Category: Ground

A Very Versatile Unun for Field Operations

Whenever I venture out into the Big Blue Sky Shack - which is often (even in winter) - my entire station has to fit into a backpack. Radio, Bioenno LFP battery, paddles, headphones, logbook, pencils, lapdesk, antennas, stool and all the other bits and pieces necessary to operate out in the bush. Everything has to … Continue reading A Very Versatile Unun for Field Operations →

A 200ft Wire Antenna Up Zero Feet – How Does it Perform?

One of my local stores was offering 100ft reels of 16ga insulated wire on sale for a good price. I have bought this wire before and was very pleased with its flexibility - an important factor for field portable use where the antenna is subjected to constant winding and unwinding. The wire extends 200ft across … Continue reading A 200ft Wire Antenna Up Zero Feet – How Does it Perform? →

How Does a Ground Tuning Unit Work?

I have spent many hours in my reclining thinking chair, posting ideas on the back of my eyelids while contemplating this very question. How indeed does a Ground Tuning Unit (GTU, aka Artificial Ground) actually work? I have a fairly reasonable comprehension of the theory behind antenna tuners, but tuning an entire planet? Now that's … Continue reading How Does a Ground Tuning Unit Work? →

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 →