I buy them when the price is $8.

When I get them home, I cut off the black insulation, strip the wire off, etc., and then they get made into something that really works.

I've made most of my mobile antennas out of Hamsticks, and for 40-10m they've all worked good for mobile antennas - 75/80m and 160m IMHO is a waste, it's too inefficient and the car (ground plane) is too small.

KJ4ADN - Bill

We're a family of 9 HAMS, usually 3-4 of us will operate from 3 different parts of the house, with 2 of them in the same room, which can get annoying (hearing the other operator in the background).  During Field Day, we set up 3-4 stations and a GOTA in the same building, with 9-10 mono-band antennas to the same little area of tables in a "U" shape (everyone facing eachother).  All stations run on the SAME power supply / battery bank, same ground system - there is no chance of floating grounds, ground potential, etc.

Field Day, we just label the coax and move it around as needed to each other's antenna switches (usually each switch will have 2 or more coaxes on it).  We haven't figured out a "switch matrix" to bring all the antenna coaxes to and redirect them at will to the 4-5 radios.  Same goes for the QTH.  We've tried some of the cheaper switches and burnt them up if we run power.   Is there an multi-antenna x multi-radio switch that gives enough isolation between radios - the only thing I can think of is build your own with relays and the paths well shielded from eachother.

The other issue in the house, each radio & antenna is isolated from the other ones, own power supply, own grounding system, so in our case, it presents a whole another issue of grounding & bonding, ground potentials between antennas (it'd be impossible to run a heavy ground wire between each antenna, and anything loose could be a disaster or smoke a radio.)

We do operate 2 or3 radios on the same bands, as long as we're 5kHz apart, we don't know the other station is there - networking the computers REALLY helps - seeing the operating frequency of the other station.  The multi-station at the QTH has been a real learning experience - a NULL is a good thing to take advantage of, dipole or beam, and space between verticals and omni-directional antennas is paramount.   Mono-band, resonate antennas cut down on cross-band interference - multi-band & some-tuner-required have not worked well in our situation.

KJ4ADN - Bill

I've used a wooden desk for everything, it's a worn out antique...

There's a free metal desk, looks really nice for a station, so I thought I'd ask, several of you guys have what looks like metal desks.

Question #1:  Did you bond your desk to the ground, radio, coax, etc?
My ground rod(s) are less than 5' from the desk, thru the wall, outside.
all the coaxes are bonded together to a 1/4" plate (outside the wall), which is bonded to the ground rod.
The entire system is running on 12VDC, battery bank, charged by homebrew 80amp linear supply.

I have no intentions of cadwelding a #2 cable to the desk... metal or wood

Question #2:  What SHOULD I be doing with the end of the disconnected coax?
I've been disconnecting it during lighting attacks (ground strikes in the front yard... )
I don't want to smoke $$ expensive radios, so I disconnect them as a precaution - good idea, bad idea with my grounding?
A friend of ours had his disconnected, coax laying on the desk, took a near strike on his G5RV, looks like a cigar where the coax rested / vaporized, right in front of the radio!   A girl in the club puts her coax end in a large glass jar....?!

KJ4ADN - Bill

I got a 500' roll of 1/2 price coax at a HAMfest a couple of years ago, the shielding was so terrible, at 40m it was leaking RF, 6m was completely unusable.   At the higher frequencies (10m), the coax plays a bigger role than, say 75m.   This stuff wasn't 100% shield, and we absolutely could not tune a 6m mobile antenna with it.  6-8' in length!   When we switched to 100% shielded coax, the difference was immediate.

KJ4ADN - Bill

If you meant LIGHTNING - look at the coax.
Put a known good 50ohm resistor on the end of the coax and check it.  (or you can buy a very expensive antenna analyzer and find the exact spot it's bad.)  If it's something other than 1:1, replace it...  don't cut out the bad spot, replace it.

One of the girls in our club took a near strike on her Ringo-Ranger, it shortened the antenna a few inches and blew a tiny hole in the coax.  We metered the coax, found the hole and the insulation had what looked like the center conductor had nearly vaporized in one spot.  It looked OK with a VOM, but the antenna analyzer said it was bad.  It was not hooked up to the radio at the time of the strike, she had the end in a glass jar...?

We replaced the coax, cleaned up & retuned the antenna, she's back on the air.

