I just want a little boost.....?

[WX2MIG]

If nothing else, I'd consider feeding the 40 meter antenna with open wire. It'd give a better account for itself on 75 than the random wire.

Don't give up...Rick

This is deffinitly a route I may take, but I'm hoping to feed the open wire to a balun so I can run coax into the shack.

The only other way would be to run open wire or ladder line down to the roof edge, then string it horizonally across to the garage, over the garage roof, and into the side window to the tuner. That would mean that I would have to build a series of insulated stand-off's to keep the ladder line clear of contacting stuff it shouldn't contact. As it is right now, my coax fed 40m dipole will not tune up for 80m, so I need to figure out if just parcial open wire will do the job, or if I need to run the whole way in to the tuner....????

 

[C2]

A short piece of coax won't hurt.

You could run coax from the tuner to a bulkhead connector attached to the wall with a 4:1 balun to feed through the wall to bolt on mountings just outside. I've done this up in the header under the eve. Then you can run the ladder line from there up a PVC pipe mounted to the side of the garage, maybe even just a few feet up over the roof line and let it run from there to the direct feed on the antenna.

 

[SR385]

I would strongly advise a balanced antenna i.e. dipole or loop before you run power or RFI will be a constant struggle.

Also for amps anything running 811s 572b or 3-500Z are a good bet. They are easily available tubes and not very expensive. My amp will do a kW and I seldom run it over 500W, it's the first 500 that generally makes the difference on the low bands anyway. An 811H will do that for you easily.

Patience will pay off a lot if you wait to find a nice used amp. I saved half the price on my AL-80B by simply waiting for one to come along at the right price.

 

[2CO3026]

No, I read it. I see some possibilities, just looking at the photos-- others do, as well. A Butternut vertical is not the only option, and may not be one of the best solutions anyway.

Why would anyone advise someone with RFI problems with low power and an almost worst-case antenna to add an amplifier? I think that's the wrong tack. If there's room for a 40 meter inverted vee, there's room for a better solution.

If nothing else, I'd consider feeding the 40 meter antenna with open wire. It'd give a better account for itself on 75 than the random wire.

Don't give up!


Rick

Um... maybe because he *asked.* ??

While you're certainly correct, scantheband, in that you answered the original poster's question regarding good, lower power amplifiers, I agree with Rick.

IMHO, the antenna system is the first place to start. Although the original poster claimed that "improving my antenna is not an option," there could be possibilities that perhaps he's never considered.

After that, then look into an amplifier. First things first.

Just my $.02.

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