Simple Ham Radio Antennas

Over the past few posts I've been recounting the joys of erecting antennas with no space restrictions.  On my new property in the Puna District of Hawaii Island, I have an acre of land with few close neighbors and a comfortable distance from the Keaau to Pahoa Highway and all of the power lines following that road. However, for most of my 36 years as an amateur radio operator, I've had to erect compromise antennas because of space limitations, proximity to high voltage power lines, and the eyes of suspicious neighbors.  Most of these antennas worked very well, considering the space restrictions of my rental housing.  One thing I did discover is just how good a basic 1/2 wave length horizontal dipole or inverted v performs when you use a moderate length mast (33 ft/10.06 meters) coupled with 450 ohm feed line, a 4:1 balun, and a decent transmatch.  This combination gives you multiband capability with the design frequency being the lowest band you wish to use. I've also