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Antenna for a KX1

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w7bia

Antenna for a KX1

Having acquired a beautiful KX1 from a very kind and patient member of this
list, I am ready to test it out and get it ready for travel.

Elecraft's FAQ page states:
" What we recommend in the KXAT1 manual for 40-20 m is about 24' of #26
insulated copper-clad steel antenna wire (available from The Wireman), used
as a vertical or "sorta-vertical" radiator. You'll also need at least one
ground radial, 16' or longer (more on that below). The wire can be tossed
into a tree, or, if a tree is not available, supported by a portable mast or
other support. The 24' length can be loaded on all three bands (20, 30 and
40 meters), and the wire itself weighs under 1 ounce."
For 80, they recommend:
" For 80 m, a resonant antenna is recommended. It should be possible to use
an 80 m antenna on multiple bands. A loading coil is another possibility to
get a shorter antenna running on 80 m."

What recommendations are there for a travel/portable antenna. I plan to use
it from hotel rooms around the country as I travel for work.
So far, I purchased two 100-foot rolls of 24 gage.

Thank you very much.

arnie

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Andrew Moore-3

Re: Antenna for a KX1

One of the best and most overlooked things about the KX1 is its *EASE OF
SETUP*.

Unlike other rigs, even the K1, the KX1 is like no other in that when you
think about getting on the air, you can actually do it in literally minutes,
if not a minute.

I found the recommended antenna setup of a longwire and even just one
counterpoise was the best way to go.

Yes you can get "better" antennas but they defeat the ease of setup, and the
recommended one simply works.

String it up anywhere. In the house, outside the house, along the ceiling,
wherever.. then just enjoy the KX1.

I recommend you get the BNC to binding post adapter (Palomar or something..
google it), as it makes setup and operation with longwire antenna and
counterpoise very simple.

Enjoy your KX1!

--Andrew, NV1B
..

On Fri, Jun 18, 2010 at 1:16 PM, arnie lewin <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Having acquired a beautiful KX1 from a very kind and patient member of this
> list, I am ready to test it out and get it ready for travel.
>
> Elecraft's FAQ page states:
> " What we recommend in the KXAT1 manual for 40-20 m is about 24' of #26
> insulated copper-clad steel antenna wire (available from The Wireman), used
> as a vertical or "sorta-vertical" radiator. You'll also need at least one
> ground radial, 16' or longer (more on that below). The wire can be tossed
> into a tree, or, if a tree is not available, supported by a portable mast
> or
> other support. The 24' length can be loaded on all three bands (20, 30 and
> 40 meters), and the wire itself weighs under 1 ounce."
> For 80, they recommend:
> " For 80 m, a resonant antenna is recommended. It should be possible to use
> an 80 m antenna on multiple bands. A loading coil is another possibility to
> get a shorter antenna running on 80 m."
>
> What recommendations are there for a travel/portable antenna. I plan to use
> it from hotel rooms around the country as I travel for work.
> So far, I purchased two 100-foot rolls of 24 gage.
>
> Thank you very much.
>
> arnie
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
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> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
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David Cutter

Re: Antenna for a KX1

In reply to this post by w7bia

I like the "near end fed" which uses a small 1:4 turns ratio (1:16 Z ratio)
toroid at 10% from the end of a half wave dipole (for whatever band). Put
the transformer (and tuning cap if needed) into a film canister. This makes
the coax length shorter/lighter for a lot of situations. Being shorter,
the coax could be RG174 (the very thin stuff) and ignore the loss.
Lightweight means safer if it comes unhitched from its mounting, so reduced
risk of damage for anybody or anything underneath if you are operating from
hotel bedroom.

The other one I like is the zip cord antenna: you just strip apart the
figure-of-8 cord until you get to the half wave dipole size you want. Very
lightweight and ok loss on the line if it's not too long.

David
G3UNA

> What recommendations are there for a travel/portable antenna. I plan to
> use
> it from hotel rooms around the country as I travel for work.
> So far, I purchased two 100-foot rolls of 24 gage.
>
> Thank you very much.
>
> arnie
>
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Don Wilhelm-4

Re: Antenna for a KX1

In reply to this post by w7bia

Arnie,

Try the recommended lengths first. While they are not optimum for any
one band, they certainly are known to work. Just throw the *insulated*
wire over whatever support is available and connect it to the BNC center
conductor - the 16 foot "counterpoise" wire connects to the BNC shell.
A BNC to 5 way binding post adapter is handy for making the connections.
For those occasions when weight and extreme portability are not
critical, you might want to add a collapsible pole to your kit to be
used as a support for the radiator portion when other supports are
scarce or difficult to hang an antenna from. Use a bungy cord or two to
secure the pole to just about any upright object.

