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Humvee military antenna for Ham Radio use

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NORTHEAST WYOMING
Hey guys,
I am looking for a Humvee military antenna that will go on my slant back but not sure what antenna to get that could also be used for Ham Radio as well.. Any recommendations? Style, length, type of antenna etc.
Thank you so much I appreciate your help!
(Something similar to this photo I found online...)
 

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papakb

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First off I'd tell you to go back and enter this into the search bar and then read the multiple inquiries your going to find there. Next I'd ask you what amateur band would you like to operate on since the band will determine the antenna. The most common military antennas in the military are really only good for the 6 meter band and 99% of amateurs don't even know it exists. Vehicle antennas like the SF-3512, AT-1729 and the AS-3900 will work there. The military has again realized the value of HF communications and has a few options like the Shakespeare AT-1011 antenna but they're few and far between.
 

RJTM998

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Not sure what you are trying to accomplish with the HAM setup but I will give you my thoughts and my setup. I also dont know what kind of radio you have. I wanted the modern convenience of a modern HAM radio but didn't want to take away from the look of the military. I went with a very small one painted everything green and mounted it to my mirror.



As a side note, I have been told that some of the Special Ops GMV's utilize mirror mount antennas. Not sure how accurate that is but was told by someone that should know.
 

KS_Patriot

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There really have been several threads on this. All things considered, you may end up trying an antenna that might resemble a military style antenna like a Little Tarheel or Wolf River Coil, but work for the amateur HF bands. Just keep your camo paints handy. ;)

A search will give you a LOT to go on.
 
53
41
18
Location
NORTHEAST WYOMING
First off I'd tell you to go back and enter this into the search bar and then read the multiple inquiries your going to find there. Next I'd ask you what amateur band would you like to operate on since the band will determine the antenna. The most common military antennas in the military are really only good for the 6 meter band and 99% of amateurs don't even know it exists. Vehicle antennas like the SF-3512, AT-1729 and the AS-3900 will work there. The military has again realized the value of HF communications and has a few options like the Shakespeare AT-1011 antenna but they're few and far between.
Thank for the info! I am just starting my ham radio certification and wanted to be ahead of the curve here since I need an antenna for my Humvee. Not sure what to go with.. I figured I could get an antenna that would work with all.. kind of an all around ham radio option. Just don't want to get an antenna for my Humvee and then be in a need to replace it to something else down the road. Any antenna that would be the best one for all around ham radio use? or it must be a specific one for a specific ham use? Hope I am making some sense.. :)
 

patracy

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Again, we need to know what bands you're planning to work. It sounds like you haven't gotten your ticket yet. A tech license would open up 70cm (uhf), 2m (VHF), 6m , and a narrow section of 10m, for voice operation. CW would include those as well as a slice of 15, 40, and 80. General class would open up all the bands with a small exclusion in them. Extra opens all.
 
53
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18
Location
NORTHEAST WYOMING
Again, we need to know what bands you're planning to work. It sounds like you haven't gotten your ticket yet. A tech license would open up 70cm (uhf), 2m (VHF), 6m , and a narrow section of 10m, for voice operation. CW would include those as well as a slice of 15, 40, and 80. General class would open up all the bands with a small exclusion in them. Extra opens all.

I am going for the General Class.
 

Dieselmeister

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For VHF/UHF you could use the broadband SF-3512 , if you can find a good used one. (A new one costs more than a ham rig). For HF I use the AT-1011, with a NVIS attachment on the spring mount. The four pieces I use makes a 16 foot antenna, which is pulled over the truck from the rear mount to the front bumper. I feed this with an ICOM AH-4 tuner, and it works great. If you want an antenna just for looks, there are many available on e-pay, although none of those are good on ham frequencies, except on 6m.
 

Mainsail

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Are you wanting to work HF or VHF/UHF or both?
It's like pulling teeth.... ;)

OP, "ham radio" covers a lot of bandwidth, and no single antenna is going to work for the entire thing. You need to figure out what bands you want to work, who you'd like to be talking to, and for what purpose.

For example, many offroad groups use CB, GMRS, or FRS (no license necessary). CB is in the 11 meter band (27MHz) and GMRS/FRS is 462ish-467ish MHz, and no single antenna will work for both.

The Tech ticket gets you 2 meters (144ish MHz) and 70cm (440ish MHz) but in this case the aftermarket makes dual-band antennas so you'd only have one radial mounted to the truck.

HF is much more complicated, and uses very specialized antennas and mounting.

The military uses none of the ham bands specifically, so any military antenna is going to be a big compromise and very inefficient (with a few exceptions for the HF spectrum). AntennaClimber here on the forums will be helpful if he chimes in.

Your options are to force-feed a military antenna to the ham frequencies, or come at it from the other direction and use a commercial ham radio antenna made to look military. The former is inefficient and/or expensive, the latter isn't ascetically accurate but much more efficient and inexpensive.

This thread discusses the Duke CIED antenna I converted to run 2 meters and 70cm radios. There are many other threads on the subject as well.

But FIRST you need to decide what bands you want and radio you want to install.
 

Mogman

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For VHF/UHF you could use the broadband SF-3512 , if you can find a good used one. (A new one costs more than a ham rig). For HF I use the AT-1011, with a NVIS attachment on the spring mount. The four pieces I use makes a 16 foot antenna, which is pulled over the truck from the rear mount to the front bumper. I feed this with an ICOM AH-4 tuner, and it works great. If you want an antenna just for looks, there are many available on e-pay, although none of those are good on ham frequencies, except on 6m.
I use this same setup with an Icom 706MKIIG works OK, if not windy I can push it to 32ft
 
53
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Location
NORTHEAST WYOMING
Guys, thank you so much for all the information! I really appreciate you guys taking the time to answer. I understand that there is no one solution that fits all. Got some great ideas from your posts and will use this information for my Humvee / Ham radio setup. Again, thank you so much!
 

MarkM

CODE BROWN...It's all going to sh~t !
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2meter 5/8 wave is the same as a 6meter 1/4 wave so you would set the antenna for the 47.5-53 setting.

An antenna analyzer was used and got the best match at that setting. It is a compromise antenna for sure, but performance is good. SWR below 1.5 across the band.

Mark
 
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