Simple Antennas for the Amateur Radio Operator--a continuing series
KH6JRM's Amateur Radio Blog Post #174 Antennas and Contests Amateur Radio Operators will have a lot to do during August. In the August 2012 edition of "QST", there are at least 33 contests hams can enter. These contests range from weekly sprints to the ARRL 10 GHz and up Contest. There is something for everybody in August, even if you aren't an active contester. I try to jump in on a few contests (mainly cw and SSB) to see just how good by homebrew antennas work. Sometimes, my great antenna ideas fall flat--they just don't perform the way I want them too. As always, contests give us antenna experimenters plenty of "rope to hang ourselves." Now that I've installed my garage roof 20-meter loop, I'm anxious to see how this skyhook performs. If performance is not up to expectations, I'll opt for the 40 to 10 meter inverted vee in the back yard. That antenna has always done well, propagation permitting, of course. Among my select...