Simple Ham Radio Antennas

In this age of natural and man made disasters, it's important to have back up equipment, antennas, and power available during periods of emergencies.  A set of homebrewed wire antennas can keep you on the air when your beam or tower have been damaged by forces beyond our control. One of the best standby antennas is the NVIS antenna, which, because of its portability and ease of operation, can be tucked away in a convenient spot for future use.  NVIS (near vertical incident skywave) antennas are perfect for local or regional use out to about 300 miles/480 kilometers.  NVIS antennas are close to the ground (between 1/10 to 1/5 wavelength above ground) and shoot most of their signals straight up.  Sometimes called "scatter beams" or "cloudwarmers", these antennas can cover a wide area (especially mountainous terrain) with little power. A NVIS antenna can be configured in several ways, including low-level 1/2 wavelength dipoles or low-level full wave loops.  If

One of the joys of moving out of my cramped quarters at Laupahoehoe to more spacious property (1 acre) in the Puna District is the ability to erect some decent antennas.  For most of my 36 years as an amateur radio operator, I've had to "make do" with compromise antennas that often performed poorly compared to full-sized antennas.  Thanks to 450 ohm ladder line, a sturdy W9INN 4:1 balun, and a trusty Drake MN-4 antenna transmatch, I've been able to get some excellent multi band contacts with the 40 meter inverted v in the backyard and the 40 meter loop under my post and pier house.  I can't complain.  These antennas have done a good job with my older equipment in the shack. Once I complete the slow move to my new home in the Orchidland Estates, I won't have to worry about lack of space for antennas and any ground systems I might install.  To date, I erected the following antennas at the new QTH: A 135 ft/41.15 meters long horizontal dipole (the classic &q

A few days ago I described the simple emergency "go kit" installed in my Honda Odyssey van.  This simple station has served me well for both portable and Field Day use.  I have no doubt the system will work during emergencies.  In fact, I've set up my "go kit" station in the backyard with excellent results using a  simple inverted v antenna and an under-the-house 40 meter loop on my lot. Although this arrangement worked very well, I wanted to make a special "standby" station in case my main station didn't work for some reason.  Fortunately, I had a few spare rigs in the shack, and I decided to employ them in my home emergency station. My main amateur radio station has the following equipment (most of it old, but totally functional): One Ten Tec Argosy II transceiver and Ten Tec power supply.  I can run this rig off the electrical mains or with a solar panel/deep cycle marine battery combination. One Drake MN-4 antenna transmatch.  I can us

In light of the recent natural disaster in the Philippines (super Typhoon Haiyan), it might be useful to review just how prepared we amateur radio operators are for natural and man-made disasters.  Many of the hams running emergency traffic in the Philippines are using low powered rigs and simple antennas to maintain a communications lifeline in devastated areas of the Central Philippines.  Perhaps, we should do the same. In my 36 years as an amateur radio operator, I've always followed the policy of having spare equipment, antennas, parts, tools, and standby power should an emergency arise.  While those of us living in Hawaii aren't prone to the series of disasters befalling southeast Asia, we do get our share of hurricanes, severe thunderstorms, earthquakes, and, occasionally, tsunamis.  Most hams living in the 50th state are prepared to provide emergency communications should the need arise. It's prudent to have an emergency radio system installed in your home as we

Today, our prayers are with the residents of the Central Philippine Islands, who are just starting to recover from the devastation of super typhoon "Haiyan."  According to Ramon Anquitan (DU1UGZ) of the Philippine Amateur Radio Association, amateur radio operators in that island nation are providing emergency communications links to the government, as well as handling health and welfare traffic from impacted areas, such as Tacloban City--one of the hardest hit areas southwest of Manila. Although the Philippine Red Cross says there are at least 1,000 dead from the devastating storm, reports from the Associated Press and Radio Australia put the dead and missing total somewhere near 10,000. Typhoon "Haiyan" was an especially strong storm system with winds exceeding 175 mph (280.5 km/hr) in some areas.  Storm surge, heavy rain, and flooded rivers have destroyed thousands of homes and damaged hundreds of businesses in the Cebu area.  Government officials have sent  

If you've been an amateur radio operator for any length of time, you probably have a good collection of parts, books, magazine articles, wire, coaxial cable, connectors, and basic tools to support your hobby.  This "junk box" is part of our amateur radio tradition...making do with what you have on hand.  I'm no exception.  In my 36 years as a licensed amateur radio operator, I've accumulated a wide collection of items, ranging from books to spare rigs.  Of course, the collection circulates a bit through trades, upgrades, giveaways to newly licensed hams, and, finally, to the recycling station. One of the things I rarely sell or giveaway is my growing collection of books related to Amateur Radio and Amateur Radio antennas.  Many of these volumes were bought when I was newly licensed or successfully upgraded my license.  Nowadays, the task of assembling an Amateur Radio library is easier, thanks to the internet, Amateur Radio-related websites, and the outstanding

A one-wavelength loop is one of my favorite antennas.  Loops may be built in a square, circular, rectangular, of triangular form to create an effective, inexpensive antenna.  Loops can be built for single band service using coaxial cable and a quarter wave transformer or for multiple band use employing 450 ohm ladder line fed into a 4:1 balun and then into an antenna transmatch.  A small length of 50 ohm coaxial cable with UHF fittings can be used to connect your transceiver to the transmatch. For my growing antenna farm at my new homesite in the Puna District of Hawaii Island, I needed an antenna which would give me good local coverage for local state wide nets and a decent signal for DX work.  From my location on Hawaii Island, almost anything beyond Hawaii counts as DX.  I elected to build a simple, one wavelength long sloping delta loop supported by a telescoping fiberglass mast and supported at the bottom ends by two wooden stakes. In order to cover 40 through 10 meters, I de