- Frequently Asked Questions -
What kind of wire do you use?
For our HF wire antennas we use 26 AWG antenna wire supplied by The Wireman or Davis RF Company.
As Davis RF Describes it: Poly-STEALTH ™ High Strength Aerial Wires are manufactured with high strength, high conductivity Bare Copper-Clad Steel (BCCS) and insulated with a high quality UV Resistant Polyethylene to provide you with one of the strongest and longest lasting antenna wires on the market today.
As The Wireman Describes it: Known as ‘Invisible’ Toughcoat ‘Silky’, this 26 AWG, 19 strand 40% copper-clad steel (OD 0.020″) is super small for that ‘low profile’ antenna or pocket ‘weekender’ long wire. Weighs less than one pound per 1000 feet! Stranded copper-clad steel (40%) Wire Gauge 26 AWG Jacket High density, low-gloss polyethylene Break Strength 25 lbs
As Davis RF Describes it: Poly-STEALTH ™ High Strength Aerial Wires are manufactured with high strength, high conductivity Bare Copper-Clad Steel (BCCS) and insulated with a high quality UV Resistant Polyethylene to provide you with one of the strongest and longest lasting antenna wires on the market today.
As The Wireman Describes it: Known as ‘Invisible’ Toughcoat ‘Silky’, this 26 AWG, 19 strand 40% copper-clad steel (OD 0.020″) is super small for that ‘low profile’ antenna or pocket ‘weekender’ long wire. Weighs less than one pound per 1000 feet! Stranded copper-clad steel (40%) Wire Gauge 26 AWG Jacket High density, low-gloss polyethylene Break Strength 25 lbs
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What kind of ferrules do you use? |
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What kind of ferrule crimper do you use? |
Part number FD2810HX - Crimping Tool - Hexagonal Profile - 28-10 AWG from Ferrules Direct.
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What kind of connectors do you use? |
We use 2mm gold plated banana connectors. You can find these connectors from a several vendors. The best quality connectors you can buy in low quantities are from Hobby King.
Product link
Product link
What carbon fiber tripod do you recommend?
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Many tripods will work with PackTenna masts. We recommend a tripod with the following features:
- Compact size when collapsed - Removable photo head with 3/8" stud on the top - 2 segment central column - Weight hook on the bottom - Wide angle (120 degree) leg position One good example of this type of tripod is the K&F Concepts BA225 or C225C0+BH-25. How long should the end-fed random wire be? |
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The best choices are 29’ , 35.5’, 41’, 58’, 71’.
Why? Because you want to avoid a half wavelength on any HF ham band.
Why? Because that is where the impedance will be the highest and therefore the hardest to tune.
The magic lengths of 29’ , 35.5’, 41’, 58’, 71' are not a half wave on *any* ham band.
How do I choose which of these lengths?
As our good friend Kirk Klienschmidt, author of Stealth Amateur Radio: Operate From Anywhere,www.stealthamateur.com would say, follow these basic principals:
- Longer is better
- Higher is better
- Outside is better than inside
With that in mind, go for the longest wire you can conveniently deploy.
Generally speaking 29' will work on any band 40m-10m just fine. It will work on 80 but some tuners will struggle. For 80m, go for as long as you can. Ideally 58' or 71'.
Why? Because you want to avoid a half wavelength on any HF ham band.
Why? Because that is where the impedance will be the highest and therefore the hardest to tune.
The magic lengths of 29’ , 35.5’, 41’, 58’, 71' are not a half wave on *any* ham band.
How do I choose which of these lengths?
As our good friend Kirk Klienschmidt, author of Stealth Amateur Radio: Operate From Anywhere,www.stealthamateur.com would say, follow these basic principals:
- Longer is better
- Higher is better
- Outside is better than inside
With that in mind, go for the longest wire you can conveniently deploy.
Generally speaking 29' will work on any band 40m-10m just fine. It will work on 80 but some tuners will struggle. For 80m, go for as long as you can. Ideally 58' or 71'.
Which PackTenna should I buy?
It depends on many factors. If you have a wide range tuner, you can use any of them including the End-Fed Random Wire.
If you are not using a tuner, you need a resonant antenna so you should stick to the Linked Dipole or End-Fed Half Wave.
Beyond that, this is like asking "which golf club should I buy?" The answer is that to be prepared for any situation, you should have a full set. Sometimes you need a compact vertical, sometimes you want horizontal, sometimes you want to quickly change bands. There are many factors.
If you are not using a tuner, you need a resonant antenna so you should stick to the Linked Dipole or End-Fed Half Wave.
Beyond that, this is like asking "which golf club should I buy?" The answer is that to be prepared for any situation, you should have a full set. Sometimes you need a compact vertical, sometimes you want horizontal, sometimes you want to quickly change bands. There are many factors.
How much power will a PackTenna handle?
All PackTenna HF antennas are designed to handle 100 watts of SSB or CW and 50 watts in digital modes.
Can I leave my PackTenna outside permanently?
PackTenna antennas are optimized for size, weight and performance. They are NOT designed to be left outside permanently. If you want to use them at a permanent installation just mount them inside a waterproof case.
If you do happen to leave your PackTenna out in the wild and it gets wet, put it in a warm dry location and let it air out. The main concern is prolonged exposure to a moist environment that could get water trapped inside the feedpoint body.
If you do happen to leave your PackTenna out in the wild and it gets wet, put it in a warm dry location and let it air out. The main concern is prolonged exposure to a moist environment that could get water trapped inside the feedpoint body.
Whats the difference between a fiberglass and carbon fiber mast?
A telescoping mast of both materials are very useful for putting up wire antennas and even light VHF antennas.
Here are the pros and cons of the two materials:
Fiberglass
Here are the pros and cons of the two materials:
Fiberglass
- Transparent to RF. You can run a radiating wire element right up the mast and it will work fine.
- Our PackTenna mast will collapse down to 26" long and weigh about 4 pounds.
- They are ideal for POTA, Field Day or any time you need a versatile mast for supporting wire antennas.
- Treat a carbon fiber mast as if it were made of metal. It's great for a support if the wire does not run up along the body of the mast. You can run coax cable up the mast just fine.
- About 1/2 the weight and volume of the fiberglass mast.
- The PackTenna carbon fiber mast is about 30" long when collapsed.
- Ideal for backpacking, SOTA or any time size and weight are critical.
How much does the Ultralight gear weigh?
The 10m (32.5') PT Carbon Fiber mast weighs in at 1 pound.
The typical compact carbon fiber tripod that we recommend weighs about 2 pounds.
The typical compact carbon fiber tripod that we recommend weighs about 2 pounds.
Coax Cable Comparison
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There is a good reason to use each type of coax. Sometimes you want to optimize for low loss, sometimes for size and weight and sometimes for robustness. At PackTenna, one of our goals is to optimize your gear for light weight and portability. This tends to drive our recommendations to RG-316 for ultralight field use and LMR195 for typical POTA style of operating.
At HF frequencies, it really does not matter because the loss is so insignificant even with RG-316 size cable. At 2m or UHF with lengths of 20' or more is worth considering the performance / size / weight tradeoffs of other cables. In general, for ultralight field ops, getting a full size VHF antenna up in the air and in the right polarization usually ends up more than offsetting the coax losses. Below you will find specs for typical cable manufacturers and for PackTenna products. |
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