Simple Ham Radio Antennas--Ham radio 40 meter homebrew ground mount vertical

January 16, 2017

If you're having difficulty in viewing this video, please insert this title URL into your browser search box: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qEQN_FV0Pk. This is post #1014 in a continuing series on "Simple Ham Radio Antennas."

Now that propagation is beginning to favor the lower HF bands (160 through 40 meters), this may be a good time to build a simple antenna dedicated to the 40 meter amateur radio band (7 MHz). Forty meters has something happening most of the day, with local, state, and regional coverage during daylight hours and some good DX after the sun goes down.

In this video from K8YIO, we see a simple vertical antenna designed to cover the 40 meter band. The construction is simple, inexpensive, and sturdy. The important thing to remember about 1/4 wavelength vertical antennas is the absolute necessity for a decent ground radial or counterpoise system. Although this antenna uses only 8 radials, it seems to perform very well for K8YIO. The ideal number of ground radials is not "set in stone", but most radio amateurs tend to lay down as many radials as possible. It's also possible to build a vertical antenna using as few as 6 elevated radials if ground level conditions aren't suitable. With a good ground radial system, a 1/4 wavelength vertical antenna will offer a low angle of radiation and can be easily disguised by trees and other land features.

For the latest Amateur Radio news and information, please check this websites:

http://www.HawaiiARRL.info.
https://oahuarrlnews.wordpress.com.
https://bigislandarrlnews.wordpress.com.
http://www.kh6jrm.info (breaking news for radio amateurs).
http://hawaiisciencedigest.com (latest science and technology news for radio amateurs).

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Opinions expressed in this blog are mine unless otherwise stated.

Thanks for joining us today!

Aloha es 73 de Russ (KH6JRM).