Best option for an antenna

[W4WXP]

I decided to re-evaluate my needs and wants, and decided that I need 20 meters and 10 meters so I can check into the hurricane net and the local club net respectively. I might as well have 6 meter if I can make it work on the same antenna, though it's not crucial in the least. It also appears I can fit a 20 meter dipole in the space and visual restrictions I have. I just haven't been able to find an antenna design that specifically lists 20 and 10 meters in the same antenna. I'm assuming this is possible. I need to get the arrl antenna book and look these things up.

I have an Antron 99 and it works well for 10-15, and is acceptable on 17 - 20 (with a tuner of course).

[W0BTU]

Both HyGain and Cushcraft make verticals for 40 through 10 meters (some even cover 6) that don't require an extensive set of radials, using counterpoises right at the feed that are about a meter long.

How in the world is a counterpoise with radials only a meter long going to be effective on HF?

Put up a dipole. Perhaps an inverted-V with a tall center support.

[G0MRR]

Recommend EZ End fed. Its 16 metres long run through 1-9 balun and coax fed. Installation: Buy some plastic 18mm overflow tube cut and fix to your facia board of your flat roof, either horizontal or vertical. Drill holes through top and feed wire through. Size of your roof means you dress it from the end tip first 30ft. turn down short side 8ft and the remainder through opposite long run. Almost a U shape. Good for 80 down to 10 and easy installation.

[EI4GMB]

Hi There,
You might also consider a G5RV Jr.(51ft)(10m,20m,40m). This is an effective and cheap limited space antenna that can be matched on 10m,20m & 40m using a rigs internal tuner. It may suit your needs. Best of luck!

Kind Regards

Fred EI4GMB

[KB1CKT]

This was a mobile home, right? I wonder if a pair of hamsticks on the roof, 20m and 10m, would cover those two bands with low profile and reasonable performance, assuming that the roof was metal (is it?). If it's not metal, four resonate radials per hamstick should still fit; feed with some RG6 from home depot. [I suspect you'll need to use some of the coax as chokes, as the feedline will wind up looking like a radial, if it is lying on the roof.] Just seems that, for the upper bands, hamsticks might work very cheaply and effectively enough, and be low profile, even if located on the roof.

For 80m, run coax out from the shack, and then run a 66' wire as an inverted L. As high as possible, of course. Then throw down a few 66' radials onto the ground. Maybe toss in a few other shorter radials (length isn't critical), maybe a ground rod... Won't be perfect, but it should load, and make some contacts. You might luck out and not need a tuner (but the tuner might be nice to have anyhow). I had reasonably good luck with 5W PSK31 doing this on 40m--despite the L being no more than 6 high. Actually, if you splay the wires, you can put more than one radiator onto the coax feed point: if the other tree is 15' away, you might be able to get 20m and 80m on the same coax, with one piece of 16' wire and one piece of 66' wire.

[KB1CKT]

Another thought: what was wrong with endfed? You could use an inductor and capacitor, located outside (in a box of course), a radial or two, and coax back to the shack. No RF in the house. I just got an email that www.lnrprecision.com has a new set of endfeds; perhaps that or homebrewing your own would get the antenna outside.

Where was the shack, relative to the long run? Could just run the endfed wire off a random wire tuner out a window (or sneak wire through any opening in the house, really).

[KE6MGB]

There are plenty of options for you. I just pulled up your house on google maps, and it looks to me your neighbors have their own yard. Not sure how it's shared.

In any case, here are some options:

1.) Cushcraft R-6 or R-8 vertical. Both antennas include radials which screw on, and are about 3 ft in length each. You can ground mount this.

2.) MFJ vertical MFJ-1796. I believe it's only 12 ft tall. I used this antenna for many years and made some very nice DX. This is an easy one to mount on your eve, since it's not very tall. I had it mounted on my eve at roof level, and had no problem working stations that I could hear (far away even).

3.) OCF Dipole - I would recommend the Buckmaster OCF-4 band dipole. I just installed this antenna, and am making a ton of contacts. Again, if I can hear them, I can work them. This is a very easy antenna to install.

If you need to create a mast, buy a jmount mast ($15) - it's the kind you mount a small satellite dish to. Then, purchase aluminum tubing from dxengineering.com - build your own dipole mast. Cheap and easy to do.

Good luck...

[EI4GMB]

There are plenty of options for you. I just pulled up your house on google maps, and it looks to me your neighbors have their own yard. Not sure how it's shared.

In any case, here are some options:

1.) Cushcraft R-6 or R-8 vertical. Both antennas include radials which screw on, and are about 3 ft in length each. You can ground mount this.

2.) MFJ vertical MFJ-1796. I believe it's only 12 ft tall. I used this antenna for many years and made some very nice DX. This is an easy one to mount on your eve, since it's not very tall. I had it mounted on my eve at roof level, and had no problem working stations that I could hear (far away even).

3.) OCF Dipole - I would recommend the Buckmaster OCF-4 band dipole. I just installed this antenna, and am making a ton of contacts. Again, if I can hear them, I can work them. This is a very easy antenna to install.

If you need to create a mast, buy a jmount mast ($15) - it's the kind you mount a small satellite dish to. Then, purchase aluminum tubing from dxengineering.com - build your own dipole mast. Cheap and easy to do.

Good luck...

All interesting options-none of them cheap. A G5RV Jr. retails at approx $30. You do the math!

73

Fred EI4GMB