Category: Antennas

Experiments with portable, base station and highly unusual antennas

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! →

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? →

Building a Manpack – Part 2, the QRP Rig

As in Part 1, let me define what I mean by "manpack". My manpack is a manually transportable, rapidly deployable, field expedient complete radio station for operating while pedestrian mobile or pedestrian stationary. Complete station fits into a plastic "50 caliber ammo case" The complete station - radio, battery, paddles, phones and antenna fits neatly … Continue reading Building a Manpack – Part 2, the QRP Rig →

Building a Manpack – Part 1, the Antenna

To start, let me define what I mean by "manpack". My manpack is a manually transportable, rapidly deployable, field expedient complete radio station for operating while pedestrian mobile or pedestrian stationary . The HFpack group of /PM enthusiasts are the experts in operating Pedestrian Mobile. Personally I prefer the Pedestrian Stationary style of operating. The … Continue reading Building a Manpack – Part 1, the Antenna →

A Simpler Field Expedient Rybakov Antenna for Winter

I recently received an email from Frank Barnes W4NPN who maintains an excellent website with an index of downloadable issues of the Hot Iron Newsletter. The latest issue contains a link to a PDF document from the late G3XBM that discusses a commercial Rybakov antenna manufactured in the UK (no longer available) called the X80. … Continue reading A Simpler Field Expedient Rybakov Antenna for Winter →

An Upside Down Antenna?

What do you call an end-fed three quarter wave antenna with a quarter wave counterpoise? Or is it an end-fed full wave antenna with a folded quarter wave section? Or maybe even an end-fed half wave fed with ladder line? Here are some hints. It doesn't need any ferrite toroidal cored transformers; so no hysteresis … Continue reading An Upside Down Antenna? →

An Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Upside Down HF Whip

If the title of this post has you thinking about yellow polka dot bikinis we are probably in the same age range. But today's discussion isn't about ladies' swimwear, its actually about HF antennas. Something has always troubled my mind when I think about very short whip antennas. Take the Elecraft AX1 for example - … Continue reading An Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Upside Down HF Whip →