10 Meters

[Tim Huff]

Hi Everyone!
I am new here and just getting back into Ham Radio. I am going to be
pulling down my Kenwood 430s from the attic and I don't have much space for
a antenna and wondering what the 10 meter and 15 meter conditions are right
now.
Can anyone recommend a decent antenna for say 10,15,20.

Tim

[Edward A. Feustel]

Post by Tim Huff
Hi Everyone!
I am new here and just getting back into Ham Radio. I am going to be
pulling down my Kenwood 430s from the attic and I don't have much space for
a antenna and wondering what the 10 meter and 15 meter conditions are right
now.
Can anyone recommend a decent antenna for say 10,15,20.
Tim

I used to have a homebrew triband vertical on top of our garage. It had coax
feed to 3 a vertical
element and to 4 radials each consisting of 3 wire rotor control cable. Each
wire was cut for a specific band. The vertical element was supported by a
piece of wood with standoffs. Worked quite well
and was VERY inexpensive.
Good luck.
Ed, N5EI

[Flwrite]

Ed wrote...

Post by Edward A. Feustel
I used to have a homebrew triband vertical on top of our garage. It had coax
feed to 3 a vertical
element and to 4 radials each consisting of 3 wire rotor control cable. Each
wire was cut for a specific band. The vertical element was supported by a
piece of wood with standoffs. Worked quite well
and was VERY inexpensive.
Good luck.
Ed, N5EI

Wire verticals are a good idea. Parallel verticals on the same
multi-conductor wire is a good idea. Economical and effective. Low angle
radiation to catch any DX, if any is around. Verticals can pick up a lot of
static, so aren't the best for receiving below 14 MHz, but there's no static
on the higher freqs so that isn't a problem.

Use the beacons on 10 meters to catch band openings. Alternately, recommend
a cheap 11 Meter transceiver with the squelch turned way up to monitor for
openings. (However, CB operation is not recommended, Good Buddy.) Lately,
10 Meters is dead for days at a time, so people make the mistake of never
checking it out. But band openings aren't so rare, and it's a shame if
nobody is there to take advantage of them. If you hear a beacon, call CQ.
And never let a CQ go unanswered. (Phrasing plagiarized from ARRL.org.)

-Neil / ne3j-