Cushcraft AR-10 Ringo

[BillyC]

I have installed my AR-10 Ringo on a 12 foot mast with the feed point at about
17 feet above the ground. The SWR is good at 1:1.2 , coax is new 50 ft RG8X and the mast is grounded.
I cannot hear much of anything on this antenna, nor can I be heard by other
hams when I call CQ. I then built a horizontal dipole for testing at about 12 feet above ground fed by RG-59 and I could actually hear other stations and made
contact over 2600 miles. Can anyone help me understand where the problem
might be with the AR-10 Ringo? I have since tested the feed coax for the AR-10
and it seems OK. The AR-10 is in good condition, I cleaned it thoroughly before
installing it.

Thanks

 

[Mudfoot]

Maybe it was just conditions. How long apart did you try the comparison with the dipole?

I had one of those a long time ago. It played well for me. I had it up about 25' on a single story chimney.

Don't give up yet, others will chime in. Do you have an analyzer? Any local ops that can help you with reports?

 

[TonyV225]

My first guesss would be an SWR or grounding issue but I believe you stated the SWR fine. Im going to say that depending what time of day you tried it had lot to play on this. Its not uncommon when switching from vertical to horizontal or vice versa to hear a change in what your receiving.

If you can get on the air with your vertical when you know its busy out there would be the best way to true test it otherwise its a hit and miss type thing. i often do this with switching between vertical and horizontal when making contacts and will hear things horizontal or (flat) that I had no clue were there before switching from vertical.

 

[RatsoW8]

I have a vertical and dipole up for 10 meters and I can switch between two while lietening to another station and sometimes that station will drop out on one antenna and not the other. Depends on the polatization of the signal when it hits the antenna and. Mostly the dipole is best for long distances. That's why the dipole is so popular with hams. Verticals are a better choice for local contacts.

 

[BillyC]

BillyC

Thanks for the help. I have rechecked the AR-10 and the cable. Everything looks OK. I finally did make a contact across country but at this time 10 meters seem quiet and I don't hear much activity. I am anxious to compare the AR-10 and the dipole when the band becomes active.

 

[AD4DQ]

Yeah you have to check the solar flux then the band and see if it is active, I have a Ringo Ranger in my shed, use to use it all the time. A pretty good antenna. When the band is dead it dosent matter what antenna you have, LOL. When the band is open you should be able to work some good DX with the AR-10. I worked tons of DX with a home made dipole out of 2 pieces of 16 gauge wire during the last solar cycle.