What happens when you press the magic TUNE button on your radio, or external automatic tuner? You will likely hear the rapid clicking sound of relays trying different combinations of capacitors and inductors as it looks for the lowest SWR to present to the radio. But, a "tuner" does NOT actually tune your antenna. It … Continue reading What happens when you press the magic TUNE button?
Category: QRP
Two Resonant Simple Wire Antennas for POTA
One antenna that has garnered a significant following among POTA operators is the POTA PERformer designed by Greg Mihran KJ6ER. In essence it is a raised quarter wavelength vertical with 2 above ground radials. A simple idea that Greg has engineered into a rapid deployment, highly efficient, multiband, portable antenna. Greg has backed up his … Continue reading Two Resonant Simple Wire Antennas for POTA
How many truly field expedient ham radios are available? Maybe only 2!
Only two? If you were to ask the military you might get a different answer. Indeed many hams actually use ex-military portable radios, such as the PRC series. Those radios are in a class of their own, but they are often heavy, designed to be carried into the field by fit, strong, young soldiers. But … Continue reading How many truly field expedient ham radios are available? Maybe only 2!
Rapid Deployment Field Expedient Random Wire Antenna Ideas
The image shows amateur radio station VA3KOT/P inside its stealth enclosure - an old airline pilot briefcase made from stout, strong leather. This is an almost complete station: Yaesu FT-891 QRP/QRO-optional in its field hardened steel 50-cal ammo box enclosure Bioenno 12Ah LiFePO4 battery 9.5ft tactical collapsible whip Adjustable loading coil for the whip PAC-12 … Continue reading Rapid Deployment Field Expedient Random Wire Antenna Ideas
An Outside the Box version of the Delta Loop antenna
I have written about delta loop antennas before - notably in April 2023 in a post entitled "Delta Loopy Ideas". A few weeks ago I received an email from Alan WA3EKL who suggested I should take another look at delta loops and offered a lot of helpful advice, tips and suggestions for making this type … Continue reading An Outside the Box version of the Delta Loop antenna
Field Day with the POTA Performer
A cold, windy day on the beach at Ainslee Wood Conservation Area on Georgian Bay (part of the Great Lakes) on the first day of the ARRL Field Day 2025. Confession: I am not really a contester, I have far too short an attention span to spend hours sitting in a chair pounding brass. This … Continue reading Field Day with the POTA Performer
An improved tank circuit EFHW coupler
About a month ago Ham Radio Outside the Box posted about "a third way" to match the high impedance at the feedpoint of an End-Fed Half-Wave antenna. A link to the original article is at the bottom of this post. A "30-minute special" was built to prove the concept actually works. It did work fine … Continue reading An improved tank circuit EFHW coupler
Testing and modifying the “POTA PERformer” antenna
What is the POTA PERformer? Greg Mihran KJ6ER has introduced us to an antenna that he calls the "POTA PERformer". The capitalized PER in its name is an abbreviation for "Portable, Elevated, Resonant". But what is it really? The POTA PERformer is an adjustable elevated vertical radiating whip with two adjustable elevated radials. In concept … Continue reading Testing and modifying the “POTA PERformer” antenna
EFHW matching: 49:1 Impedance Transformer or L-Network?
What is the best way to match the very high impedance of an End-Fed Half-Wave antenna to the 50 ohm impedance of a transceiver? There are various ways to do this but this week's post is going to focus on just two - a 49:1 impedance transformer (or UNUN if you prefer) and an L-network. … Continue reading EFHW matching: 49:1 Impedance Transformer or L-Network?
SSEFHW – Another Shortened End-Fed Half-Wave Antenna for 20m
Peter Waters G3OJV Screen grab from YouTube I was browsing through ham radio videos on YouTube recently as I often do (daily!) when I came across one from Peter Waters G3OJV on the Waters & Stanton video channel. The title of the video immediately caught my attention: "Shortened Vertical Half Wave Antenna". End-fed antennas are … Continue reading SSEFHW – Another Shortened End-Fed Half-Wave Antenna for 20m
Ham Radio Outside the Box 