Alan-

I found the Hustler collinear ( a big antenna) not as good as my Larsen 5/8~  on top of a Chevy Tahoe.  Also repeaters as much as 20 miles away were scratchy with the ¼~ spike as
compared to the 5/8~ Larsen not. The shape of the vehicle and install, does seem to be the bigger factor. Found the figures on the Eham reviews to help him rebuild it. Not my choice
for a 2 meter antenna.

 You don't need a filter.  You need an antenna

I can’t understand why Hams love filters so much. In a contest and wall to wall signals they do help, but can make listening fatiguing.
Like driving with the wipers /on when it’s a clear day. I use them rarely, because the pass band is narrow enough on the Argosy.
I sure don’t dig out signals any better. Now a better antenna would do just that. Oh want a fun radio and I use a D-104 on mine.

GL,KW6LA

Description: Honest 4.5 Db gain
1000 watts DC
Very stiff black tapered stainless steel whip
Rugged fiberglass base section
Base fitting is 3/8 inch X 24 TPI
Length approximately 7 feet for 2 Meters   

  Can you subtract the body from 7 feet for the stinger.  I stop by truck stops which have tons of CB stingers / replacement whips.
They are much cheaper than the Ham Shops and many different lengths. Just don’t tell em that its CB ! ! ! The grinder is great
for trimming 17-7 PH stainless steel whips.

GL, KW6LA

SteppIr BigIr Vertical  is nice if you [ have a lot of money ]  acronym for HAM ! I think you answered your own question with the 5TBV vertical. You like to read and this book is great for the builders.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1266601235s/6259771.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/amateur-radio&usg=__RSZFA8I1FavVa3LqqJQurbH7XbU=&h=67&w=50&sz=3&hl=en&start=26&zoom=1&tbnid=UNJaatP-aomyzM:&tbnh=66&tbnw=49&ei=7tiOUaDzHdP_4AOIjIDQBw&prev=/search%3Fq%3Ddoug%2Bdemaw%2Bwire%2Bantennas%26start%3D20%26um%3D1%26sa%3DN%26hl%3Den%26gbv%3D2%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1&sa=X&ved=0CDYQrQMwBTgU

GL- KW6LA

Go out to a fringe area where the 1/4 wave won't get into the repeater reliably and you'll find the 5/8 WILL work better--it's fact.

This is what happens with my Larsen 5/8~ vs 1/4. all the time. Interesting that others find it not to be true. 

The above said, it's the best mobile radio I've used.

Not at all, but it is a very fine and simple HF radio/ Not THE BEST ! !. Hard to believe you guys get rapped so tight on the SSB problems.  “One says I might only guess at what I hear” regarding the 7K. How about a TS 870 with ruler flat
frequency response out to 6 Khz. Add AKG 240 headphones or a KRK ST6 near field studio monitor. This is not the crap 2 inch speaker in a steel box or a RX bandwidth @ 2khz. Good grief no wonder all sounds just fine. Look… I was
very close to buying this very attractive package, but my hot button was decent TX audio and a easy radio to operate on the fly SSB. The 7000 can sound Very good if you go the distance setting up the menu and Mic adjustments. I guess
there are to many appliance operators that own 7000’s and I do hear them on the air. M6GOM makes some excellent point so if you are to buy this radio great, just know they are a little touchy to set up RIGHT ! The 480 SAT does have its
down sides, but for those that just want a simple no frill rig for the mobile its worth a look. I had to get over the ugly Bat mobile look though Hi Hi. Sorry this post had to get so rough, but we Hams are very passionate about things hey ?

I do wish you best of luck with whatever radio you end up with. I love the multi color screen on the 7000, but for my old ears the IC 706 sounds just great. Now what do I use for a mic on the TS 870 ( RCA 77 DX Ribbon circa 1950 )
Not your Dad’s mic…………………..or maybe it is ?

I agree with K6AER- The HLA-300 amplifier  is very good value and if driven properly clean enough to make Zenki Happy.  Not all of their products are, so one must use their best
judgment when buying and operating one.   

