Welcome Steve! I think you'll find if you can build a K3, a simple antenna will be a piece of cake to construct, not to mention a lot less expensive. The biggest problem you will have is making a choice. A dipole is a good place to start, vertical or the traditional horizontal configuration. There are plenty of places online to find dimensions, or calculate them. Verticals are popular to, but require decent radials to work well. A half Square is another option. It would be easier if you provide a bit more detail about the tree(s) and what your intended area of interest might be (DXing, Ragchewing, contesting, etc.)
Here is one place to start: http://www.dxzone.com On batteries, this paper is worth reading to learn more about specific batteries and their properties: http://www.norcalqrp.org/files/Batteries_and_Charging_Systems_KK6MC_whitepaper.pdf An option is to look for a place that supplies batteries for UPS systems to the telecommunication industry. We have one that sells to the public and often you can buy batteries that are perfectly acceptable for ham radio, that are no longer usable for cell systems. Some are used, or exceed the industry's shelf life requirements. I recently purchased "new" 150AH deep cycle batteries for under $100. They work fine. Yellow Tops are another car/boat variety that are popular in some ham circles, they're pricey new. You'll most likely want to consider buying or building a current balun for you feed line. What type will be dictated by the antenna. Make sure you ground your station correctly and don't leave the rig connected to your antenna when not in use. Trust me, it will save you a lot of headaches ;o) You can do an awful lot with QRP too. It will be a lot easier on you battery... Cheers, Julius KC2VNI wrote: > > Folks: I am a new ham. I just purchased a K3 100W radio with an > auto-tuner. Several basic questions: > > 1) Wire antennas- Do you guys have suggestions for a multi-band wire > antenna pre-made by someone like MFJ or similar that I could hang in a > tree? > > 2) Battery based power: From speaking with the fellow from customer > support from elecraft, a 100 Amp-Hr battery is what is required to operate > at 100W. What type of battery do I use? Is sealed-lead acid acceptable? > What size fuses do I want on the line running from the radio to the > battery? > > I recognize that this radio has orders of magnitude of capability that I > don't understand yet. I also recognize that reading the manual will be of > a help here. If you have further resources and/or suggestions, please > advise. > > 73, > > KC2VNI. > > ----- Julius Fazekas N2WN Tennessee Contest Group http://www.k4ro.net/tcg/index.html Tennessee QSO Party http://www.tnqp.org/ Elecraft K2/100 #4455 Elecraft K3/100 #366 Elecraft K3 #1875 -- View this message in context: http://n2.nabble.com/New-K3-User-and-New-Ham-tp4253024p4256357.html Sent from the [K3] mailing list archive at Nabble.com. ______________________________________________________________ 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
