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Home and portable antenna issues.....

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Mark Tellez

Home and portable antenna issues.....

Hello all,

I am a relatively new KX3 user. So far I love the radio but I have had
some issues getting on the air. Almost all have been related to finding a
good portable and primarily a good home antenna. I've tried a number of
solutions and have yet to find one that works well.

I currently live in a townhouse – ground floor with a walking path looping
around the building. This means any antenna I use at home must
include a “cloak
of invisibility” – or reasonable facsimile or be able to be moved inside
during daylight hours.

For portable use I have tried the Alexloop antenna – it works fairly well
portable but is not a practical solution for home use since my outdoor
patio is 20ft away from my radio and tuning is simply not practical.

For portable I have also tried the Buddipole- works okay but it is heavy
for portable and changing coil settings at home isn't practical for same
reason as tuning the Alexloop. I like the quality of construction on the
Buddipole.

My latest test involves the Chameleon Hybrid-mini base with various
assorted whips (SGC303/ Buddipole long whip, etc). Although highly
portable the noise threshold seems very high and the reception is mediocre.
I have not tried the Chamelon whips yet but I am a bit skeptical that it
will make much difference. I have read good reviews on eHam so I am
wondering if there is a special trick to getting the Chameleon to perform
as advertised. Anyone have experience with these antennas?

So …..Not sure where to go from here.

I am looking for advice on the current solutions I have or recommendations
on something I have not tried yet.

My main concern with portable use is weight. My main concern with home use
is low visibility and also needing an antenna that works "well" close to
the ground since I'm in a ground floor condo.

I have debated playing around with wire (thin) loops since I have access to
an SGC 230 and 237 tuner.

I would love to know what has worked for others.

Thanks for the help.

Mark
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W4GRJ

Re: Home and portable antenna issues.....

I have been where you are and then some ... Long story short, after trying almost every portable antenna I have what I think is a wonderful, simple solution. I take little Tarheel II screwdriver antenna and mount it on a short sturdy camera tripod with a few ground radials. It works almost as good as my 102' long wire and is amazingly quiet. I got the antenna mount for the tripod on EBay. It works great, takes 5 minutes to set up.
Good luck
Jack
W4GRJ

On Mar 9, 2015, at 12:48 PM, Mark Tellez <[hidden email]> wrote:

Hello all,

I am a relatively new KX3 user. So far I love the radio but I have had
some issues getting on the air. Almost all have been related to finding a
good portable and primarily a good home antenna. I've tried a number of
solutions and have yet to find one that works well.

I currently live in a townhouse – ground floor with a walking path looping
around the building. This means any antenna I use at home must
include a “cloak
of invisibility” – or reasonable facsimile or be able to be moved inside
during daylight hours.

For portable use I have tried the Alexloop antenna – it works fairly well
portable but is not a practical solution for home use since my outdoor
patio is 20ft away from my radio and tuning is simply not practical.

For portable I have also tried the Buddipole- works okay but it is heavy
for portable and changing coil settings at home isn't practical for same
reason as tuning the Alexloop. I like the quality of construction on the
Buddipole.

My latest test involves the Chameleon Hybrid-mini base with various
assorted whips (SGC303/ Buddipole long whip, etc). Although highly
portable the noise threshold seems very high and the reception is mediocre.
I have not tried the Chamelon whips yet but I am a bit skeptical that it
will make much difference. I have read good reviews on eHam so I am
wondering if there is a special trick to getting the Chameleon to perform
as advertised. Anyone have experience with these antennas?

So …..Not sure where to go from here.

I am looking for advice on the current solutions I have or recommendations
on something I have not tried yet.

My main concern with portable use is weight. My main concern with home use
is low visibility and also needing an antenna that works "well" close to
the ground since I'm in a ground floor condo.

I have debated playing around with wire (thin) loops since I have access to
an SGC 230 and 237 tuner.

I would love to know what has worked for others.

Thanks for the help.

Mark
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drewko

Re: Home and portable antenna issues.....

In reply to this post by Mark Tellez

Not sure how this would fit your particular logistics but take a look
at the 5-band 'cobweb' antenna. It's a folded wire antenna that fits
into relatively small space. I have one in my attic, running 100
watts, 10m thru 20m, the G3TXQ version at karinya.net. I'm quite happy
with it.

