Antenna and Radio Room for Shortwave Listening and Ham Radio

[parosite]

Nice ... Man i really gotta learn to build a shortwave antenna ... Just got a grundig 750 for shits and giggles but am not picking up too much off the whip .. I clipped some speaker wire and ran it out my second story window and tied it to the top of a tree 50 ft away and ita not much better than the whip oh i di clip a wire in the ground slot and ran that out the window to a copper pole i hammered 5ft into the dirt ... Any advice on a simple but more efficient rig ?

[ve9eearo]

What a great video! Thanks for sharing. Bob,VE9EE

[TMFOK7]

Are you running the MFJ preselecters off of each lead from the Stridesburg coupler?

Nice little shack you have there...

73...

[mkrubsack]

@TMFOK7 At that time, yes. Now, I don't use any preselector. I rearranged the shack as in the picture located at "files.qrz.com/k/k6mak/Ham_Sha­ck_Apr_2011_sm.jpg"

[717i]

I'm curious: what camera did you use to record this video?

[mkrubsack]

@717i I used a Canon FS10. It's a couple of years old now.

[tvdxrools]

great video .. thats what a shack should look like

[gsxer13]

After about 5 years my MCA104 multicoupler has stop working.

[N0rthwestRadio]

Great work on the vid. Added to channel.

For best performance of the G5RV it is important that the vertical element of the antenna (The twin lead) be as vertical as possible. It is not critical and wont hurt anything to run it away at an angle, but your TX signal would be better if it hangs directly down all the way to the coax if possible. (32 feet +/- if I recall) Again, not critical, only an improvement. The antenna is awesome on 20 meters where it should be resonant. Enjoy!

[48alfaone]

How well does your antenna work for SW and MW listening over say a long wire? Does it work good for noise reduction? Thanks for the video, nice station, 73, Kev.

[mkrubsack]

@48alfaone I've never used a long wire. I got into SWLing from being a ham, so I always had ham antenna. Where I live now, the G5RV is the best fit for my lot. I added a few more receivers, and will re-do a video of the shack soon.

I live in the heart of the city, and am plagued by power line noise. It comes and goes, and is my greatest annoyance.

[cowboybob3000]

by the way, ill just tell you im jealous of your multicouple, another one of my next purchases!

[cowboybob3000]

well, may i make a suggestion. trash the rg58, you have nice equipment and multicoupler. use rg6 for your scanners, when you do, wait till you see your signal strength! rg6 is cheap and effective for the 800 mhz band. for transmission line below 800 megs rg8x seems to be fine. im using 9913 on on radio at the moment, works great but supposedly the outer jacket is prone to moister. i will purchase lmr 400 for trans line in the future!

[dorslv]

Wow!, um could you do a video on making a video ;-) your's is the first I could actually see everything, crystal clear! Oh yeah excellent shack.

[kd7gvd]

Nice video, just wondering why you have all the radios/equipment covered with towels. Doesn't that affect the cooling?

[mkrubsack]

Mostly to make it easy to keep dust off. I just shake out the towel. Also to protect from scratches.

There are no cooling vents, etc. on top, so it doesn't affect cooling. The one item that does have cooling holes is the Drake L-4B, and I remove the towel when I run that.

[kd7gvd]

Oh ok I see. Thanks for the response.

[KYLake]

Thanks for the nice vid of your radio shack. What model preselector are you running with your ccradio sw? Do you find this does help and what type reception do you get with the g5rv on 160 meters? The lil Grundig G5 i have does good with the whip on 80meters & i do pick up on 160 but the signal falls off & usually is weak. I am going to put up a g5rv or Par Elect swl antenna soon. I am thinking of trying a portable like your crane also but i really like my small g5.

[mkrubsack]

I use a MFJ-1045C with the CCrane. Works very well. I just ordered a MFJ-956 for use with my R75 where I don't need any gain. The MFJ-1045C really does a good job peaking up a weak signal. The increase in noise also is not too bad. The think I like about the MFH-1045C is it has a really sharp peak in the preselector. Once peaked, signals really pop up.

[KYLake]

Thanks, i'll go over and look up the 1045c. I might get something like that when i get the outside antenna.

[mkrubsack]

I live a mile or so from an AM broadcast antenna, so I get interference & overload from that, so I use a preselector to attenuate the BCB signals. The G5RV works great. I can even tune it manually and transmit on it on 160 meters. My radio room has a lot of rf noise from computers, lights, etc., so I need an outdoor antenna. The G5RV started as my ham antenna, and does double duty with SWLing.

[Shortwave68]

Super Video about a super Hobby Greetings from Germany!!!

[mkrubsack]

Thanks!

[vk3hgx]

Great setup and video of your shack

From VK3HGX Chris

[mkrubsack]

Thank you!