Looks like I have a number of options and of course as with most antennas,
bigger is better. OTOH I do have to get along with the DMV and if my supper
bug catcher starts removing stoplights or their controls they may not be
happy. At least I don't normally have to worry about parking ramps, or a
low garage with my shop having an 11' or is it 12' door that's 16' wide on a
28 X 40 foot shop full of jun...er...treasurers.
I guess I'm spoiled as the 897D is a nice rig and it works well, but I
really don't like a small, menu driven rig for fixed, or even portable
operation although it does have some possibilities for portable. I think
it'd shine as a mobile though. Now if I could just figure out how to mount
it in the Debonair and run out a trailing wire antenna in a fashion I could
afford and make the FAA happy at the same time. So, currently I'm looking
at either installing it as a mobile along with the TM-D700 144/440 digital
rig, or selling it and getting a used rig for the base station in the shop.
I'd really like to have another 756 Pro or even a Pro II but I'm thinking
that may be a bit out of my budget range for the time being.
>
> Mea culpa....I didn't verify URL's before sending...of course, #3 is
> bad...I've corrected it below...sorry about that...dale
>
>
> How important is 75m in your mobile operations?
Preferable, but not essential. A quarter wave on 160 would be nice though.
<:-))
>
> If you can live without it, the Yaesu ATAS-120 antenna system works with
> the
> FT-897.
>
I've thought of that a bit, but not really looked into it. I'll have to
look farther. I may add a trailer hitch to the 4-Runner and mount the
antenna base on that. Last time I did that I had a guy roll into me at a
stop light. He was all concerned about my car as he'd hit me from behind.
Fortunately he didn't look at his grill or notice the hot water running down
the street. It was right at the crest of a steep hill, so there was just a
mild bump that seemed to lift the rear of the old Pontiac Catalina. Now
there was a car with an engine!
> If you haven't considered it, there are a few plusses associated with it:
> 1-ability to change bands without stopping; 2-low profile; easy to store
> in
> vehicle. If you need 75m, then I guess one of the big bug catchers or
> screwdrivers is the way to go. I don't think I could ever go back to an
> antenna that I have to stop the vehicle, get out, swap
> antennas/resonators,
> get back in, start the vehicle.
>
> Mostly, though, I like my ATAS-120 because I can drive into the garage
> without having to get out, remove the antenna, get in, drive in, get
> out...yadda, yadda, yadda...and then do the reverse when I want to go
> somewhere.
As I said, I can go up to between 11 and 12 feet as far as the garage is
concerned.
I haven't had to worry about the utility feed or cable which BTW were way
under code since the concrete trucks delivered the concrete for the shop and
tower guy anchors. Code calles for 13 feet. I could whack both the 220
feed and cable with a broom stick. The trucks removed the problem and I had
3" conduit in place for the electrical feeds to the house and shop as well
as a run of half inch for the cable which we didn't use for nearly 10 years.
Only reason for it now is high speed internet. At any rate they took care of
my overhead wire problem.
So, now that it's warm enough it's time to finish up that tower work which
reminds me I was going to put the rest of the PST-61 rotator repair and
modification photos up. I wonder if I can remember to get that done. We're
slated for severe thunder storms and 22 to 25 MPH winds so the tower work is
probably out. OTOH I can handle working up there with 20 MPH...22 doesn't
seem like much more, but it is noticable.
>
> The mount is mounted to the hatch lip edge about halfway down the side of
> the hatch. The top of the tubular section of the 120 is a little above
> the
Isn't that a lot of load on that edge at expressway cruising speeds?
Roger Halstead (K8RI and ARRL 40 year Life Member)
N833R - World's oldest Debonair CD-2
www.rogerhalstead.com
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