[Elecraft] Home and portable antenna issues.....

[Barry LaZar]

Mark,
     You are faced with what is becoming common. I assume you are 
running your KX3 barefoot. That makes your antenna installation 
critical. The problem with most simple antennas are they require a very 
good ground to really be effective. If you have been using the Buddy 
Pole as a vertical and many other variants, you are trying to use a 1/4 
wave antenna with out a ground which is a must for this configuration.

     The Alexloop works well on 20-10 meters, but is very narrow band. 
As you already own one and if you are running QRP, use it. Just tune it 
around where you want to operate.

     You don't mention whether you have an attic in your town house and 
have access to it. If you do, a fan dipole in the attic works FB. The 
problem will be to run you feed line down. You have a few choices. One 
choice is to find the waste stack vent and feed your transmission line 
beside the pipe. There is usually enough room for this, but you can only 
run RG-8X for smaller, typically. The other choice is to run your 
transmission line like the cable guys do it, drill a hole in the wall in 
the attic and drop it down to where you want it to come in and drill 
another hole and bring it in.

     Portable antenna are interesting. You could use an end fed affair. 
The one I like is distributed by the Hawaiian Emergency Radio Club, or 
some name like that. They sell them as multiband antennas, but they work 
best with correct wire lengths for the band you want to operate. 
Changing to another wire in a 1 minute affair including recovering the 
nut that you drop on the ground. It is basically a 9:1 unum with a 1/2 
wave wire attached. A couple of #22 gauge wires and the unum shouldn't 
exceed about a pound.

     All of these suggestion will work, But they will not perform as 
well a good beam or antennas in the clear. However, my suggestion for 
the portable antenna does do a credible job; I have one.

73,
Barry
K3NDM


On 3/9/2015 12:48 PM, Mark Tellez wrote:
> Hello all,
>
>
>
> I am a relatively new KX3 user.  So far I love the radio but I have had
> some issues getting on the air.  Almost all have been related to finding a
> good portable and primarily a good home antenna.  I've tried a number of
> solutions and have yet to find one that works well.
>
>
>
> I currently live in a townhouse – ground floor with a walking path looping
> around the building.   This means any antenna I use at home must
> include a “cloak
> of invisibility” – or reasonable facsimile or be able to be moved inside
> during daylight hours.
>
>
>
> For portable use I have tried the Alexloop antenna – it works fairly well
> portable but is not a practical solution for home use since my outdoor
> patio is 20ft away from my radio and tuning is simply not practical.
>
>
>
> For portable I have also tried the Buddipole- works okay but it is heavy
> for portable and changing coil settings at home isn't practical for same
> reason as tuning the Alexloop.  I like the quality of construction on the
> Buddipole.
>
>
>
> My latest test involves the Chameleon Hybrid-mini base with various
> assorted whips (SGC303/ Buddipole long whip, etc).  Although highly
> portable the noise threshold seems very high and the reception is mediocre.
> I have not tried the Chamelon whips yet but I am a bit skeptical that it
> will make much difference.   I have read good reviews on eHam so I am
> wondering if there is a special trick to getting the Chameleon to perform
> as advertised.  Anyone have experience with these antennas?
>
>
>
> So …..Not sure where to go from here.
>
>
>
> I am looking for advice on the current solutions I have or recommendations
> on something I have not tried yet.
>
>
>
> My main concern with portable use is weight.  My main concern with home use
> is low visibility and also needing an antenna that works "well" close to
> the ground since I'm in a ground floor condo.
>
>
>
> I have debated playing around with wire (thin) loops since I have access to
> an SGC 230 and 237 tuner.
>
>
>
> I would love to know what has worked for others.
>
>
>
> Thanks for the help.
>
>
>
> Mark
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