Ham antenna

[Bart Anderson]

I am considering trying to convert and old spring loaded 102 in CB whip antenna to work on 10 meters and mounting it to the hitch on my RV Frame. Anyone ever try this and how much of the whip needs to be cut off for 10 M communication. I have a FT450 transceiver with the built in tuner

[SuperSteer]

I've always trimmed for 29 mhz and that's 96 3/4 inches. Be sure to take into account the length of the spring as well.

One issue you may run into though is the RV itself. If your feed point is down on the hitch, then the coach itself will be in the antennas radiation pattern.

Good luck in the contest.
__________________________________________________
Dave Stephens
Sales - Tech Support

[KT4Wextra]

Don't count on the tuner in the FT-450 to do the job. I have a FT-450 with the built in tuner and it won't tune if the SWR is over 2.7:1. I asked the Yaesu tech about it and he said they don't call it a tuner, it's more of an antenna trimmer. I use a LDG AT-200pro.
Marv
KT4W

[wa8yxm]

YOu need to trim 1/4 meter, many have done this

The ARRL Antenna book has all you need to make your own antennas except parts.

[1bigmess]

I second the recommendation for the LDG tuner. I have one for my Icom 7100, and it works great.