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Old July 6th 10, 04:05 PM posted to rec.radio.shortwave
Mark S. Holden Mark S. Holden is offline
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First recorded activity by RadioBanter: Jun 2006
Posts: 32
Default Antenna Question For Handhelds

D. Peter Maus wrote:

As I said, the antenna is usually too short. Sensitivity is actually
quite good, though. Comparable to a decent desktop. But antenna capture
area is insufficient. So, SW performance out of the box is pretty lame.
My R-10 was worthless on SW until I began using a larger antenna.

That said, all but the Yupiteru are too wide for SW. Sometimes as much
as 12Khz on AM. SSB, though the IF bandwidth is usually acceptable.

For highly portable SW, I'll slip my HF-150 into my camera bag, with a
whip, and tote it out into the woods.


Back when I bought it, the Yupiteru MVT7100 was reputed to be the best
portable wideband for SW, but while it has narrower filters, the shape
factor isn't so great. You can still end up listening to 2 stations at
once.

That's why I ended up installing my 7030+ in a cabinet with a couple of
NIMH battery packs and a rapid charger for "portable" use. With the
Racal crystal filters I installed, that radio is incredibly nice for
camping trips, but it fills most of a briefcase.