SSB with GAM Split Lead Antenna?

[SteveInMD]

To anyone that has used a SSB with GAM Split Lead Antenna... What do you think? Does it work well?

[btrayfors]

Originally Posted by SteveInMD

To anyone that has used a SSB with GAM Split Lead Antenna... What do you think? Does it work well?

Just about anything will work. Question is, and you nailed it, how well does it work?

To my mind and experience, it works but not that well. And, I believe it's way overpriced. You still need a tuner and a decent RF ground, and how well the overall system works depends in part on those components.

Much better, IMHO, is an "alternate backstay" antenna (lots of posts on this), which is cheaper and just as effective as a traditional insulated backstay antenna.

Bill
WA6CCA

[chuckr]

We have had great experience with it -- when we were in the Caribbean we were told over and over we had one of the best radios there.
crossing the Atlantic we managed to hit stations until we were a few days outside Horta. In the Med we use a variety of stations from Germany to Swiss to Austria to Russia - In the Black Sea we used our ssb as our primary long range forecasting and hit stations in Germany, Slovenia and Swiss

We know a lot of "experts" say they do not work -- I am not an expert just a user and ours works great - and we would do it again

Chuck
KI4SRY

[NevisDog]

Originally Posted by chuckr

-- I am not an expert just a user and ours works great - and we would do it again.
Chuck
KI4SRY

Hi Chuck,
I'm asking around those who have installed a GAM as it might solve my immediate problem. My dipole is ineffective on anything but the highest frequencies and I can't see a way to install a single wire anywhere near our stern, so I wondered if one of these GAM antennas could be attached to the shrouds amidships? I know it would not be as simple as sliding it up the backstay but if it could be attached around the ends of the twin spreaders then I could easily go up the mast to secure it. It might be better than running a single wire from deck to masthead this close to the shrouds?