Choosing an Antenna

[19Echo]

I'm going to be using my Ranger 6300 F Radio as a base and i was looking at antenna's
Need advise. Will either of these 2 here work? If so which would be the better of the 2?

Thanks

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[Texas Mobil 219]

69 bucks for a Solarcon w/ ground plan kit. To me that the one you want.

I talk on a Solarcon wo/ a kit. I works great for what im doing. 10m and 11m.

['Doc]

If you're talking about CB, then there's no choice. That first one, the beam, isn't even close to the CB band, it won't work at all. The second one sounds like a typical Solarcon. That's what I'd say was best of the two choices. If it's a matter of new or used, it may be more expensive, but the new one is always the better gambol. (Lots of "once bitten, twice shy" in that unfortunately)
- 'Doc

[19Echo]

Went with the solarcon after all. (its a tall a*s antenna)
Question i have is it a good idea to mount it on the side of my patio? I have an overhead patio with steel supports going into the ground. is it possible or advisable to mount it to the support itself?
Or would it be better attaching it to the side of the house with a ground rod? It didnt come with any instructions and i cant seem to find any anywhere on the net.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

['Doc]

Simplest answer is to mount it as high as possible. Which didn't answer your question really. Any grounding you do will be for saftey, not because the antenna requires it. It's not a bad idea though, if you do it right.
Grounds don't have to be 'deep', but they ought to amount to a goodly amount of 'area' under ground. Wire radials work hugely better than ground rods. That wire has to be deep enough not to get caught in the lawn mower. Bare wire is sort of 'better' than insulated wire, but does corrode faster, take your pick. How much wire and how long? As long as you can conveniently make it (them!). As many as possible till you get fed up with the whole thing, then just a couple more. Or just try it without a ground.
- 'Doc

[19Echo]

Thanks for the help Doc. That indeed helped me out a lot

[Capndave]

If you are going use to the ground plane kit with solarcon make sure you have it at least 10 to 12 feet above the roof if that is where you are going to place it ,Ive used a solarcon for years very durable item.

[19Echo]

finally got the antenna installed today
I'm pretty impressed with the performance.
quick question on the overall performance. I'm using my ranger 6300 thats been peaked, tuned, and whatever else you can think of with it. Anyone have a general idea of the possible distance i can get with it and the antenna? Just looking at an educated guess.

[shakuna]

nice those ranger 6300 are a great ham mobile and ssb. they have a built in amp and can realy get out . and with your antenna, maybe could easly reachout 70 to 100m plus i,m sure on a good day. that's the 1 i want when i get my ham license. i like its features and style. just my opinion though. you shouldn,t have any problems geting out on dx chat or ssb chat. i wish you great sucess sir.

[Capndave]

It depends on the conditions ,yesterday I caught a wave of skip and made contact with a guy in smyrna georgia with a barefoot topgunnin 959so that is about 1400 or 1500 miles,conditions are important

['Doc]

19Echo,
Don't get caught up in that 'range' thing, that's an impossible question to answer. Some days, across the whole country is possible. Other days you'll feel lucky to get across the street. What kind of radio that's used, and what antenna, mean very little. The deciding factor will always be propagation.
- 'Doc

[Capndave]

Right,you could do the same thing I did with four watts.Also,take your time tuning in that antenna,just not at the radio end,tune that antenna in as close as you can on the sticks tuning rings,this is so key.get a good match accross the boards and AUDIO!!!

[devious]

is the Alpha Astro Plane 10 meter Antenna made by Macco a good choice? i picked one up on ebay. i think its older stock, but not the original mfg of the astroplane some feedback would be great.

[209 first class]

some people love the astroplane, ive never tried one. they look much more horrible though. as far as range, the higher the antenna the farther it will work. minimum is one wavelength of the operating frequency (36 feet) ( meaning the base, not the tip) otherwise it will suffer some efficiency loss. 2zero9

['Doc]

devious,
You sure it said a "10 meter" 'Astro Plane'? Didn't think they had ever had anything to do with 10 meters. Oh well, wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong.
If it's rally designed to work on the CB band then it ought to be as good as any other antenna of the same basic design. I haven't done any first-hand comparisons so can't say one way or the other.
If that thing was designed for 10 meters, then you will have some fun getting it to work on 11 meters. It's going to be just a 'touch' shorter than required. So don't cut anything off of it, and be looking for ways to extend it a few inches, sort of.
Good luck.
- 'Doc

[devious]

well i hope it works and its not a waste of time, it is what it is, so please let me know if you guys think its not a good fit. but from the little bit of info i could find, its stated it works well low. here is the one gi joes was selling [Please login or register to view this link] note the 26-28 mhz in the specs thanks, devious

[doctor]

GET A SORIO 2016<I THINK THAT IS THE NUMBER>, 15 minute assembly, flat swr on 26,27,28 mhz, it works great under any band conditions, no conditions 50 miles day and night, radio under 35 watts, Europe in the summer under 100 watts lsb/usb.

Just my idea

DOCTOR/CBRT908

[TheCBDoctor]

Hi 19Echo

I like the I-Max 2000. The price is good and it is omi- directional.

Just my 2 cents

Respectfully,

['Doc]

DOCTOR/CBRT908,
I hope you don't really believe those claims, I think they may be slightly exaggerated. A 'SORIO' antenna may be a very good one, but ~no~ antenna is that good!
- 'Doc