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so
i think
the problem is either in my two coax splices
that i have too much coax
or in the construction of my dongle
i doubt it's in the antenna itself because that almost couldn't be simpler
also probably give my mast little feet so it doesn't weeble wobble
so what i might do
is get a dongle with a bit nicer construction
get an lna
and try to avoid as much coax splicing as possible