Installation of HF radio

We want to install an HF radio. If anybody has installed one, we would like to know the kind of antenna wire we need and how long it should be.
Detlef & Lilian from Germany
RV7-Fuselage

something interesting

I know the little planes just let out a wire antenna that trails. Most are fixed length and are "tunned" with a device connected to the antenna.

HF needs to "TUNE" the antenna for each frequency. How it does it I don't know. I know Kenwood sells a cheap aviation HF radio that has a built in antenna tuner.

With a fixed length trailing edge wire you need a "TUNNER". Every time you change to a new Freq you have to key the mic and hold it till the radio tunes the antenna. I guess in the old days they changed the length of the antenna wire trailing.

Here is an interesting device on e-bay that I THINK? Works with trailing wire antennas? This looks like an old one.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Brel...cmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ26436QQitemZ4630890147

G

Why HF?

Hi

If you are looking at HF radio to do long sea crossings I THINK (don't know) that you may be able to use satellite comms instead, which solve the long antenna problem and are OK with the powers that be.

If you do go HF I have read that ferry pilots wind the antenna out from a reel when they need it and back in when they don't, that is it is long enough to trail the plane and you wouldn't want to be doing an approach with it extended.

Peter

HF antenna

I'm with Peter - why bother with HF when you can just rent a satellite phone?

Here's a picture of Bill Randolph's RV8 with an HF antenna run from the cockpit to one wing, to the VS, to another wing. He had a lot of trouble with the antenna, but finally got it fixed correctly by a guy down in Australia.

Another friend of mine that did an Atlantic crossing in his RV4 said his HF radio worked about 10% of the time.



Are you guys planning to fly the RV7 to Oshkosh?