Nancy White

yeah you definitely want a choke balun or at least a coax choke at the feedpoint if you can manage it. without it the coax braid becomes part of the antenna and you get RF coming back down the feedline into the shack which can cause all kinds of weird stuff — RFI on your audio, hot mic connector, weird SWR readings that change when you move the cable around. just winding 8-10 turns of the coax in a coil about 6 inches diameter right at the feedpoint works fine for 40m and costs nothing if you have enough coax. that said your 1.4 swr suggests the antenna itself is working so its not a disaster, the balun just cleans things up considerably. for weatherproofing i use self-amalgamating tape, works great. wrap it starting below the connection going up and then back down so water cant wick under it. had connections last 4-5 years doing it that way. some guys use a small plastic project box as a feedpoint housing which is even better honestly, drill a hole in the bottom for the coax and seal that with silicone.

so ive been running a little rubber duck on my FT-70D around the house just to get a feel for the local repeaters and honestly its been fine for close stuff but theres a couple machines about 35 miles out i really want to hit reliably and i know im leaving a lot on the table with what i have now been looking at base antennas and keep coming back to the comet GP-9 and the diamond X510N, both seem well regarded but theres like a 40-50 dollar spread depending on where you look and im trying to figure out if thats meaningful or just brand loyalty stuff. the GP-9 is rated 9.7dBd on 70cm if i remember right and the X510 is something like 8.5, but ive heard those numbers from the manufacturers arent always... honest also my mounting situation is a bit awkward, i have a chimney bracket from an old TV antenna install and the mast is only 1.25 inch OD so i need something that'll clamp to that without a bunch of adapters. anyone dealt with that? and does it matter much where on the roof i put this thing or is higher always just better