[BVARC] HF antenna and coax

John Denison kd5you at comcast.net
Mon Aug 7 15:37:40 CDT 2023


The coax I was using at the Fulshear Farmers Market was RG8X. It's 
diameter is similar to RG-58 but it works a lot better that RG-58. I've 
also used RG-174 which is pretty lossy above HF, but for my portable 
setup it didn't make much difference, and I'm able to carry 150' in my 
bug out bag.

The 1979 telescopic whip is commonly used for example in place of the 
stock telescopic whip that comes with several Wolf River Coils. They do 
have a better whip now that is 213" but the 1979 would still need some 
sort of  base to attach it to along with some ground radials. The 1979 
is a good choice for a portable vertical though.

73
John Denison
KD5YOU

On 8/6/2023 8:20 PM, Venkata Appala via BVARC wrote:
> Hello all,
> I am working on setting up a temporary HF antenna that I can setup or 
> take down when not in use. For this, I am exploring MFJ 1979 telescope 
> antenna. I am not sure if this is the right choice yet. My idea was to 
> use some mount(yet to figure this out) in the backyard, run the cable 
> inside the home when I want to use HF. In addition, when I am visiting 
> some park, planning to mount if using some mag mount. I don’t have 
> much of a backyard and wanted to see if this antenna can be used at 
> home and when I am visiting places. With this info, I have few 
> questions. Please bear with me as I am absolutely new to Ham and might 
> ask dumb questions. While reading, one thing I realized is that, the 
> antenna depends on the bands I wish to use. Well, at the moment, I 
> want to start with something that can get me on air for commonly used 
> frequencies where I can listen in and learn how to use the radio. At 
> the  moment, all I have is a HF transceiver with builtin tuner.
>
> 1) Is 1979 a good antenna? It appears it is around $70 and I am 
> assuming this can get me started without breaking any bank.
> 2) Coax…looking at the options, this seems like a candy store and I 
> can’t figure out which one. I am guessing something around 50 ft in 
> length might work and my limited research shows LMR 240 might be good 
> option. Is this true or should I find a better alternative?
> 3) Any suggestions on mounts for the antenna that I can use in the 
> backyard?
>
> Ps: Thank you to Ed and Richard for pointing me in the right direction 
> at Fulshear farmer’s market. I am also researching on end fed antenna 
> but this will be a build/diy project.
>
> Thank you for all the guidance and suggestions.
>
> 73
> Venkata Appala KJ5BVS
> pradhanavs at gmail.com
>
>
>
>
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