Moonraker GAP-F 5/8 Vertical - Cheap 10m Option?

[@theradiorover]

I may be first 😂 Sounds like it is about time you got on 10m James. 👍 It is great fun. You should do fine with that. I've done OK with less. There are lots of SOTA chasers listening for 10m and lots of SOTA Activators using it daily this year. Morning is great for Asia. Lunch for S.Africa and S.America, afternoon for USA. GL.

[@AmateurRadioUK]

Is there an "unofficial frequency" that chasers tend to monitor on 10m or is it just wherever you can find a space? Been thinking about trying an activation on 10m.

[@theradiorover]

@AmateurRadioUK I usually start somewhere just above the QRP frequency of 28.365. Most activity seems to be between there and 28.600, so plenty of room. Some have even been up above 29MHz having FM QSO's!!

[@brianfields4479]

Good luck with that ant. Never heard anything on 10m for years down here. 73.

[@gtretroworld]

First time viewer here, Great to see the old faithful GP working well for 10m which i might add is booming at the moment. 73’s M3VWN

[@AmateurRadioUK]

Thanks for watching. I've been listening to 10m on & off for the last couple of days since the antenna went up. It sounds like 10m is going to be a lot of fun.

[@theoldhobbit3640]

Hi James, that is how I also get onto 10m, a good old 5/8 Silver rod tuned and put on a 3m lighting rig tripod, works great, even on my 10w. I usually go /p as I cant put it in the garden, under orders........

[@AmateurRadioUK]

Well I've got Stateside storming in at the moment. On SSB earlier today I worked Lebanon (a new country for me) & also Cuba (which I've worked on FT8 before but not SSB).

[@M0RSF]

You should have some fun with that antenna on 10m James. I have built a 10m Flowerpot Antenna for 10m and I just need to get out there and try in on some activations. Hopefully we will have a 10m S2S QSO this year. 73 Chris M0RSF

[@AmateurRadioUK]

I'm sure it can be arranged!

[@tonym7cvk430]

Morning James 10m been very active the past week been working Europe from early morning which is good running a 1/2 vertical on a 5m pole 10w across the pond around midday, 12m has been active too M7CVK Tony

[@AmateurRadioUK]

Great stuff Tony. I haven't got anything suitable for 12m at the moment but might have to look into that.

[@2E0RME]

These cheapo "silver rod" half wave and GAP 5/8 varients are really hard to beat on value. Cheaper than a T2LT on a decent quality fiberglass pole, or a wire + pole + matching network. Modeling suggests that once you get the base of both aerials up at 1 wavelength or more, the 5/8 version loses most of its low-angle advantage, but it's definitely the better DX option when ground mounted.

[@AmateurRadioUK]

Yep, I discovered that from watching Tim's video (G5TM) about 2 hours after I placed the order for this antenna! Such is life! I did model it myself and found that it was pretty much neck & neck at around 12m (the height that I was originally going to mount it at before I decided to extend the mast). Beyond that the 1/2 wave starts to take the lead. My modeling suggested that the crossover point was somewhere around 12m but I'm no expert with computer modeling. There could be errors in that (there's a reason that I don't show computer models in my videos). I could be wrong, but all said & done I'm not sure that the difference between them is enough to make a massively noticeable difference in the real world.

[@2E0RME]

@@AmateurRadioUK Exactly. Just get up what you can as high as you can and don't worry about it.

[@AmateurRadioUK]

Completely agree. You can either spend your whole life looking at the theory & worrying about whether or not it will work well, or you can't just put something up & try it out......hopefully enjoying yourself in the process! I don't tend to worry too much about the numbers or the theory. It's all about having fun.

[@G5MCL]

Been great DX in the afternoons to US James. Hope to hear you soon. G5MCL