My radio (K2 with the internal ATU) hasn't shipped yet, but that shouldn't stop me from putting up an antenna, right? If only I knew what to put up, that is. That's where I'm asking for help.
I want to start out with an loop antenna in the attic. Why loop? Mostly the very American idea that more wire must be better, plus it's balanced--I hope to not need a separate RF ground, or counterpoises, or any of that jazz). Why the attic? So I don't have to worry about lightning protection, and because it ought to be incredibly cheap to put up. I've spent every dime I have on the radio, you see. The house is the usual ~60' x ~30 feet and "L" shaped, single story, and the major axis is North/South. The attic is full of trusses and fiberglass, but I can get to most of it, sometimes slithering on my belly like a snake. There are the usual electrical wires, network cabling (OK, maybe not everyone has CAT6 in their attic), TV coax, and AC ducts going hither and thither. My shingles are asphault. I have no idea what band or bands I'll be on. I don't even have my license yet. My thought is that I run the loop around the perimeter of the attic, as close to the eaves as possible. Over the radio bench, I'll punch a hole in the ceiling and drop feedline down the wall. I was thinking of open-wire feeder, because I "read on the internet" that it might be better for this application. It occurs to me that I could omit the 4' of feedline and just drop the two wires down. Using the self-adhesive conduit that the hardware store sells, I could keep those two wires at "an appropriate distance" from each other, and white conduit looks better against a white wall than a black cable. I don't know if that's a good idea, or what "an appropriate distance" would be. I don't know if I need a balun, or even what kind. I don't know whether I need to keep the antenna wire off of the rafters with insulators, or can I just let it lay there. Nor do I know if the answer to that question changes if I eventually go QRO. I don't know if the length of the loop matters. As you can tell, the ratio of things I know to things I don't know is pretty small. Can you please help me improve that ratio? Thanks, and best regards, Wayne Conrad ______________________________________________________________ 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
