Simple Ham Radio Antennas

A basic, simple dipole that will get you on the air quickly. As commenters have mentioned, cut the antenna a bit longer for each element (2) to allow for trimming and SWR adjustment. If you want to use this antenna for both 40 and 15 meters without adding outrigger sections, cut the 40 meter elements for the low CW frequencies and the antenna will work on the third harmonic for the SSB portion of 15 meters. Most antenna transmatches ("tuners") will be able to handle the small mismatch in the antenna for each band. When I built one of these antennas, I cut the 40 meter portion for 7.088 Mhz (the Hawaii Afternoon net frequency). The antenna was pretty well matched at 21.264 MHz in the SSB part of the 15 meter band. Of course, you could cut the antenna for 40 meters and feed the dipole with 450 ohm ladder line into a 4:1 balun and then into your antenna tuner for coverage between 40 and 10 meters. Either way, the basic 40 meter dipole is a nice performer if you can get i

An excellent tutorial on the simple physics of a Yagi Antenna from Electrical Engineer Diana Eng. Her use of a lightbulb to to show the effect of reflectors and directors on a dipole antenna is especially good. Although the video is a bit dated (03 February 2010), the basic information is still good. This video would make an excellent introduction to directional antennas for a Technician Class License workshop. 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.

Well-produced video by Peter (VK3YE) on how to build a simple, effective, and portable half square antenna for the 20 meter Amateur Radio Band. Back in August, 2013, I described a similar antenna at a home I was remodeling in the Puna District (12 August 2013, Post #220). Although my half square worked very well, it wasn't as simple or as portable as Peter's design. Peter's antenna can be built with locally made materials from the nearest hardware store or home improvement outlet. In Peter's words, the half square antenna for 14 MHz comprises "a wavelength of wire bent into an inverted U. The half square over a good ground can radiate a low angle signal suitable for distant HF contacts. Construction is simple. Just take 22 meters of wire (72.16 feet) and string it up on two poles 11 meters (36 feet) apart, with equal lengths hanging down. Connect one to a coupler and load it against a counterpoise wire(s)." The antenna pattern is broadside to the half

Well-produced video from "Spectre Oz" on the rarely used Tilted Terminated Folded Dipole Antenna. In the author's own words, "A T2FD antenna project from design to installation, featuring 10w terminating resistor constructed out of 4, 5w 390 Ohm resistors in series parallel configuration and encapsulated balun/resistor for added overall structural integrity." The antenna can be used on a broad range of frequencies. This would make an excellent 10 meter antenna project for the weekend. For the latest Amateur Radio news and events, please check out the blog sidebar. 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.

Amateur Radio “EduTeam” Wows the Crowds at Georgia Super STEM Event : Amateur Radio “EduTeam” Wows the Crowds at Georgia Super STEM Event.   Members of the North Fulton Amateur Radio League (NFARL) EduTeam in Fulton County, Georgia, offered students and other members of the public an opportunity to experience ham radio. The EduTeam hosted an Amateur Radio booth at the Sandy Springs Education Force’s Super STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) Event March 5 at North Springs Charter High School.  “The theme of this year’s STEM Event was Communications Technology, so we were a perfect fit,” said Martha Muir, W4MSA. “Waves of the North Springs students flooded our booth from the morning until early afternoon. Then it was time for students from the local middle schools.” That evening, Muir said, officials from the Sandy Springs Education Force as well as other members of the community visited. “Our booth was busy all day, tantalizing and educating our visitors with various aspe