A little bit of maintenance on the A-99 antenna

Now that spring is here and the snow is gone, I performed a little maintenance on my A-99 antenna.

[@benwille6680]

Hey Ridge - still waiting for the retest on the Tram !

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

That should be my next video. I was hoping for better DX conditions to give the antenna a chance to make some contacts. 73s from 595 Northern Nevada!

[@benwille6680]

@@RidgeHikerAdventures Understood! Thankyou

[@UDX4570PalmSprings-yh1mv]

Instead of routing your coax through the brick like you've done,try loosely hanging your excess coax in a loop, your swr may drop a bit. Having sharp turns in your coax can add resistance. I treat RF as if it's water, and the coax as acting like a hose. After studying coax characteristics, I found M&P (Messi & Paolini) Hyperflex 10 to be some of the best coax on the market for the price,with a velocity factor of 89% and their machined coax connectors, the coax is absolutely fantastic.

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

Thanks for the comments. I was wondering if snaking the coax through the bricks would affect RF. I really need to learn more about antenna theory as a good antenna system is key to your radio hookup. 73s!

[@UDX4570PalmSprings-yh1mv]

@@RidgeHikerAdventures Your Welcome, yes indeed. You can have a gazillion dollars wrapped up in a transeiver, but if your antenna and coax system is substandard, your going nowhere. RF energy is a mysterious entity it loves to take the least path of resistance, if it finds resistance along its path, your coax will become the radiating element. Great video as always, take care! UDX-4570 Palm Springs saying 73's for now!😏👍🎙⚡️

[@darrellpeckham9679]

Ground your pipe. I'd use a 6 or 8 foot copper pipe in the ground and have a few inches up for connecting your ground wire to it 👍

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

Thanks for the comment. That's on my list of things to do this spring. I've been waiting for the ground to thaw out. 73s!

[@gjbevil]

SWR is between 1.1 and 1.4 to 1? That is excellent! I have a protron 99 antenna and I can't get better than 2.0-1. I just ordered the Solarcon A-99 and hope that makes the difference.