SSB (Receiver Only) Antenna ?

[Boktok]

Hi all, I have a TECSUN 660 portable ssb receiver. Hoping to get better reception of weather and such.... What is the cheapest/safest antenna setup? Should I use something to the backstay? I'm not transmitting, I just would like stronger reception....

[btrayfors]

Originally Posted by Boktok

Hi all, I have a TECSUN 660 portable ssb receiver. Hoping to get better reception of weather and such.... What is the cheapest/safest antenna setup? Should I use something to the backstay? I'm not transmitting, I just would like stronger reception....

Almost anything will work. Take a length of wire with an alligator clip on the end and try clamping to your shrouds, backstay, etc. Or, just hoist it into the air with a flag halyard.

Bill

[SoonerSailor]

Try the backstay. Try a shroud. Try a lifeline. Any one of those might prove a stronger antenna than the others at any given frequency of interest.

If your receiver has poor sensitivity - most likely above 15 mHz, some sort of antenna amplifier might help, but in my experience that is rarely a good solution.

Chip

[AnchorageGuy]

We had an old Radio Shack receiver and use a single strand copper wire wrapped around one of the stays and long enough to run into the cabin and plug into the external antenna jack on the radio. Worked great and we used it to get weatherfax. Chuck

[Goudurix]

JM read this thread on the SSCA forum.

Good luck,

Jan