[ICOM] Kinda ICOM Question!

[Max Harelik]

"The antenna is mounted on a Hustler Mag Mount on top of the roof away 
from all obstructions." <snip>

Are you using the standard 54" Hustler mast (#MO-1, -2, or -3) or the 
short 22" mast (MO-4) between the resonator and the mag mount? The 
choice will impact how much of your transmitter power is actually 
radiated as RF and how much is dissapated as heat. From your 
description, much of your signal is winding up as heat in the coil. When 
you adjust for minimum SWR, make sure that your impedance is as close to 
the required 58 Ohms as possible for true resonance. Otherwise, you'll 
have to deal with the mismatch between the antenna and your feedline coax.

I'm presuming that you're using the mag mount for stationary operation. 
I can't imagine using it while moving. (Except perhaps one of the big 
triples that various manufacturors have.) My full-size Hustler is 
wind-resistant enough to lean back in the wind at road speed, and I 
wound up having to clamp a piece of radiator hose over the base spring 
to stiffen it up a bit. BTW, I've also used my Hustler bolted to the 
package rack of my bicycle with my IC-703, dragging the wire 
counterpoise behind it. Worked fine. GL

73,
Max, K5OVW

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