Simple Ham Radio Antennas

What kind of antenna will you be using during the ARRL Field Day (23-24 June 2012)? If you will celebrate the event by going to a club site on that Saturday and Sunday, you may be using anything from a tribander on a portable tower to phased verticals and everything in between.  One of the enjoyable aspects of Field Day is using antennas that you may never be able to afford or build.  Also, your club may be using state of the art transceivers, solar power, or even wind- generated power for this communications exercise.  One never knows what operating system will present itself when you take your place facing a new rig or a new logging system.  That is part of the thrill associated with Field Day. I will be lucky this year.  The normal 2-day summer drag race set for that day has been shortened to one day, which means my tower announcing duties will be brief.  I will still have time to meet members of the Big Island Amateur Radio Club that Saturday night...

The news day is just about over at KKBG-FM/KHLO-AM.  A truly busy day was had by all.  The arrival of direct United Airlines service to Hawaii Island began Thursday night--an event covered by our radio station.  Hilo hasn't had consistent direct service to Los Angeles and San Franciso since 1983, so this is a big deal for those of us on Hawaii Island.  In the past, those traveling to the U.S. mainland from Hawaii Island had to fly first to Honolulu and get a connection from there--adding more time and delay to the entire process.  I hope the service can continue for a while--our visitor industry needs a boost, now that Japan's troubles have put a real dent in our tourist industry.  For an island that has few industries, any "burp" in visitor arrivals can ripple through our fragile economy.  In years past, we had an extensive sugar and cattle industry, but most of that is gone--a victim to cost and intense foreign competition.  So, anything that ke...

This has been a very busy week at the radio station news room with not much time to pursue amateur radio matters.  With the arrival of the Easter Holiday this past weekend, I was kept busy at the Hilo Drag Strip, where the Big Island Auto Club and the Big Island VW Car Club held a combined points meet and trophied car show.  The turnout was excellent with many exciting events.  The weather was superb and the action was non-stop from gate opening at 0700 to closing at 1830 on Saturday and Sunday.  I am the tower announcer and and work with a dedicated crew of IT folks, spotters, and safety personnel.  Our system is computer intensive, and, even if the arrangement is not exactly ham radio related, the amount of communications equipment and computers used is impressive.  Most of our track communications rely on Family Radio Service frequencies in the 400 mhz range.  The range of the small Handi Talkies is a little over a mile, which is adequate for m...

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...