[Elecraft] An Antenna Problem I Can't Figure Out

[Phil & Debbie Salas]

A Hamstick is a pretty narrow-band antenna and really needs to be set-up 
with an SWR analyzer, otherwise you can have a hard time finding where it is 
resonant.  You don't have to be far off resonance (especially below 20 
meters) for the SWR to be very high.

Also - check connectivity from the the coax center conductor at the radio 
end to the tip of the Hamstick.  That'll tell you if you have an open in the 
Hamstick itself.  Also, I don't believe the Hamstick can handle 500 watts - 
but maybe things have changed since I used them many years ago.
But I bet the problem is that the Hamstick is resonant well-off where you 
think it is (but I've been wrong before).

Phil - AD5X