Site Search
Print Page Setup Profile Login
You have 4 items in your shopping cart
Section Image

Hf Whip Antenna

Submitted: Friday, Sep 02, 2005 at 17:02

res.q.guy

Through posts on this site, I have come across tapped hf whip antenna's for the VKS-737 4wd network, that are made by Frankston & District Amature Radio Club (www.qsl.net.vk3frc). They are about $120 . Has anyone used one ? or does anyone have a comment on them. I am new to hf radio and just purchased a 2nd hand Codan 8525 and now looking at options, for a whip antenna.
Thanks in advance
Neil
Advertisement
ThreadID: 26073 Replies: 4
Views: 1189 FollowUps: 3
This Thread has been Archived
Thread Summary
Thread Watch Back To Forum Alert Moderator FAQ
AnswerID: 127966   Submitted: Friday, Sep 02, 2005 at 17:11

Mad Dog (Australia) replied:

They work ok. If venturing into rough territory where there may be a lot of whipping around either take it off or use a spring. I had a problem where the enamel wire fractured about 3 cm from the base, easily fixed but didn't have the gear with me in the bush. Very good value antenna...fully recommended




Reply 1 of 4
AnswerID: 127990   Submitted: Friday, Sep 02, 2005 at 19:15

Willem replied:

I have a 20 tap whip antenna and new spring which I bought through Transceiver Services in Adelaide. It cost $380 all up including freight, The aerial alone cost $316. So if the one you are looking at for $120 looks robust enough, it is a good deal!
Karoo Jackal
Click Image to Enlarge
Willem

There is more than one way to get a rabbit

Reply 2 of 4
AnswerID: 127992   Submitted: Friday, Sep 02, 2005 at 19:20

hanson replied:

if the wire breaks, just get the right amount of 2.65ml high tensile fencing wire ... works. We have a vineyard so plenty of wire, and have snapped two proper antennaes, coming into a low carport
Reply 3 of 4
FollowupID: 382616   Submitted: Friday, Sep 02, 2005 at 21:35

Footloose posted:

You're talking about replacing the steel whip end of an autotune aerial but the thread was on whip aerials.
Anyone who replaces a whip aerial with a bit of fencing wire would need around 30ft of wire on 737 channel 2 !
FollowUp 1 of 3
FollowupID: 382617   Submitted: Friday, Sep 02, 2005 at 21:37

Footloose posted:

Unless the whip end has a tuning spike and you were referring to that ?
FollowUp 2 of 3
FollowupID: 382624   Submitted: Friday, Sep 02, 2005 at 22:25

Mad Dog (Australia) posted:

It does have a tuning spike but that's not what I was refering to above. I had to strip some of the heat shrink do a repair on the thin enamel wire and apply more heat shrink, easy job but the hardest part was finding the facture. It was impossible to see with the naked eye but the multimeter soon tracked it down.




FollowUp 3 of 3
AnswerID: 128066   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 03, 2005 at 09:18

Member - Banjo The First (SA) replied:

Yep - mainstream plastic coated professional tapped whips (more a pole than a whip - they re not "whippy") are expensive, but very robust. The $120 is attractive and might be the go if you take good care of it. Don't forget that as a back-up, a length of thin wire can serve as a very good antenna (should your main unit break) - I'm staff with VKS737 - we have a guide to calculating wire lengths on our site - in the PDF's section. As long as you have at least a few metres of wire connected you won't harm the radio - the adjusted length gets you "in tune" with the frequency you are trying to use. Different frequency - different wire length - I carry a bit of stainless wire tuned for 8022 Khz, as a spare.

Click Image to Enlarge
By the time I'm too old to go bush, I'll have all my gear set up just right !
Reply 4 of 4
Activities Index
Ballooning & Champagne Breakfast Ballooning & Champagne Breakfast
Cairns and Tropical North QLD - QLD
Float over the Atherton Tablelands & experience the wonder & silence of hot air ballooning.
Tandem Hang gliding Tandem Hang gliding
Illawarra - NSW
Join us for a 30 minute Tandem Hang Gliding flight over Stanwell Park, 1 hour south of Sydney.
 V8 Race Car Drive Day - 5 Laps V8 Race Car Drive Day - 5 Laps
Brisbane - QLD
Experience an exhilarating driving event where you get to drive a V8 race car on a high-speed Clubma
Half Day Offshore Fishing Charter Half Day Offshore Fishing Charter
Gold Coast - QLD
Get onboard and go offshore with our half day fishing charter.
Book Now - Things To Do