A Radio Sled for Winter Outdoor Ops

VA3KOT's Radio Sled Winters in Southern Ontario last too long! Especially when your principal interest in amateur radio is operating in the Great Outdoors. So, I built a sled. It is based on what ice-fishing enthusiasts call a "Smitty Sled"; I call it simply my radio sled. A pair of child-size downhill skis were purchased … Continue reading A Radio Sled for Winter Outdoor Ops →

How to Get a Line 40ft Up a Tree

There are more ways to get a line up into a tree than you can shake a stick at. I have tried several. A popular method is to use a slingshot with a lead sinker (or equivalent) and fishing line. This method will get your line higher than you really need it, but you then … Continue reading How to Get a Line 40ft Up a Tree →

An Easy T2LT Portable Antenna

Let's start by explaining what T2LT means. I visited several sites online that use the term without explaining it. T2LT or TTLT is an abbreviation of Tuned Transmission Line Trap. It sounds complicated but it really couldn't be simpler to build, erect and use. It can be compared to a regular dipole in that it … Continue reading An Easy T2LT Portable Antenna →

A Portable Vertical Antenna

I needed an antenna that would fit entirely within my backpack, along with radio, tuner, coax, battery, headphones and key. In other words, one pack with a complete portable station on my back. In the past I had always carried a second pack with poles, guy lines and tent pegs to support a vertical antenna … Continue reading A Portable Vertical Antenna →

“The Other Half”

I have a real problem with using vertical antennas when operating field portable. And I mean quarter-wave vertical antennas. You see they need "the other half"; a ground plane, radials, or counterpoise and without "the other half" they just aren't going to work. So here's the rub (as Shakespeare would undoubtedly have commented had he … Continue reading “The Other Half” →

Build A Better Antenna Winder

Not So Fast Pilgrim!Don't you just hate it when you're out on a field trip and you want to quickly put up a long wire antenna but, when you pull it out of your backpack, the wire is all tangled? Usually happens when you just coil the wire around your fingers or use the old … Continue reading Build A Better Antenna Winder →

A Most Unusual Antenna

It’s Common KnowledgeYou have heard it many times before; an HF wire antenna must be installed as high as possible to be efficient – preferably a half-wavelength above ground. It’s common knowledge! “Common knowledge” means everybody believes it to be true – well maybe not everybody, but if the majority believe it to be true … Continue reading A Most Unusual Antenna →