Simple Ham Radio Antennas

Here is another one of Dave Casler's (KE0OG) excellent, well-paced tutorials on amateur radio antennas. This time, Dave discusses antenna theory and design basic to passing the FCC Amateur Radio General Class License exam. Dave focuses his attention on Ground-Planes, Random Wires, and Dipoles--all of which can deliver plenty of contacts if they are built correctly. While Dave's advice on coaxial cable feedlines is quite good, I feel the use of balanced feeders (450 ohm ladder line or 300 ohm TV ribbon cable), coupled with a balanced antenna transmatch ("tuner"), will deliver comparable performance at less cost. A 135-foot/41.15 meters doublet (dipole) fed with 450 ohm ladder line or 300 ohm TV ribbon cable connected to a balanced tuner will cover all amateur radio bands between 80 and 10 meters. For the latest Amateur Radio news and events, please check out the blog sidebars. These news feeds are updated daily. You can follow our blog community with a free e...