A Born Again Miracle Whip

About 20 years ago a Canadian company, based in Quebec, produced a compact QRP antenna called the Miracle Whip. It was a really good piece of engineering that relied on the principle that a short whip has capacitive reactance that can be cancelled by feeding it through an inductive reactance. Remember, resonance occurs when capacitive … Continue reading A Born Again Miracle Whip

Radio Man Won’t You Come and Fix my Radials?

My humble apologies to the former Canadian folk music band Tanglefoot who came from the general area I live in. I borrowed (and edited) one of their song titles for this post. Just when I thought I had the theory and practice of ground radials down pat, along comes another surprise. After several months of … Continue reading Radio Man Won’t You Come and Fix my Radials?

What in Heaven’s Name is a Rybakov Antenna?

I love to check out interesting, new antenna designs. The Rybakov isn't actually a new antenna, it has been around for a while; either I just hadn't come across it before or I had passed it over and forgotten about it. So when I read about it recently I just knew I had to find … Continue reading What in Heaven’s Name is a Rybakov Antenna?

A Directional Antenna With Just One Straight Wire – Crazy?

Being called crazy is a compliment to my ears. It means I am doing something different, something unusual. I strive to be "crazy" every day. It is only by doing crazy stuff that we innovate and discover new ideas and new ways of doing things. Today I decided to do two crazy things. First, I … Continue reading A Directional Antenna With Just One Straight Wire – Crazy?

A Magic Ground Mobile Antenna

Let me start by confessing; I don't operate HF mobile. So my "mobile" HF antenna is only suitable for stationary "shack-in-a-truck" operations. Driving requires my full attention ... and so does CW operation! I mount one of my two portable vertical antennas on a short aluminum pole which in turn is mounted on the hitch … Continue reading A Magic Ground Mobile Antenna

Grounds for Improvement

As I write this post my sophisticated home weather station shows the temperature has just edged over the 30 degree Celsius mark. I call it sophisticated because it synchronizes with the US national time standard in Fort Collins, Colorado by receiving VLF (Very Low Frequency) radio signals - without an antenna! Wait a Canadian corn … Continue reading Grounds for Improvement

80m Band Antenna Fits Into Just 1 Square Foot!

Incredible isn't it? But can it really work? "It must be a compromise antenna, or very low efficiency." "Why don't you just put up a good old-fashioned dipole? "One square foot? Are you crazy?" No, we'll yes, I may be a bit crazy but believe me, the performance of my "one square footer" is no … Continue reading 80m Band Antenna Fits Into Just 1 Square Foot!