New Icom 7300 and G5RV Antenna
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| Mar 4th 2016, 22:34 | |
hamwillytTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
I am preparing to get my General Ticket and a new ICOM 7300 HF Rig (that has an internal antenna tuner) for DXing using SSP and CW (when I learn). I plan to get a G5RV antenna (http://www.amateurradiosupplies.com/product-p/11001.htm) with a 51 feet wire and 16ft, 450 Ohm Ladder line (that I will run perpendicular to wire wire dipole for use on 40M – 6M bands and mount it horizontally about 30 feet up on two backyard trees. Then fun 50 Ohm coax into house. I have a few questions. 1) Even though I do not plan to use 80M or 160M bands, would I get better DX reception if I were to use a longer, 105ft wire / 35 ft ladder line, G5RV unit? 2) Should I invest in a Balun (1:1 or 4:1) to connect the 450 Ohm ladder to 50 Ohm Coax? Or simple create a “balum” by creating a 8 – 10 loop with Coax? 3) Should I / do I need to install a Lighting Arrestor (like http://www.amateurradiosupplies.com/product-p/13003.htm) within G5RV ? 4) What type Coax should I purchase ? and finally 5) Should I use only the amount of Coax cable to connect to HF System (approx 40 feet) or is it OK to get a 75 foot length and simply wrap and store next to Rig. Much thanks for help KC1ECW (hamwillyt@gmail.com) |
| Mar 7th 2016, 14:30 | |
W1VTSuper Moderator Total Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
A longer antenna gives you better reception in some directions, worse in others. An antenna pattern with a lot of peaks and nulls can be hard to point in a particular direction. But, it can be a lot of fun to use a high gain antenna if it is pointed in a useful direction--so a big antenna can be fun for a casual user, even though one doesn't really know where it is aimed. Conversely, that can be very frustrating for someone trying to reach a particular state or country. The compact multiband dipole published the March 2016 may be more appropriate for your needs. The proper way to handle lightning protection is discussed on these pages. You want to provide an easy path to ground, whether it comes in on the antenna or the service entrance. You want to have the ground rods bonded together--sometimes lightning will travel across the house to get to the other ground rod. http://www.w8ji.com/house_ground_layouts.htm http://www.arrl.org/lightning-protection Zack Lau W1VT ARRL Senior Lab Engineer |
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