The Par end fed is a good antenna choice and will enable operation on 10/20/40 without a tuner. You may also consider a push-up fiberglass pole - 30 footer runs around $100 and works great with a couple of bungee cords and some electrical tape. I usually tape the end fed match box a couple of sections down and run the antenna as a sloper. You also need about 50ft coax feeder of course.
Paul AD5BV Sent from my iPhone > On Feb 26, 2014, at 8:18, Sean Wall <seancw...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Hi folks, > > I want to thank everyone who offered advice, it's invaluable to a new ham > like myself! > > I've settled on the KX3 -- I like the fact that it's versatile enough to be > a decent base station and it can go on the road with me. Plus, it seems > that it has a lot of features that you generally see on more expensive > rigs. The SDR aspect also appeals to me as I'm a nerd and I'd like to > experiment with SDR applications on my laptop. I do software development > with a masters in electrical engineering, so I'm not worried about the KX3 > being overly complex. I'll figure it out eventually, I think. :D > > > The one definite take-away which was clear to me is "it's all about the > antenna". I'm considering other antennas other than the Buddipole now. > The current front runner is the LNR End Fed 10/20/40 wire antenna. I like > it because you tune it for 40 m and 10/20 should fall into place. Also, > you can remove the supplied radiator and attach a new one to tune in other > bands. It's also a heck of a lot cheaper than a Buddipole. (Not to > disparage the BP -- I've read a lot of good reviews about it -- but I'd > rather go with something simpler and less expensive right now.) I haven't > looked into the magnetic loop antennas yet, but I'll get to that. One > question though -- the LNR site said no antenna tuner is needed or > recommended, which makes sense in this case. I was still considering > getting the optional antenna tuner for the KX3, but can you disable it in > the settings if you don't want to use it? > > I received about equal number of responses on either side of the 10w/100w > fence. Once again, it seemed to boil down to "it won't make a lot of > difference if you don't have a good antenna to start with". I'll stick > with 10w for now, and I can get the 100w amp later. > > BTW - I plan on initially using phone as I'm still learning Morse, but I > would like get to get into CW at some point. > > Also, I do plan on joining a local ham club. There are several in my area > so that should be no problem. If they're all as friendly and accommodating > as you folks, I should have no problem getting help. :) > > Thanks again everyone! > > 73 - Sean (call sign not in the ULS database yet - should be this week!!) > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
