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Simple Antennas for Amateur Radio Operators--a continuing series

KH6JRM's Amateur Radio Blog Post #177 A modified fan dipole How would you like to make a simple, stealthy, and inexpensive antenna that covers 80 to 10 meters?  All you need is a local hardware store, some connectors, some RG-8 coax, schedule 40 pvc pipe, some copper plumbing straps, a few bungie cords, and about 250-feet of stranded copper wire. The details of this fascinating skyhook can be found in the 31 July 2012 edition of eham.net ( http://www.eham.net ).  Howard Gorman, W6HDG, has writen an article entitled "The Fence Fan Dipole (FFD)--A Quick, Easy, and Inexpensive Multiband Antenna." Howard provides detailed instructions and photographs to guide you in completing this project.  Most of the materials for his antenna came from a local Home Depot store.  Howard used a 12-foot fence around an old tennis court to support a 10-foot schedule 40 pvc pipe and ran antenna elements from a special antenna connector atop the pvc pipe.  He used bungee cords to atta

Simple Antennas for Amateur Radio Operators--a continuing series

KH6JRM's Amateur Radio Blog Post #176 A compact 40-meter vertical There are times when a small vertical comes in handy.  You could be in a space restricted environment such as I where neighbors are almost back to back or you could be looking for an easily portable antenna useful for mini-DXpeditions or a casual day of operating from a park or beach.  There is a solution to this often vexing problem. If you have the resources, you may want to consider screwdriver antennas, adaptations of various mobile antennas (ham stick), or event the handy Buddipole sytem.  But if you're on a restricted budget and willing to "roll your own", you can find all the materials you need at the nearest hardware store. What I wanted to build was as a top-loaded "vertical helix" that could be erected in my backyard and easily hidden by bushes and trees bordering my qth.  Based on various readings in antenna literature, I found that if you wound a half-wave length of ordi

Simple Antennas for Amateur Radio Operators--a continuing series.

KH6JRM's Amateur Radio Blog Post #175 A "long wire" antenna One of the joys of being an amateur radio operator is the creation of antennas.  Since I live on a restricted lot surrounded by neighbors and high power distribution lines from the local utility, I have to be creative if I want to get on the air.  Like many of you, I've had to live with compromise antennas most of my amateur "career".  Sometimes, opportunities come along that just beg for experimentation.  Such was the case today, when several of my neighbors mentioned they would be visiting relatives for several days.  Since my teaching assignments won't begin until 01 August (or later, if you are a substitute teacher such as I), I offered to keep on eye on their homes until they returned. Goody!  There are several 30 to 50-foot trees in back of my house on my neighbor's property that just call out for antenna use.  Oh, well, that must be my imagination.  Anyway, I decided to str

Simple Antennas for the Amateur Radio Operator--a continuing series

KH6JRM's Amateur Radio Blog Post #174 Antennas and Contests Amateur Radio Operators will have a lot to do during August.  In the August 2012 edition of "QST", there are at least 33 contests hams can enter.  These contests range from weekly sprints to the ARRL 10 GHz and up Contest.  There is something for everybody in August, even if you aren't an active contester.  I try to jump in on a few contests (mainly cw and SSB) to see just how good by homebrew antennas work.  Sometimes, my great antenna ideas fall flat--they just don't perform the way I want them too.  As always, contests give us antenna experimenters plenty of "rope to hang ourselves." Now that I've installed my garage roof 20-meter loop, I'm anxious to see how this skyhook performs. If performance is not up to expectations, I'll opt for the 40 to 10 meter inverted vee in the back yard.  That antenna has always done well, propagation permitting, of course. Among my select

Simple Antennas for the Amateur Radio Operator--a continuing series

KH6JRM's Amateur Radio Blog Post #173 Friends remembered and a 40-meter vertical for restricted space This has been a sad week for many amateur radio operators on the Big Island of Hawaii.  Two well-known hams have died and will be missed in our small radio community. First, Paul Lieb, KH6HME, passed away last week in California.  Paul was best known for his VHF, UHF, and SHF beacons atop Mauna Loa on the Island of Hawaii.  When the tropo was in or a rare ducting across the Pacific Ocean and the U.S. mainland occurred, Paul was on top of the 13,000-foot mountain handling a wave of contacts.  Paul was a friendly guy who always was available to help his community and the Big Island Amateur Radio Club. Second, Joe Day, NH7LP, died this past Saturday morning following his daily swim in Hilo.  Although he was not too active on the bands, he was always willing to talk "radio" and help others with their licensing efforts.  He remained active on echolink, since he was

Simple Antennas for the Amateur Radio Operator--a continuing series

KH6JRM's Amateur Radio Blog Post #172 A homebrew 20-meter loop For the better part of two days (Saturday and Sunday), conditions on 20-meters from the Laupahoehoe qth have been poor.  Apparently, a near class X solar flare from our sun has made severe inroads on HF propagation.  So, once my xyl and yours truly finished our daily routines, I decided to work on my modest "antenna farm" in the backyard. Although my hastily-built 20-meter delta loop worked fine, it was low enough to cause problems with neighborhood pets, wild pigs (we have many here), assorted birds, and other furry creatures (feral cats, goats, and even a lost cow or two).  Living in an agriculture zone does present certain problems. I took down the delta loop and looked around for an alternative location--not an easy task on a small lot.  While I was creating my replacement antenna scheme, I glanced at my wooden garage.  It measured 17-feet by 16-feet, if I included the laundry room.  Aha! Why no

Simple Antennas for the Amateur Radio Operator--a continuing series.

KH6JRM's Amateur Radio Blog Post #171 ANOTHER APARTMENT ANTENNA Thanks to some good weather today, I was able to get out of the house and work on my modest antenna farm in the backyard.  In my last post, I described a hastily built 20-meter delta loop fed by RG-6 coax.  The loop is working fine and I plan to keep it up for awhile.  Later, I will connect the loop to my station with 450-ohm ladder line, so I can use the antenna for 15 and 10 meters. After that small antenna project, I was once again on the lookout for other simple antennas that even I could build.  It's true...I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to building things, but I do better with each new project.  My fingers have solder burns to prove it!   Anyway, I wanted to improve my emergency indoor antenna without creating problems with RF emissions or TVI.  As I was searching antennas through the internet, I came across an article by Zachary Flemming entitled "How to make an indoor