Tag: Antennas

Loading Coils are Lossy. True or False?

Everybody knows That's how it goes Everybody knows Everybody knows loading coils are lossy so it must be true eh? No need to question what "everybody knows" - unless you think outside the box. Well, that's the primary mission of this blog so let's take a look at the proposition that "loading coils are lossy" … Continue reading Loading Coils are Lossy. True or False? →

CLEFHW antenna: Ready for Action

In the last post I introduced a crazy, off-the-wall idea for a variation of the popular End-Fed Half-Wave (EFHW) antenna. I called it the CLEFHW - Coil Loaded End-Fed Half-Wave. Its purpose is to allow backpack portable operation of an electrical half wavelength antenna without the need for a tree or pole to suspend a … Continue reading CLEFHW antenna: Ready for Action →

Antenna Height Matters – True or False?

How often have you read that an antenna should be placed as high as possible - the higher the better? Is it true? My inner skeptic says "hmm, maybe". It's certainly an aphorism that is open to scrutiny. Aphorism? The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language defines "aphorism" as: "a tersely phrased statement of … Continue reading Antenna Height Matters – True or False? →

Rebuilding the Winter Rybakov Antenna

Almost a year ago I wrote a post entitled "A Simpler Field Expedient Rybakov Antenna for Winter". It is worthwhile to read that post to understand why I felt it necessary to make a winter version of a proven, tried and trusted antenna. My home turf is southern Ontario, Canada about 200km northwest of Toronto. … Continue reading Rebuilding the Winter Rybakov Antenna →

A Deep Dive into the Antenna Called “Long Tall Sally”

Back in the spring of 2024 Ham Radio Outside the Box introduced a very unusual field expedient portable antenna for 20m. It was dubbed "Long Tall Sally" because we took a standard quarter wave ground plane, stretched the vertical radiating element way out of resonance, then restored resonance by shortening the radials. This is what … Continue reading A Deep Dive into the Antenna Called “Long Tall Sally” →

“Old Barebones” – A QRP Z-match Builder Project

I actually don't like Z-matches very much, so why did I build one? I'll get to that in a moment, but first I should explain why I am not a fan of the Z-match. These devices comprise two variable capacitors and one fixed inductor. The fixed inductor limits the tuning range compared to other types … Continue reading “Old Barebones” – A QRP Z-match Builder Project →

The “Titanic” 40m Field Expedient Backpack Portable Antenna

The 40 meter band can be a tricky one for backpack portable operators. The problem is that antennas for that band tend to be large and require a tall pole. In the last post we discussed using a backpack as a support for quarter wave whips or short poles. In that role it is gravitationally … Continue reading The “Titanic” 40m Field Expedient Backpack Portable Antenna →

3 Days, 3 Activations, 3 Antennas

My wife and I enjoyed a short early fall vacation to take advantage of a period of warm, sunny weather. I used the opportunity to attempt some POTA activations and compare the performance of three of my field antennas in challenging propagation conditions. I had several parks on my radar and too little time to … Continue reading 3 Days, 3 Activations, 3 Antennas →

Random Wire Antennas – A Challenge to Common Knowledge

A random wire antenna's feedpoint impedance is 450 Ohms: True or False? It must be written on a stone tablet somewhere that an end-fed random wire antenna should be fed through a 9:1 impedance transformer. Common knowledge says a 9:1 transformer, in conjunction with a tuner will bring the impedance of a random wire antenna … Continue reading Random Wire Antennas – A Challenge to Common Knowledge →