Simple Ham Radio Antennas

This has been a sad weekend for journalists and news announcers such as I.  The 8.9 magnitude earthquake that devasted eastern Honshu Island, Japan affected the entire Pacific Rim, including Hawaii.  On the Big Island, 2 home were washed into the sea at Napoopoo Village (on the west side) and more than 50 businesses in the Kailu-Kona area suffered damage.  The popular Kailua-Kona pier, which serves as the drop off point for cruise ship visitors was damaged and will be closed pending a full inspection by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. Thankfully, no one was killed or injured seriously.  Damage on Hawaii Island will run into the millions. Most of the station staff spent Thursday night and all day Friday covering the event, since our location was out of the tsunami inundation zone.  All evacuations were carried out smoothly by 0200 Friday time.  During our 12 hours of continuous coverage, we became the focal point for inf...

Nothing like a seven-day work week to make one appreciate a day off.  In the radio business, there are really very few vacations, especially for the one man news departments in small markets like Hilo, Hawaii.  So, following the season opening drag races over the weekend, I find myself doing the regular Monday news shift.  To me, President's Day is just another work day, and the day is filled with all kinds of things to keep the mind busy.  Count your blessings that you do not live in Libya, Bahrain, or Yemen.  Young folks living in those countries have a grim future--no jobs, repressive regimes, and little social mobility.  It's sort of getting dressed for the prom and having no date.  Once the news day is over, I'll complete the required transmitter and computer checks and head for the little piece of paradise I call the "shack".  The oper- ating position is really a small extra bedroom my xyl and I use for storage.  The ...

This has been an exciting week in the radio station news room.  With all the events unfolding in the Middle East and even here in Hawaii, there hasn't been much time to get on the air with the trusty Swan 100-MXA.  I did manage to restring the 40-meter ver- tical and an improved radial system over the past few days.  The old MFJ fiberglass mast has been removed from service.  The combination of salt air, wind, and rain have weakened the pole considerably, so I re- cycled the structure for whatever usable parts I could and repositioned the Jackite mast I bought a few months ago.  I attached 32' of #14 gauge wire for the radiating element and attached 10 radials, varying from 16-32 feet to fit the contour of my postage stamp lot.  I'll add a few more radials in the days ahead.  Presently, the arrangement seems to work well.  My Drake MN-4 ATU (with 1:4 balun) seems to handle the system fairly well. I'm running approxi- mately 2...

Now that the super bowl is over, it's back to what some of us in the news business call the "real world". With things the way they are these days, who's to say what is real anymore?  On one hand ,you have the largest national block party with a truly outstanding game and , on the other hand, you have a nation struggling to climb out of an ever deepening financial black hole.  Surely makes for an exciting year--never a dull minute.  After a full day of reporting everything from riots and revolution to acts of heroism and  pure kindness, I'm ready to call it quits until the next news cycle begins.  The Hawaii Island news week began with a kidnapping on Sunday.  It seems the suspect commited acts of violence against some family members last week and has been on the run from police.  Police were able to find the car in- volved, but, so far, there has been no trace of him or his unlucky victim.  Police say this whacko is possibly armed...

This has been a very busy week in the radio station news room.  The problems in Egypt have gained an importance in Hawaii that we islanders usually don't have.  Several Hawaii residents are trying to get out of Cairo amidst the confusion, violence, and disorder. I hope they make it.  Once this day is done, I'll be glad to put the cares of the Middle East and Hawaii's deficit economy behind me until Saturday morning. Although our economic woes pale beside those of Illinois, California, and New Jersey, the Aloha State is just beginning to cope with a stubborn $844 million shortfall.  Everything is going up now--taxes, fuel, and electricity.  I know, what else is new?  Anyway, it's off to the Swan 100 MX, the ole J-38 key, and the new inverted vee in the backyard.  My yard is quite small, so I had just enough room to squeeze in a 40-meter vee. Fortunately, I had some extra 450-ohm ladder line, so I can use the skyhook from 40 to 10 meters...

I can't believe how fast the Christmas holiday is coming.  Wasn't Thanksgiving just a few weeks ago?  Time seems to quicken with advancing age. As a child, it seemed forever until the holiday season arrived.  Anyway, the season is keeping the newsroom busy--and that's a good thing.  At least I still have a job.  I wish I had it in my power to get those unemployed back to work.  Meanwhile, I'll be able to sandwich in some needed antenna work before the weekend. I will be restringing the vertical this Saturday, since the combination of salt air, rain, and insect damage is destroying the #14 gauge wire attached to the 33' fiberglass mast.  The insulation is slowly degenerating under the tropical sun.  This project has been on the back burner for a few weeks.  Follow- ing the maintenance, I'll work a few hours on the Swan 100-MXA--mostly cleaning pots and blowing the dust off the case.  The circuit boards appear in good shap...

