[Elecraft] cobweb antenna

[Lee Stephens]

 I had never heard of the 'Cobweb' but when I googled it...it looked 
interesting but a tad on the large side for what you call 'apartment 
life'.  I myself live in an apartment and find my best luck simply 
using a piece of 14 gauge electric fence line I had on a spool....cut 
for 20 meters...using a center insulator with coax connector and end 
insulators on both ends.  I may have $15 total in the entire thing 
including zip ties.  I used those tiny plant hooks you screw into the 
wall and zip ties looped over the hooks and over the wire so that the 
never touches the wall....about 6 inches down from my ceiling.

Now I will admit that I haven't quite been licensed a year yet.  And 
I'll admit that I'm on the third floor.  And I'll admit that with the 
power line noise and the plasma TV noise...and the fish pump 
noise...and the touch lamp noise...that apartment life can be a living 
RF Hell....however... somehow....since March...with my little KX3 and 
10 watts at most I have managed to 2004 QSO's with 1098 of them 
confirmed on LoTW.  With this set up I have done WAS with several 
band/mode certificates.  I have managed 88 countries total....most of 
them digital but I do have 42 countries on SSB.  I work mainly JT65-HF 
and SSB...but I've worked my share of PSK31,63,125 QPSK63, RTTY, JT9, 
and other digital modes...and one day I'll be comfortable enough 
behind a key to pump out some CW contacts.

So...I would try just a piece of wire to start with...and you may just 
be amazed at what you can do.  For what it is worth....I also have a 
Buddipole and really enjoy taking it mountain topping in the Carolinas 
every month or so.  With my new Solar Panel and some LiFePO4 batteries 
on the way...I should be set for some good times.

Have fun with whatever you choose,

73
Lee Stephens
KK4JSJ
KX3 #3462



On Thursday 05/30/2013 at 10:27 pm, Bill Blomgren  wrote:
>
> I'm still in the "pre-purchase" stage.. but I'm sort of thinking that 
> the K3
> is where I'm going to end up.. Possibly with the preamp...and then 
> there is
> the big problem: what to make it to the air with.....
>
> The idea of starting off with the buddipole system is out there - and 
> very
> possible...
>
> I've also been reading up on the plusses and minuses of many of the
> alternatives that may be possible in an apartment life...
>
> One is the magnetic loop - which is a tad pricey with the vac. 
> variable --
> lots of copper, and the need to tune the thing every time you change
> frequency - and not just antenna tuner stuff - as in changing the cap 
> on the
> antenna itself. It is a very high q (and thus voltage and current)
> critter...Rube Golberg figured out how to do that.. motors with long 
> screw
> drives into a sealed box with the cap inside..with very high voltages
> there... and thus requiring altitude for safety..
>
> I came across a nifty square thing called a cobweb, which is more or 
> less
> semi-flat over 4-5 bands... is very light..and can be made of pvc pipe 
> or
> possibly fiber glass because it just has 5 wires in a big square.. One
> antenna to cover 20 17 15, 12 and 10 meters sounds interesting.. One 
> of the
> designs even works on 6, but has higher losses... (That may be the 
> baluns
> they use for a 4-1 impedance match and to go unbalanced...
>
> Has anyone tried one of these critters, and if so, is the Elecraft 
> happy
> with it?
>
>
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