KH6JRM's Amateur Radio Blog
Another week at the KKBG-FM/KHLO-AM news room is just about over. There has been plenty of events to keep this new hound busy--from that BP oil leak to the latest crisis in the Middle East. After the morning shift, I'm more than ready to head for the shack for some quality radio time. The 20- meter vertical dipole is working well. The antenna is supported by a 31-foot "jackite" mast and fed with 450-ohm balanced line. I've put a bit of top and bottom loading to compensate for the short- ness of each element (about 1 1/2 feet). The dipole fees well and the old Drake MN-4 seems to match everything up. The antenna is usable on 20, 15, and 10 meters. The performance on 40 leaves a lot to be desired, but I have a separate 40 meter vertical elsewhere in the yard, so that band is not a problem. Getting on 80 meters is a tad difficult from my postage stamp lot, but perhaps I can erect a homebrew vertical helix tuned for 80 meters to take care of th