Way back in February 2024 Ham Radio Outside the Box published a post titled "A Most Unusual Vertical Antenna for 20m". It introduced the idea that the radiating element of a raised quarter wave vertical antenna could be stretched to a much longer length with a corresponding shortening of its radials. The idea is worth … Continue reading Repost: Introducing an antenna called “Long Tall Sally”
Author: John VA3KOT
I'm a Canadian amateur radio operator based in Owen Sound, Ontario. I hold an Advanced license and I am passionate about two things: operating outdoors and CW. My blog is focused on the experimental aspects of the hobby. I love to try out new ideas and, being retired, I have the luxury of time to spend doing so. Please like, comment and follow if you enjoy what you read here.
Dipoles on the Air
Not another "x-On The Air" program surely? Yes, that's right, not another "x-On The Air program" at all. Instead this is a post about why I have come around to the way of thinking that simple dipoles may be the best antennas for portable field operations after all. I will present my case and let … Continue reading Dipoles on the Air
Are you a DXer?
Ham Radio Outside the Box received this interesting email from DX Marathon Ambassador · Chile, Luis Soto Neira CA6SNT. If you've been on the air working DX this year, you almost certainly already have a 2026 DX Marathon score without knowing it. I help promote the DX Marathon, and I'm trying to get hams from … Continue reading Are you a DXer?
TechTip #3 Improving the “Titanic” 40m field expedient backpack portable antenna
TechTips on Ham Radio Outside the Box are brief posts of a technical nature. Back in October 2024 Ham Radio Outside the Box introduced an interesting design for a compact, field portable antenna for the 40m band. Named the "Titanic", it was a T-antenna similar in appearance to the one used on the tragically famous … Continue reading TechTip #3 Improving the “Titanic” 40m field expedient backpack portable antenna
No loading coils, no top-hats, no transformers, no ununs, no baluns, no tuners, no radials – just the perfect antenna?
Just imagine, if you could get rid of all those lossy loading coils, impedance transformers, ununs, baluns, tuners and ground radial trip wires. What do you have left? Could it be the most perfect, the ultimate, 100% efficient, dream antenna? Yes, yes; it's a dream! But back in the real world ... I spent most … Continue reading No loading coils, no top-hats, no transformers, no ununs, no baluns, no tuners, no radials – just the perfect antenna?
There is a “small” problem with the QRP Labs QMX transceiver – and an easy fix
Why was it born so beautiful, why was it born so small? I have to admit to a love/hate relationship with my microscopic, yet bursting with features, QMX transceiver. This marvel of technology is densely packed into a shirt pocket-sized sturdy aluminum case. Just how did the R&D department at Turkey's QRP Labs manage to … Continue reading There is a “small” problem with the QRP Labs QMX transceiver – and an easy fix
Zero-gravity CW paddles?
Ok, I confess, I'm a bit of a klutz when it comes to sending Morse Code. I started out, many years ago, with straight keys. I never got along with the typical flat knobs, I preferred "Navy Knobs" - the kind with a big round thing on top that you can really get a firm … Continue reading Zero-gravity CW paddles?
An Outside the Box look at the 48 inch base loaded vertical antenna
It's not the smartest idea really is it? A quarter wavelength vertical whip for the 20 meter band should be around 5 meters (17ft) tall. Why build a vertically challenged whip that is less than a sixteenth of a wavelength long and expect it to work? And ... with a QRP transceiver too! Yes, indeed … Continue reading An Outside the Box look at the 48 inch base loaded vertical antenna
TechTip #3 Radials and counterpoises
TechTips on Ham Radio Outside Outside the Box are occasional short posts on specific technical topics. But beware, along with regular posts here on this blog, the content is not a definitive technical treatise and should not be read as such. I write about my own opinions and experiences; your opinions and experiences may be … Continue reading TechTip #3 Radials and counterpoises
A 5-Band, Lazy-L, Linear-Loaded, Ladder Line Antenna (aka the “5B6L”)
About a year ago I mentioned an antenna devised by Peter Waters G3OJV that used a 13 feet (4 m) vertical wire to create a multiband antenna. I used Peter's idea to create "A Simple, Low Profile, Multiband Antenna for POTA". The antenna was designed to work on 20m, 17m, 15m, 12m and 10m with … Continue reading A 5-Band, Lazy-L, Linear-Loaded, Ladder Line Antenna (aka the “5B6L”)
