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.

Improving a Ground Tuning Unit – using binary coded inductance and capacitance

There are 10 types of people in this world; those who understand binary notation and those who don't. Some years ago I experimented with using a Ground Tuning Unit (GTU a.k.a. Artificial Ground) to replace radials/counterpoises on my field expedient vertical antennas. A GTU is simply a series L-C tuned circuit with a current sensor … Continue reading Improving a Ground Tuning Unit – using binary coded inductance and capacitance →

Venturing Outside the Box with the End-Fed Half-Wave Antenna

So many words have been written about the popular End-Fed Half-Wave antenna that you would think it would be "settled science" by now. For several years I have been building EFHWs according to accepted wisdom, but my inquisitive mind always seeks to question why they are built that way and could they be improved? You … Continue reading Venturing Outside the Box with the End-Fed Half-Wave Antenna →

An Improved Self-Supporting, Low Footprint Field Expedient Antenna for 20m

In my post https://hamradiooutsidethebox.ca/2024/02/28/field-testing-the-antenna-called-long-tall-sally-oops-and-downs/ I wrote: Now what if it were possible … … to maintain the small footprint on the ground while simultaneously reducing the height of the antenna. Could it be done? That’s a project I am working on now. I have some ideas that I think are going to work. Stay tuned. … Continue reading An Improved Self-Supporting, Low Footprint Field Expedient Antenna for 20m →

Antennas: a Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery Inside an Enigma

I owe the title of this post to Sir Winston Churchill who once used it to describe a country that is prominently in the news at the present time. It seemed an appropriate description for ham antennas too because the more I know about antennas, the more I realize how much I don't know. Maybe … Continue reading Antennas: a Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery Inside an Enigma →

Field Testing the Antenna Called “Long Tall Sally”: Oops and Downs!

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about a new vertical antenna concept that I dubbed "Long Tall Sally". To recap; I wanted a field portable antenna that occupies a very small footprint. The trade-off of a reduced footprint is an increase in height. This involved stretching a quarter-wave vertical for 20m into … Continue reading Field Testing the Antenna Called “Long Tall Sally”: Oops and Downs! →

Today’s Weather: 6000 degrees Celsius with a possibility of storms

Sample Solar-Terrestrial Data Table from https://www.hamqsl.com/solar.html HF propagation forecasts have always baffled me. A quick look at the forecast chart produced by Paul N0NBH on his excellent website at: hamqsl.com/solar.html reveals a dizzying collection of data from which Paul draws a conclusion about conditions on each of the HF bands. His forecasts are usually correct, … Continue reading Today’s Weather: 6000 degrees Celsius with a possibility of storms →

A Most Unusual Vertical Antenna for 20m

There has been quite a lot of online discussion recently about minimizing ham footprints, reducing environmental impact and showing respect for other public space users. Parks on the Air (POTA) has been indelicately described as a 500 pound gorilla due to its immense and still growing popularity among hams. As that growth continues there is … Continue reading A Most Unusual Vertical Antenna for 20m →

Can a Manual L-match Get the Job Done?

Or can it be made just a little bit better? In part 3 of my manpack series of posts I discussed how and why I replaced a perfectly good LDG Z-11 Pro autotuner with a home-made manual L-match. To summarize, the autotuner was doing a great job but was using too much space inside the … Continue reading Can a Manual L-match Get the Job Done? →

6 Tips for Operating Outdoors in Winter

If you happen to live at a latitude within around 45 degrees of either of the Earth's poles, the word "winter" takes on a whole different meaning. In fact it is more than just latitude that determines climate. Countries such as the UK extend further north than even 55 degrees, but enjoy milder weather due … Continue reading 6 Tips for Operating Outdoors in Winter →