Yaesu FT 897 Question

[Frogeye]

Dave,

If you are installing this antenna in addition to your 2M antenna, you won't need an A/B switch. The radio had seperate antenna connectors for vhf/uhf and for HF/6M.

Isn't that awesome. ty

[OLLIE]

Froggie:

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you - Christmas came first.

If I am reading you right, it sounds like you are opting for some gear for your mobile to make it HF capable as opposed to something for the home. I am not sure which gizmo Ollie is recommending, but there are almost limitless products that you can buy. Ollie has a great setup in his vehicle for HF and if you haven't looked at it very closely, you should.

I have a different setup for my mobile HF rig and it is also worth a look. I will warn you in advance however, it is a slight bit more costly than the $200.00 price range you have specified (but not by much).

Dave,

The unit Froggie has (FT-897 mobile base station) is the brother/sister to the unit (FT-857 mobile station) that cruiserlarry and I run in our rigs. We run the ATAS-120 antenna on our rigs which I believe stands for Automatic Tuning Antenna System. The ATAS antennas (there is a 100 series and a 120 series) are designed specifically for the Yaesu FT-857 and Yaesu FT-897. You simply go to the band you want on the radio and hit an Auto-Tune button. The radio dials in the SWR automatically by sending a signal through the coax into an electric screw actuator in the antenna which extends or retracts the antenna to get proper SWR. Really handy for a mobile rig. Not the best choise for a more permanent base station though.

Frog is using the FT-897 in his house. There is another device designed for the 897 that mounts on the side of the rig which costs around $200. This box has the SWR tuning coil and actuator inside it. You run a duplexer from the two PL-258 connectors on the back of the radio (2M/440 & HF) into the input PL-258 connection in the little box. Then there is an output PL-258 connector that you plug whatever antenna you want into. This box is not automated like the ATAS set up but nearly as easy. You simply turn your radio to the desired band, bring up the SWR meter built into the radio, and press the up/down button on the little box until your SWR is at the desired level. This little box is so efficient that you can tune a piece of wire, a cookie sheet, bunny ears, etc.

We talked to a fuy at HRO that uses an 897 as his mobile DX-ing rig for field days. He keeps his behind the counter and it is covered in fust and dirt. He told us that Frog could use the box with his Diamond X-30A he has on his roof but it is not the most efficient thing to do. The dual band antennas have coils that are pre-dialed with the appropriate SWR. It isn't the best thing to have two tuning coils in the same line with eachother as you would have by putting the box inline with the X-30.

Hope this clears things up a bit...????

[hmfigueroa]

The trouble with tuners is that while it presents a good impedance match to the radio, it may not be as effective at actually putting much power out at the antenna.

IMHO, He would do much better with putting up a simple long wire antenna and using the tuner with that instead of his Diamond antenna. He would be much more happy with those results. But I guess anything is worth a try.

[OLLIE]

The trouble with tuners is that while it presents a good impedance match to the radio, it may not be as effective at actually putting much power out at the antenna.

IMHO, He would do much better with putting up a simple long wire antenna and using the tuner with that instead of his Diamond antenna. He would be much more happy with those results. But I guess anything is worth a try.

That's exactly what I was trying to say in that last paragraph. It isn't as efficient to run the tuner through the Diamond. He is looking for an inexpensive antenna. Would a simple Dipole be a good idea or are they directional? We were looking at a few of those.

[hmfigueroa]

yeah,

Just some wire, a couple of insulators, a coax connector, a little bit of rope and a tree or other high point and you will have great results. They are somewhat directional but the pattern can be wide.

Look for inverted V or Random wire on the internet and you will find several designs. The length of wire is important but when used with an autotuner it is much less critical.

[DaveK]

Ollie;

Thanks for clearing that up. I couldn't tell from the previous posts if Froggie wanted a base station set-up for home or had just decided to upgrade his vehicle to do HF. Knowing that, I agree with the last two posts, that it is not efficient to use a vehicle antenna for the home base station.

So............keep the info about Hi-Q for later if you decide to carry over the HF to the vehicle.

If Froggie only needs an HF antenna for the home, there are many choices. This kind goes back to my previous question about space considerations and CCR, neighbor and wife approval. For $200.00, you are probably not going to get out on all bands. Hector's suggestion of a wire antenna is probably the cheapest. I will post here shortly with some suggestions and some reference materials for an inexpensive home antenna.

[BlueFJ]

Thank you, Mr. Tesla! Sorry guys, it hadda be said!