73,
Drew
AF2Z

On Mon, 09 Mar 2015 10:48:25 -0600, you wrote:

>Hello all,
>
>
>
>I am a relatively new KX3 user. So far I love the radio but I have had
>some issues getting on the air. Almost all have been related to finding a
>good portable and primarily a good home antenna. I've tried a number of
>solutions and have yet to find one that works well.
>
>
>
>I currently live in a townhouse ground floor with a walking path looping
>around the building. This means any antenna I use at home must
>include a cloak
>of invisibility or reasonable facsimile or be able to be moved inside
>during daylight hours.
>
>
>
>For portable use I have tried the Alexloop antenna it works fairly well
>portable but is not a practical solution for home use since my outdoor
>patio is 20ft away from my radio and tuning is simply not practical.
>
>
>
>For portable I have also tried the Buddipole- works okay but it is heavy
>for portable and changing coil settings at home isn't practical for same
>reason as tuning the Alexloop. I like the quality of construction on the
>Buddipole.
>
>
>
>My latest test involves the Chameleon Hybrid-mini base with various
>assorted whips (SGC303/ Buddipole long whip, etc). Although highly
>portable the noise threshold seems very high and the reception is mediocre.
>I have not tried the Chamelon whips yet but I am a bit skeptical that it
>will make much difference. I have read good reviews on eHam so I am
>wondering if there is a special trick to getting the Chameleon to perform
>as advertised. Anyone have experience with these antennas?
>
>
>
>So ..Not sure where to go from here.
>
>
>
>I am looking for advice on the current solutions I have or recommendations
>on something I have not tried yet.
>
>
>
>My main concern with portable use is weight. My main concern with home use
>is low visibility and also needing an antenna that works "well" close to
>the ground since I'm in a ground floor condo.
>
>
>
>I have debated playing around with wire (thin) loops since I have access to
>an SGC 230 and 237 tuner.
>
>
>
>I would love to know what has worked for others.
>
>
>
>Thanks for the help.
>
>
>

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ktalbott

Re: Home and portable antenna issues.....

In reply to this post by Mark Tellez

At home I would try one of the end feds, home brew or purchase. The EARCHI and the LNR work well. Use the SGC SG-230 and run the antenna wire (for stealth use the Davis RF POLYS-26 Black PE Coated) vertically up side of house, then horizontal (inverted L). I use RG174 for all QRP and it works well. For portable, use the Elecraft T1 and a wet string or virtually any wire configuration you favor (don't omit counter poise or enough coax to act as same). I love the KX3! (And I hate vertical white space in source code and emails. Sorry.) Good luck!
Ken - ke4rg
-----Original Message-----
From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Mark Tellez
Sent: Monday, March 9, 2015 12:48 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: [Elecraft] Home and portable antenna issues.....

Hello all,

I am a relatively new KX3 user. So far I love the radio but I have had some issues getting on the air. Almost all have been related to finding a good portable and primarily a good home antenna. I've tried a number of solutions and have yet to find one that works well.

I currently live in a townhouse ground floor with a walking path looping
around the building. This means any antenna I use at home must
include a cloak
of invisibility or reasonable facsimile or be able to be moved inside during daylight hours.

For portable use I have tried the Alexloop antenna it works fairly well portable but is not a practical solution for home use since my outdoor patio is 20ft away from my radio and tuning is simply not practical.

For portable I have also tried the Buddipole- works okay but it is heavy for portable and changing coil settings at home isn't practical for same reason as tuning the Alexloop. I like the quality of construction on the Buddipole.

My latest test involves the Chameleon Hybrid-mini base with various assorted whips (SGC303/ Buddipole long whip, etc). Although highly portable the noise threshold seems very high and the reception is mediocre.
I have not tried the Chamelon whips yet but I am a bit skeptical that it
will make much difference. I have read good reviews on eHam so I am
wondering if there is a special trick to getting the Chameleon to perform as advertised. Anyone have experience with these antennas?

So ..Not sure where to go from here.

I am looking for advice on the current solutions I have or recommendations on something I have not tried yet.

My main concern with portable use is weight. My main concern with home use is low visibility and also needing an antenna that works "well" close to the ground since I'm in a ground floor condo.

I have debated playing around with wire (thin) loops since I have access to an SGC 230 and 237 tuner.

I would love to know what has worked for others.

Thanks for the help.

Mark
______________________________________________________________
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Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
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Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [hidden email]

______________________________________________________________
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Barry K3NDM

Re: Home and portable antenna issues.....

