HF Antenna

I am a long term HF uer and had one of these Moonraker antennas that was supplied with my old Codan 8525, way back in 1985. The thing hardly ever worked properly. I couldn't wait to replace it with the Codan-manufactured 8558 when they came out....even that was a bit marginal after a few years of corrugations, weather and use.

Since about 1993, I have had theCodan 9350 antenna and it has not missed a beat. They are, in my humble opinion the best of the autotuning antennas around (I have also had the Barrett....). Mine has travelled thousands of km of poor corrugated roads, been immersed in rivers in the high country and been out in the weather all those years and still tunes like new.

If you plan on requiring your HF antenna to perform faultlessly whilst travelling in remote areas and you're relying on it for your own and others' safety, don't muck around with anything other that the big brands names...and personally I believe the Codan is the pick of the bunch.

Hope these pics work....







I do also carry a number of emergency antennas, just in case of autotune failure or write-off (NOTHING lasts forever).

The 9350 is reliable, reasonably forgiving with inadequate earthing (though you really SHOULD earth it properly), smaller and less obtrusive than the other types of autotunes and infrequently come up on eBay for reasonable prices, unless you have the $$ to purchase new ($1400 or so).

If you would like more information from a very knowledgable buch of Codan enthusiasts visit:Codan Outback Radio Yahoo Group

Just my thoughts for you and hoping to not start the old Barrett v Codan, Waeco v Engle, Toyota v Nissan debates..........

Good luck with the purchase.

Cheers,

Mark

Comparing the 1985 Moonraker with the current model is like comparing the 8558 with the 9350.

"for my IC F-7000 hf/uhf/vhf set " - this is contradictory.

- the IC7000 is hf/uhf/vhf
- the ICF7000 is HF only

Which one have you got ?

Thanks Richard n others... I have bought the wrong set it seems... dont want / need multi band... will flog it I think, buy a stand alone HF set and autotune antenna... problem solved unless I can get an autune which it seems I cant...

Take a look here:

Screwdriver mobile antannas

Mike Harding

Can anyone therefore suggest a good HF Set that is compact and not 'shoebox' size and can be mounted neatly with Autotune arial... I guess we are talking Codan / Barret ?? what are the best models?

Hmmmm.... the link doesn't go directly to the page I intended.

From the above page click on - "Amateur and CB antennas"
then click on - "High Sierra antennas".

The two antennas there should do what you seek.

Mike Harding

PS. With that radio you might consider going for a Amateur Radio Licence would give you _lots_ more capability the simply VKS737. The new Foundation Licence is not hard to obtain:

It's not my day! :)

Foundation Licence

Thanks Mike... its not... can open "Foundation Licence" link...

Are you suggesting I can get an Autotune Antenna for the Icom 7000 that will give me true and full HF capability ?


Mike

Told you it wasn't my day :)

WIA

try there and follow the links.

I think either of the two antennas on the Andrews website (above link) will do what you need.

Mike Harding

"... I have bought the wrong set it seems..."

. . . also are you aware that IC7000 doesn't have Selcal and Telcal capability for the VKS737 network or Emergency Call for RFDS ? And that it's illegal to use the IC7000 on VKS737 or RFDS frequencies ?.

Hi WMS,
I have a High Sierra 1800 Pro (Screwdriver Antenna) and it is a magic bit of gear.Lee Andrews in Sydney sells them ,not cheap $1000 but in my opinion worth it.Will tune from 3Mhz to 56Mhz at 1Kilowatt if you so desire.(no doubt Ill get hung for the 1Kw).Cheers Snake

Snake, is what you have on a multiband Icom 7000 also? If so,does that mean it automaticlly tunes all VHF, UHF & VHF channels?

Hi Mate,
I run an Icom IC737 Hf Radio(oldie but a goodie)it has an auto tuner in it.I also have a Kenwood TS480 HX in the Vehicle.The both radios are Amateur Radios.The 737 can TX from 1.8Mhz to 29Mhz and the 480 from 1.8 Mhz to 56Mhz.The High Sierra is motor driven either up or down(in or out) with a control switch mounted in the car,also available is an auto tuner to suit the antenna but I have no use for one as the Kenwood has inbuilt VSWR meter an I can tune any freq.with it by first tuning to maximum noise and fine tune with the meter.I wont comment on type approved radios except to say it is a load of crap but the laws must be adhered to.The IC7000 is a magic radio and will TX on just about everywhere it listens but this needs modifying the rig and possible legal problems.As someone has already posted the Amateur Foundation Licence is an easy test and after passing the Icom or any other Amateur Radio becomes legal for you to use(on the Amateur Bands only) I cannot spell it out any better than this.I hope I havent bored you too much. Cheers Snake

Hi Again,
To give you a better idea of frequency and wavelength go to your local Dick Smith store and pick up their Annual Catallogue turn to page 362,will give you a bit of an idea.Also look around your local area see if you can find an Amateur Radio Operater,he or she will be only too happy to show you their station and give you a hands on intro to radio and how to use a radio.Feel free to ask any questions of myself or the other Amateur operators on this site. Cheers Snake

"The 737 can TX from 1.8Mhz to 29Mhz and the 480 from 1.8 Mhz to 56Mhz.
. . . . . . . .
The IC7000 is a magic radio and will TX on just about everywhere it listens but this needs modifying the rig and possible legal problems."

- Didn't you have to modify the the IC737 and the TS480 to Tx everywhere outside the Amateur bands ?

Hi Mike R, No 1.The legal problems I refer to are if you transmit outside the Amateur Bands with a non type approved radio you can be in breach of the regulations.You can however use commercial radios,eg Codan,Barrett etc on Amateur bands.
No2 It is not illegal to modify a radio to have the capability to TX anywhere,but if you do TX that is when you are liable to have problems.The reason I posted in the first instance was to offer advice to a fellow forumite so I end my involvement in the discussion with this follow up.
Cheers Snake