Portable HF antenna

[Mashurst]

I just picked up a TS-450SAT and I'm looking forward to using it out in the mountains. I need to work on my antenna setup next.
I'm thinking something that can be tuned on 10m-80m with the 3to1 tuner in the 450, can be set up in less than maybe 15 min by one person and will have good efficiency to give me a fighting chance at working a bit of DX on 100w SSB. I like the idea of making my own but I'm willing to look at commercials as well.
Anyone have a setup they like?... G5RV, inverted V, slopper, windom, a loaded vertical? What about the Buddy pole/Buddy stick? or that H shaped one?

 

[gary in ohio]

I just picked up a TS-450SAT and I'm looking forward to using it out in the mountains. I need to work on my antenna setup next.
I'm thinking something that can be tuned on 10m-80m with the 3to1 tuner in the 450, .........

Since your looking at 100watts I assume your not talking a man portable station. a simple dipole hung over a tree would work fine. Unless your building your own, skip any g5rv or windoms since almost no one makes a real one. Make yourself a couple of dipoles 80/40 with a aligator clip to jump between bands.
Similar one for 20/10m..

 

[1911]

I use a Buddipole with my TS-480SAT and like it real well. It fits all your criteria, though you would need a different coil for 80 Meters. It's like an Erector Set or the Tinkertoys of portable antennas, you can build whatever you want/need on the spot. It's not cheap, but it is a pretty complete solution that can be carried all in one small bag about the size of a small-ish tent bag. I've used mine on 10, 12, 17, 20, and 40 Meters so far. I've tried several different dipole configurations but have found that for me a simple vertical with a single wire counterpoise works the best for DX. I have made SSB phone contacts all over the world with 100 watts through mine. There is an excellent support group in the form of a Yahoo Groups mailing list also.

45-degree dipole at my home QTH:

Vertical dipole set up on my roof rack in rural far east Texas:

I don't have any current photos of the single vertical that I'm using now but it is super simple to set up and tune.

 

[mep1811]

HF antenna

Have you thought of a NVIS antenna? Here are a couple of links to make your own NVIS antenna.


http://hometown.aol.com/alonestaryank/ENVISANT.html

http://hometown.aol.com/alonestaryank/NVISKIT.html

http://www.stealth.ae/plugins/custompages/detinf.php?id=372&id_categories=136

Or try this one

http://www.codanhf.com/OurProducts/Antennas/9350Whip/Features/tabid/767/Default.aspx

 

[1911]

... and will have good efficiency to give me a fighting chance at working a bit of DX on 100w SSB.

Have you thought of a NVIS antenna?

Aren't NVIS antennas designed for regional contacts less than 500-600 miles? No experience with them personally; just asking.

 

[mep1811]

Just putting out an option.

 

[Mashurst]

Thanks for all the input guys

Since your looking at 100watts I assume your not talking a man portable station.

The thing tips the scale at something like 16 lbs so I hope I never have to hand carry it very far.

a simple dipole hung over a tree would work fine. Make yourself a couple of dipoles 80/40 with a alligator clip to jump between bands. Similar one for 20/10m..

This is sage advise I'm sure. A simple dipole is hard to beat for value. Do you have a favorite method of getting your lines up in trees? A launcher of some kind? or just a weight on the end of a string?

Unless your building your own, skip any g5rv or windoms since almost no one makes a real one.

What do you mean here? What constitutes a "real one"? I would be almost certainly be building my own. Are you saying the commercial ones deviate from some canonized design? If so the next question would be why and do they work better in some way?

I use a Buddipole with my TS-480SAT and like it real well. I don't have any current photos of the single vertical that I'm using now but it is super simple to set up and tune.

I have a friend with one and I used it a bit once. They do seem to have versatility nailed but I wonder with all the different configurations and all of them being so close to the ground if it's more show than function. If you have settled on the vertical configuration, do you still figure the rest of the stuff is worth while? Are you running both sides in the vertical configuration or have you gone to just a setup that is basically just the buddy stick?

 

[Tennmogger]

Your blue FJC looks like Schlumberger My wife's FJC does too.

Back on topic, a G5RV works well for me. An off-the-shelf antenna is not unreasonable, or you can make one yourself for cheap. I was out camping this weekend and put a G5RV between a couple of trees. Using an LDG Z-11 Pro auto tuner for convenience I worked many stations on all the HF bands, including 60m. Contacts were made all over the USA and also Quebec, England, Isle of Malta, Barbados, Venezuela, Germany, Slovenia, Finland, France, and Cuba. That was with 30W with a PRC-320 (British Clansman backpack transceiver) and battery.

IMHO the longer wire antennas will far outperform a short loaded antenna. Simple wire antennas work great if you have a few minutes to string one up.

Bob WB4ETT

 

[1911]

I have a friend with one and I used it a bit once. They do seem to have versatility nailed but I wonder with all the different configurations and all of them being so close to the ground if it's more show than function.