In reply to this post by Mark Tellez

Mark,
You are faced with what is becoming common. I assume you are
running your KX3 barefoot. That makes your antenna installation
critical. The problem with most simple antennas are they require a very
good ground to really be effective. If you have been using the Buddy
Pole as a vertical and many other variants, you are trying to use a 1/4
wave antenna with out a ground which is a must for this configuration.

The Alexloop works well on 20-10 meters, but is very narrow band.
As you already own one and if you are running QRP, use it. Just tune it
around where you want to operate.

You don't mention whether you have an attic in your town house and
have access to it. If you do, a fan dipole in the attic works FB. The
problem will be to run you feed line down. You have a few choices. One
choice is to find the waste stack vent and feed your transmission line
beside the pipe. There is usually enough room for this, but you can only
run RG-8X for smaller, typically. The other choice is to run your
transmission line like the cable guys do it, drill a hole in the wall in
the attic and drop it down to where you want it to come in and drill
another hole and bring it in.

Portable antenna are interesting. You could use an end fed affair.
The one I like is distributed by the Hawaiian Emergency Radio Club, or
some name like that. They sell them as multiband antennas, but they work
best with correct wire lengths for the band you want to operate.
Changing to another wire in a 1 minute affair including recovering the
nut that you drop on the ground. It is basically a 9:1 unum with a 1/2
wave wire attached. A couple of #22 gauge wires and the unum shouldn't
exceed about a pound.

All of these suggestion will work, But they will not perform as
well a good beam or antennas in the clear. However, my suggestion for
the portable antenna does do a credible job; I have one.

73,
Barry
K3NDM

On 3/9/2015 12:48 PM, Mark Tellez wrote:

> Hello all,
>
>
>
> I am a relatively new KX3 user. So far I love the radio but I have had
> some issues getting on the air. Almost all have been related to finding a
> good portable and primarily a good home antenna. I've tried a number of
> solutions and have yet to find one that works well.
>
>
>
> I currently live in a townhouse – ground floor with a walking path looping
> around the building. This means any antenna I use at home must
> include a “cloak
> of invisibility” – or reasonable facsimile or be able to be moved inside
> during daylight hours.
>
>
>
> For portable use I have tried the Alexloop antenna – it works fairly well
> portable but is not a practical solution for home use since my outdoor
> patio is 20ft away from my radio and tuning is simply not practical.
>
>
>
> For portable I have also tried the Buddipole- works okay but it is heavy
> for portable and changing coil settings at home isn't practical for same
> reason as tuning the Alexloop. I like the quality of construction on the
> Buddipole.
>
>
>
> My latest test involves the Chameleon Hybrid-mini base with various
> assorted whips (SGC303/ Buddipole long whip, etc). Although highly
> portable the noise threshold seems very high and the reception is mediocre.
> I have not tried the Chamelon whips yet but I am a bit skeptical that it
> will make much difference. I have read good reviews on eHam so I am
> wondering if there is a special trick to getting the Chameleon to perform
> as advertised. Anyone have experience with these antennas?
>
>
>
> So …..Not sure where to go from here.
>
>
>
> I am looking for advice on the current solutions I have or recommendations
> on something I have not tried yet.
>
>
>
> My main concern with portable use is weight. My main concern with home use
> is low visibility and also needing an antenna that works "well" close to
> the ground since I'm in a ground floor condo.
>
>
>
> I have debated playing around with wire (thin) loops since I have access to
> an SGC 230 and 237 tuner.
>
>
>
> I would love to know what has worked for others.
>
>
>
> Thanks for the help.
>
>
>
> Mark
> ______________________________________________________________
> 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
> Message delivered to [hidden email]

Bill Frantz

Re: Home and portable antenna issues.....

In reply to this post by Mark Tellez

For home use, <http://www.n6bt.com/> has a 7 foot tall lawn
sculpture which operates on 20, 17 and 15. It doesn't look like
an antenna. It is new, and I don't have any experience with it.

I have a Little Tarheel II antenna on my 4Runner. It works well
on the higher frequencies. I used it with a K3/10 on 80M during
the California QSO party and every single station I managed to
contact said I was way down in the noise.

I have been impressed with the CrankIR
<http://www.steppir.com/crankir-vertical-and-dipole> idea.
However, While I don't have any experience with it, I think it
is worth a look.

73 Bill AE6JV

On 3/9/15 at 9:48 AM, [hidden email] (Mark Tellez) wrote:

>My main concern with portable use is weight. My main concern with home use
>is low visibility and also needing an antenna that works "well" close to
>the ground since I'm in a ground floor condo.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bill Frantz | Security is like Government | Periwinkle
(408)356-8506 | services. The market doesn't | 16345
Englewood Ave
www.pwpconsult.com | want to pay for them. | Los Gatos,
CA 95032

______________________________________________________________
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
Message delivered to [hidden email]

Elecraft mailing list

Re: Home and portable antenna issues.....

