Simple Ham Radio Antennas

Here's a basic, effective, and efficient antenna transmatch ("tuner") for feeding random length wires, especially half-wave, end-fed wires. Stan Gibilisco (W1GV) explains the design, construction, and use of this simple device. If you don't feel like building your own random wire tuner, you can buy a MFJ-971 Travel Tuner, which incorporates most of the features Stan describes. I have one of these tuners and it works well for portable or emergency operations. If you have trouble loading this video, please enter the title link into your browser: https://youtu.be/6QwBiz_LB9M. 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-mail subscription or by tapping into the blog RSS feed. Thanks for joining us today! Aloha es 73 de Russ (KH6JRM). KH6JRM's Amateur Radio Antenna Topics.

This is a great weekend 2 meter antenna project from Dave Tadlock (KG0ZZ). If you can't find a metal coffee can (most coffee appears to be sold in large plastic containers), you can use a clean paint can. I found some at the local Ace Hardware Store in Hilo, Hawaii. You could also design this antenna for NOAA weather broadcasts and other public service agency radio traffic. The vertical element could also be a segmented antenna rod found on an old portable radio or part of a "rabbit ears" antenna from an old television set. Dave's antenna could also be designed for the 1.25 meter and 70 cm ham bands. His design resembles a "sleeve dipole" in some respects. I've built a few of these antennas and they work very well. A few basic tools and some coaxial cable are all you need to build a simple and somewhat unusual antenna for 2 meters. For the latest Amateur Radio news and events, please check out the blog sidebars. These news feeds are updated d

If you have the space, a long-wire or random wire antenna, coupled with an antenna tuning unit (ATU) and a counterpoise wire system, can perform very well. In this video, M0VST explains how he built and used this simple antenna for his amateur radio station. He used 50 meters/164 feet of wire that came from the Clansman Radio System that was used by the British Army. The wire was supported about 7.62 meters/25 feet above ground and used an ATU and a counterpoise ground system to make the antenna work properly. His counterpoise system consisted of a 1.52 meters/5-foot copper ground rod attached to "lots and lots of ground radials." The key elements of the long-wire antenna are the antenna tuning unit and the counterpoise system. The counterpoise system will keep RF out of your shack. As for antenna tuners (ATUs), I used an old MFJ-902 Travel Tuner with good results. My "long-wire" antenna was cut for 40 meters (135-feet/41.5 meters). The #12 AWG wire was at

This 21-element 2 meter/70 cm yagi will let you work the popular SO-50 amateur radio satellite, the International Space Station, and a bunch of low-Earth orbiting amateur radio satellites. Dave Tadlock (KG0ZZ) shows you how to set up, orient, and use this super sensitive antenna designed for amateur radio satellite communication. I'm tempted to get one of these Excalibur antennas. This antenna surely beats what I'm using now (a homebrewed yagi made from a metal tape measure I bought at Ace Hardware last year). 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-mail subscription or by tapping into the blog RSS feed. Thanks for joining us today! If you have difficulty seeing Dave's video, please enter this title link in your brower: http://youtu.be/sTKI97e3uX8. Aloha es 73 de Russ (KH6JRM).

If you have difficulty viewing the video, please enter the title link in your browser (https://youtu.be/n0eYB5AWGvY). Here's nice, easy 2 meter J-Pole antenna made from 60 inches to 61 inches (152.4 cm to 154.9 cm) of 450 ohm Ladder Line. The instructional video from KD0RVY is clear and easy to follow. All you need to complete the project is some king of mast or pole to support the J-Pole. You should get about 3dB gain over a simple 2 meter vertical. I've built a few of these antennas for portable and emergency operations. I find a simple MFJ 2 meter "tuner" helpful in some cases. This would make an excellent club project. Make a few of these simple 2 meter antennas, one for your radio room and the other for your vehicle. 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-mail subscription or by tapping into the blog RSS feed. Thanks for joi

. If you have difficulty viewing this video, please enter this title link in your browser: http://youtu.be/3j3BsYbzwvw. Excellent, basic introduction to the design, construction, and use of the Double Extended Zepp Antenna from Stan Gibilisco (W1GV). This antenna delivers approximately 3dB gain over a dipole antenna at the same height above ground. The antenna works best when it is fed with 450 ohm ladder line or 300 ohm TV twinlead. You will need a balanced antenna transmatch (i.e. "tuner") or a tuner/4:1 balun combination to present the proper impedance to your transceiver. According to Stan, the extended double zepp antenna is "a collinear array of two 5/8 waves in phase." You can design the EDZ antenna for any HF amateur radio band you chose. To determine the proper length of the EDZ, you can use the general formula 585/f(MHz). Divide this by 2 to find the length of each element. You can determine the length in meters by dividing your length by 3.28.

An easy to understand tutorial from Dave Tadlock (KG0ZZ) on how to design, build, and test a simple dual band (2 meter/70 cm) radio antenna for contacting amateur radio satellites. There are many low-Earth orbiting amateur and educational satellites that can be found with this antenna. You could mount this antenna on a camera tripod and adjust it manually as your favorite satellite crosses the horizon. A dual-band HT will work fine with this antenna and will give you many enjoyable contacts on a free afternoon. For more Amateur Radio news and events, please check out the blog sidebars. These feeds are updated daily. You can follow our blog community with a free e-mail subscription or by tapping into the blog RSS feed. Thanks for joining us today! Aloha es 73 de Russ (KH6JRM).