Category: Outdoor Ops

An alternative mini-GTU design by Tim KQ4TQ

As I mentioned in the last post on Ham Radio Outside the Box, I received a surprise package in the mail from Tim KQ4TQ in Georgia. Tim sent me his build of a mini Ground Tuning Unit (GTU) that is simpler in design than the one I built. Tim's design is a single inductor of … Continue reading An alternative mini-GTU design by Tim KQ4TQ →

The magic carpet ground plane is grounded, but the GTU keeps flying.

Ham Radio Outside the Box receives quite a lot of email every week from readers with questions, comments and suggestions. One such email came about as a result of an article in the outstanding newsletter from the Surrey Amateur Radio Club called the Communicator. The editor of the Communicator is Canadian Amateur Radio Hall of … Continue reading The magic carpet ground plane is grounded, but the GTU keeps flying. →

Shacks On The Air anyone?

There has been an explosion of "On The Air" programs lately. I think SOTA (Summits On The Air) may have kick started the trend. To my mind SOTA remains the purest and best of them all. Although there are many drive-up summits, many others require strenuous effort to reach the "activation zone" on foot. Unfortunately, … Continue reading Shacks On The Air anyone? →

A Mini Ground Tuning Unit and a magic carpet for portable ops

In the last couple of posts I discussed my quest for a simple portable antenna that could be rapidly deployed in a very limited space, for example in a small clearing while hiking through the woods. Such an antenna would have to be a short, yet efficient, vertical that occupies a very small footprint on … Continue reading A Mini Ground Tuning Unit and a magic carpet for portable ops →

A Linear-Loaded Monopole antenna for hiking

There is a lot of information online about Linear-Loaded Dipoles, but I haven't found anything at all about cutting a Linear-Loaded Dipole in half to create a Linear-Loaded Monopole worked against ground. The legendary L.B. Cebik (W4RNL, SK) published a design philosophy for an 80m Linear-Loaded Monopole, but it didn't match what I had in … Continue reading A Linear-Loaded Monopole antenna for hiking →

The “tootie-toosie” and the Hiking Antenna

My favorite way of operating is to hike into the woods, find a clearing, set up a quick and easy antenna, make one or more contacts and move on. Well, to be honest, I might pause long enough at a back country waypoint to get out my Aeropress and brew up a refreshing cup of … Continue reading The “tootie-toosie” and the Hiking Antenna →

Isn’t every quarter-wave antenna really a half-wave antenna?

It's a bit early for April Fool's jokes so this is a perfectly serious discussion. Just maybe, the distinction between a quarter-wave and a half-wave antenna is a bit more obscure than we thought. Which is better; a quarter-wave or a half-wave antenna? Does it even matter if indeed every quarter-wave antenna really is a … Continue reading Isn’t every quarter-wave antenna really a half-wave antenna? →

The CFHW – a simple, efficient HF antenna I may never use

What in Heaven's name is a "CFHW"? A CFHW is a Center-Fed Half-Wave antenna. You may know it better as a dipole and it is indeed a highly efficient simple wire antenna. I can't claim originality for the term "CFHW"; it started as a joke on one of the forums I follow. Following the trend … Continue reading The CFHW – a simple, efficient HF antenna I may never use →

A highly efficient multiband QRP L-match builder project

Here is a project that provides a much more efficient way of matching an End-Fed Half Wave antenna than the usual 49:1 impedance transformer. High ratio transformers are prone to inductance leakage, core saturation and overheating leading to low efficiency. Although a 49:1 (or similar high ratio) transformer can present a low SWR to a … Continue reading A highly efficient multiband QRP L-match builder project →