Simple Ham Radio Antennas

Zip Cord Antennas--Do They Work? (http://www.w1npp.org/events/2010/2010~F~1/ANTENNAS/WIRE/790303~1.PDF) ( Jerry Hall , K1TD, QST , March 1979, pp-31-32). Author:  Jerry Hall (K1TD).  Republished by W1NPP. Please click title link to read the full article.   ARRL members can locate the article in the "QST" archives. Comment: Amateur radio operators have been using lamp or "zip" cord for decades to make emergency antennas and feed lines.  Zip cord is usually 18 gauge AWG stranded copper wire, although other thicknesses are available.  Zip cord is lightweight, easy to work with, and fairly cheap. There are really two answers to the question posed by Jerry Hall (K1TD). First, as elements for HF wire antennas, such as dipoles, inverted vees, slopers, and verticals, zip cord does an excellent job. The plastic insulation provides some weather protection, and the cord can be "zipped" apart to form two antenna elements with one piece of parallel wire.