[TowerTalk] Apartment Antennas

[Jim Lux]

On 10/13/14, 12:02 PM, Jim Hargrave wrote:
> Although perhaps not as efficient as the SteppIR, consider a mobile
> Screwdriver antenna. It should work fine mounted on the balcony railing.
> Then you can use it on your truck also.
>

Or a untuned dipole just above the roofline, or a vertical, and an 
autotuner at the feedpoint.

Screwdrivers are about 6dB down (minimum) from any "real" antenna (by 
which I mean a random length >25 feet of wire thrown into the trees or 
similar).  They're also very, very narrow band on the low bands, so 
you'll find yourself returning a lot.


I tried a screwdriver on a big tripod made of collapsible painters 
poles, and it "worked" but realistically, for the same dollars, an 
autotuner and a wire vertical on the same tripod worked about the same 
on 40 through 10.  Didn't try it on 75.

The autotuner was a LOT easier to operate (no running the antenna up and 
down trying to find the match)

SGC-239 from HRO is $190

diamond sd330 is $390
tarheel is $400