Simple Ham Radio Antennas

This has been quite a year, newswise.  The newsroom has indeed been a busy place.  Somehow, we have managed to survive another 365 days despite the best attempts by fanatics, the morally challenged, and the merely dispicable to derail us.  I suppose my slightly down message has been tempered by the course of world events...news people often get that way.  But, thanks to amateur radio, there is temporary relief from all of the nonsense that passes for civilization these days. I've been fortunate to have a roof over my head, a good job, an understanding XYL, and equipment that is paid for.  The all-too brief time I spend at the ole Swan 100-MX or restringing my antenna farm has kept me fairly sane.  I enjoy the challenge of shooting the rf into the ionesphere and seeing where it ends.  I've also begun to enjoy cw again.  I'm not very fast, but I enjoy the commaradie and "rag chews" from cw operators.  I'm hoping to get into the ARRL straight key

Christmas is almost here.  Things are slowing down a bit in the newsroom--a much appreciated break after Hawaii Island withstood a fierce winter rain storm. The Saddle Road, which is the shortest connection between Hilo and Kailua-Kona, was closed due to flood- ing and runoff.  Many travelers on the island had to divert their itineraries to the longer perimeter roads. Even these highways got thoroughly soaked.  The newsroom was kept busy with all of the traffic alerts and advisories.  Local amateur radio operators stood by just in case emergency communications channels were needed.  Thankfully, the flooding emergency was confined to the evening hours.  State and county crews are still cleaning up the debris and directing motorists around the flooded areas.  With all of this going on, there wasn't much time to "ham it up".  I got home rather late, so I'll make up the hamming later this week.  Christmas Day is a full work day -- I have to stand by in c

I can't believe how fast the Christmas holiday is coming.  Wasn't Thanksgiving just a few weeks ago?  Time seems to quicken with advancing age. As a child, it seemed forever until the holiday season arrived.  Anyway, the season is keeping the newsroom busy--and that's a good thing.  At least I still have a job.  I wish I had it in my power to get those unemployed back to work.  Meanwhile, I'll be able to sandwich in some needed antenna work before the weekend. I will be restringing the vertical this Saturday, since the combination of salt air, rain, and insect damage is destroying the #14 gauge wire attached to the 33' fiberglass mast.  The insulation is slowly degenerating under the tropical sun.  This project has been on the back burner for a few weeks.  Follow- ing the maintenance, I'll work a few hours on the Swan 100-MXA--mostly cleaning pots and blowing the dust off the case.  The circuit boards appear in good shape, so everything should

I spent the night at the radio station newsroom because of a winter storm that threatened Hawaii Island.  For- tunately, only minor flooding spoiled the night.  Mauna Kea has a nice layer of snow and local residents can't wait for the summit road to clear, so they can take home some snow for a holiday snowman.  This is the only place where you can gather snow and surf on a sun-blessed beach all at the same time.  Since I was on news alert, there wasn't much time to spend on amateur radio, other than listening to 2-meters on the news room scanner.  I'll remedy that situation once I close up the news room later today.  At least, we got some much needed rain.  Have a good weekend.  Aloha es 73 de KH6JRM.

'Just about time to wrap up the news cycle for today in the KKBG-FM/KHLO-AM newsroom. Then, it's home to the shack for some casual operting before calling it a day. I'm still working on the under the house NVIS loop.  The wire has sagged a bit since I attached it to the undercarriage of the qth.  With 142' of 18-gauge wire, the antenna can work any- thing from 40 to 10 meters.  Admitedly, the arrange- ment works best on 40 meters (mostly local contacts out to about 300 miles).  But, with the 450-ohm feed line, I can get some service on the higher bands.  The backyard vertical is still a work in progress.  It works alright, but a few more counterpoise wires will help deliver a better signal.  Like the NVIS loop, the 33' foot vertical is fed with homebrew twin lead and seems to keep the Drake MN-4 ATU and the old Swan 100- MX happy.  Currently, I'm using a single tuned counter- poise wire.  I've garnered many contacts with this im- provised s

The arrival of long-awaited rain heralds the approach of winter on Hawaii Island.  For most of us islanders, there are only two seasons--wet (winter, early spring) and dry (summer, early autumn).  This year has been unusually dry, perhaps a legacy of the El-Nino phenom- enon.  Fortunately, the cooler and drier weather has kept tropical storms and hurricanes away from us.  So, one must count the blessings where they are found.  This is a good time for many of us amateur radio operators to repair, rebuild, and redesign the antennas we use to con- nect to the world.  Lately, I've been working with NVIS (near vertical incidence skywave) antennas--basically low- level loops and dipoles that give excellent 1-300 mile coverage.  These high angle radiators are great for local and state-wide nets on 80 and 40 meters.  Several help- ful articles can be found on the internet.  Try a few.  You may find these skyhooks a lot of fun.  Have a good week-end. Aloha es 73 de KH6JRM.