Simple Ham Radio Antennas

On Friday, 09 August 2013, I built my first 40-Meter Half Square Antenna.  Several hams I know have used this simple antenna to increase their contacts on 80 and 160 meters.  The antenna provides some gain over a single vertical antenna and offers some signal rejection off the sides. According to my preliminary research, the half square is a wire antenna with 2 vertical elements fed in phase.  One quarter-wave vertical is fed at a  top corner where its attached by a coaxial center connector (such as the Budwig HQ-1).  The other end of the coaxial connector is attached to a horizontal half-wave phasing line and then connected to another quarter-wave vertical aiming down to the ground.  Both vertical segments are insulated from ground.  The vertical elements are supported by masts or other objects such as trees.  With the antenna being fed at a top corner, the current portion of the antenna is high with a good match to 50-ohm coaxial cable.  No ground radial system is required.

Sometimes the simple things in life are best.  This reasoning can be applied to amateur radio antennas, where cost and ease of assembly are factors for your "antenna farm". As much as I like towers and 4-element monoband HF antennas (I've used them during Field Day events), the cost of such structures can really ruin my retirement income.  So, as I've done in the past, I've designed and built simple antennas that "do the job" without depleting my bank account.  In most cases, limited funds, restrictive operating conditions, lack of space, and proximity to neighbors have dictated easily built antennas such as verticals, inverted vees, delta loops, and small flat-top dipoles. Recently, my xyl and I were clearing some of her property in the Puna District when I saw two Norfolk Pine Trees separated by approximately 120 feet/36.58 meters.  There was a branch on each tree approximately 50-feet/15.24 meters above ground.  These branches would make a suitab

Today at 1700 hours local time, The National Weather Service downgraded Tropical Storm "Flossie" to a tropical depression.  The weakened storm swept over Hawaii Island, leaving heavy showers, gusty winds, high surf, and power interruptions in its wake. Thankfully, no one was injured.  Damage from the storm was minimal. During the warning period, members of the Big Island Amateur Radio Club stood by to help at Hawaii County Civil Defense, the Hilo Medical Center, and at various American Red Cross stations across the island. The Hilo International Airport reported winds between 30-35 knots early this afternoon (Monday) with rainfall gauges registering 2 to 4 inches (5.08 to 10.16 cm) of rain.  The situation could have been a lot worse, with early forecasts predicting up to 10 inches (25.4 cm) or more of rain by this evening. The remaining portions of "Flossie" will move past West Maui, Molokai, Honolulu (on Oahu), and Kauai later this evening.  Rainfall is expe

During the past few weeks, I've been experimenting with the versatile inverted L antenna for my small house lot.  I find the antenna simple, inexpensive, and easily concealed. An inverted L is a bent quarter-wave Marconi vertical fed against a system of surface, buried, or elevated radials.  The vertical segment should be as high as possible, with the remaining length running horizontal to a nearby tie off point.  Coaxial feed line can be used for monoband operation or 450-ohm ladder line can be employed if multiband use is planned. MATERIALS: Two vertical structures to support the antenna--one for the vertical segment and the other to tie off the horizontal wire running from the top of the mast.  I had a homemade 20-foot/6.09 meters pvc mast under the house and a convenient Norfolk Pine Tree at the edge of my property to support the horizontal portion of the antenna. Sixty-six feet/20.12 meters of #14 AWG house wire for the radial system and the antenna element. Three,

One of my favorite antenna guides is a book by the late Doug DeMaw (W1FB) titled the "Novice Antenna Notebook."  Although it is a slim volume, it contains most of the facts, construction principles, and modifications needed to erect simple, inexpensive, and effective antennas. I bought the book 25 years ago while I was mentoring (elmering) a newly licensed ham in my neighborhood.  Since I'm not a technical genius, I decided to consult a basic antenna primer that could be used by the new licensee as well as myself.  I wasn't disappointed.  DeMaw's writing is down to earth, clear, and largely without complicated formulas for the beginning ham.  I still have this wonderfully simple volume squeezed in between other antenna tomes, including the ARRL Antenna Book, the ARRL Handbook, and various RSGB publications. What prompted me to consult DeMaw this late in my amateur radio "career" (I was licensed as a novice back in 1977), was the need to erect a simp