Simple Ham Radio Antennas

This has been a busy week in the newsroom, with budgetary issues raised by President Barack Obama and Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie dominating the local news.  In short, Hawaii, like many states on the U.S. mainland is defacto bankrupt.  In his state of the state address on 24 January 2011, Governor Aber- crombie vowed to implement a round of tax and fee in- creases to reduce Hawaii's $844 million deficit.  Of course this pales beside the nearly 15 trillion dollar shortfall projected by federal economists.  For amateur radio operators, that means available dollars will buy less of what's available.  It's time to make do with what we have, spend wisely for things we need, and stay out of debt.  I still have that Elecraft K-3 somewhere in the future, but for now, it's time to buckle down and get creative.  The older rigs will just have to run a bit longer and those antenna projects will focus on the home-brew variety.  The operat...

Now that things have calmed a bit after the tragic shooting incident in Tucson, Arizona on 08 January, the news cycle can return to some degree of normalcy. Having covered broadcast news for over 35 years, it never ceases to amaze me how people like this assass- in can just run loose in society without anyone doing a thing about it.  Where was the intervention for this guy who apparently had problems stretching back several years?  No telling how many others like him are milling around in society.  And what about security for our con- gressional representatives?  Just something to think about. All that has transpired during the past week makes me glad I can get away now and then and work off stress by physical exercise and pursuits such as amateur radio.  I'll spend some time this weekend repairing antennas and working some brass on the old J-38 key.  Sometimes, one just has to get away from the disfunctional everyday world and refresh the s...

Now that I've survived New Year's Day, it's ever onward into the news cycle at the radio station news cubicle.  Due to work requirements, I wasn't able to do much on Straight Key Night, but I did fire up the the Icom R-75 receiver in the studio and "read the mail" between news breaks.  The antenna projects slated for the first days of the year are nearly done.  While I'm happy with the  40-meter loop under the house, the 40-meter vertical still needs work. The old MFJ fiberglass mast has been battered by the elements. It needs to be replaced.  I have a jackite pvc mast in the garage that will be standing in the backyard soon.  Hopefully, a spare weekend will be available to install the mast and get a decent ground screen in place.  The old system was a variation of a 33' vertical wire with tuned counterpoise--all this fed with 450- ohm window line.  The setup worked reasonably well and could work bands from 40-10 meters.  No co...

The New Year has arrived.  For those of us in the broadcast news business, it's time to produce our top sports and news stories for the year.  These programs are usually aired as special programs on the weekends.  Once all of that is done, it's time to rough out plans for the year ahead, discard the old files, and review equipment, transmitter, and program logs for any problems.  New Year's Day on Hawaii Island has dawned bright, sunny, and warm, a perfect time to complete the necessary tasks, produce the daily news broadcasts, and get ready for a weekend of amateur radio.  Not a bad mix.  This approach could also apply to our amateur radio activities--clean out the old files, fill out and mail qsl cards (or enter data into the various e-mail qsl programs), repair the antennas, clean up equipment, and straighten out the "junque box".  I doubt if I'll do all of this, but it is a start.  As for those pesky resolutions, I've adopted a...

This has been quite a year, newswise.  The newsroom has indeed been a busy place.  Somehow, we have managed to survive another 365 days despite the best attempts by fanatics, the morally challenged, and the merely dispicable to derail us.  I suppose my slightly down message has been tempered by the course of world events...news people often get that way.  But, thanks to amateur radio, there is temporary relief from all of the nonsense that passes for civilization these days. I've been fortunate to have a roof over my head, a good job, an understanding XYL, and equipment that is paid for.  The all-too brief time I spend at the ole Swan 100-MX or restringing my antenna farm has kept me fairly sane.  I enjoy the challenge of shooting the rf into the ionesphere and seeing where it ends.  I've also begun to enjoy cw again.  I'm not very fast, but I enjoy the commaradie and "rag chews" from cw operators.  I'm hoping to get into the ...

Christmas is almost here.  Things are slowing down a bit in the newsroom--a much appreciated break after Hawaii Island withstood a fierce winter rain storm. The Saddle Road, which is the shortest connection between Hilo and Kailua-Kona, was closed due to flood- ing and runoff.  Many travelers on the island had to divert their itineraries to the longer perimeter roads. Even these highways got thoroughly soaked.  The newsroom was kept busy with all of the traffic alerts and advisories.  Local amateur radio operators stood by just in case emergency communications channels were needed.  Thankfully, the flooding emergency was confined to the evening hours.  State and county crews are still cleaning up the debris and directing motorists around the flooded areas.  With all of this going on, there wasn't much time to "ham it up".  I got home rather late, so I'll make up the hamming later this week.  Christmas Day is a full work ...

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...