The radio and the antenna matcher

 

This is the radio to be built.  Note the 20pf trimmer. If the antenna is long enough it could be all the trimming needed.

 The MFJ-16010 would be ideal for the job with a shorter antenna.

 

Note a quick search will find the manual with connecting and tuning instructions.

The hope is we build the unit as presented and it works fine. With our short antenna it probably will not. Adding a MFJ-16010 would be the next step before changing the circuit from the design.

Next thing to consider is the ground. Poor ground can cause you to lose half your signal. MFJ has an artificial round to consider.

 

It worked so well for Dave. Why does it not work for me?

 This is what we would prefer. Need an acre to build it on!

 The actual antenna is a single wire. It looks like a capacitor  up to 1/4 wavelength.

So Daves antenna is about 1/4 wavelength. (little reactance)

Our antenna is very short and presents a lot of reactance.

 Assuming C2 is the antenna reactance we lose a lot of signal. The radio may be top notch but is deaf because it ears are not in tune. So, what to do?

 By adding L1 C1 we get our signal delivered to the radio input.

So 2 2 word answers - loading coil  - antenna tuner.

 The well loaded - tuned - neutralized input soars.

Next post the radio and possible additional circuit.