Mobil Antenna Thoughts

[Dealer]

While eagerly awaiting a new Used radio and tuner, My thoughts have turned to antennas.

Let me say this at the outset, I can not afford to start with a super whizzbang antenna at
this time.

I have researched many in the last few days on eham and elsewhere such as at K0BG.com

Alan Applegate has much good information however, a lot of it is of his opinion and of course we all have those.

I know that I value mine very much

Alan says that God have mercy on the poor soul that resorts to using mag mounts for
his mobil install. We have all heard the remarks about the number of contacts ect.
does not make for a good antenna. If I can hear them I can talk to them means not anything ?

Well pray tell what the Heck does.. I have over the years read most of the books
and the teachings on antennas, that the less than educated in higher learning can
understand and get a grasp on.

I think that it is fair for me to say that I have a reasonable grasp on the higher bands
both from the Base and from the North Texas Portable (mobil) that is, and not withstanding
all of my antennas are over a 4 disk Mag Mount.

This all leading to the use of Ham Sticks on 20,40,80 ect. with the possible use of a shunt coil
to get me rolling, and of course using my mag mount on the toolbox about 6 inches back from the cab.

How if any this would affect the use of a auto tuner I have yet No Ideal..

Later I would like to try a Texas Bug Catcher before any screwdriver in the six hundred dollar class. You can wager before paying out that much, I Will Lay Hands On.

If the Ham Sticks work out then I am not to proud to keep using them Heck I can change bands at the blink of an eye..

What are your thoughts, hopefully based on experience but opinions are also welcome.


Best Regards,
John KD5WJY

 

[W5LZ]

About those 'hamsticks'.
At 20 meters and above, they do well. Below 20 meters they start doing 'not so well' until you get to 40 meters. From 40 meters down, that 'not so well' really gets 'not so well'! That goes for any of that type of antenna, not just one particular brand.

Impedance matching devices.
That shunt coil thingy is probably the easiest to 'do', which tends to work out as being the most common way of doing things. Is it the 'best'? No idea, but probably, when all things are considered.

Mag-mounts.
Are they the 'best' way of mounting an antenna? Electrically, no. But a better way of saying that is that they may be 'best' for some people in their particular circumstances.

There's a lot of lee-way with antennas in general. You can make almost anything work if you want to bad enough. That doesn't say anything about how well it may work, but that's sort of variable anyway.
If you're fabulously rich, like me, you can try all these things out and see how they do (which is just another way of saying making all them @#$ mistakes).
- 'Doc

 

[Moleculo]

If you don't feel like drilling holes, then use the quad mag mount...it will work fine. As you've read, it's not the best, but a mobile station is all about which compromises we're willing to live with, right? The hamsticks work OK, especially to get/keep you on the air, but Doc is "right-on-the-money" about how well they work on the low bands. I've used one in a pinch on 75 meters, and I decided I really didn't want to do that again.

Another fairly inexpensive way to go is to use the Hustler resonators. You get one of the stainless masts and just swap resonators (coils) whenever you feel like changing bands. The price of each resonator is between $25-$35, so you could just get the ones for the bands you want to use. Hustler also sells an adapter that allows you to mount four resonators with whips at one time so you don't have to change them, but your vehicle will look like a porcupine. I know someone that uses the 80 meter resonator and is pretty happy with it.

You could always use the autotuner instead of the hamsticks. You would just get a 102" whip (or longer!). Your autotuner will be able to easily load up 20meters and above, and it will work fairly well. It will probably be able to load up 40 meters, especially if you use a shunt coil at the feedpoint. That won't be the greatest thing in the world for 40, but it will probably get you on the air. I have my doubts about whether it will be able to load up 80 meters, though. Actually, a good combination might be to just use the auto tuner for 20 and up, and then swap it out for the hustler on 40/80. You could even put the 102" whip on top of the 40/80 resonator (it won't be resonant, though) and then use your tuner to adjust it from there. That would be a fairly economical way to go.

 

[SR385]

IMO, drill holes in your toolbox for the mount and for ground straps.

Ground connections matter a LOT for HF mobile.

It's only a tool box so when you sell it, simply take a short stainless bolt and fill the holes that way. Nobody would care about that, they wouldn't even be noticed.

102" whip with an SGC-237 auto tuner in my Wrangler, matches all the advice above, mobile HF works much better 20m and higher in frequency. To work low bands effectively, you need a full sized screwdriver or a bug catcher, carefully tuned and grounded....even then, 40m and down, an amp is really needed if you want a very solid signal.