..You worked 8 states using simplex or ssb?


There no ssb repeaters, so all ssb is 'simplex' (transmit and receive on the
same frequency).

:^]

Can I use a home built "yagi" type for both ssb and regular FM?

You can use the same antenna, but all SSB is horizontally polarized and all FM
is veritical. So you can use a horizontal antenna to work repeaters, but your
signal into it will suffer if it's marginal to start with. You could simply use
a vertical to get into your local repeaters, and that will probably work quite
well, but don't expect to work much SSB with the vertical since you'll have
zero gain ( or close to it ) AND lose 20db due to cross polarization. That
makes you pretty weak. The other way to go would be to put up a horizontal beam
(4 el or larger) ... that will work pretty well on SSB, and while you'll still
suffer the 20db loss into repeaters, you won't notice it as much.

Depending on how distant your local repeaters are, you could cobble up a simple
ground plane antenna built around a SO239 connector for FM, and a simple yagi
or quagi for SSB. Yeah that's two antennas, but the ground plane is almost
free. I built my first beam on a scrap wood boom and number 12 copper house
wire. Get it up in the air as high as you can, stick a cheap TV rotator under
it, spend your allowance on *good* coax, and you're set.

:^]

I use my horizontal SSB beam for the repeaters, but then, I don't do much FM
work anyway.

jw
k9rzz