Posted: 10/14/2007 2:55:09 PM EDT
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Went to the Melbourne hamfest yesterday. Nowhere near as big as the Orlando one but fun nonetheless. I had a great score on an antenna. Picked up a Hustler 5BTV HF vertical in good condition for $30. Not bad for an antenna that retails for $200. As I was walking to the truck with it several folks commented on what a great antenna it is. Unfortunately the Wireman wasn't there so I didn't get the cable/wire I was hoping to. Now that I have the Hustler I'll have to get some more for the radials. Still haven't decided where to put it in the yard but I'm really excited about getting it installed on on the air. It'll go nicely with the new antenna switch I just picked up too. 
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Nice score. I had a 6BTV for a while and it played well. Be careful on placement, it is sensitive to almost anything in the near field and can cause problems tuning. Another suggestion is to pick your favorite frequency on 80m....my experience is the 20khz of bandwidth is too generous. Steppir has a great article on radials if you haven't read it yet...Debunks many myths known to float around about radials. www.steppir.com/files/radial%20systems%20for%20vertical%20antennas.pdf |
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I thought you were in a antenna restricted community? Any way congrats. That is a good price. I went to a Ham Fest today and all there was is junk. Treasures to some, junk to me. I am looking for a dummy load and a 2 meter amp. None in the building. congrats again. |
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Thanks for the article frisco. Bobwrench and Alkva, yes, I'm in a restricted community. I'll probably end up ground mounting it so only the 80M whip might possibly extend above the roofline. That shouldn't be too noticeable. My neighbors are fine with the stuff I have up so far. Keeping my fingers crossed.
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They weren't at the Rock Hill SC hamfest last weekend either, hope things are ok. I was planning on making an order for zipcord, might call it in to see what's up. Good score, best I got lately was a Comet GP3 for $25 
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I would either build or get DX Engineering's tilt plate if keeping the peace is a concern. I used it on my BTV and just put it down behind my fence...it went up at night and contest weekends. |
Not sure. I have a 2 meter FM rig. Out put is 30 watts on high and 15 watts on low. I put up a 13 element beam and wanted to be able to get out a little more. |