TS-2000, RV and?

[AC0LT]

Howdy: I'm looking for some ideas on what antennae to get so that I can take my TS-2000 along in the RV. I can mount the antenna either 'on top' (i.e. on the metal roof), or fasten it to the ladder in the back.

I have a 2m/70cm dual bander, so I'm mostly interested in an inexpensive HF antenna. Since the 2000 has a built-in tuner,...

... would a 102" whip work (be tuneable), 40m - 10m?
... would a, say 40m hamstick work (be tuneable), 40m - 10m?
... would a screwdriver work better?
... what would be the best solution if I wanted 75m as well?
... what's the best place to mount the antenna?

Cheers, Alain - NI0Z.

[K0BG]

Almost without exception, the built-in tuners in late model rigs are for matching coax feeds up to around 3:1 and sometimes 10:1, but they are not suitable for tuning a whip or monoband antenna to some other band.

If you are thinking about this, you have a choice of one of the SGC units, or the Icom AH-4. The latter can be controlled by the Kenwood with the addition of a control circuit (see http://www.hamoperator.com/ah4/).

As for the antennas, the Hamstick are cheap, but rather lossy and because they have so much distributed capacitance, not suitable for band hopping with a tuner.

I use an AH-4 and a 20 meter antenna and have written several articles about it here on eham.net. In your case, however, I think you'd be better off with one of the better quality screwdrivers especially from a cost standpoint.

Alan, KØBG