

There are many diffrent antennas, but one I have enjoyed for a few years is a 160 meter diploe fed with 75 ft of 450 ohm ladder line (very cheap) into a 1:1 and or 4:1 balum and antenna tuner. I don't run more than 300 watts (i have run KW's before) and this antenna works great for me on all HF bands.

The 160 meter guys will rag you for not having a lot of power and your not going to win any contest or be the strongest in a pile-up, but you can get on any band anytime you want. It's also a great AM and short wave antenna. Good luck.

73,
AC5PS


On the above antenna I don't use stand off's, instead I mounted a pully that stands off two feet at the top of a 50 ft. tower. That way I can lower the antenna incase of bad weather or if I need to work on it.

 

[TonyV225]

Ide look into a few of the CUSHCRAFT models There
nice antennas you may be able to find a good deal on EBAY. I know with a tuner and adjustment the imax and antrons can be shifted up and down as far as frequency but Im not sure how far its just a thought.

 

[N8ATS]

i agree wire is the way to go. cut wire resonant to the 160m band buy a good tuner and then run legal limit. the wire here is cut for 75, it will grab 160 but it is a stretch for the tuner and i limit it to 400 watts out. but 400 watts out gave me a 20 over signal report into ohio so not that bad. as far as on 75 where the wire is supposed to be, well i set the tuner where the book recommended it and trimmed the antenna and feedline so it grabbed right where the tuner said to be and i get nothing but great reports. and the antenna does work stellar on all hf bands for me 10-75m

 

[King Mudduck]

Thanks for all of the great replies guys!