[ICOM] Best antenna for 706 mobile?

[Jerry Flanders]

Everybody seems to be recommending antennas based on multi-band efficiency 
- screwdrivers, mostly. I would (and did) take a different tack: Simple 
"Hamstick" antennas work very well, are easy to remove when necessary (and 
it is OFTEN necessary unless you are going to let the antenna govern where 
you can drive your car), do not dominate the look of the vehicle, and are 
cheap.

Because the Hamstick is light in weight and low in wind resistance, the 
mount is simplified, inexpensive, and easy to install. I used a 20M one for 
a long time with success.

On 20/15/10 there is essentially no difference in efficiency between the 
various full-size mobile antennas, and probably not much on 40. 75 is a 
different story.

Some details on one brand at:

http://www.hamstick.com/9106.htm

Hamstick type antennas (several firms make them, I think) sell at hamfests 
for even less than the $25 list price. The mount is a few dollars more. 
Simple direct coax feed - no control cabling, no dash-mounted counter gadgets.

The only downside is that each stick works on only one band, but if you are 
just trying out mobiling, one band is probably all you need to start. I 
would start with 20 meters.

BTW, I have owned and used the AH4, an off-brand screwdriver, the hamstick, 
and ICOM's marine AT120. Each has advantages, but the hamstick is far and 
away the best "try-it-out" antenna I can imagine.

Jerry W4UK

At 03:44 1/5/05, Doug Shields wrote:
>Hello all,
>     I am considering purchasing an IC-706MKIIG for mobile use.  I have never
>done any HF mobile work and thought it would be neat to give it a try.