Lipari 41: SSB antenna

[R2boat]

I want to reinstall our Icom 710 on our Lipari and would like some help with antenna selection...have decided against a whip and have looked at a rope antenna or Gam, any thoughts?

[stimpsonjcat]

Are you intending to use it on all the bands it supports?

You can get a decent 2m/70cm vertical omni for cheap, but a 1/4 wave groundplane with a vertical for both those bands and 2 of the legs cut for 2m and 2 cut for 70cm up in the rigging would be cheap and probably better than most production verticals down at the deck level. Those bands are really about antenna height.

Having said that, I intend to take a folding yagi for both of those bands as they are cheap and gain is gain. If you know the direction of the guy you want to talk to, and your omni isn't getting it done, a $70 collapsible can give you 5 times the power instantly. Candles vs flashlights.


Now for the HF bands, things are really about size constraints. Most masts top out at what? 60ft? So that's just below 20m band. So from 20m up you could build tuned verticals (although I would probably just use tuned endfed antennas and a halyard. (this is my plan)

I think most folks buy a vertical as long as they can get and add a tuner, but this just fools the radio into thinking the antenna is a good match, it doesn't 'fix' the antenna. Tuned antennas are always best.

I'd consider a screwdriver also, just for the simplicity of band switching, but you said you didn't want a whip, and screwdrivers are basically motorized base-loaded whips.

73
stimp

[R2boat]

Thanks for the quick reply...trying to keep it simple and mostly in the 20 m

[stimpsonjcat]

Originally Posted by R2boat

Thanks for the quick reply...trying to keep it simple and mostly in the 20 m

If you just want 20m, get an EF-20 from LNR and use it with your halyard or if you have an insulated backstay up that line.

https://www.lnrprecision.com/store/E...8543?offset=10

I'd recommend grounding the shield connector to the ships ground system, so the ocean becomes your ground plane. Then just hook the radio up, set it to a low power mode and whistle into the mic on an empty freq, check the SWR, and keep folding the antennas height back until SWR is minimal for the freq you want.

One of the things I am looking forward to is checking into the maritime net on 14.3MHz.

But there is no way I can pass up putting a decent VHF/UHF up in the rigging.

[R2boat]

Some follow up...I made up a rope antenna out of dynemma line and inserted some GTO antenna wire in the center, approx length about 40' and attached it to the mast just below the shrouds, placed the tuner high in the port side aft hanging locker and used a KISS ground plane....happy to report it is currently meeting our needs quite well...