Simple Ham Radio Antennas

Another excellent, well-presented tutorial covering radio wave propagation. N7TFP discusses how radio waves travel around the world by "skip" or sky-wave propagation. This tutorial was part of a two-part series, but the second part has not appeared on the web. Too bad, since N7FTP has done a good job of explaining a difficult subject. This is good reference material for those studying for an Amateur Radio license. 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. Aloha es 73 de Russ (KH6JRM). KH6JRM's Amateur Radio Antenna Topics.

If you have trouble viewing this video, please enter this URL into your browser search bar: https://youtu.be/yShIAI2kMZw. Exceptionally clear, concise, and well-illustrated tutorial on the basics of radio propagation from Dan Vanevenhoven. Dan covers the basics of sun spots, solar flares, and the K and A factors. This video would be useful in a beginning Amateur Radio class or for review by those seeking General and Amateur Extra Class licenses. For the latest Amateur Radio news and events, please check out the blog sidebars. These news feeds are updated daily. For more Amateur Radio news, please visit my Amateur Radio news site--http://kh6jrm.com. 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.

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