triadic stay ssb

anyone out there with experience using triadic stay as ssb antenna?? we are having triadic stay installed next week - jane landry

We are in the process of installing an SSB on our boat. This is our first SSB so I have no experience, but from what I've read, the autotuner should be installed as close to the antenna as possible. Our tuner will be located in the aft cabin where the backstay comes through the deck - about 8' below the lower insulator on our backstay. Will you need to do anything special with your antenna so high?

Scott
Joie de Vivre #88

Scott

Yes, the tuner must be as close as possible to the antennae. The standing wave ratio must be low. Reflected RF energy is wasted as heat and poor performance. Electrical noise must be eliminated too. Even a digital clock will make listening difficult. Turn off your inverter and all other RF generating devices when listening. Must be away from other boats too.

Please study Gordon West. West is the best. www.kp44.org/ftp/GroundingCounterpoise__GordonWestChapter8.pdf

Do not use a capacitive ground (copper foil all over) Use direct connection to sea water via very close to tuner too.
Flat 4 inch copper formed to a point from the radio to the grounding plate to outside sea water. Forms a virtual grounding plane
all around boat in conductive sea water. The RF signal is sprung into space as a sky wave via that and nice ground wave too.

The grounding portion or counterpoise is VERY important. It is half your antennae. The connection to a from the GTO-15 high voltage wire from your AT-140 to the stainless steel wire is problematic. Must keep clean. Best to eliminate it. I did.
I just use a continuous GTO-15 wire as my antennae, about 55 foot long. I raise as necessary via halard and form a figure "7" with it.
SailMail is very good. Call me if you would like. home 302-286-7134

some very good links for education:

ref: www.docksideradio.com/ see install guide for ICOM 802 with Proctor III modem AT-140 tuner

Hi Again,

more info: www.ropeantenna.com/Technical%20details.htm

www.tongacharter.com/ssb.htm Note the roll of aluminum foil test and clicks as tuner optimizes

www.bootkeyharbor.com/ProductInfo/BoatMa...s/WestIntroToSSB.pdf Gordon West INTRO

GUYS, This is it the Definitive TEST RESULTS pragmatic real world stuff:
www.kp44.org/ftp/SeawaterGroundingFor_HF...ios_byGordonWest.pdf



Tip..... Use a Fluorescent Tube and nice long one to check the Radio Frequency Energy being emitted.
Do at night for outside work. Just hold the tube in your hand.
Have somebody transmit and see the RF coming out with the tube.
You can see if the Standing Wave Ratio is correct and see if energy is being wasted.

Study Capacitive and Inductive Reactance in AC and Radio Freq circuits and learn the concepts.

Learn about how high frequency AC travels on the surface of copper wires and prefers flat 4 inch wide copper
due to the Inductive Reactance.

An Old Antarctic Hero from the South Pole radio shack,



Patrick

I would think that the Triadic stay is too far from the tuner to work well. Ours connects to the backstay of the mainmast, about 5 feet above the deck. Works well. Just make sure no one is holding onto the backstay during transmissions.

Roy B.

We installed our SSB pretty much as Scott indicated. I put the Autotuner in the aft hanging locker (at the aft end of the locker), directly under the the starboard side back stay to the main mast. This stay already had two isolation fittings (top and bottom) from the previous owner. I ran the G-50 cable up from the Autotuner to a new thru-hull fitting and then up the lower part of the stay until it was above the lower isolator. I knew that the connection of the cable to the stay would be problematic. I used the really sticky and stretchable tape that "melts" together after you lap it over and over around. I went up a couple inches above and below the exposed center wire of the G-50 cable. I wound the wire around the stay following the groove of the cable windings. Over 4 years in the tropics, I never had a problem with that.

Like Scott recommended we used 4 inch copper sheet down from the Autotuner to ground it to the starboard thru-hull under the forward end of the chart/work bench. I used two SS hose clamps to connect it to the thru-hull. Not an ideal solution but it seems to work. It is important to keep the copper sheet flat, including at any changes in direction - just make a tidy bend like folding a piece of paper and press it flat so that it goes in the direction you want it to. It was not especially easy but I got it done.

It seems to work fine and we got a good SWR.

Just my two cents.

Joe