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K1BBB

Joined: Wed, May 8th 2013, 22:09 Roles: N/A Moderates: N/A

Latest Topics

Topic Created Posts Views Last Activity
Short vertical built for one frequency Jan 16th 2017, 15:29 1 4,793 on 16/1/17
Short vertical built for one frequency Jan 16th 2017, 15:29 2 4,950 on 16/1/17
Antenna Tuners Apr 1st 2014, 16:02 3 6,778 on 24/7/14
Icom IC-761 CAT/CIV Interface Mar 6th 2014, 13:04 10 8,346 on 7/3/14
Antenna for 10m contest Mar 4th 2014, 13:16 3 5,771 on 4/3/14
Newbie with hand built 10m dipole Feb 18th 2014, 13:45 6 5,610 on 19/2/14

Latest Posts

Topic Author Posted On
Short vertical built for one frequency K1BBB on 16/1/17
Hi, and thank you in advance for taking a look at this post. I've come a long way since my first post, but still learning a ton. I'm not great with antenna theory, and haven't been able to locate information about my question.

Scenario: a friend and I each have a 40m Pixie radio set for 7.023 - 7.026mhz. We are both General class, and want to work in the 7.026 frequency to practice our CW code. We will be on a university campus, and sometimes in the same building. We should like an extra short antenna for these.

I know there are shorty stub antennas manufactured for other bands. But I don't fully understand the theory behind it. Essentially we would want to build a short antenna that is resonant at 7.026 and only that frequency. I am assuming that since we don't need to cover and entire band, this would make this possible.

Anyone have information, websites, or plans to make this happen? We have access to a wireless engineering lab on campus, and will be able to fully test the antennas before using them.

Thanks!
Short vertical built for one frequency K1BBB on 16/1/17
Hi, and thank you in advance for taking a look at this post. I've come a long way since my first post, but still learning a ton. I'm not great with antenna theory, and haven't been able to locate information about my question.

Scenario: a friend and I each have a 40m Pixie radio set for 7.023 - 7.026mhz. We are both General class, and want to work in the 7.026 frequency to practice our CW code. We will be on a university campus, and sometimes in the same building. We should like an extra short antenna for these.

I know there are shorty stub antennas manufactured for other bands. But I don't fully understand the theory behind it. Essentially we would want to build a short antenna that is resonant at 7.026 and only that frequency. I am assuming that since we don't need to cover and entire band, this would make this possible.

Anyone have information, websites, or plans to make this happen? We have access to a wireless engineering lab on campus, and will be able to fully test the antennas before using them.

Thanks!
Antenna Tuners K1BBB on 24/7/14
I figured that I would post a follow up. It's been a few months and I have learned a lot!

I did end up purchasing an IC-7100 and a MFJ-969 antenna tuner. And I have had very good luck using it. I have matched a number of antennas that I have hand built to it. Currently I am using a 40m Full Wave Delta Loop Antenna for everything from 80m down to 10m. And I have made contacts on all bands in that range. The Radio is working fantastically, and the tuner will match any antenna to 1:1, so far no matter what.

If you read the reviews at eham.com - you might second guess getting the MFJ-969. That said, I would say that many of the draw backs may have been addressed, and the antenna tuner works as I would expect.

I am currently running a max of 100w through the tuner, so that might be part of why it works perfectly for me. Also, my radio is quite the work horse. And although, many of my contacts have not been outside of the country, I believe that is due to the band conditions and my antenna selection.

If you are considering a tuner, I certainly recommend this MFJ-969. Please let me know if you have questions.

Thanks,
Matthew, K1BBB
Antenna Tuners K1BBB on 1/4/14
I'm looking into getting an Icom IC-7100, which means I'll also need to look into getting an antenna tuner. I'd like to get one antenna tuner, and not have to ever worry about needing a different one. That said, I was checking out an MFJ HF+6m, roller tuner:

http://www.mfjenterprises.com/Product.php?productid=MFJ-969

And it looks like this thing will do everything. My question is, can I also use it to tune Full Wave Loop antennas? I saw that they have loop tuners at MFJ as well, and didn't know if that's one antenna that shouldn't, or cannot be used with a standard tuner.

Thanks!
Matthew, K1BBB
Sky-Loop Antenna VU2PPP on 1/4/14
That's really great to hear. I'm excited to build and try a Full Wave Loop soon. I wonder how practical it would be for a club even, such as a picnic at a park? Would it be relatively easy to throw up in some trees and/or portable antenna masts? That's definitely something I want to look into...

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