About a year ago I mentioned an antenna devised by Peter Waters G3OJV that used a 13 feet (4 m) vertical wire to create a multiband antenna. I used Peter's idea to create "A Simple, Low Profile, Multiband Antenna for POTA". The antenna was designed to work on 20m, 17m, 15m, 12m and 10m with … Continue reading A 5-Band, Lazy-L, Linear-Loaded, Ladder Line Antenna (aka the “5B6L”)
Tag: Portable
TechTip #2 (revised): GTU hand capacitance
NB: This is a revised version of TechTips #2 with the addition of further details on how the issue of hand capacitance has been resolved. The problem: Hand capacitance makes it difficult to accurately adjust the GTU. The fix: Upon examination of my own GTU it was discovered that the layout had become too complex … Continue reading TechTip #2 (revised): GTU hand capacitance
A short 2-band ladder line antenna for portable ops
Introducing the 2B2L antenna Wouldn't it be nice to have a short, fairly efficient, rapidly deployable, low visual impact, vertical antenna that can be operated on both the 20 meter and 40 meter bands? The 2B2L (2 Band Linear Loaded) antenna comes very close to a perfect match for those specifications. The 2B2L is the … Continue reading A short 2-band ladder line antenna for portable ops
TechTip#1 – a continuous loop of cordage
This is the first in an occasional series of short posts here on Ham Radio Outside the Box. The purpose of these TechTips is to share useful techniques I have learned over the years. I hope you will find them helpful. TechTip#1 is an idea I picked up from a bushcraft video for creating a … Continue reading TechTip#1 – a continuous loop of cordage
What to do when the bands suck?
Solar cycle #25 has reached its peak and is on the decline again. We may still have a few years of good propagation left but I am planning ahead. During the last solar minimum I adapted by ... forgive me ... increasing my transmit power. This time around I hope to keep working QRP, but … Continue reading What to do when the bands suck?
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?
A short and maybe not-so-sweet HF antenna
A lot of information has been posted online recently about very short portable vertical antennas. There must be some magic in how they work, surely, since they appear to disobey the laws of physics. I used to own one called a "Miracle Antenna"; it was manufactured in Quebec, Canada. It comprised a 57-inch telescoping whip … Continue reading A short and maybe not-so-sweet HF antenna
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