Howard Lester wrote:
"Michael Coslo" wrote

I might suggest picking up a tuner such as one of the MFJ 300 watt ones.
Then get ladder line, and throw a general purpose dipole in your trees.
That for my money is the best starter antenna going, and can service you
long after you're a newbie. Some do not like to have to tune the antenna,
but I can say that It is possible to contest with such a setup.

I think it's even more than a "starter" antenna -- it's great, loads on just
about any frequency, and if decently in the clear will work quite well. When
I move to a place with the room for a hundred footer up in the trees, it
will be the only antenna I'd really ever need for HF. However, I think a
ladder-line fed antenna needs a tuner (i.e., transmatch) that has a pretty
beefy balun. I had the MFJ-948 that gave me lots of trouble using a 55' long
dipole with ladder line. I learned how to make a bigger and better 4:1
toroid balun to replace the dinky one that came with it... then it worked
really well. Right, Cecil? ;-)

I agree that a random length dipole fed with ladder line makes a great
antenna. I've used one for years with a traditional tuner. My
question: If I put a balun between the ladder line and the tuner, can I
use one of the automatic tuners built into modern rigs? If this works,
it provides the advantages of one simple antenna for multiple bands
without the hassle of having to retune when changing bands/frequencies.

73, Steve KB9X