I have a nice 2 meter and 73 cm rig for the house to talk on.
I am interested in acquiring a transceiver that would allow me to do some DX work. I am learning CW, but not quite there yet. I understand that SSB sometimes has some good DX potential. Does anyone have a suggestion for a good rig that would allow me to (1) talk on SSB phone DX; and (2) be upgradable to a CW sending/receiving device in a few months.
I would also like some suggestions for pairing the radio with antennas.
Most HF or HF+6 meter rigs out there will also do CW.
As a Tech, you are, of course, entitled to 10 meter SSB and Data on a portion of the band as well as CW on 10, 15, 40 and 80. You might find some action on 6 meters SSB and with a small beam on 6, you could also work meteor scatter there to make brief contacts.
You don't say anything about budget. HF rigs come in all shapes, sizes, and prices, thought there is a realistic limit to how low you can go. You say you want to work DX - that actually requires much more in terms of antennas than it does the radios. Almost any radio these days will work DX, when attached to a great antenna.
The solar behavior right now is very strange, and it's really hard to peer into the crystal ball and try to guess what conditions will be like this fall. Last year, 15, 12, and 10 meters were decent to fabulous (12 was really great). If you have the money and can put up a decent antenna, put up a tower and put a good all band antenna on it - like the Steppir or a log periodic for HF. The next step down would be a triband beam on a roof tower. Down from that would be a Hexbeam on a pushup mast on the roof. Next step down would be a trap vertical on the roof with radials. And so forth and so on. People will tell you that you can work the world with an indoor wire coat hanger for an antenna, and maybe you can, but I wouldn't. If you can't have a decent home station, mobiles can be very effective.
A mediocre radio on a great antenna will work the world. A great radio on a mediocre antenna probably won't, though with patience, anything can be made to work. It's a whole lot easier to build a station to work the domestic U.S. and North America, than one that will work the Indian Ocean from here any time of the day or night. Have you ever seen pictures of a commercial HF radio station from decades ago? All you see are antennas - for a reason.
For a new entry radio, I'd look at an IC-7200, FT-590, Ten Tec Jupiter or Eagle, or TS-590, in particular. Of those, I would lean toward the Ten Tecs for several reasons - customer support, U.S. built. The Kenwood is also very highly rated in terms of receiver performance. There are bountiful videos of these rigs in action on YouTube.
EchoLink, IRLP and DSTAR - adding interest to repeaters worldwide 24X7
Thanks for your thoughts on this. They are helpful. I am limited in terms of antennas. I have a wife who is deathly afraid of lightning and so doesn't want a tower or anything mounted on the roof. I understand what you're saying: that limits the amount of DX work you can do.
I have thought about a mobile with one of those longer whips, etc., and that may be the way I wind up going. But before I do anything else, I'm going to look at the radios you've just suggested.
Also, I can't do a ground mounted antenna because I sit at the bottom of a big hill.I would pretty much be limited to transmitting Southwest to Southeast.
Maybe I need to move to a better location where I can get around covenants and hire an electrician to get around my wife. *s*
I've had a Icom IC-718 for a couple months now, and I love it. Its built solid, could probably kick it out of a black hawk helicopter and it would be fine. I can't complain about this radio, there is just nothing I see wrong with it. It's priced at about $800 new, could probably get a nice used one for $600. Take a look at G5RV antennas, I run one about 4 inches off the tile on my roof ( at the lowest point, 3 feet at the highest ), and it works very well from what i've found. It doesn't have to be more than a couple inches off the roof and be fine, and I'm sure there is a tree higher than what that antenna will be setup at within maybe a quarter mile of your location, so lightning wouldn't really be a concern. I mean, you could take a IC-718 mobile, but it would be a bit big, though it isn't boat-anchor sized.
Anyway, that's just my thoughts,
Dylan Gray, KJ6UPZ
"Though I fly through the Valley of Death... I shall fear no evil. For I am at 80,000 feet and climbing."
- At the entrance to the old SR-71 operating base Kadena, Okinawa
...Take a look at G5RV antennas, I run one about 4 inches off the tile on my roof ( at the lowest point, 3 feet at the highest ), and it works very well from what i've found. It doesn't have to be more than a couple inches off the roof and be fine, and I'm sure there is a tree higher than what that antenna will be setup at within maybe a quarter mile of your location, so lightning wouldn't really be a concern.
Dylan Gray, KJ6UPZ
Dylan:
Thanks for your thoughts. It looks like these antennas range from 25 to 102 feet long. How do you dangle them off your roof? I have looked at the Yaesu antenna that mounts on a camera tripod... kinda thinking I could put it on the deck and run the cable inside and DX that way.
Do you tack the G5RV antenna to your roof? It looks like a dipole antenna. Is that right? I am so new to this I just don't really know what to do. I know I'd like to do some DX work. I looked at the Icom and I think it has a very nice price point, certainly more affordable than many others.
The length of the antenna depends on the band you want to work. 468/F in MHz will give you the length in feet for a 1/2 wave antenna. Multiband trap antennas are shorter because of the traps. I have an ALpha Delta DX-CC in a really ugly drooping configuration that I need to fix. It's only 82 feet long and covers the 80,40,20,15 and 10 meter bands. It also works on 17 and 12 with a tuner.
