Simple Ham Radio Antennas

Thanks to Javier Anderson for sharing this classic military training film on antennas. This video is the final segment of an antenna study course produced by the National Film Board of Canada for the Royal Canadian Air Force. This film dates from the mid to late 1950s and contains the basic information necessary to discuss antenna bandwidth. The explanation is clear, uncluttered, and thoroughly understandable. This video could be made part of a basic Amateur Radio License Course. For the latest Amateur Radio news and events, please check out the blog sidebars. These news feeds are updated frequently. You can find more Amateur Radio News at my news blog: http://kh6jrm.net. Thanks for joining us today! Happy Holidays to you and your family. Aloha es 73 de Russ (KH6JRM).

This video is part of a Royal Canadian Air Force Training Film series produced by the National Film Board of Canada. Thanks to Javier Anderson for the tip. This classic film, most likely produced in the mid to late 1950s, does an excellent job of explaining important reception basics when using a radio. This series of videos would make an excellent feature for Amateur Radio License Classes. The dialogue is direct, uncomplicated, and thoroughly understandable. Great video. For the latest Amateur Radio News and Events, please check out the blog sidebars. These news feeds are updated daily. You can follow our blog community with a free email subscription or by tapping into the blog RSS feed. If you want more Amateur Radio news, please visit my news site at http://kh6jrm.net. Thanks for joining us today! Aloha es 73 de Russ (KH6JRM).

I'm surprised just how good some of these old armed forces technical training films were. This video, probably dating from the late 1950s, gives a brief, well-organized overview of important propagation fundamentals when using radios. This excellent, simple, and completely understandable film was produced by the Film Board of Canada for The Royal Canadian Air Force. I'll keep a copy of this video for my reference library and for helping new ham operators get "a handle" on propagation basics. For the latest Amateur Radio news and events, please check out the blog sidebars. These news feeds are updated daily. You can follow our blog community with a free email subscription or by tapping into the blog RSS feed. For more Amateur Radio news, please visit my news site--http://kh6jrm.net. Aloha es 73 de Russ (KH6JRM).

I'm afraid the title of this post is a bit misleading...nothing about Don Wallace's (W6AM--SK) life was simple. He lived a huge life and was one of the top DX chasers of all time. Until his death, he operated a multiantenna "farm" from the old Press Wireless site overlooking Palos Verdes, California. As a youngster, I remember his "booming" signal into Hawaii during the day. As this video shows, his station was better equipped and maintained than most commercial AM stations of that time. In this video from the California Radio Historical Society, Wayne Overback interviews Don Wallace for the PBS series "Radio Collector." The highlight of the interview is a tour of Don's mammouth antenna system. Nowadays, the antenna site once used by Wallace is now a condo development. I learned a lot about dedication and determination from viewing this video. I wish I could have met Don Wallace face-to-face. He sounded like a truly unique individual

Here is another one of Dave Casler's (KE0OG) excellent, well-paced tutorials on amateur radio antennas. This time, Dave discusses antenna theory and design basic to passing the FCC Amateur Radio General Class License exam. Dave focuses his attention on Ground-Planes, Random Wires, and Dipoles--all of which can deliver plenty of contacts if they are built correctly. While Dave's advice on coaxial cable feedlines is quite good, I feel the use of balanced feeders (450 ohm ladder line or 300 ohm TV ribbon cable), coupled with a balanced antenna transmatch ("tuner"), will deliver comparable performance at less cost. A 135-foot/41.15 meters doublet (dipole) fed with 450 ohm ladder line or 300 ohm TV ribbon cable connected to a balanced tuner will cover all amateur radio bands between 80 and 10 meters. For the latest Amateur Radio news and events, please check out the blog sidebars. These news feeds are updated daily. You can follow our blog community with a free e