All I can say is that I've logged QSO's to Japan, Norway, Ireland, Greece, Central and South America and some others I don't remember with mine, all with 100 Watts or less. Most of them in less-than-ideal conditions, i.e. close to the 15' high metal building my shack is in.

If you have settled on the vertical configuration, do you still figure the rest of the stuff is worth while? Are you running both sides in the vertical configuration or have you gone to just a setup that is basically just the buddy stick?

What I use most is definitely more like a Buddistick than a Buddipole. I use only one set of arms, whips and a coil (if need be), and just a simple 1/4-wavelength wire counterpoise for the other half of the dipole. It's quicker to set up and take down, easier to tune (by just rolling or un-rolling some of the wire), and works great for DX contacts. Not sure if the Buddistick comes with the tripod and mast or not though, and I do use those. There are some extra accessories worth having that I bought too, like longer arms and longer whips, so you don't even need a coil on the lower bands. And the Rotating Arm Kit.

If I was buying it all over again, I might just buy the Buddistick and then add the accessories I wanted.

 

[xtatik]

Preferably I like to use full-sized dipoles or a 20/40 loaded dipole that I purchased recently. But, I can only hang these with some help unless there are some well-placed trees in the area. In forested areas without well-placed or approprite height trees, and with persons to help...I do this:

It's a Max-Gain 50' heavy duty telescoping mast. I also have a second one cut back to 40'. They both work great for getting dipoles to their optimal height.
With trees and without help, I use a a modified "wrist-rocket" style slingshot with an attached Zebco 33 casting reel to launch a line into the trees. I made mine, but there are commercially available slingshot style launchers that can be purchased.

In the deserts, again with help, I use the Max-Gain masts. Without help, I use something entirely different. I had considered the BuddiPole but wasn't convinced I could get them high enough to function properly in the desert. The mast system they provide is nowhere near adequate for anything below 10m.
So, I hunted around for different portables and found this. It met my criteria with one point being that I could deploy it in crappy conditions (gloves or numb fingers and dogs blowing off their chains), and do it quickly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIRQeaPqVj4

http://transworldantennas.com/

Technically it's a capacity-hatted vertical dipole, and they have been mfr'd for use on dxpeditions for years by several makers. They are quick to deploy and like being near the ground. They come with a few operational caveats like most any antenna...but, once understood, they work great. I've turned a few offroaders onto this setup and they seem just as pleased.

 

[1911]

Your blue FJC looks like Schlumberger

Yes, it's almost exactly the same shade of blue! Fortunately, I'm mostly using Weatherford for open-hole logs these days.

My wife's FJC does too.

Dang it, now it's a chick's truck! :sombrero:

http://transworldantennas.com/

Technically it's a capacity-hatted vertical dipole, and they have been used on dxpeditions for years by several makers. They are quick to deploy and like being near the ground. They come with a few operational caveats like most any antenna...but, once understood, they work great. I've turned a few offroaders onto this setup and they seem just as pleased.

Yeah, I've been thinking about buying one too. Looks like it would deploy really quickly without much fiddling to tune it. That is one drawback of the Buddipole, you pretty much have to tune it again every time you change location or configuration, though with practice you can do it pretty fast.

 

[SP Jon M3]

Randy got me interested in the TW antenna. I've had the TW2010 (20m, 17m, 15m, 12m, and 10m) and the 4040 (40m) center section for close to a year now. I can say that with the exception of 1 time, the 2010 antenna was tuned right at setup (1.1 at the center of the SSB portion of the band). There was no adjusting needed. The only time I had to tune the 2010 was when I was camping on an old iron ore mining site, all the metal in the ground was causing issues. Now the 4040 center is a bit pickier and usually needs to be tuned to get to the part of the band you want to work. It has a very narrow sweet spot. Overall I've been very happy with the TW. The other advantage is that setup is very quick, especially since you rarely if ever have to tune the antenna. Another operator was using my setup and he was able to get Lithuania with only 5w!

 

[DarioCarrera]

I've heard good things about the Superantenna YP3. I was thinking of buying one to see the results. Does anyone know it? anyone used it?

Here is a link to the manufacturer for reference:

http://newsuperantenna.com/YP3/

 

[Ludedude]

Here's another portable option for multi-band use. http://www.n6bt.com/n6bt-Bravo7K-1.htm

 

[Mashurst]

Thanks for all the input guys. There are a lot of nice options here.
The TW is a Cadillac for sure. The fact that to get both 20 and 40 requires two center sections and big price jump is a bummer.
Those last two both look great. The Bravo in particular is one I have not seen and it looks like it has a lot going for it… simple, cheap, light, and easy to set up, lots of bands covered, good take off angles.
Anyone find a price on the Super antennas? That looks like it would be really cool for a more extended DXpedition or even field day type deal, but it looks like it may be a bit much for an afternoon in camp type setup. Still a beam in the field would be super cool.