Portable HF Vertical Antenna, The Easy Way
If you can't see the video, please insert this title URL into your browser search box: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofmUK8o7Jxg . This is post 2196 in a continuing series of simple ham radio antennas. Thanks to "rcobo101" for this intriguing, simple, and inexpensive multiband vertical antenna. Apart from the Yaesu-FT817, all parts for this portable HF antenna came from the operator's home. The basic parts for this antenna include a 20-ft/6.097-m fiberglass pole, 35-ft/10.67m of speaker wire, a portable power supply, a homemade cw key, and a camera tripod for mast support. At its simplest, the antenna is a vertical helix wrapped with 1/2 wavelength of wire for the chosen frequency. The antenna works as a crude 1/4 vertical at the given frequency. You can add an antenna "tuner" to access bands above the design frequency. Of course, a ground radial system will improve efficiency and will do a bit to keep your "tuner" and rig happy.