[TenTec] 17 Meter Antenna

[Reed]

Very good info guys.  I'm going to throw another antenna into the mix 
that I also have been thinking about. It's a magnetic loop designed by 
Rich K8NDS.  You can find info on his antennas at qrz.com & 
http://www.antennastealth.com/   He also has a u tube doing comparisons 
between the loop & doublet on 40 meters.

I worked Rich some time ago on his 10-20M loop on 10 meters which is up 
6 feet high.  He got down to 15 milliwatts on the phone portion & I was 
still able to copy him enough to understand what he was saying. I have a 
old (1989) 2 El Hy-Gain tri band beam  on a very high hill which I know 
helped a lot for me to receive his weak signal.  But I've done this many 
times on CW into Europe, but never on phone anywhere.  Band conditions 
were not that great, but for 10 were pretty good.  I was using a Ten Tec 
Argonaut VI which I will say has a very good receiver.  Coax length is 
150 feet of Belden RG-213 into beam that is only up 17 feet on a 
home-brew wooden tower bolted to a utility building.  I'm sitting on a 
huge rock with only 18 inches of top soil.

I was impressed with Rich's antenna, but that vacuum variable capacitor 
are not cheap. When he went down to 15 milliwatts that was what got my 
attention.  100 watts on ten meters into a wire on the ground will still 
make contacts if band is open, but going down to the milliwatt power is 
all about the antenna & coax.

Would also be a good antenna for those in a HOA subdivision.

73,
Reed  W4JZ