I spent the night at the radio station newsroom because of a winter storm that threatened Hawaii Island.  For- tunately, only minor flooding spoiled the night.  Mauna Kea has a nice layer of snow and local residents can't wait for the summit road to clear, so they can take home some snow for a holiday snowman.  This is the only place where you can gather snow and surf on a sun-blessed beach all at the same time.  Since I was on news alert, there wasn't much time to spend on amateur radio, other than listening to 2-meters on the news room scanner.  I'll remedy that situation once I close up the news room later today.  At least, we got some much needed rain.  Have a good weekend.  Aloha es 73 de KH6JRM.

'Just about time to wrap up the news cycle for today in the KKBG-FM/KHLO-AM newsroom. Then, it's home to the shack for some casual operting before calling it a day. I'm still working on the under the house NVIS loop.  The wire has sagged a bit since I attached it to the undercarriage of the qth.  With 142' of 18-gauge wire, the antenna can work any- thing from 40 to 10 meters.  Admitedly, the arrange- ment works best on 40 meters (mostly local contacts out to about 300 miles).  But, with the 450-ohm feed line, I can get some service on the higher bands.  The backyard vertical is still a work in progress.  It works alright, but a few more counterpoise wires will help deliver a better signal.  Like the NVIS loop, the 33' foot vertical is fed with homebrew twin lead and seems to keep the Drake MN-4 ATU and the old Swan 100- MX happy.  Currently, I'm using a single tuned counter- poise wire.  I've garnered many contacts with...

The arrival of long-awaited rain heralds the approach of winter on Hawaii Island.  For most of us islanders, there are only two seasons--wet (winter, early spring) and dry (summer, early autumn).  This year has been unusually dry, perhaps a legacy of the El-Nino phenom- enon.  Fortunately, the cooler and drier weather has kept tropical storms and hurricanes away from us.  So, one must count the blessings where they are found.  This is a good time for many of us amateur radio operators to repair, rebuild, and redesign the antennas we use to con- nect to the world.  Lately, I've been working with NVIS (near vertical incidence skywave) antennas--basically low- level loops and dipoles that give excellent 1-300 mile coverage.  These high angle radiators are great for local and state-wide nets on 80 and 40 meters.  Several help- ful articles can be found on the internet.  Try a few.  You may find these skyhooks a lot of fun....

Somehow I survived the Thanksgiving holiday.  I didn't eat too much at the neighborhood gathering and managed to squeeze in a few hours of cw to round out Thursday. Presently, I'm holding down the fort at the KKBG-FM/ KHLO-AM news room.  Other than the usual meter readings and daily forms to complete, this appears to be a fairly quiet day.  Following the news shift, I'll head home for some antenna maintenance work.  Although the back- yard 40-meter vertical is working fine, I'm thinking of con- verting the old MFJ fiberglass mast into an inverted vee or a delta loop.  Both antennas have served me well in the past. I have just enough room to squeeze in a 40-10 meter vee (33' on  each side).  With 55' of twin lead, the spare 4:1 balun, and the trusty Drake MN-4 ATU, I'll be ready in no time.  I've also fed this arrangement with coax, which largely restricts the vee to 40 and 15 meters.  Purists will shake their heads at this rou...

As Labor Day winds down, yours truly will be securing the radio station news room and preparing for the coastal drive to the qth in Laupahoehoe.  The weekend was busy, with the usual parades, holiday events, and the drag races at the Hilo Drag Strip.  I'm the tower announcer for the races, an enjoyable diversion from the usual gloom and doom of the news cycle.  When I get back to the shack, I'll finish the Novice Antenna Handbook by the late Lew McCoy.  The book is a useful primer for those of us who want to erect simple, yet effective antennas at minimum cost.  On my postage stamp sized rural lot, I've erected several of his proven designs.  Currently, I'm using an under the house 40-meter loop (great for local nets) and a modified vertical, using one vertical element and one elevated counterpoise. The system is fed with 300-ohm twin lead through a 1:4 balun for 40 to 10 meter coverage.  Nothing fancy, but it does work from my Central ...