Hi from sunny Cambridgeshire

[M6PKVParticipant]

Hi all,

Have had my foundation license for a few years but due to work load did not have time to use it.

Now have moved home and looking to start again, garden is quiet small so maybe some advice on antennas is a few Post to come,

73s

Nick
M6PKV

[M0PWXParticipant]

Hi Nick

it all depends on the bands and activities you are interested in

VHF is simple a standard whitestick antenna mounted as high as possible on the house (or washing line pole), or a simple “J Pole” made from ladder line hung out the window etc

HF is harder due to the size of the antenna required, a 40m / 7mhz antenna need 20m / 60 foot of wire, but people forget it don’t have to be in a straight line, also it don’t have to be high up, i have a fan dipole covering 40m-6m pinned to my fence panelsi have a stretch of 12 fence panels and the antenna uses 10 of them

the other option is as simple as running a wire laid in the guttering (assuming its not metal)

digital modes like FT8/4, JS8Call go much further than voice, i was doing POTA (park on the air) with a Xiegu X6100 rig and a mag mount on the car running 5 watts and had QSO’s with US and EU this afternoon on 10m

HF rigs like the Xiegu G90 (£400) and Xiegu X6100 (£600) make HF more affordable and the X6100 with a single USB cable for Data mode easy (audio and CAT control) if not you are looking generally over £1000-£1200 for a HF rig

there is the other option of a internet connected hotspot or Echo Link to access hams around the world using a internet based digital comms system (no antenna required

[Author]

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