Hiya...

Now that I've decided on what to get for my first ham radio, (TS-590s)
I'm moving on to deciding on an antenna.

The goal will be DX'ing the ham bands with phone and eventually CW.
I'm looking for an antenna set up that will work on 10 to 80 meters.
Of course, multiple specific antennas would be an ideal, but that is
not in the cards.

I've had a few options in mind. All of course, would be coupled with
an antenna tuner if the internal auto tuner on the radio cold not do
the job.

1. Set up a butternut HF9V on a roof mount approx 30-35 feet above the
ground with tuned radials. The problem being, the footprint of my
roof is only 35' x 35'. With the antenna set up in the center of the
roof, there wlll be only a max of 17" to string the radials outward.
I'd have to "snake" them in order to fit and figure out how to secure
them. Another draw back is that verticles tend to be more noisey.

2. Set up a GAP Titan on a roof mount approx 30-35 feet up. No
radials needed with that antenna, but I have been told/read that
unless perfectly assembled, they dont work as advertised. Again...
Vertile can be a noisy antenna.

3. Set up a Chameleon V11 or v12 verticle rigid diepole on a non
conductive mast mounted to brackets on the side of the house with the
feed point of the antenna being about 25 to 30 feet high. This antenna
is advertised as a dipole and does not need any radial set up. There
have only been a few reviews of this antenna. All are very
favorable, but is it too good to be true ??? A verticle working with
no radials ???

4. Go with a wire antenna. I had in mind using the Buckmaster off
center fed diepole. The eight band 300 watt version has two pole
lenghts of 90' and 180' respectively. I had in mind hooking the
center feed point to the apex hight of the side of my house to a non
conductive hook i can scew in up there. There is enough lenght of
space on my lot to let both the long and short pole ends to extend out
and down in and inverted V. I'd secure the pole ends to the ground
with plastic cord and non conductive ground spikes so that the
receiving wire was still elevated 8 to 10" above the ground. The feed
line would not go straight down from the apex. Since the top of the
roof is right where it would be secored, I'd pull it right on to the
roof, run it across the house down the other side and right into the
shack on the top floor of the other side of the house where the shack
is. The upside... No ground or radials needed, no expensive or
troublesome set up and I can take the thing down in fifteen minutes
with no problems at all. Just a small hook left in the side of the
house. It wuld also be a more "quite" antenna vs. a verticle like the
ones mentioned above. The down side... It would radiate well east and
west, but not well off the poles north and south.

Well... That's about it...

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanx in advance.

Michael