Importing from USA?

snowman707

Hi All,

I'm think of importing a mobile screwdriver aerial from USA, the aerial and mount would be about $260 + carriage

what duty/tax or costs would I incur , I think there were some codes to supply to the revenue/customs etc, for exemption for amateur radio equipment. don't know if this applies to aerials, ?

any info would be grateful

eiei0

Never seen a code for antennas but here is a link to the section that covers Radios

http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/dds2/taric/taric_consultation.jsp?Lang=en&Taric=8500000000&Expand=true&Area=&SimDate=20110117&GoodsText=&OrderNum=&StartPub=&EndPub=&Regulation=

You might get lucky and it will get in I have got some stuff in and others was caught. It used to be the case anything sent through the post would get in with no duty but not any more.

What model Screwdriver antenna can be got for $260 I would be intrested in one also.

Trevor

snowman707

Hi

Thanks for reply
I spotted these
http://www.alpineantenna.com/main/page_home.html
good reviews
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/7619

I haven't contacted the company re shipping etc and all the reviews are from america but seems to be best value available if shipping and duty don't cripple it

I'll post back if I find out any more

gerryk

Wow... that's a pretty good price, if they are made as well as the reviews suggest.
You will probably end up paying VAT, but not duty, as it's an amateur radio product.

I'd say the shipping will be pretty hard to bear though. It's 3' long collapsed and probablt weighs about 5kg. I'd say you're looking at ~$75 to ship.

What vehicle are you mounting it on? I have a tarheel 300, and would be more than happy to share my experiences. One thing I will say is earth, earth, earth and earth some more.

Then earth.

snowman707

gerryk wrote: »

Wow... that's a pretty good price, if they are made as well as the reviews suggest.
You will probably end up paying VAT, but not duty, as it's an amateur radio product.

I'd say the shipping will be pretty hard to bear though. It's 3' long collapsed and probablt weighs about 5kg. I'd say you're looking at ~$75 to ship.

What vehicle are you mounting it on? I have a tarheel 300, and would be more than happy to share my experiences. One thing I will say is earth, earth, earth and earth some more.

Then earth.

I would be mounting it on an Nissan Patrol Commercial, I am a farmer and often get the opportunity to get on air for short periods during the day, at different locations

Most recently I have been on 40m and 17 m with mono band whips but looking forward to working the higher bands as conditions (hopefully) improve in the next couple of years

I have found the secret is the location, more so than the aerial (within reason of course) carrying mono banders is a bit of a pain as the jeep is usually full of junk to start with:D

watty

Biggest CB whip and an auto-tuner often gives better performance than a "screwdriver" aerial.

The worst are screwdrivers that work above 30MHz. The whip is too small.

gerryk

snowman707 wrote: »

I would be mounting it on an Nissan Patrol Commercial, I am a farmer and often get the opportunity to get on air for short periods during the day, at different locations

I would recommend using one of the Breedlove split-ball mounts, low on the tailgate. They are basically about a pound of brass machined into a very nice split ball. I have mine on one, adjusted to a right angle, and with a clamp made from a 1" thick chopping board about a foot higher up. It sounds a bit rough, but actually looks quite good.

Also, if you do go for a tailgate mount , earth the tailgate to the body with some heavy (1" or more) braid.

Also important is how you earth the antenna itself. In the case of the tarheel, all of the antenna is 'hot', but the positioning of the earth connection of the co-ax is critical. It needs to be as close to the antenna as possible, and a good quality connection. I made a big loop and looped it around the bolt that the ball mount bolts on with, making sure it doesn't actually touch it, and abraded of a load of paint inside to ensure a good connection. Before I did this, it found it very difficult to get a low SWR on any band, since doing it, I get within shouting distance of 1:1 on all bands.

watty wrote: »

Biggest CB whip and an auto-tuner often gives better performance than a "screwdriver" aerial.

The worst are screwdrivers that work above 30MHz. The whip is too small.

Absolutely, watty. I have a number of whips I use. The 'general use' one is about 4' long, and gives me coverage from topband up to 10m. Then I have a 'static mobile' one that is about 9' long (in 2 parts) and a short one, about 3' long, that gives me coverage up to 6m.

eiei0

I have one of them crappy cb whips with the spring at the base if I got something like an Ldg auto tuner what bands would it cover ??

watty

Easily 40m to 6m

That's what I get on my autotuner, but mine is not as good as LDG. You could have a pair of coils to switch in for 160m and 80m.

The military rig I have has a giant series coil on a drum that's wound on/off from a shorting bar. That tunes a 5ft whip to 160m and a 4ft whip to 80m.

I also have a large 10m/6m dual band whip. Works on 10m & 6m with no autotuner. It works just as well 40M to 10m on the autotuner. Slightly bigger so likely slightly more radiation. Works to 160m on the Racal syncal 300 Mil rig.

Even at 20W (the Racal) the voltage on 160m and 80m is very high. So even 40m you want to be sure of working voltage of your Autotuner caps and whip base at 100W. Don't use a 20W or 50W autotuner on a short Whip at 100W!

snowman707

watty wrote: »

Easily 40m to 6m

That's what I get on my autotuner, but mine is not as good as LDG. You could have a pair of coils to switch in for 160m and 80m.

The military rig I have has a giant series coil on a drum that's wound on/off from a shorting bar. That tunes a 5ft whip to 160m and a 4ft whip to 80m.

I also have a large 10m/6m dual band whip. Works on 10m & 6m with no autotuner. It works just as well 40M to 10m on the autotuner. Slightly bigger so likely slightly more radiation. Works to 160m on the Racal syncal 300 Mil rig.

Even at 20W (the Racal) the voltage on 160m and 80m is very high. So even 40m you want to be sure of working voltage of your Autotuner caps and whip base at 100W. Don't use a 20W or 50W autotuner on a short Whip at 100W!

a dummy load will "work" on all bands you mention but you won't fill too many pages in the log

TBH I can't see 10m/6m whip being very efficient on top band,

watty

No, it's not. A Screwdriver aerial won't be any better though, and Yaesu ATAS120 screwdriver worse. I do have a clamp that I screw on the rear towing eye (Peugeot 106) and a telescopic 6m/20' approx "CB silver stick" with base matching coil removed from inside and screw slot hose clips replaced with "thumb/wing" type. It works with auto ATU very well on 80m to 6m but a tad high on top band. More a /p mode than Mobile though!

I did have a QSO from living room Limerick, SSB, 160m with 1.2m fibreglass whip on Racal sitting on the floor to Orkneys once though.

gerryk

watty wrote: »

More a /p mode than Mobile though!

Indeed... it would be an interesting argument trying to explain to your insurance company how exactly it happened that you speared the other vehicle.

watty

Or pulled down all the phone wires and power cables!

Fssssit!