I owe the title of this post to Sir Winston Churchill who once used it to describe a country that is prominently in the news at the present time. It seemed an appropriate description for ham antennas too because the more I know about antennas, the more I realize how much I don't know. Maybe … Continue reading Antennas: a Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery Inside an Enigma
Tag: Ground
Building a Manpack – Part 1, the Antenna
To start, let me define what I mean by "manpack". My manpack is a manually transportable, rapidly deployable, field expedient complete radio station for operating while pedestrian mobile or pedestrian stationary . The HFpack group of /PM enthusiasts are the experts in operating Pedestrian Mobile. Personally I prefer the Pedestrian Stationary style of operating. The … Continue reading Building a Manpack – Part 1, the Antenna
Year End Review
I am very pleased to learn that Ham Radio Outside the Box appeared in 2 of the top 10 posts in 2023 on Ham Radio Weekly. The post "A strange but proven antenna" occupied 8th place and "A 200ft wire antenna up zero feet" came in at 4th place. Many thanks to Cale K4HCK who … Continue reading Year End Review
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?
Ditch That Automatic Tuner!
I was on the brink of pulling the trigger on the purchase of a new automatic antenna tuner for my portable rig recently, when something unexpected happened that slammed the brakes on the acquisition. For a few weeks I have been operating my Yaesu FT-891 with an LDG Z-11 automatic antenna tuner, but there are … Continue reading Ditch That Automatic Tuner!
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?
Ham Radio Outside the Box 