Antenna works!

The antenna works. There wasn’t a whole lot to hear on the bands, so I’m not sure if the antenna’s performance is crap in its current configuration, or if it’s just the bands are crap today. I’ll spend some more time on the antenna and playing on the radio tomorrow.

The radio’s internal tuner will match the antenna from 20 m  up to 6 m, but not on any of the bands below that. Better than I expected, although not having 40 m is a bit of a downer. The noise level on all the bands below 20 m was pretty high too (S7-9).

Now the dilemma is what to do with the antenna when the radio isn’t being used. The antenna and mast are pretty conspicuous when deployed, and we would no doubt get some naughtygrams from the HOA police.

With the mast down, there’s not much to see from the road or even the side of the house.

The antenna becomes pretty messy though and obviously makes mowing more difficult if I just leave it lying on the ground. The antenna would also exposed to full sun, which would probably shorten its life.

I think what will most likely end up happening is that the antenna will come off the mast and get coiled back up when it’s not being used. I can use an S hook to attach the antenna center to the top of the mast which will make for one less rope to deal with.

That means playing radio will end up being a little bit more work and a more planned activity. Won’t have to worry about the inevitability of the antenna or coax getting chewed up by the lawn mower though.