Once you have something that you know will work, then you can expand
your horizons and try other antenna configurations if you desire. There
are no "best" antennas for any particular situation, use what works best
for you and whatever constraints that you are facing.

73,
Don W3FPR

arnie lewin wrote:

> Having acquired a beautiful KX1 from a very kind and patient member of this
> list, I am ready to test it out and get it ready for travel.
>
> Elecraft's FAQ page states:
> " What we recommend in the KXAT1 manual for 40-20 m is about 24' of #26
> insulated copper-clad steel antenna wire (available from The Wireman), used
> as a vertical or "sorta-vertical" radiator. You'll also need at least one
> ground radial, 16' or longer (more on that below). The wire can be tossed
> into a tree, or, if a tree is not available, supported by a portable mast or
> other support. The 24' length can be loaded on all three bands (20, 30 and
> 40 meters), and the wire itself weighs under 1 ounce."
> For 80, they recommend:
> " For 80 m, a resonant antenna is recommended. It should be possible to use
> an 80 m antenna on multiple bands. A loading coil is another possibility to
> get a shorter antenna running on 80 m."
>
> What recommendations are there for a travel/portable antenna. I plan to use
> it from hotel rooms around the country as I travel for work.
> So far, I purchased two 100-foot rolls of 24 gage.
>
> Thank you very much.
>
> arnie
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
>

The Smiths

Re: Antenna for a KX1

I've been in hotels where I've taken my wire and put it over the curtain rod and then around the room with the counterpoise laying on the floor. When the window opens I usually just drop the radiator out the window and let it hang. If I want to operate from the ground level some times I'll go up the emergency stairs to the roof and drop a line down to the floor level and set up outside the hotel... These have all yielded me good results. Have fun!

PS. In ALL cases I used the reccomended lengths and size of wire that Elecraft suggests for the KX1.. I use a stereo Bannan plug to BNC adapter to connect the wires to the rig.... Works Great, and is easy to add and remove wires as I see fit. Packs up easy too!

> Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:23:18 -0400
> From: [hidden email]
> To: [hidden email]
> CC: [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Antenna for a KX1
>
> Arnie,
>
> Try the recommended lengths first. While they are not optimum for any
> one band, they certainly are known to work. Just throw the *insulated*
> wire over whatever support is available and connect it to the BNC center
> conductor - the 16 foot "counterpoise" wire connects to the BNC shell.
> A BNC to 5 way binding post adapter is handy for making the connections.
> For those occasions when weight and extreme portability are not
> critical, you might want to add a collapsible pole to your kit to be
> used as a support for the radiator portion when other supports are
> scarce or difficult to hang an antenna from. Use a bungy cord or two to
> secure the pole to just about any upright object.
>
> Once you have something that you know will work, then you can expand
> your horizons and try other antenna configurations if you desire. There
> are no "best" antennas for any particular situation, use what works best
> for you and whatever constraints that you are facing.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
>
> arnie lewin wrote:
> > Having acquired a beautiful KX1 from a very kind and patient member of this
> > list, I am ready to test it out and get it ready for travel.
> >
> > Elecraft's FAQ page states:
> > " What we recommend in the KXAT1 manual for 40-20 m is about 24' of #26
> > insulated copper-clad steel antenna wire (available from The Wireman), used
> > as a vertical or "sorta-vertical" radiator. You'll also need at least one
> > ground radial, 16' or longer (more on that below). The wire can be tossed
> > into a tree, or, if a tree is not available, supported by a portable mast or
> > other support. The 24' length can be loaded on all three bands (20, 30 and
> > 40 meters), and the wire itself weighs under 1 ounce."
> > For 80, they recommend:
> > " For 80 m, a resonant antenna is recommended. It should be possible to use
> > an 80 m antenna on multiple bands. A loading coil is another possibility to
> > get a shorter antenna running on 80 m."
> >
> > What recommendations are there for a travel/portable antenna. I plan to use
> > it from hotel rooms around the country as I travel for work.
> > So far, I purchased two 100-foot rolls of 24 gage.
> >
> > Thank you very much.
> >
> > arnie
> >
> > ______________________________________________________________
> > Elecraft mailing list
> > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> > Post: mailto:[hidden email]
> >
> > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> >
> >
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

