Simple Ham Radio Antennas

One of the joys in making your own antennas is to discover what others have done in similar circumstances.  A visit to the antenna forums on QRZ.com and eham.net can give you a lot of useful information, particularly if you must operate from a deed-restricted area or from a small backyard as I do.  I am amazed at some of the clever antenna designs that my fellow amateur radio operators have used to get around HOAs, CC&Rs, and lack of space. Another good source of ideas for those of us in space-restricted areas are books and articles dealing with small antennas, stealth antennas, and concealed opertions of various sorts.  Although most of us can get by with the antenna books published by the RSGB, ARRL, and CQ Communications, there are a few sources I would recommend from personal experience. The first book on my list would be "The Short Vertical Antenna and Ground Radial" by Jerry Sevick (SK), W2FMI.  This small volume offers several useful and effective designs for t

While I was searching through some boxed electronic parts in the garage this afternoon, I discovered an old Hustler mobile mast, bumper mount, shock spring, and coils for 40 meters, 20 meters, and 15 meters.  When I first became an amateur radio operator back in 1977, I used the Hustler system on my then almost new 1976 Toyota Corolla.  That was a very small vehicle and I had to be creative in placing an old Swan 260 Cygnet transceiver in front of the passenger's seat.  Fortunately, the Toyota had a metal bumper which was able to hold the mobile mount and antenna.  After I bonded all the body and engine bolts with copper braid and installed special spark plugs, the system became a cumbersome, but successful mobile installation.  When I moved to my present location in Laupahoehoe and bought a new car, I cleaned and stored the old mobile antenna in the garage and gave the old Swan transceiver to a new ham who didn't have a rig.  Since that time, I haven't done much in the way

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