Usefulness of any 10 meter antenna is declining. :-)
FWIW:
My Buddipole weighed 17 lbs, and I sold it and used the proceeds to get
an AlexLoop. It weighs about 1.6 lbs, less if I take it out of the neat
canvas case, 2 lbs with the lightweight tripod. I like it a lot. I can
set it up in less than 5 min, it is pretty much immune to anyone's
definition of "ground," and it works very well. Touchy to tune on 40,
not so bad on 30 and easy on 20 and the rest. Very narrow BW, I sit
under it so I can reach up and tune it using the K2 SWR indication.
It's pricey, but you can make one yourself for about 1/10th the cost.
Just remember, these guys are resonant transformers and MUST be at
resonance so bypass the ATU.
The EFHW is very popular with the SOTA crowd, extremely light, only
needs one support. Mine works best with a 6" pigtail hanging off the
shield of the BNC connector. They too seem to be fairly immune to
"ground," low current down where you are.
My meager experience is that any antenna you can make resonant will
probably perform a little better than a random wire, but I've made a lot
of KX1 Q's with a 26 ft wire and counterpoise made from a piece of RG-58.
KT5X believes [and I don't disagree] that vertical ground planes on
mountain tops tend to radiate downhill which isn't real useful. If
you're above the timberline, you're probably on a mountain.
73,
Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the 50th Running of the Cal QSO Party 3-4 Oct 2015
- www.cqp.org
On 7/19/2015 9:45 AM, Wayne Burdick wrote:
Hi all,
Have you found the "perfect" above-the-treeline backpacking antenna
for use with your KX3 or other small rig? I've used everything from a
10-meter coat hanger whip, to a yagi that breaks down into two dozen
pieces, to a dipole held up at the center by a willing (and tall)
campmate. The variety (and price range) of such antennas is
staggering.
I've had pretty amazing results using short, base-loaded antennas on
the higher bands--especially when conditions were good. My personal
best is JA from W6 on 15-meter SSB, running 3 watts to a Maldol 48"
whip. These antennas collapse and break down into just two pieces,
taking very little space in my lightweight go-bag. This leaves room
for a couple of 25' wires, adapters, and weights for times when there
are trees available.
But the search for the ideal miniature HF antenna continues:
something both very compact *and* highly efficient. Ideally it would
break down to a length of 8" or less, do an excellent job on 20
meters and up, and earn a passing grade on 30 and/or 40 meters.
One other key factor, at least with the KX3/KX1/K1 genre, is to take
maximal advantage of the rig's internal ATU. A wide-range ATU (such
as the KXAT3) can turn a narrow-banded antenna into one that covers a
full band or even multiple bands, within limits. One general approach
is to coarse-tune the antenna's own inductance, then let the ATU do
cleanup.
Is the best antenna for backpacking a very small magnetic loop? A
cleverly designed, center-loaded telescoping whip? A length of #30
wire lofted by a small helium balloon? (Or, more intriguingly, some
combination of these?)
I'd be interested in hearing about your antenna theories and field
experiences, backed up by entertaining fish stories, if they aren't
embellished to an embarrassing degree. If your supporting
documentation is too voluminous for the forum (attached photos,
etc.), feel free to email me directly.
If anything substantive or surprising emerges, I'll do a followup
posting.
73, Wayne N6KR
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