Antenna Sugestions for an X9000 Low Band Radio

N9CZV · Post by **N9CZV** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 7:34 am

I am looking to get as much out of my antenna system as possible on 10 and 6 meters. This is going on a car so a very large antenna is out of the question. I would prefer a single antenna if possible. Looking for ideas. I was also wanting to know what some thought of my idea. A single whip antenna 60 inches tall on a ball mount left side rear quarter. SGC antenna tuner for using antenna for entire frequency range (28 - 54Mhz).

David Epley, N9CZV

mastr · Post by **mastr** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 8:21 am

Saying, "I am looking to get as much out of my antenna system as possible" and at the same time "a very large antenna is out of the question", is like saying "I want to have my cake and eat it too." It is going to be difficult to find a high performance antenna that isn't of substantial size. such an antenna might even be "ugly" by some standards.

SGC recommends that the antenna and coupler (tuner) be connected with the shortest lead possible for best performance- this can mean that the coupler ends up outside the car (ugly). They also discourage the use of the industry standard ball mount in favor of the SGC model for which they claim a much higher breakdown voltage (also ugly). You would be better off with a whip longer than 60" as well (ditto).

The setup you propose will work, but it won't be optimum.

HLA · Post by **HLA** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 11:07 am

is it going to be for recieve only or do you plan on transmitting? if it's recieve only then you could probablly get away with a smaller antennae that looks better. but if you're transmitting you are gonna need the big whip.

N9CZV · Post by **N9CZV** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 11:43 am

It will have to have TX capabilities. The 54 inch whip is fine as far as highth goes I am just trying to get away without using 96 inch whip for 29mhz thats where the tuner comes in. My truck has antennas for optimum performance. The car not so much. 6 meters is my primary but I do like 10 meters once in awhile. I guess I could just leave off 10 but...

David

kb0nly · Post by **kb0nly** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 1:21 pm

You could always go the cheapo ham route, put a NMO mount in the trunk and buy 10m and 6m antennas and just screw on which one you want to use.

Or, you can go with a mulitband antenna. I had a lowband, VHF, and UHF X9000 all sharing a Comet Tri-Band antenna, SB-15, by using a Comet triplexer.

Of course you want 10m also so you would need the quad band antenna, Comet UHV-4, it's 54 inches high so it's not any longer than going with a single band 6m whip. A little spendy, $109 from Universal Radio, but they work great and i know a few guys that have them and wouldn't use anything else. I plan on upgrading from my SB-15 to the UHV-4 or the Diamond CR8900A which is about the same price and specs but about 4 inches shorter than the Comet.

I have a FT-8900R in the van now, so eventually i will add the quad band antenna to match. Got tired of lugging around 60lbs of X9000's in the back, i actually saw a small increase in gas mileage on the vehicles display after getting rid of the extra weight.. LOL

Anyway, that would be a LOT cheaper than the SGC tuner just to be on FM. I was told they don't work that great on FM anyway, why i don't know, but the manufacturer only specs it out for SSB and CW use.

n3chu · Post by **n3chu** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 1:53 pm

I use the antenx wide band antennas( one for 6 and one for 10) and a Comet splitter and has been working well for about 15 years. I think the 6m antenna is the longest at 52 inches. I think the duplexer is a CF-360 from comet. I set the extender for 6 meters as thats the band I use the most. The 6M antenna is the "CB50" and I think the 10M antenna is the CB27. I have had this setup on two different cars and I have the same setup here in the house(different antennas) and am running the Syntor-x. That is my setup ant would do it again. Good luck. Davie

kb0nly · Post by **kb0nly** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 4:11 pm

Comet doesn't currently make and diplexer's that will seperate 10 and 6.

Diamond has the MX-610, 1.3-30 on low side, 49-470 on the high side. But by the time you spend $67 for that, and then buy both antennas you could have the mulitband antenna and be ready for future use. If you have a VHF and UHF radio in the car as well get a triplexer and run all three radios on one antenna. Worked great for my install.

phrawg · Post by **phrawg** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 4:42 pm

simple, use a Hustler mast and 10 meter load and stinger assy.
The mast acts as a 6 meter whip and the 10 meter coil serves as a trap
when on 6 meters. when on 10 meters the whole thing resonates as it should like a top loaded whip for 10 with a tuning stinger above the load.
I have seen this done several times and it is quite effective. Phrawg

kb0nly · Post by **kb0nly** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 4:56 pm

That's what i had on my old van, the MO-3 54" mast and the RM-10 resonator. It worked ok once i got the thing to cooperate and tune up on 10m, it was picky about my mounting location and if you can get up and in the clear then it won't be much of a problem.

It's a bit of a pain in the butt for a car though since the mast isn't as flexible as a whip and your going to need a good solid mount. If you need to park in a garage or get into any low roofed parking garages you can forget about it.

The Comet and Diamond antennas have the foldover in them, makes it super nice to tuck it in the garage or run through the carwash, etc.

I know i won't go back after having my triband antenna.

George · Post by **George** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 3:28 am

I use two antennas on my low band X9000.

Using 1/4 wave coax sections, and I may have the lengths written down somewhere, but I use Motorola Spectrum antennas for 6m and 10M on opposite 1/4 wave sections of coax.

This has worked really well for me for several years. The 6m antenna does get a bit mushy in tuning but it does work. The 10m antenna is on the long side of the 30MHz side and remember to use only antennas with springs. This gets more range out of the cutting chart.

If you want a shorter whip, use a Larsen NMO-27 antenna. It works well and will look better with the 6m Spectrum antenna.

I have not used Larsen antennas on both bands because the Motorola looks more like an antenna than those floppy Larsen rods. Larsen is nice however because they are available in black teflon finish.

You will do some work and cut your lines a few times to get it right, but this method does work well and allows you to have a T connector between the two antenna leads and connect it to one radio and allow using both 6 and 10 at the same time.

I have two cars with identical installations and have had no problems.

George

wa2zdy · Post by **wa2zdy** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 3:38 pm

I used the Hustler with the 10m resonator and it worked just fine.

The SGC will work just fine on FM. It's very happy with just a carrier. I'd be concerned about a 150w SGC though and longish transmissions at 100+w. And bear in mind also not all SGC tuners cover 6m. The key to using an autocoupler like the SGC is to mount it AT the base of the antenna. No coax between the tuner and the feedpoint. The easy way to do that is to mount the antenna on the outside quarter panel of a car or pickup and mount the tuner inside at the same point. Use the shortest wire possible between the tuner and feedpoint.

The multiband antennas by Comet and Diamond . . . well, they're certainly not up to the physical standards of Larsen, etc. But if they work for you, great. For me, it'd be Larsen all the way. I have a 20 year old NMO150 still in use. I don't think there will be too many Comets and Diamonds when that time has passed.

The Hustler by the way I had the non-foldover mast with various resonators over time. Even with the 40m standard resonator and a heavy duty spring, I had no problem with a Motorola branded (looks identical to the Hustler branded) stainless ball mount. I wouldn't stick a screwdriver on that ball but the Hustler was never a problem.