Simple Amateur Radio Antennas: Your first antenna. Post #252
The New Year is the time of new beginnings. It's time to try new modes, perhaps a new rig, and even a new antenna. At the KH6JRM ham shack, the new year got me thinking about the first antennas I built as a novice operator back in 1977. Some of those halting first steps were a disaster--high swr, no contacts, rf in the shack. You name it, I had it when it came to homebrewed antennas. Perhaps those of you who are recently licensed can understand my frustration when my knowledge fell a little short in the antenna department. Thankfully, there are a variety of books, internet sites, and amateur radio clubs that can help the new operator with antenna questions. But, back in the days when I lived in a fairly isolated location on Hawaii Island, about the only thing I could refer to was the ARRL Antenna Book and my own experimentation. After a while, my antenna notebooks showed some improvement as I finally understood how antennas are built and used. ...