KJ4ADN

Exactly - probably the easiest multi-band, tuner-less antenna to build.
Playing around with a 40m a bit, if you could "fatten" that element, 15m might come in without any help from a tuner.
I was thinking another 40m wire, horizontal axis to the existing 40m one might increase it's bandwidth and gain 15m.

Considering the transmitter's RF converted to heat (or ) by tuning, it seems like a guy would be further ahead starting with a resonate antenna than a one-antenna-does-it-all-tuner-required....  I was stunned how much better a resonate antenna "hears-the-band-you-want" than one that's not. 

KJ4ADN - Bill

I've heard of, never seen it, might try it....
a "cage" OCF to increase the bandwidth.

Our first HF antenna was a 160m Carolina Windom, not high enough to work the lower bands effectively.
There was a website, don't remember when I last saw it, years ago, they took hoola hoops and made a 6 or 8 wire cage Windom.  one of these days...  I'm gonna try it (cage) with a 160-80m SS Zapper and see what happens.

At some of the HAMfests, these other guys have been selling OCF and Dipoles made with woven fencing wire, saying it's wide band - about 3-4" wide, SS wire, I don't know if that would *really* make enough difference... interesting idea, no comparision results ever given.

People swear by fan dipoles...

KJ4ADN - Bill

Bruce, forgot to ask...

Do you have a metal roof?   Take advantage of that nice ground plane if you do.

I wouldn't fret too much over the valley situation, here's why.   The last 3 years, we've been the special event station for the Blue Ridge Bonanza (2 day special event) - our location was the Blue Ridge Music Center on the Parkway.   If you've been there, it's a bowl - mountains all around the place.   We set up 20m & 40m verticals, with radials and from 10am until 5pm each day worked stations from Texas to New York - but COULDN'T work anything within 50miles of us, ever that I recall.  We strung up dipoles, easily 60' in the air - they were relatively quiet by comparison.

We've also worked from Ground Hog Mountain, the top of the Tobacco Barn (lookout tower, line of sight to Pilot Mnt), with 20m & 40m dipoles, and got completely opposite results.   The dipoles were stellar performers on the top of the ridge, and the verticals were fair by comparison.  The local stations we couldn't off the verticals from the Music Center, were quite BIG for a change.  The ground, elevation of the antenna and surrounding terrain all had an effect.  Fortunately, in BOTH cases, QRM and electrical noise was nil, so the FT-450s were kept pretty busy with stations calling, weak or strong.

If you've got a couple of big trees, wire antennas are quick & easy to throw up - and it doesn't need to be copper wire to work.   Same goes for the radials, if you need them, we've been using 35' pieces of CAT-5 cable, strip the sheath off and spread out 4 pairs of radials.  (if you got a telephone vendor in the area, swing by and they'll probably give you as much as you can carry in short lengths, 50' or less).

One thing I've learned...  What works for my QTH & type of HAMmin', might not work for the next guy and his situation - so, try everything you can think of, picking the antenna types that ought to work the best for your QTH.  There are just so many variables - it might take a year or two of playing around to get the set up you really enjoy.

WB6BYU's comments on the inverted vee are interesting, worth trying if you got nearby tree.   My first Carolina Windom was strung from the end of the house to a tree 300' away.  20' sloping upwards to 50' - it was great to get on the air on 160m & 80m....  all local though, <200mi radius... a cloud warmer in my case.

KJ4ADN - Bill

Where I live in Virginia, I'm blessed with very conductive ground.  We also live on a ridge, running N/S.  To take advantage of my ground and slope, I have an OMTA vertical antenna leaning east down the slope towards Europe.  I'm able to DX before the bands wake up if you will... I'm taking advantage of my ground, lightning strikes notwithstanding.

Verticals have been VERY good for us, and not having many tall trees has made Dipoles, Windoms - anything horizontal that needs a little elevation SUCK.  After putting up a pair of 80m verticals with NO RADIALS, I hit Denmark on 4 watts - sure some of it's propagation, but, he also picked me out a a dozen stations and asked what I was using that came through so good QRP.