Do you have an attic crawl space, or rafters in the garage? If there isn't a lot of metal nearby, you can often put a decent antenna in the attic crawl spaces. That 82' footer will probably fit with a little bending - it doesn't have to be totally straight. For all bands 40 meters and higher, a wire loop cut for 40 can be very effective, and it's quieter than most antennas. You can pull the corners of the loop back into the center, like a Maltese Cross, if needed, with very little effect on the performance. The formula for the loop is 1005/F. If you put a remote antenna tuner at the feedpoint, the antenna should work on all bands higher than the frequency it's cut for.
On 20 meters, a full sized dipole is about 32 feet long. It shouldn't be too hard to locate a 32 foot drooping dipole somewhere. You can add elements for 15 and 10/12 to the same antenna fairly easily.
Do you have any mature trees in the yard? You can start at the top and wind two strands of wire around the tree, like two strings of Christmas lights, to form a loop for 40 meters and higher.
If the house has plastic rain gutters, that's a great place to hide wire antennas.
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The rig is an important thing to consider. After all, if you don't have a rig you're just wasting your time.
What I would suggest is to go and check out the operation of the different rigs at a nearby amateur radio store. If you can't do that then try to visit a few fellow amateurs home's and check their operations out. The rigs out there are available from free to "Oh Wow". Spending a lot doesn't necessarily equal a good choice. There are some good performers at moderate cost and some poor performers at a great expense. It is true you will need to find something that you like, the XYL approves of and does the things you will require of it. CW operations will need to have a receiver that can accommodate a narrow bandwidth. It makes CW operations much better and a whole lot easier.
Now for an antenna. There are so many choices that it can boogle the mind. An effective antenna doesn't have to be large but it usually works out that way. What you would need to do is listen to what other amateurs are using or not using. This will give you some insight. Hint, the Yaesu antenna on a tripod is very rare and for good reason. Simple antennas can often do well and it's best to start there and find out if you're interested in improving them or not. You can make your own or purchase a commerical unit. You need to decide what bands you do and do not want to work. Try to have antennas that have the capability to be used at higher power levels. This is if you latter want to upgrade your license and work other modes at the maximum power of 1500W.
One of the best things to do is obtain a copy of the ARRL Antenna Book. There is a lot of information inside and it's very large. Another choice would be; http://www.arrl.org/shop/ARRL-s-Smal...r-Small-Spaces. It's smaller and dedicated to a restricted environment or folks that just want something that doesn't stick out.
Hope this helps
73
Gary
Thanks for your thoughts. It looks like these antennas range from 25 to 102 feet long. How do you dangle them off your roof? I have looked at the Yaesu antenna that mounts on a camera tripod... kinda thinking I could put it on the deck and run the cable inside and DX that way.
Do you tack the G5RV antenna to your roof? It looks like a dipole antenna. Is that right? I am so new to this I just don't really know what to do. I know I'd like to do some DX work. I looked at the Icom and I think it has a very nice price point, certainly more affordable than many others.
Thanks for helping me out.
What I did, since I have a two story house that has a cement based chimney near the middle it made it rather easy. I took a hammer-drill and drilled a hole to put a cement anchor into, and used that to anchor the center, then ran the wire off to either side along the length of the house. One tip, if you have a concrete shingle roof, use paracord ( 550 cord, Parachute Cord) to tie off the ends, keep it taught and use the other end to tie onto a shingle. Also, DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT let it touch the shingles, it kills your receive performance. I had to fabricate an aluminium bracket with a pvc tube just to keep it off the shingles on one side, trust me, it made a whole world of difference. I'll see if I can snap some pictures of it for you.
"Though I fly through the Valley of Death... I shall fear no evil. For I am at 80,000 feet and climbing."
- At the entrance to the old SR-71 operating base Kadena, Okinawa
And finally the radio desk,
Yes, that is a 75 roll of coax down there being used as a common-mode-current choke, and yes, my coax is disconnected from the tuner and the powerstrip is disconnected because I went out of town for a couple days and just haven't hooked it up since I got back.
"Though I fly through the Valley of Death... I shall fear no evil. For I am at 80,000 feet and climbing."
- At the entrance to the old SR-71 operating base Kadena, Okinawa
Only FT-450D--all in one. Read pls review of WA6MOW: I only work cw and love ham gear. I have owned the K3, K2, Eagle, TS-590, IC-7200, 756Pro, Pro2, Pro3, FT-450 etc. (Maybe I have issues?) I have been using the FT-450D as my main rig on a daily basis. This radio is loaded with cool features and the design engineer who worked on this puppy had his act together. For $900 bucks or less this rig is a class act and nothing compares to it. It could easily suffice as my only rig if I was a normal op. There are two negatives which really are not a big deal. The antenna tuner was designed to fine tune an antenna that has a decent swr to begin with. The fan noise is louder than the expensive rigs. You should be able to hear and work the same stations as with an expensive rig. Anyone looking for a great inexpensive radio should look no further.
And I agree with him.
Looking for a radio recommendation
Originally Posted by KJ6UPZ
