At home I would try one of the end feds, home brew or purchase. The EARCHI and the LNR work well. Use the SGC SG-230 and run the antenna wire (for stealth use the Davis RF POLYS-26 Black PE Coated) vertically up side of house, then horizontal (inverted L). I use RG174 for all QRP and it works well. For portable, use the Elecraft T1 and a wet string or virtually any wire configuration you favor (don't omit counter poise or enough coax to act as same). I love the KX3! (And I hate vertical white space in source code and emails. Sorry.) Good luck! Ken - ke4rg -----Original Message----- From: Elecraft [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Mark Tellez Sent: Monday, March 9, 2015 12:48 PM To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: [Elecraft] Home and portable antenna issues.....
Hello all, I am a relatively new KX3 user. So far I love the radio but I have had some issues getting on the air. Almost all have been related to finding a good portable and primarily a good home antenna. I've tried a number of solutions and have yet to find one that works well. I currently live in a townhouse ground floor with a walking path looping around the building. This means any antenna I use at home must include a cloak of invisibility or reasonable facsimile or be able to be moved inside during daylight hours. For portable use I have tried the Alexloop antenna it works fairly well portable but is not a practical solution for home use since my outdoor patio is 20ft away from my radio and tuning is simply not practical. For portable I have also tried the Buddipole- works okay but it is heavy for portable and changing coil settings at home isn't practical for same reason as tuning the Alexloop. I like the quality of construction on the Buddipole. My latest test involves the Chameleon Hybrid-mini base with various assorted whips (SGC303/ Buddipole long whip, etc). Although highly portable the noise threshold seems very high and the reception is mediocre. I have not tried the Chamelon whips yet but I am a bit skeptical that it will make much difference. I have read good reviews on eHam so I am wondering if there is a special trick to getting the Chameleon to perform as advertised. Anyone have experience with these antennas? So ..Not sure where to go from here. I am looking for advice on the current solutions I have or recommendations on something I have not tried yet. My main concern with portable use is weight. My main concern with home use is low visibility and also needing an antenna that works "well" close to the ground since I'm in a ground floor condo. I have debated playing around with wire (thin) loops since I have access to an SGC 230 and 237 tuner. I would love to know what has worked for others. Thanks for the help. Mark ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to ktalb...@gamewood.net ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