Try both, and see what fits your QTH and what you want to do, LOCAL or DX and if it's a Dipole, what general DIRECTION you want to aim it.  I was sold on Carolina Windoms for a couple of years, have a pile of 4:1 and 1:1 baluns I made they sit unused.   I've got many 6awg solid wire Dipoles, they leave drawer for Field Day and return there until next year.

But, there is one antenna, if you got about 180' of clear span, it's a Dipole that's no tune on 160m, 80m & 30m, the rest tunable - a Stainless Steel Zapper.   Won't do much for DX, but is a very interesting antenna for local - we have quite a few of them around here & NC.  Easy & inexpensive to make - 2 x 86' of stainless wire, 62' of 450ohm ladder line, connect to your coax and to the radio.  The 450ohm provides the match & my AIMUHF can provide the proof.   It's the only dipole type antenna that has worked everywhere we've tried it - the same...

BTW - none of my verticals have an radials, just a ground rod - and they perform equally well in all directions.

KJ4ADN - Bill

Definately get it away from the house, if you can.  Coupling to any parallel metal objects is a problem (in your case).  To prove how well coupling can work to your advantage, look up OMTA antenna, it's a 3 stub vertical, 40-20-15m and only the 40m element is driven.  The 20 & 15m stubs are "RF coupled" by their close relationship to the driven element.  It  could be the wiring just inside the wall of the house!

High SWR...  borrow a meter, and move the antenna around a bit, try it as a sloper and record a few readings - just to see if the length is right.  what you really want to figure out, where is it resonating (hearing the best for the receiver), SWR is going to tell how well the transmitter is matched to the antenna (system).  Try the antenna somewhere away from metal objects and see what the meter says, leave it just a tad long on ... just in case... and then see if you get similar readings back at the house.  That should confirm the antenna is near the target - the thing to keep in mind, "what works at your QTH, might not work at mine."

Beware of cheap coax.   I got a SUPER deal at a HAM fest, 1/2 the price of the stuff I'd used, some knockoff mini 8x stuff - with braid so thin, I could see the white insulation through it.  To be sure, I tried it on several antennas, put the antenna analyzer on it (AIMUHF - not a cheap one), and realized I had come home with a 500' roll of snap-pop-crack coax (it picked up noise from everywhere!).   What was really interesting was when I put in on a known good, properly tuned antenna, the stuff made the antenna look bad?!   So, your antenna could be fine, and just the coax sucks.  Borrow a hunk of coax from someone and see if it looks the same, or works as you expected.

Hope that helps.

KJ4ADN - Bill

Agreed!  I've heard lots of HAMS rave about their "perfect match" screw driver antennas... yet, they can't seem to hear much of anything.  Same goes for base loaded, ham sticks and these super-duper compact mobile antennas.  My personal experience on a barefoot mobile is center loaded, center mount, thru-the-roof.  Install a quick disconnect if you need to, and run it through an insulated cross-rail for added support, if you need to.

As far as the wife....    a nurse huh...?   could probably do surgery in the dark - while you're sleeping... careful.
On the other-hand, she needs to get her "ticket" and into the hobby.   That's the game-changer.
This week.... I'm drilling 2 holes through the roof on a brand new 2011 Subaru Forester, KJ4ADQ is wondering what's taking so long!   Life is good when you share the same hobby.

Using NMO for the UHF/VHF antennas, a 90 degree 3/8" stud (insulated washer) for the HF antennas (quick disconnect, home brew, center loaded whips)

KJ4ADN - Bill

I must have some other kind of NMO mount - it's a 3/8" hole.  There's a small backer plate, and on it goes.
Used a stepper bit the last time, and cleaned up the underside real good, doped it up with Nox, worked fine for the almost 2 years I owned the car.

I'll be putting another one on this week, same deal.   But, also a 90 degree 3/8 stud (makes a 1/2" hole) for some 7' HF whips.  That's the biggest hole through the roof I can think of.  On the last car (2010 I just traded in..), I used a plastic plug and JB weld to plug, looked nice and neat.

The NMO mount I've used is for 2m/70cm antennas, pretty small, and quick to dismount for the car washes.   These have a rubber gasket on the surface that mates with the top-side of the car roof.

KJ4ADN - Bill

I just traded off my Forester 2010 for a 2011 - forget the nonsense about holes, it doesn't make a difference - and I had 2 holes in the roof!  It's mileage that does it (we had 62k on ours, and it was time for EVERYTHING maintenance).

