Simple Ham Radio Antennas

Thanks to a Good Friday holiday and some decent weather, I've been able to re-erect my "antenna farm" in the backyard of my small lot.  Both the 40-meter vertical (with its tuned counterpoise) and the 20-meter vertical dipole went up without problems thanks to the fiberglass poles I used for masts.  The antenna was was replaced because of storm damage.  Fortunately, I had some wire left over from a studio rebuild at my former radio station.  So, I didn't have to make a 30-mile trip to Hilo for wire and connectors.  The under the house 40-meter loop survived the storms and didn't require any repairs. Once I got my skyhooks in the air on Thursday afternoon, I decided to try 15 meters, since that band is usually busy around 2100 hrs UTC in my location.  As luck would have it, conditions were only fair with considerable QSB and other annoyances.  However, I heard a CQ from Dick, W8PW, in Las Cruces, New Mexico and decided to hit the transmit switch on the old Swan 1

Now that some clear weather has returned to Hawaii Island, I've been able to fix most of my antennas that were damaged by high winds and the 25 inches of rain my qth received during a very wet March.  Most of the repairs went well.  The fiberglass poles were a little scratched by airborne debris and the wire elements were a bit twisted around the masts, but, in general the antennas came through the storms alright.  I was able to lower the masts most of the time before I left for school and that prevented more damage from the high winds. I erected my two verticals in their original configurations--one a 40-meter inverted vee with the apex at 33 feet and the other a 20-meter vertical dipole stretched out on an old 33-foot MFJ fiberglass pole.  Both antennas were fed by 35-feet of 450-ohm balanced ladder line into a MFJ W9INN 4:1 balun.  A short run of RG-6 coax (15 feet) was connected to my trusty Drake MN-4 ATU.  That in turn was connected to the old Swan 100-MX at the operating

It's been awhile since I jotted down a few notes about antennas.  This is one of those cases where "one should be careful about what you wish for."  Until March, most of Hawaii Island was gripped in an extended drought which began 3 years ago.  Although West Hawaii (including Kailua-Kona) has been struggling with a prolonged dry spell for several years, those of us living on the windward usually received sufficient trade wind showers to stave off any water shortages.  Until March, many East Hawaii residents got by with diminished water supplies, hoping that the weather would change.  March has turned out to be quite wet on the windward side, with rain totals in Hilo exceeding 25 inches for the month.  All of this moisture was accompanied by strong 20 to 30 mph winds, mudslides along major highways, and several power outages.  As April Fool's Day approaches, the weather is improving and only scattered showers will herald the arrival of our spring season. During the p

I haven't been able to do much antenna maintenance because of a full-time class schedule at Laupahoehoe High and Elementary School.  My xyl and I have been substitute teachers for several months now and we manage to keep busy with students from kindergarten through 12th grade.  Most of my free times is on the weekends, so I try to squeeze in a little operating and station maintenance on Saturday and Sunday.  All of this makes for a full week.  I don't mind--the routine keeps me busy and frees me to do some creative work with students, especially those in special education. Over this past weekend, I was tidying up the shack and monitoring 20-meters when I found two old antenna books that may prove of some use for you, especially if you are on a tight budget.  The first book is one of my modern "classics"--"Lew McCoy On Antennas.  Pull up a Chair and Learn from the Master."  This compact volume is still in print from CQ Communications, Inc.  The late Lew McC

Thanks to the recent CME and flares from the sun, my operating time was brief today.  Everyband was noisy and all I did was listen to a few strong signals on 20-meters.  I made a few calls, but with only 10 watts to the vertical dipole, I didn't work many people.  So, I spent the day cleaning and tightening my loop, 20- meter vertical dipole, and the inverted vee in the backyard.  When I finished with basic maintenance, I was once again on the prowl for interesting, homebrew antennas that even I could build.  One of my favorite antenna books is "Simple and Fun Antennas for Hams" published by the ARRL.  The book is loaded with real-world, practical antennas you can build yourself with a minimum of cost and time.  I came across an interesting antenna that may appeal to those of us restricted by space and CC&Rs. Jeff Brone, WB2JNA, adapted a design by Robert Johns, W3JIP, which appeared in the August 1998 issue of "QST".  Jeff's article is found in chapte

It's been a busy week of teaching for me and my xyl at Laupahoehoe High and Elementary School.  As substitute teachers, we have a variety of assignments ranging from special education to agriculture.  Variety is the spice of life at this rural school on Hawaii Island.  Both of us enjoy doing something positive for our community in our "sunset years."  Now that the school week is over, I can focus my attention on amateur radio and my favorite aspect of the hobby--building antennas from commonly available materials.  A good, effective homebrew antenna is what you need to join the ARRL International Phone DX Contest, which begins 03 March 2012 at 0000 Z and ends 2400 Z on 04 March (this weekend).  I plan to do a lot of listening and get what contacts I can as a QRP station. My limited contest participation will rely on the homebrew 20-meter vertical dipole in back of the garage and the trusty 40-meter inverted vee along the hedge line fronting my neighbor's house.  I p

Those of us who are forced by circumstances to operate with compromise antennas may be interested in a new self-published book by Tom Schiller, N6BT, called "Array of Light" (3rd edition).  I found a review of the book in the February 2012 "CQ", p. 74.  Tom is a co-founder of Team Vertical and, along with his father, co-owned and operated Force 12 Antennas.  Tom's basic idea is that "everything works" to some degree in the antenna realm.  A quick review of the July 2000 issue of "QST" quickly refreshed my memory about Tom's seemingly outlandish experiment using a 150-watt light bulb mounted on a 4-foot fence post as an antenna.  Using his Kenwood TS-850S, he proceeded to work the world using the light bulb as an antenna.  The project was good enough to land Tom a "Cover Plaque Award" for that issue.  Tom easily convinced me that "everything" does "work", even in such a crude model as a light bulb.  Tom goes f