Recommendations for Best Antenna for SSB

Monkey made.....With a whip....I've got two on my truck with a Stryker 655HP 10 meter with an a static chrome mic.....lovin it!!!!

 

I am presuming you plan to use this radio in a motor vehicle?

If so, your Wilson 5000 will work on SSB.....however it is NOT the best for SSB.

The best for SSB would be either A. a beam antenna or B. a dipole....

However neither a beam nor a dipole are suited for use on a motor vehicle....but they're great for a base station application.

Happy radioing!

 

You will get a different opinion from everyone. I have been running a Wilson 5K for years and talked SSB all over the world mobile (2970 N2). My only recomendation would to be to loose the Mag mount and go with a hard mount.

 

Call up your local commercial radio dealer and ask them to order two items for you; a Larsen NMO-30 coil and W640 whip (W640-B is the black whip, which I prefer).

When those come in, take your SUV down to them and have them drill a hole and install an NMO mount in the dead center of the roof. Add coil and whip, and tune for minimum SWR.

At five and a half feet long, with that ground plane under it, there isn't much that will do better. Certainly nothing that you find in a truck stop.

Coil and whip should cost around $50; the installed mount should be about the same.

 

Antennas don't care what mode you are using, if it works good on AM it will work good on SSB and FM,slow scan television,packet etc ...

 

Yes, for best results, a horizontal antenna works better on SSB....anyone who says different, doesn't know....

A vertical WILL work though, just not the best. But in a mobile application you really don't have a choice, so vertical it has to be.

I agree here, I have this same set up for an antenna that works quite well. You can do it yourself if you know what you're doing. But it's not hard.

 

For ground wave, using the same polarization as the person you're talking to is using will give the best results. There is some loss of signal when going cross polarization.

For sky wave (aka "skip"), the polarization of the reflected wave will be randomized, so it really doesn't matter from that perspective.

There's really no benefit to running horizontal unless you're using a beam at a base station, with the antenna at least 1/2 wavelength above the ground.

(Resisting out of context comment...)

I recommend having professionals drill the hole and run the cable. They can do it in about half an hour, and it'll likely take a DIYer the better part of the afternoon. Besides, they already have the proper tools to do it. (That 3/4" hole saw from Antennex isn't cheap!)

 

IMO the best way is not to use a hole saw. Use a hole punch.

Leon
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