If you have that pocket on the bottom of the dash, next to the shifter, just bent a thin piece of aluminum in a 90 degree angle and mount the head to it, with the angled part extending into the pocket.  When I'm driving, I "talk" on the radio, and seldom ever look at the display.

We have the IC-7000 mounted in the rear, driver's side pocket, the head in the front, and 2 thru-the-roof mount antennas.
BTW, Subaru makes a really nice luggage rack cross-rail that can double as a support for some really hefty center loaded antennas.  Car + antenna = 13'.... and some interesting looks, but great performance.

KJ4ADN - Bill

We have all sorts of Verticals, and love them (we're a family of 8 HAMs). 

The biggest performers, and most versatile for us is the OMTA - it covers 40, 20, 17 & 15m (an insertable tuning stub switches from 15m to 17m).  A little more work to build, but it's strong and have held up well.  We have 3 of these, separated about 400' apart and we can all work the same bands to within 5kz of each other before we start to "hear" the other radio.

I've got 6 fiberglass 40m poles, 32.5' with wire inside them, and a connector on top for "fine tuning", add a short piece of wire via connector...   Also have 2 80m spider-beam poles with wire inside - co-phasing these for a figure 8 pattern or endfire, and WOW!  what a great DXer!

We have a pair of aluminum 80m 65' telescoping sched 40 pipes, still by far the best performing DX antenna... and hardest to keep up!  (they're on the ground, repairs complete, and ready to be re-deployed).

Our latest project is building a 7 or 9 element 40m array....  working on that, the front yard is full of pipe.

The bottom line is - WHAT's your GROUND like.
In our case, we've got lots of IRON  and it's rather conductive, wet or dry.  So, we take advantage of our QTH and switched from dipoles to verticals for "primary" antennas.  What works for "me" might not work for "you" and vice versa.

Whenever we set up somewhere else....  We always take the 40m fiberglass verticals, with our radials....   CAT-5 cable, 34' long, with a ring terminal tying one end together, which attaches to the base of the antenna mount.  Pound in a cut off fence post, snap the fiberglass antenna to it, spread the 4 pairs of conductors out on the ground, and hook up the coax - my boys can set up 2 of these in less than 15min.  Co-phased, they're

For 20m, we took 3/8" aluminum tubing, cut it into 30" lengths, and crimped 1/4" solid aluminum rod into one end of each section.  The top section has a sliding 1/4" rod for "fine tuning".  This antenna is no-tune for 20m, 17m, 15m, 12m, 10m - you just adjust the length to the band you want... again, uses cat-5 cable for the radials, and it's backpack portable!

I would stay away from any vertical antenna that "requires a tuner".  This stuff is simple to build.

KJ4ADN - Bill

DITTO!!!!

Not to mention nothing is in the way, blocking your vision, and the mic is consistently the same distance from your mouth, less background noise because your mouth is an inch off the mic - it all adds up to a rather nice signal with good audio.

My kids and I use an Heil IC & 5 head sets and foot switch for all their radio work - except for the last Virginia QSO party...  My daughter has a very distinct advantage over my son (her voice is excellent), but this time he was using a Headset and she was using the stock hand mic.

350 contacts for him (56k pts), she logged 280...  working the same band, 10-50khz apart.

I see several obvious reasons:

a.  try logging using a hand mic.  just picking the darn thing up all day long is gonna slow you down.
b.  It's seldom ever the same distance from your mouth, so your audio & power levels and clarity fluctuate all the time.  One call you sound muffled (the mic is turned slightly, under your chin, in your cheek, ?etc), the next you're popping because the mic is right in front of your mouth - get the idea?
c.  the headset w/mic combination is never in the way of the computer, keyboard, paper, pencil, etc., the cord is completely out of the way, so you can spin the VFO and log freely.  With the mic always in the corner of your mouth, every transmission sounds alike.

Last year, she won the county, this year....   she'll probably place 2nd, and my son will take it. 
Still, not bad for a 11yr old girl, up against a 15yr old boy.

A good mic can make an inexpensive radio (FT-450) sound rather nice, and a give you a HUGE advantage over a stock hand mic...  regardless of what you do with the equalizer.

KJ4ADN
Bill

P.S.   They really like you to continue using hand mics and booms....