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Michael Babineau-2

Re: Antenna for a KX1

In reply to this post by w7bia

Arnie :

I have found that a 28 ft "sorta-vertical" wire to be a bit less picky w.r.t. positioning than the 24 foot wire.
It will match equally well on 20m and 30m but is somewhat easier to match on 40m than a 24 footer.
The 24 foot wire will match fine with the KXAT1 on all three bands as long is it is quite vertical.

BTW what you want is the POMONA BNC to binding post / banana adaptor.
Note that the POMONA adaptor allows two banana plugs to be connected to each terminal.
The RED terminal goes to the center conductor on the BNC and the Black the BNC shield
on the rig.

I also highly recommend the Radio Shack solderless Banana plugs. The wire is
secured by a screw-on metal shell ... and my recommendation is that once you
install it put a dab of LOCTITE or clear nail polish or it will eventually come
unscrewed and you will lose the shell part in the grass ! It put these on the ends of
all of my portable wire antennas.

For a ground plane I use a 20 foot length of 5 conductor computer ribbon cable
with all 5 wires connected to a R/S solderless banana plug. About 4 feet from
the plug I put a piece of electrical tape then I go to the opposite end of the
ribbon cable and unzip all of the wires up to the point of the tape. This
provides a clean way routing the ground plane wires away from the rig
and then the wires splay out on the ground. I find that this
is pretty quick to deploy and works pretty well from most locations that I
operate. If I feel I need more radials I have a second set of 5, identical to the first
so I can deploy 10 which is about the limit of my patience in deploying radials.
;-)

I did a lot of experimentation trying to come up with a shortened wire antenna that could be supported by a 20 ft
Crappie pole such as the Black Widow or Shakespeare Wonderpole that would work on 40m through 20m
with the internal tuner in the KX1 . What I finally settled on and have been using for portable operation with my
KX1 for some time is a 20 ft linear-loaded wire made from R/S indoor twinlead.

Details as follows :

Vertical radiator is a 20 foot piece of twinlead with the top shorted (ie both
wires connected together at the top end and soldered). I just tape the twinlead
to the fiberglass pole.

The two bottom wires on the twin lead each have their own R/S solderless
banana plug installed.

On 20m and 30m both bottom wires on the twinlead are connected to the center
conductor of BNC on the rig via the RED terminal on the POMONA adaptor,
making the antenna just a fat 20 foot wire.

On 40m only one of the two bottom wires on the twin-lead is connected to the
center conductor of the BNC on the rig via the RED terminal on the POMONA adaptor
(the other wire is left floating) this effectively creates a 40 foot vertical wire folded back on itself
at the 20 foot mark.

On 40m the folded wire creates a linear loading effect due to the capacitive
coupling between the two wires (note that currents are not equal and opposite so
there is no cancellation of signal as you might initially think). This added capacitance
allows the wire to be resonated on 40m by the internal tuner in the K1, KX1 or also
by the Elecraft T1.

In both cases my ground radial system is connected to the BNC shield via the
BLACK terminal on the POMONA adapter.

Note that 20 feet is not that far off of the normal 33 feet required for a 1/4 wave
so the performance is not bad on 40m.

This is a very simple antenna that works well on 40m through 20m.
I have made hundreds of QSOs on 40m/30m and 20m operating portable with
this setup.

Best of luck with your "new" KX1.

Michael VE3WMB

P.S. I also discovered that a 14 foot piece of twinlead in the "linear-loaded configuration"
will load fine on 40m when supported on a 13 Ft fiberglass pole and I use this with a 29 foot
trailing wire for pedestrian mobile operation with my KX1.
Note that when the twinlead wires are shorted at the bottom to make a "fat" 14 foot wire this
will load fine on both 30m and 20m. Actually the minimum length of wire that will match
on these two bands is about 12 feet.

