Simple Ham Radio Antennas

Ground Plane Antenna Calculator (http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump.2cgi?ID=32475). Accessed on 24 January 2017, 20:30 hrs, UTC. Please click link or enter the title URL into your browser search box to read the full article. Author:  Glynn "Buck" Rogers (K4ABT). Comment: Ground plane antennas are useful for a variety of amateur radio operations from the upper HF bands (20 meters through 10 meters) to the 6 meter, 2 meter, and 70 centimeter amateur radio bands. This calculator from Glynn "Buck" Rogers (K4ABT) of BUXCOM (http://www.BUXCOM.com) is designed "to give the vertical length of a quarter wave ground plane antenna and the length of each of the four radials for the selected frequency you have entered." Element and radial lengths will be given in terms of meters, feet, and inches.  Some pruning of wire/rod lengths may be needed to keep SWR below 2:1.  A handy, useful guide for the antenna experimenter. For the latest Amateur Radio news

Antennas for portable operation (http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgiID=32473). Accessed on 24 January 2017, 00:45 hrs, UTC. Author:  MyHyEndFed Antennas. Please click link or insert title URL into your search box to read the complete article. Comment: A short, basic tutorial on the types of antennas best suited for portable operations.  The author does a good job of explaining the pros and cons of portable antennas ranging from verticals to half-wavelength dipoles. Although there is no "perfect" antenna for portable or emergency use, this post recommends the classic end-fed half-wavelength antenna with a matching unit as the most cost effective and simple to erect antenna for field operations. The original concept of the end-fed half-wavelength antenna goes back as far as 1928 when "QST" ran a series of articles on this multiband HF antenna. According to the MyHyEndFed Antenna manufacturer, the easily assembled end-fed half-wavelength antenna is

Moxon Antenna Design Calculator (http://www.dxzone.com/cgfi-bin/dir/jump2.cgiID=30540). Accessed on 23 January 2017, 02:45 hrs, UTC . Author:  Paul H. Evans (W4/VK9KF). Please click link or insert title URL into your browser search box to view the calculator. Comment: Thanks to Paul H. Evans (W4/VK9KF), you can now design your own Moxon Antenna online by simply plugging in wire diameter and resonant frequency . According to Paul, Moxon Antennas are fairly simple to make from commonly available materials and do very well on a wide selection of amateur radio bands . I've often assumed, incorrectly, that the popular Moxon rectangle antenna is strictly a HF antenna.  However, the small size and special far field pattern of this antenna lend it to some interesting VHF applications, including 6 and 2 meters. Paul's calculator derives from a public domain BASIC program written by L.B. Cebik (W4RNL)(SK).  That program can be found here: http://www.cebik.com/moxon

A Simple 40 Meter Vertical for Field Day (http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=32463). Accessed on 21 January 2017, 23:45 hrs, UTC . Please click link to read the full article. Author:  Gary C. Sutcliffe (W9XT). Comment: The ARRL Summer Field Day is fast approaching (last full weekend in June) and now's the time to build that portable antenna for your "Field Day" experience. In this article from Gary C. Sutcliffe (W9XT), we learn how to design, build, and use a simple 40 meter vertical antenna for your remote operation.  The antenna is simplicity itself, with a fiberglass mast, a tapped coil, 32.8 ft/10 meters of household wire, a ground stake, and two elevated counterpoise wires about 4-ft/1.21 meters above ground comprising the entire system.  The feed line is a convenient length of 50-ohm coaxial cable , with any excess cable being wound around a plastic coffee "can" to serve as an rf choke.  A great and effective design that will get

If you can't view this video, please insert this title URL into your browser search box: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxE8vuRgeEQ.  This is post #1018 in a continuing series on "Simple Ham Radio Antennas." The Buddipole Antenna kit is a versatile portable antenna that can be configured in several ways, depending on band conditions and the location of your portable station. In this video, K2EFG takes us step-by-step through the unpacking, assembly, and use of this portable antenna.  This video tutorial shows us how to build a Buddipole Antenna for use on 20 meters.  The explanation is simple, direct, and uncomplicated.  The Buddipole Antenna system can be stored in your shack or in your vehicle for portable or emergency operations. For the latest Amateur Radio news and information, please visit these websites: http://www.HawaiiARRL.info. https://oahuarrlnews.wordpress.com. https://bigislandarrlnews.wordpress.com. http://www.kh6jrm.info (breaking news fo

40m portable End Fed Half Wave Tuner http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=29273. Author:  VK5ZVS. Accessed on 20 January 2017, 05:55 hrs, UTC . Please click title link or insert title URL to read the article. Comment: One of the most popular HF antennas for portable or emergency use is the EFHW (end fed half wave).  The antenna is cheap, easy to make, and can be stored easily in your home or vehicle.  However, one of the drawbacks to the EFHW is the rather large SWR presented to our amateur radio transceivers which usually have a nominal impedance of 50 ohms. The impedance issue can be mitigated with a simple antenna transmatch (i.e. "tuner").  In this post, VK5ZVS shows us how to make an inexpensive "tuner" from commonly available parts.  The heart of the device is a tapped coil (31 turns) wrapped around a T200-6 core and a 56pF capacitor.  VK5ZVS provides helpful photographs and a simple schematic diagram of his "tuner."  This

If you're having trouble viewing this video, please insert this title URL into your browser search box: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2k8VIZ9X8. An interesting video from Stan Gibilisco (W1GV) about an excellent, but lesser known VHF/UHF antenna.  The Biconical Antenna derives from the more popular discone antenna used to monitor public service radio bands .  The antenna is broad banded, easy to make, and offers better performance that a vertical antenna.  If you want to experiment with a truly fascinating antenna, try the biconical antenna.  You won't be disappointed. For the latest Amateur Radio news and information, please visit these sites: http://www.HawaiiARRL.info. https://oahuarrlnews.wordpress.com. https://bigislandarrlnews.wordpress.com. http://www.kh6jrm.info (breaking news for radio amateurs). http://hawaiisciencedigest.com (science and technology news for radio amateurs). Be sure to check the blog sidebars for more antenna and propagation arti