Simple Ham Radio Antennas

If you can't see the video, please insert this title URL into your browser search box:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeumSDLXBKM .  This is post 2188 in a continuing series of simple ham radio antennas. The annual ARRL Field Day Emergency Communications Exercise is set for the last full weekend in June.  Depending on the outcome of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, you may not be able to join your club or your friends in the "field" this year.  Why not operate (class 1D or 1E) from your home this year? In this video, Tracy of "Outdoors On The Air" shows us how he prepared for a home Field Day station a few years ago.  You could do the same and still enjoy the long distance friendships and competition that this annual event brings without exposing yourself to a viral infection.  Here are some of Tracy's comments: "Can't get out into the "real field" for ham radio Field Day? Maybe you should mount an expedition into your backyard. I...

If you can't see the video, please insert this title URL into your browser search box: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeumSDLXBKM If you can't go to your radio club's field day site, why not set up a "Field Day" mini-expedition in your backyard?  I've faced this issue several times in the past where work precluded any trip to my nearest Field Day site. In this video, Tracy of "Outdoors on the Air" shows us a simple way to join the Field Day adventure right in the backyard of your own home or apartment.  Home-base stations compete in their own category (1-D for use of commercial power and 1-E for emergency power).  Armed with a simple dipole antenna, an antenna transmatch (i.e. "antenna tuner"), a spare HF transceiver, a laptop computer for logging purposes, and a deep-cycle marine battery with solar panels, you're ready to go. Tracy does an excellent job of making the Field Day experience simple and fun.  Why not involve the n...