RadioBanter - Outbacker 1899

Hi,

last weekend i bought an Outbacker 1899. I would use a magnet mount
fpor my car. Is it ok? Do i need a tuner?

There are several issues here.

A really big, hefty mag-mount antenna (one designed specifically for
HF mobile antennas) may hold the Outbacker securely enough. These big
mag-mounts usually have three separate magnet pads.

I would not depend on a mag-mount of any type to provide adequate
electrical grounding for an HF antenna... they don't have enough
surface area in the magnet assembly. HF antennas of this type really
need to be grounded to the chassis, via a heavy and direct ground
lead, in order to achieve acceptable performance. If the ground lead
is too long, or has too much inductance or resistance, you may find
the antenna very difficult to tune/match and its performance will
suffer.

Frankly, I think you may be happier in the long run using a ball mount
or a heavy-duty lip mount (the top-of-the-line Comet and Diamond
trunk-lip mounts may be strong enough).

I don't generally think that using a tuner with mobile antennas of
this type is a good idea... they should be tuned by adjusting the whip
length as necessary for the frequency you are using. A tuner mounted
right at the base may allow automatic matching on other frequencies in
the same band, but the losses (already high) will be even higher than
if you tuned the antenna itself.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
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