This is a great resouce that I think you'll find to be very helpful...

http://k0bg.com/

Cheers!

Don't get angry, just have fun with it.

There are so many great opportunities to pull their chain.  I like to give them William Claude Dukenfield...  Be sure to do it deapan.

The best one is the one you know how to use.  In college I had my calculator stolen a few days before a physics final.  I bought a snazzy HP programmable and struggled like crazy to make it work for the exam...  Lesson learned.

I have owned one for several years and, in general, I like it.  It is no substitute for a full-sized permanently mounted antenna, but for portable work and experimentation it is quite good.

I live in an apartment and I use it as something I can put up, use, and take down before the management complains.  I frequently use it in a vertical configuration.

Be sure to anchor the tripod or you'll break a whip if it falls over.

 

Have you looked at a NorCal 40a?  It's a nice kit and QRP Bob at Wilderness Radio provides great support.

http://www.fix.net/~jparker/wilderness/nc40a.htm

I too have to deal with the apartment/condo balcony location.  I use a Buddipole, but because I can't elevate it high enough, I find that the dipole configuration is less than optimal.  It functions as a NVIS antenna if you can't get enough elevation above ground level.  Instead I use it as a vertical and I've had good success with it in that configuration.  I find it's easier to tune in the vertical configuration as well.

The Buddipole folks have some helpful documents on their website that you may want to review.

Good luck!  -- Dale.

That mirrors my experience as well.  I made the mistake of purchasing an Antenna Boss II.  Simply junk.

Don't be afraid to ask a silly question.  Your fellow hams are counting on you!  Hahahahaha!

Let's try to help Patrick out here.  Like me, he's trying to do the best he can with what he has to work with.  While not optimal, it's not hopeless.

Patrick, congratulations on passing your General exam!

Yes, your situation will be somewhat challenging.  I'm in the same boat.  While I do have a small balcony, I must take down my antenna when I'm not using it.

I've had some reasonable success with a PAC-12 (www.pacificantenna.com) on my 2nd floor apartment balcony and also with a Buddipole (www.buddipole.com) in various configurations on a mast.  I typically run a Yaesu FT-857D at about 65 watts.  

I find it helpful to use an antenna analyzer to adjust my antenna instead of relying on an antenna tuner to just match the feedline impedance.  I figure I can't afford to waste power heating my feedline.

I experimented with some stealth wire antennas, screwdrivers, etc., but found the best results for my situation was a simple vertical.  Experimenting can be part of the fun, honest!

Good luck and don't give up!

73,  -- Dale K6TTE

The FT-7800R uses the CT-29B cable.  The FT-897D uses the CT-62 cable.

When I lived in Longmont, CO. my clock updated while locked in a metal file cabinet!  :-)

Look out Skip!  Glen is out to get you!  Hahahaha...

It seems to me that if I was driving a Viper, I'd have more important things to do than mess around with a radio while driving.

Those things are a beast -- in a very good way!

I could go for a little track time in a Viper right about now. Laguna Seca or Road America perhaps?  :-)

Cheers!

-- Dale.

Hi Alan,

Yeah, I hear you.  I too, tried other things.  The nearest tree was on someone else's property.  Most of my apartmen has vaulted ceilings and the remainder had an attic space chocked full of metal heating ducts and conduit.  Anyway, for me the Buddistick performed better.

Of course, the real answer is to move to a better location!  :-)  Moving out of Silicon Valley would eliminate the need to for me to live in an apartment and would just have to reduce the noise I hear (both RF and audible).

Cheers!  -- Dale K6TTE

Yes I agree, but most folks who are desperate enough to try a mobile antenna for base station use can't string a wire antenna.  

I'm an 2nd story apartment dweller and find myself in the same boat.  I tried the only wire antenna option available to me.  I threw a weighted wire over the top of my peaked roof, laid out a counterpoise on my patio, and ran it through a tuner.  It received OK, but was poor on transmit.

I use a Buddistick that I can quickly erect and then take down when I'm done.  That seems to work better, but band changes are a real pain as is having to pull out my antenna analyzer everytime I want to use my station.  Still, better than nothing...