Simple Ham Radio Antennas

This short video by M0VST covers most of the basics involved in making an effective longwire antenna, covering the amateur radio bands between 160 to 10 meters . I've built several of these "longwire" antennas and have found that an ATU ( antenna tuner ) and a good counterpoise system really help to produce a quality signal. Unlike M0VST's "longwire antenna", my version was cut to a length of 67-ft/20.42 meters, enough to cover amateur radio bands between 80 and 10 meters. My counterpoise system was a compromise arrangement consisting of four, quarter wave radial wires for each band of use (80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters). I also attached a "quarter wave radial bundle" to the ground lug of my trusty Drake MN-4 ATU. I used approximately 60 ft/18.29 meters of 450 ohm ladder line as the antenna feed line. The ladder line was attached to a W9INN 4:1 balun. A 6-ft/1.82 meters length of RG-8X with UHF connectors ran from the balun to the wi...

I admit it. I tend to procrastinate too much these days, always delaying a simple project because something else gets in the way. But not today. I've been looking for a simple, inexpensive hand-held 2 meter/70 cm yagi satellite antenna for working the SO-50 and other FM radio satellites. With the number of microsats, Cubesats, and edu-sats in orbit these days, there is no excuse for not building your own antenna for these "birds". Most modern handhelds can be used to contact these satellites with a decent antenna. So, following some of the advice given by Dave Tadlock in this video, I decided to collect the necessary materials for this ultra simple antenna. Fortunately, I had most of the materials at the QTH and was lucky enough to have a neighborhood True Value store not far from my home. The antenna works quite well when I can time the passes correctly. At times, my arm gets a bit tired, but that issue can be solved with a camera tripod or some other device...

This historical amateur radio antenna is becoming a bit more popular these days because it delivers modest gain over a horizontal dipole (about 3 dB) and is simple to build. This video by Stan Gibilisco covers all of the basics of this antenna and its construction. While it is perhaps best to use two supporting masts for the antenna, it can work reasonably well configured as an inverted vee. According to Stan, the EDZ antenna is basically "a collinear array of two 5/8 waves in phase." So, each antenna element will be a bit longer than the dipole most of us are accustomed to building. Also, the usual dipole formula, 468/f(MHz), doesn't apply here. After consulting several texts and antenna books, I chose to use the formula 585/f(MHz) for my EDZ Antenna. My last EDZ was cut for 20 meters and it worked very well. This time around, my property is a bit larger and I thought a 40 meter EDZ configured as an inverted vee would fit within my property without being seen by ...

KF7ETX has built an easily assembled portable VHF/UHF antenna system that can be set up most anywhere, from your home to an emergency station in the country. All it requires a painter's pole support mast , three paracord guy ropes , a dual-band 2 meter /70 meter antenna, and some low-loss coaxial cable. I have a similar arrangement at my QTH, where I use a homebrewed 5/8 wavelength 2 meter antenna supported by a 33-ft/10.06 MFJ telescoping fiberglass mast. The mast is secured by clamps on the side of my garage. I feed the antenna with 50-ft/15.24 meters of RG-213 coaxial cable. The mast can also be broken down for portable use. The antenna works very well from my rural location. The antenna used in this video by KF7ETX can be made from locally available materials from the nearest hardware or home improvement outlet. This is a simple, effective antenna that will give you hours of fun at your favorite park, beach, or mountain top. Have fun. Aloha es 73 de KH6JRM.

Here's a curious design for a stealth antenna from Jim Whitaker . The antenna appears to be a type of Off Center Fed Dipole ( OFCD ) capable of working on 40, 20, 15, 10, 6 meters . The antenna functions as a discone for 6 meters, 2 meters, and 70 cm. I've built a few OFCD antennas , but they didn't look like Jim's. You may want to test Jim's idea if your antenna space is limited or discouraged by HOAs and CC&Rs.For the latest Amateur Radio News and Events, please check the blog sidebars. These news feeds are updated daily. Aloha es 73 de Russ (KH6JRM).

Are you dissatisfied with the performance of your HT? Perhaps the cause of your concern is the "rubber duckie" antenna supplied with your radio. Larry Shaunce (WD0AKX) shows how adding a simple counterpoise wire to the base of your HT's antenna can supply the missing half of a dipole antenna. This simple addition can add just enough "push" to hit that distant repeater without resorting to higher power or an amplifier. I tried Larry's idea on my old Kenwood Th-21A FM transceiver. I kept the old "rubber duckie" antenna and added a 19-inch/48.26 cm length of #22 AWG hookup wire as a counterpoise. With this cheap, easily made modification, I was able to hit all of the 2 meter repeaters in the Hilo, Hawaii area with full quieting. This antenna is sometimes called a "Tiger Tail". You can find variations of this antenna on several web sites. Larry's explanation is excellent and down-to-earth. Great video. For the latest Amateur...

Tyler, N7TFP, exlplains how radio waves travel around the world via "skip" or skywave propagation. An informative and useful video. This video would be good to show to people studying for their first amateur radio license. Good job! 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 email subscription or by tapping into the blog RSS feed. Thanks for joining us today! Until next time, Aloha es 73 de Russ (KH6JRM).