On 5/30/2013 7:27 PM, Bill Blomgren wrote:

Has anyone tried one of these critters, and if so, is the Elecraft happy with it?

Why BUY an antenna when you can very easily build one for a lot less money that will likely work better? Here are some articles by hams who have done a lot with only a little bit of space. The first is by AC0C, who built a complete antenna system in the attic of his apartment!

http://www.kcdxclub.com/Stealth%20Antennas-r1%20-%20AC0C%20-%202-2009.pdf

These two NCCC newsletters include articles by N6NUL about the stealth antenna systems he's put together for his townhouse apartment.

http://www.nccc.cc/jug/2013/04Apr2013.pdf

http://www.nccc.cc/jug/2013/05May2013.pdf

These are sophisticated solutions, but much simpler ones are possible. Toss a wire into a tree, connect it to the center of the coax connector, toss another one on the ground (or wherever you can) and connect it to the K3 chassis. You've now got a random wire antenna that will run rings around Buddipoles, simply because it's a lot more efficient. Any wire from #22 gauge or larger will work fine.

If you CAN put up a beam of some sort, that cobweb thing sounds interesting. Also consider a commercial product called a Spider Beam, which is a decent antenna.

Antennas like a Buddipole are convenient and compact, but they're not very efficient, and are pretty narrow band. To understand why, study the chapter on antennas in the ARRL Handbook, and the ARRL Antenna Book. Buying and studying those books would be a FAR better way to spend your money on antennas.

73, Jim K9YC
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