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Author Topic: I bought a Ten-3 monobander  (Read 487 times)

W3LFR

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I bought a Ten-3 monobander
« on: March 20, 2023, 02:22:10 PM »

I was considering a hexbeam, but since 10 M is my only band of interest at this time, I decided a monobander will fill my needs at least until the end of cycle 25. Afterwards, I may rethink installing a hex. For now, I'm still wondering where to mount it and how high would be the minimum. I'm still thinking 30 feet, but it only weighs 10 Lbs, and the rotator weighs about 8 Lbs., so the support should be about the same as for the hex. I may even consider a short chimney mount. Fun stuff.
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W1VT

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Re: I bought a Ten-3 monobander
« Reply #1 on: March 20, 2023, 02:57:06 PM »

http://www.karinya.net/g3txq/hexbeam/height_2/
For most hams, the higher the better for working DX.

But, I've effectively used a 10M beam just twenty feet up for the ARRL 10M contest.
The only DX I needed was Alaska and Hawaii.  I was chasing states, not DX, as I worked all states in the 2014 10M contest.
I did have higher wire antennas as well.


Zak W1VT
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KH6AQ

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Re: I bought a Ten-3 monobander
« Reply #2 on: March 20, 2023, 03:54:47 PM »

I bought a similar antenna for portable operation here on the island.

I would mount it at 20' for a minimum and 30' would be great.
« Last Edit: March 20, 2023, 03:59:28 PM by KH6AQ »
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W3LFR

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Re: I bought a Ten-3 monobander
« Reply #3 on: March 20, 2023, 04:31:23 PM »

I bought a similar antenna for portable operation here on the island.

I would mount it at 20' for a minimum and 30' would be great.

Thanks. That's what I'm thinking. Maybe a couple of sections of Rohn 25 and a few feet of mast.
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VR2AX

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Re: I bought a Ten-3 monobander
« Reply #4 on: March 21, 2023, 08:34:49 AM »

Another possibility to consider, position the antenna so that there is no obstruction other obviously than the support mast within the near field regions, a sphere of about 10-25 feet radius measured from the centre of the antenna.
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W3LFR

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Re: I bought a Ten-3 monobander
« Reply #5 on: March 21, 2023, 09:27:18 AM »

Another possibility to consider, position the antenna so that there is no obstruction other obviously than the support mast within the near field regions, a sphere of about 10-25 feet radius measured from the centre of the antenna.
OK, I think I can make that work. I'm just hoping MFJ doesn't leave out any hardware parts. I hear they're famous for doing that. Fortunately, there is a huge hardware near here that stocks almost everything.
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VR2AX

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Re: I bought a Ten-3 monobander
« Reply #6 on: March 21, 2023, 01:31:51 PM »

Another possibility to consider, position the antenna so that there is no obstruction other obviously than the support mast within the near field regions, a sphere of about 10-25 feet radius measured from the centre of the antenna.
OK, I think I can make that work. I'm just hoping MFJ doesn't leave out any hardware parts. I hear they're famous for doing that. Fortunately, there is a huge hardware near here that stocks almost everything.

Good luck with the project. I don't have any direct experience of that model but do of similar designs. Height/size are not everything. 30 feet high on 10 is comparable to 60 feet on 20, and so on, but remember the Gulliver effect. Also the ten-3 is I believe a plumbers delight with a gamma match (?) so you have to contend with the issue the antenna is electrically connected to the support mast. They can work but take x10 the effort to set up compared to a design where the elements are insulated (isolated) from the boom and the driven one is simply cut in half and fed like a normal dipole.
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WA3SKN

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Re: I bought a Ten-3 monobander
« Reply #7 on: March 21, 2023, 03:46:51 PM »

I think your decision to go with a simple three element gamma matched monobander instead of a hex beam is a good one.  And 30 ft up will work fine... no reason to build a "sail", and it should handle the wind fine.
Good luck!

-Mike.
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W3LFR

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Re: I bought a Ten-3 monobander
« Reply #8 on: March 23, 2023, 09:13:48 AM »

I read the manual before ordering, and it seems it will be easy to assemble and tune with my analyzer. In contrast with some MFJ Cushcraft manuals, the instructions are very clear.
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N5PG

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Re: I bought a Ten-3 monobander
« Reply #9 on: March 24, 2023, 11:15:26 PM »

Consider a Moxon, lots of info on the web. Good luck.
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K4RVN

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Re: I bought a Ten-3 monobander
« Reply #10 on: March 26, 2023, 08:40:06 PM »

a half wave above ground should work very well. A half wave is a little over 17 ft at 28.5 MHz so 20 ft. should do well for you on 10 meters across the band.
Frank
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