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What have you purchased lately ?

Nothing Ham related.

Non-Ham related.
Orvis Clearwater II large arbor reel and 6wt line
Several Fuente Cigars
Bottle of Johnny Walker Black
Couple 6 packs of PBR and Red Stripe
Car Insurance for 17 y/o daughter


kj4unx
 
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Non radio
Bond
Lawyer
Boss Delay
Snark tuner
Xbox for my kid
Games for same
Ammo
Two years membership JPFO
Beer
TP
Baloney

Future spending
Beer
Oriental/black hooker
Antibiotics
Xbox games for kid
Divorce
Lawyer
Gas/new identity
 
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threaddirection.jpg
 
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Well,as far as future buys, I'd like to get some antennas for the truck to go on the lower (higher meter wise) bands.

Seems a waste to get a screwdiver, I have a auto tuner.

Will a screwdriver be better than a tuner? Seems the same.
 
Screwdriver wins hands down. All the tuning/matching is done at the antenna so no losses in feedlines etc like when using a tuner. The issue on the low bands is the very high current and voltage developed on the feedline while trying to force-feed a very low impedance. Ideally the feedline between the tuner and antenna should only be a few inches long and heavy strap type conductor. The capacitance of the coax cable in parallel with the antenna can actually rob most of your power.
 
Screwdriver wins hands down. All the tuning/matching is done at the antenna so no losses in feedlines etc like when using a tuner.
So right.
That is why you see some Company's like SGC that recommend you have the Antenna mounted as close to the tuner as possible.
Examples
4" of open wire to the antenna.
SG-230 Toyota Camry Installation

Or even have the antenna mounted to the tuner.
SG-230 QMS on VW Passat Wagon
The QMS on a '96 Jimmy
The QMS on Jeep Cherokee
SG-237 & Truck Bed Antenna

Feed line loss is the down fall of a tuner used in the shack when coax is used.
Your rig see`s good SWR but the feedline is still fighting every bit of it.

73
Jeff
 
Forgot to mention that I did use a 102 inch whip and a Yaesu FC-40 auto-tuner. The antenna was mounted on therear door of my Ford Escape and the tuner was mounted on the inside of the rear door. The feedline was eight inches of HEAVY braided strap that was well insulated with heatshrink tubing. It barely fit thru the weather seal. This worked good on 20m and up however it was deaf on 40m and not useable on 80m at all. Sitting alongside a buddy with his Tar Heel 400 screwdriver antenna he was working stuff on 80m that I could not even hear at all.
 

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