Simple Ham Radio Antennas

Having built a series of verticals, inverted vees, half squares, and loops for my amateur radio activities, I decided to "thin the heard" of my less than successful antenna efforts and concentrate on a few antennas that have given me the most contacts and overall satisfaction. Although I love the ease of assembly and portability of homebrew vertical antennas, I just don't enjoy the labor involved in putting in a ground radial system.  The elevated counterpoise systems I've used have been less labor intensive than the buried radial approach, but, still, there is a lot of wire running around my property which is a safety hazard for children and pets. The inverted vee antennas are being kept for portable and emergency use.  I have a few telescoping fiberglass masts which make raising these antennas an easy task. Since I lack the space to erect a 80-Meter horizontal 1/2 wavelength flat top dipole (the familiar "doublet" antenna), I have put that antenna o

Now that my 20-Meter half square antenna is performing well, it's time to build its companion for 15-Meters. The half square antenna is a basic 2-element wire array using two 1/4 wavelength vertical elements connected at the top by a horizontal 1/2 wavelength phasing line.  The antenna is fed in phase and shows bidirectionality, modest gain, and some immunity from noise on its sides.  A ground radial system isn't required. By feeding the half square in one of the upper corners, we find the current maximum and a fairly good match to 50-ohm coaxial cable. MATERIALS: Since my two MFJ fiberglass masts were already being used by the 20-Meter half square antenna, I decided to make two new masts out of those 4-foot/1.21 meters surplus military fiberglass poles you see advertised in the Amateur Radio magazines.  I had enough mast sections to make two, 20-foot/6.09 meters masts. Two 7-foot/2.13 meters wooden support stakes for the masts. Number 14 AWG housewire to make the

I thoroughly enjoyed my first half square antenna during this past weekend.  Built for 40-meters, the easily assembled antenna exhibited a bidirectional pattern, offered some gain, required no ground system, and was fairly immune to noise and qrm from the sides.  I disassembled the antenna on Monday and stored it for future use. Now, I wanted to build a similar antenna for 20-Meters, one of my favorite DX bands.  I generally followed the pattern of the earlier half square with a few modifications. In general terms, the half square antenna is a basic 2-element wire array fed in phase using two 1/4 wavelength verticals connected by a 1/2 wavelength horizontal phasing line running from the top of each vertical element.  According to Rudy Stevens (N6LF), "the theoretical gain over a single vertical is 3.8dBi."  The half square is fed at the top of one of the verticals, where the current is at a maximum.  This arrangement is a good match for a 50-ohm coaxial feed line. Alth

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,