How Does the Speaker Wire “No Counterpoise Antenna” Work?

Fellow blogger Craig WB3GCK recently posted an account of his build of the speaker wire "No Counterpoise Antenna" and I was immediately intrigued. In fact I rushed out to the store and bought myself a couple of 50ft rolls of 18AWG speaker wire to experiment. After a couple of days of intense backyard wire whispering … Continue reading How Does the Speaker Wire “No Counterpoise Antenna” Work? →

A 24ft Snake in my Back Yard – all lies and jest?

A snake in the grass! When singer/songwriter Paul Simon penned the lyrics to "The Boxer" in 1970 he may have anticipated my recent experiments with a particularly weird, unbelievable and incomprehensible antenna called "The Snake". A ham hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest The snake I wrestled for a couple of … Continue reading A 24ft Snake in my Back Yard – all lies and jest? →

A Neat Trick with a 20m EFHW Wire Antenna

One of my favorite YouTube channels comes from the UK-based Waters and Stanton ham radio store. The presenter is Peter Waters G3OJV who delivers the content is a refreshingly unassuming, soft-spoken manner. Although it is a commercial channel, Peter introduces topics that are of general interest to hams with only modest company promotional content. A … Continue reading A Neat Trick with a 20m EFHW Wire Antenna →

Cutting My Losses

I experienced a very rare event this past weekend. I had set up my QRP field portable station at a very busy Lake Huron beach on a hot, sunny July afternoon. The scene was idyllic; blue sky, calm water, thousands of happy people. Deep beneath our feet lay the huge underground caverns of the world's … Continue reading Cutting My Losses →

Magically transform a single band ground plane into a multiband antenna – instantly

I call it "electromagnetrickery". You can learn a lot by building your own antennas, much more than if you buy commercial ones. But beware, it becomes addictive - I have a drawer full of empty wire spools to prove it. Sometimes the behaviour of those pesky electromagnetic wavicles delivers unexpected surprises. Here is the story … Continue reading Magically transform a single band ground plane into a multiband antenna – instantly →

A Radio Road Trip with the QRP Labs QMX – lessons learned!

The XYL and I took a short break from routine and drove up to Ontario's Muskoka region for 4 days of recreation and radio activity. I packed my QRP Labs QMX transceiver and a selection of antennas hoping to complete a couple of POTA activations. Tour boats moored at Gravenhurst wharf on Lake Muskoka Muskoka … Continue reading A Radio Road Trip with the QRP Labs QMX – lessons learned! →

Backpacking with the QMX, a Pocket and a Pole

The QRP Labs QMX transceiver is a miracle of miniaturization. Sure, other rigs have achieved a similar form factor, but not with so many outstanding features built into such a tiny package. At this point I should acknowledge a very worthy exception to the rule - the Elecraft KH1. I don't own a KH1 and … Continue reading Backpacking with the QMX, a Pocket and a Pole →

5 Tips for Field Expedient Radio Operations in the Big Blue Sky Shack

I first became interested in operating amateur radio in the great outdoors (aka the Big Blue Sky Shack) over 20 years ago and since that time it has become a passion. The passion is partly inspired by the exploits of secret agents behind enemy lines during the Second World War. These people didn't have to … Continue reading 5 Tips for Field Expedient Radio Operations in the Big Blue Sky Shack →

A Versatile Solution for Backpacking with the QRP Labs QMX

Solar cycle 25 is rapidly approaching its peak. That means propagation conditions are very favorable for QRP operations again. Add to that the ever increasing popularity of outdoor operating programs like Summits on the Air (SOTA) and Parks on the Air (POTA) and there has never been a better time to hit the Big Blue … Continue reading A Versatile Solution for Backpacking with the QRP Labs QMX →

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 →