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ka2zey

Re: Antenna for a KX1

In reply to this post by w7bia

I have tried the suggested lengths given for KX1. I have a 24' wire running vertical up about 22' (the rest comes down to the KX1) and 2 16' radials connected to the black connector on the Poloma Banana plug. I am able to get a good SWR reading on 10 and 20 (still no contacts) but 40 is nothing below 4:1. Am I doing something wrong?

Another user posted that they were using 42' with a 1/4 wave radial for each band.

thanks,
D

Rick Dettinger-3

Re: Antenna for a KX1

Sometimes, I have had to reposition my radials to get a good match on
some bands. I think that the KX1 tuner has the least matching range
of all the Elecraft rigs, and you may need to experiment a little.

73,
Rick K7MW

On May 4, 2012, at 8:45 PM, ka2zey wrote:

> I have tried the suggested lengths given for KX1. I have a 24' wire
> running
> vertical up about 22' (the rest comes down to the KX1) and 2 16'
> radials
> connected to the black connector on the Poloma Banana plug. I am
> able to get
> a good SWR reading on 10 and 20 (still no contacts) but 40 is
> nothing below
> 4:1. Am I doing something wrong?
>
> Another user posted that they were using 42' with a 1/4 wave radial
> for each
> band.
>
> thanks,
> D
>
> --
> View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/Antenna-for-a-KX1-tp5196274p7529252.html
> Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
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>
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Mike WA8BXN

Re: Antenna for a KX1

In reply to this post by ka2zey

I didn't know the KX1 does 10 meters. For 40 meters, 24 feet of wire seems
rather short. Putting an external loading coil in series with the wire might
allow you to get the swr down to a reasonable value. How efficient it will
be is another question, especially with only 16 foot radials.

73 - Mike WA8BXN

-------Original Message-------

From: ka2zey
Date: 5/4/2012 11:52:53 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Antenna for a KX1

I have tried the suggested lengths given for KX1. I have a 24' wire running
Vertical up about 22' (the rest comes down to the KX1) and 2 16' radials
Connected to the black connector on the Poloma Banana plug. I am able to get

A good SWR reading on 10 and 20 (still no contacts) but 40 is nothing below
4:1. Am I doing something wrong?

Another user posted that they were using 42' with a 1/4 wave radial for each

Band.

Thanks,
D

--
View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble
com/Antenna-for-a-KX1-tp5196274p7529252.html
Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
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Dave wo2x

K3 IO board RFI mods

In reply to this post by ka2zey

Hi All,

Bought a July 2010 K3 that was factory built. Took it apart to install
another filter (getting ready to operate W2H special event this Sunday from
Lakehurst Naval Air Station, 75th anniversary of Hindenburg disaster).

Since I run the TX audio, PC IN & OUT, and RS-232 I checked to see if the
inductors were jumped out. The radio has a version XD audio IO board. I
performed the mods as per the tech note.

My question is the web site states it is supposed to be already done on new
K3s. Is there a cutoff date or serial number when? My concern is how many
more mods may not be done on this radio?

73
Dave
wo2x

-----Original Message-----
From: ka2zey
Sent: Friday, May 04, 2012 11:45 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Antenna for a KX1

I have tried the suggested lengths given for KX1. I have a 24' wire running
vertical up about 22' (the rest comes down to the KX1) and 2 16' radials
connected to the black connector on the Poloma Banana plug. I am able to get
a good SWR reading on 10 and 20 (still no contacts) but 40 is nothing below
4:1. Am I doing something wrong?

Another user posted that they were using 42' with a 1/4 wave radial for each
band.

thanks,
D

--
View this message in context:
http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/Antenna-for-a-KX1-tp5196274p7529252.html
Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
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kg8jk

Re: Antenna for a KX1

In reply to this post by Michael Babineau-2

The twin-line idea is awesome. Actually, I have several lengths of twin line set up to feed different antennas. I put solder lugs on one end and use small bolts/wing nuts to connect the feed line to different length zepps. One twin line is already 14ft so I will experiment with that. My feed point has two small bolts with wing nuts so I can try many different options: connect both ends to one bolt and use as you suggest as on 20/30/40 (with one end disconnected) - I am going to try that tonight, use them separated one hooked up to each leg of a dipole, or as an end-fed zepp by hooking up only one leg of the antenna. Now all I need is for the weather to stop dipping below zero and I can get out and play a little bit.
BTW, I don't use RS twin line. It is way too flimsy and doesn't have very many conductors. Seems to break too easily.
73
KG8JK