The IC 7000 has been plagued with audio problems making them sound like your are in a barrel. I tell Hams all the time you’re on a 7k right? They answer HOW DID YOU Guess !!
The barrel sound Ugg !  Some of this seems to be the menu setting from the factory and other radios just sound bad. Others have had the Microphone modified by a Ham you can
find on the web. Nice looking radio, but I opted for the TS 480 and was glad I did. Better display and not so many stacking menu functions. It’s not a  HiFi radio at 2.4k TX width, but
for mobile use it does very well. In 50yrs of radios it’s the only one I have not changed out the Mic for something better. The 200 watt version is all you will ever need, if a casual
operator like me. Let’s see what others have to say ?

Again, it represents a consistent and well documented resource going back over 100 years.   And it shows that US inflation has not been above 4% in the last ten years, and has declined for the last year.


You are kidding….. Gasoline alone spiked 20 percent here in Kalifornia last summer in one month. You must believe the unemployment figures are also correct. Harbor Freight is a good example of your
buying power is kaput. We are no longer on the Gold standard, so printing is the new game. Not a bad little amp hey ?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How did a question abut stopping rust turn into a dissertation about two parts of an antenna?  I guess I missed something.

Yes you did miss it.................... its called a Pro Rack

Yes I see by your other posts you didn’t just fall off the banana mobile truck Hi Hi.  The mobile experimenter have found out it doesn’t take much to work 20 meters and up, but 40m and down will let you know.
Well if you have been to K0BG’s site not much else to say. I do have a Bugcatcher on my Tahoe ( left rear ) and a Larsen 5/8 wave 2 meter antenna in the opposite corner of the roof. It’s  6ft. between them
and when on 2 meters simplex I can notice a big difference. Signal quality on 2m goes down when the BC installed on the back. When I remove it 2m gets much better and I don’t have to find a hot spot. Now
being the ugly Ham I am, I installed a 100w amp so I can run both antennas. HF bands don’t seem to be a problem, but who would know its sky wave ! Nutty.. but I have been using silver loaded epoxy to tag
vehicle grounds so no holes are soldering. Allan said it is nutty why would you do that ? ?...........I said we do it all the time on Space Craft and they didn’t fall off the banana rocket ship hey. This might work for you.
Copper and Aluminum oxides don’t conduct very well, but silver is excellent and is why I use it.  Good luck and 73,s

Where do you start on this one ? ?

Well there are 2 parts to the antenna so you have the antenna its self. Now you need the second part called the counterpoise or return path. Mirrors , tire racks, and bars don’t work very well for low band HF / mobile.
Guys will bond ( wire together ) the whole car / SUV/ truck, for low frequency resonation. It help with your SWR also. That said the ATAS antenna is like a Hamstick that forgot to take its vitamins. Not to be mean, but
not worth my time to mount on a vehicle. Yes I have had QSO with people running them, but also a dipole @ 100 milliwatts. Putting antennas near each other also is asking for trouble with SWR and very distorted patterns.
Please see Alan’s site on mobile-setups on how to do it right ! ! ( ( K0BG.com ) )  and good luck.   

 “ At 2 AM there is nothing on 10 meters but when i go to work the band is active “

So you think 20 meters is tops at 2:00 AM California time.  Oh really ?

Joel-

You work my hours and at 2 am, 40m or 75 are the best bet. Probably more on 75 meters, while 40 seems to have a lack of SSB signals lately. The Wilson is not going to work at all ? on 75 meters
so you will have to get serious about the antenna. Go to this site ( ( K0BG.com ) ) and read all about mobile setups. One of the best sites around and I pulled a lot of good info from Alan. Serious
mobile Hams will tell you antenna selection and the install is everything ! Good luck.

KW6LA / M 

It blows my mind when people say just copy words when you’re just starting out to learn code. I have been listening to people speaking Spanish here in LA for decades
but have not learned to speak it… Crazy .  Know this up front, It is an acquired skill like riding a unicycle. You must practice, but practice doesn’t always make perfect and
can make it permanent if do it wrong. The human brain processes things very different, so what works for one may not for another. Just look at how men and women
think so differently. Lots of good advise here, but none would have worked for me. No silver bullet for most, but live sending and coping QSO’s have been the building
blocks for many Hams.

KW6LA / T2