Simple Ham Radio Antennas

KH6JRM's Amateur Radio Antenna Topics A limited space 40 meter dipole. The half-wave length dipole fed with 450-ohm feedline (the classic "doublet") is a basic antenna that will give you hours of enjoyment and plenty of DX if the flat top is at least 30 to 50 feet (9.14 to 15.24 meters) above ground.  Even at lower elevations, this simple, inexpensive antenna will provide strong local and regional coverage with a minimum of effort. But, for those of us who face space restrictions (not enough back yard or oddly shaped house lots), getting a    horizontal flat top working can be a problem.  Like many amateur radio operators, my backyard is small and erecting two masts approximately 66 feet apart (20.12 meters) is not feasible.  Is it possible to shorten the horizontal length a bit and drop off the remaining portion of the dipole perpendicular to the flat top and still get decent performance? According to Joel R. Hallas, W1ZR, you can modify the horizontal...

A SLIGHTLY NEW BEGINNING: Welcome back to my original Amateur Radio Blog, which has been retitled:  KH6JRM's Amateur Radio Antenna Topics. This blog has been idle since late 2012 because of my changing job situation and the expansion of my original blog topic to include the latest Amateur Radio News. The news blog began early this year using my original title: KH6JRM's Amateur Radio Blog (http://kh6jrm.com). When I started reporting Amateur Radio News, I found the task complicated by an oversupply of information and a lack of time to follow my experimental antenna ideas.  The reaction to my news blog has been gratifying and I refer those interested in the latest Amateur Radio developments to access that site. I've also received some notes about my neglect of simple antenna ideas--a subject that was the original focus of this antenna blog.  So, I've split my interests into two blogs that will hopefully answer both inquiries.  My revised antenna blog will be ...