I like the Traheel for portable with any length wire you can add. At home QTH, I need to ask if you have access to the eves of the roof? Any amount of #18 tin plated copper wire added up and around the eves will do amazingly well on LP. I had access to a 24 foot ladder and screwed in the old insulated TV antenna standoffs and ran it around the house. If you can make it a loop, you can feed it with a 4:1 balun and work a lot of bands with a tuner. Closed loop is much more quiet than a end fed.

Mel, K6KBE

From: Bill Frantz <[hidden email]>
To: Mark Tellez <[hidden email]>
Cc: [hidden email]
Sent: Monday, March 9, 2015 12:59 PM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Home and portable antenna issues.....

For home use, <http://www.n6bt.com/> has a 7 foot tall lawn
sculpture which operates on 20, 17 and 15. It doesn't look like
an antenna. It is new, and I don't have any experience with it.

I have a Little Tarheel II antenna on my 4Runner. It works well
on the higher frequencies. I used it with a K3/10 on 80M during
the California QSO party and every single station I managed to
contact said I was way down in the noise.

I have been impressed with the CrankIR
<http://www.steppir.com/crankir-vertical-and-dipole> idea.
However, While I don't have any experience with it, I think it
is worth a look.

73 Bill AE6JV

On 3/9/15 at 9:48 AM, [hidden email] (Mark Tellez) wrote:

>My main concern with portable use is weight. My main concern with home use
>is low visibility and also needing an antenna that works "well" close to
>the ground since I'm in a ground floor condo.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bill Frantz | Security is like Government | Periwinkle
(408)356-8506 | services. The market doesn't | 16345
Englewood Ave
www.pwpconsult.com | want to pay for them. | Los Gatos,
CA 95032

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
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Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

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Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Message delivered to [hidden email]

______________________________________________________________
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Jessie Oberreuter-2

Re: Home and portable antenna issues.....

In reply to this post by Mark Tellez

I had a friend in a similar situation. We managed to catch a
building maintenance person who was happy to put our G5RV on the roof and
run the coax down a nearby drain pipe and under my friend's door.
Completely invisible! If you're anywhere near a down-spout, keep an eye
out for someone who can do you a favor :).

On Mon, 9 Mar 2015, Mark Tellez wrote:

> Hello all,
>
>
>
> I am a relatively new KX3 user. So far I love the radio but I have had
> some issues getting on the air. Almost all have been related to finding a
> good portable and primarily a good home antenna. I've tried a number of
> solutions and have yet to find one that works well.
>
>
>
> I currently live in a townhouse – ground floor with a walking path looping
> around the building. This means any antenna I use at home must
> include a “cloak
> of invisibility” – or reasonable facsimile or be able to be moved inside
> during daylight hours.
>
>
>
> For portable use I have tried the Alexloop antenna – it works fairly well
> portable but is not a practical solution for home use since my outdoor
> patio is 20ft away from my radio and tuning is simply not practical.
>
>
>
> For portable I have also tried the Buddipole- works okay but it is heavy
> for portable and changing coil settings at home isn't practical for same
> reason as tuning the Alexloop. I like the quality of construction on the
> Buddipole.
>
>
>
> My latest test involves the Chameleon Hybrid-mini base with various
> assorted whips (SGC303/ Buddipole long whip, etc). Although highly
> portable the noise threshold seems very high and the reception is mediocre.
> I have not tried the Chamelon whips yet but I am a bit skeptical that it
> will make much difference. I have read good reviews on eHam so I am
> wondering if there is a special trick to getting the Chameleon to perform
> as advertised. Anyone have experience with these antennas?
>
>
>
> So …..Not sure where to go from here.
>
>
>
> I am looking for advice on the current solutions I have or recommendations
> on something I have not tried yet.
>
>
>
> My main concern with portable use is weight. My main concern with home use
> is low visibility and also needing an antenna that works "well" close to
> the ground since I'm in a ground floor condo.
>
>
>
> I have debated playing around with wire (thin) loops since I have access to
> an SGC 230 and 237 tuner.
>
>
>
> I would love to know what has worked for others.
>
>
>
> Thanks for the help.
>
>
>
> Mark
> ______________________________________________________________
> 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
> Message delivered to [hidden email]