• You can now help support WorldwideDX when you shop on Amazon at no additional cost to you! Simply follow this Shop on Amazon link first and a portion of any purchase is sent to WorldwideDX to help with site costs.
  • Click here to find out how to win free radios from Retevis!

Mobile 15/10/11/12 antenna design

nfsus

Yeah its turned off, touch it
May 9, 2011
501
258
73
47
Arkansas
Would you be better with a 15m antenna and tune it down to 10-12 meter or a 10-12 and tune it up to 15? I ordered a qt80 mobile and am thinking around about an antenna. Was thinking about a 102 and spring whip and a cheap tuner. I can add a riser to the 102 and bring it up to 15 easy enough but just curious about which way would preform better. Most times I’ll be on 10/11 probably so I’m thinking matching with the tuner on 15 would be better.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cable Guy

I'd think a 10m antenna tuned for 15m. It makes sense to me that it is easier to make a shorter antenna longer, than a longer antenna shorter. That's all I got.
 
  • Like
Reactions: midnight special
Yeah I dunno. I could run 2 but then there’s a switch box and more cable and and and. I dunno. I’m thinking. A trap would be good. The the whip would be too top heavy. I have a screwdriver on my other car but that’s a waste for just these bands.
 
Assuming the same mounting place, and a remote autotuner, you would get better performance if you used the 15 meter 1/4 wavelength length. In fact you can comfortable go longer than that by quite a bit.


The DB
 
  • Like
Reactions: NZ8N
Assuming the same mounting place, and a remote autotuner, you would get better performance if you used the 15 meter 1/4 wavelength length. In fact you can comfortable go longer than that by quite a bit.


The DB
In a mobile I’m gonna run outta room and start hitting telephone lines. Hahaha
 
In a mobile I’m gonna run outta room and start hitting telephone lines. Hahaha

That is true. Just raise hell until they put them all underground in the areas you drive... ;)

A friend of mine used to run an autotuner right before a 102 inch whip on his pickup truck (mounted front left corner of the bed). He loved it, then when he got a new vehicle, at the suggestion of others, he got a (much more expensive) screwdriver antenna and said it didn't work as well... I also ran the autotuner/102 on my SUV for a while (namely as this friends advice), until I sold it for a new vehicle a few years ago.

Another friend had a Wolf River coil at the base of a 102 that was mounted to the trunk of a car. It required manual adjustments (he had them marked) but that worked well as well. I've seen him use it to 40 meters, but it was marked to 80 meters. I know your not looking for the real cheap route, but if anyone has a similar issue and not a big budget, this works much better than I think a lot of people expect.


The DB
 

dxChat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
  • dxBot:
    Greg T has left the room.
  • @ BJ radionut:
    EVAN/Crawdad :love: ...runna pile-up on 6m SSB(y) W4AXW in the air
    +1
  • @ Crawdad:
    One of the few times my tiny station gets heard on 6m!:D
  • @ Galanary:
    anyone out here familiar with the Icom IC-7300 mods