I ordered the TAK-tenna last week and it arrived either Thursday or Friday. I assembled the beast on Saturday and got it in position for testing. The document states to resonate the antenna at 7.2 MHz, which I did. The document also states the antenna can operate on other ham bands if a tuner is used. Orientation of the antenna can be horizontal at a minimum of 20 feet or vertical as low as 2 feet off the ground. Mine is about 13 feet and in the vertical position.
There is an old addage in ham radio; if you can hear it you can work it. Problem is I can't hear anything. Well, I did work one station in Congress Arizona on 40 meters and he gave me a 59 report. I looked at the meter on my Kenwood TS-50 and he was a 58/59. So I was hearing something.
However, I hear repeaters on 10 meters but cannot open any of them. Now that is depressing. On top of that, I am not hearing anything good on 20 meters.
So, did I waste money? Probably. Would I recommend this antenna? Probably not. My next experiment would be a 20 meter mobile stick with a simple ground plane. Can't go wrong with that. Or even better, a pair of sticks set up as a short dipole. Hmmm...
The reason I am trying these low profile antennas is for space limitations. And... I want to use it on my boat. For reasons already listed, see the thread Let's Talk Antennas Again.
Overall, I don't think the TAK-tenna works. But then again, I might not be hitting the bands when they are open. Who knows? I will keep the antenna up and try some more, but I need to start looking for another antenna project. I want to try a double bazooka on 10 and 20 meters but again, space.
There is an old addage in ham radio; if you can hear it you can work it. Problem is I can't hear anything. Well, I did work one station in Congress Arizona on 40 meters and he gave me a 59 report. I looked at the meter on my Kenwood TS-50 and he was a 58/59. So I was hearing something.
However, I hear repeaters on 10 meters but cannot open any of them. Now that is depressing. On top of that, I am not hearing anything good on 20 meters.
So, did I waste money? Probably. Would I recommend this antenna? Probably not. My next experiment would be a 20 meter mobile stick with a simple ground plane. Can't go wrong with that. Or even better, a pair of sticks set up as a short dipole. Hmmm...
The reason I am trying these low profile antennas is for space limitations. And... I want to use it on my boat. For reasons already listed, see the thread Let's Talk Antennas Again.
Overall, I don't think the TAK-tenna works. But then again, I might not be hitting the bands when they are open. Who knows? I will keep the antenna up and try some more, but I need to start looking for another antenna project. I want to try a double bazooka on 10 and 20 meters but again, space.