Simple Ham Radio Antennas

. Here's a very simple, basic NVIS (near vertical incident skywave) antenna for portable or emergency use. Most of the parts can be found in your shack or at the nearest hardware or home improvement outlet. Although there are losses in the system (primarily from the coax), the antenna does well, giving good local coverage out to 200- 300 miles/320 - 480 kilometers, depending on the band for which the antenna was designed. If you want to build a more permanent NVIS antenna for various local or regional nets, I would recommend feeding the antenna with 450-ohm ladder line into a balanced tuner or through a 4:1 balun and then into a "regular" tuner. With this arrangement, you can get multiband coverage with reduced losses and manageable SWR readings. Plans for this antenna can be found here: http://home.centurytel.net/w9wis/NVIS. For the latest in Amateur Radio news and events, please check out the blog sidebars. These news feeds are updated daily. You can follow...

A clear, concise explanation of how a dipole antenna works. This video is good for basic amateur radio classes or for self-study and review. Dan Vanevenhoven (N9LVS) has done an excellent job of unraveling the "secrets" of a simple dipole antenna. 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. Aloha es 73 de Russ (KH6JRM).

NASA opens Cube Quest Challenge for largest-ever prize of $5 million . How would you like to win a share of $5 million? You can if you join a team entered in the NASA CubeSatQuest Challenge. The purpose of the challenge is "to develop new technology that will advance the state of the art of CubeSats and demonstrate their capabilities as viable deep space explorers." For details, visit http://www.nasa.gov/cubequest. This is a golden opportunity to advance the cause of space exploration while at the same time solidifying  your financial future. Good luck! For the latest in Amateur Radio news and events, please checkout 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 . Until next time, Aloha es 73 de Russ (KH6JRM).

An excellent video guide to building, erecting, and maintaining a simple 80-10 meter loop antenna . Lynn (NG9D) covers the basics in a short, well-produced video that can be applied to many home situations. With careful attention to detail and choice of wire, the antenna is fairly stealthy--something of concern to many of us "penned in" by neighbors and nearby buildings. Lynn uses commonly available RG-58 and RG-59 for the feedline. If you can't find two tall supports, try designing the antenna as a delta loop. A tall tree limb or a telescoping fiberglass mast could serve as the apex of the loop. If space is a concern, you could build the loop for 40-10 meter coverage. If you're worried about high SWR on the coax, feed the loop in a bottom corner with 450-ohm ladder line . Run the ladder line to a balanced antenna tuner or to a 4:1 balun. Fifty-ohm coax would then run from the balun to your antenna transmatch (tuner) and onto your rig. Either way, the ...

If you're looking for a basic, simple antenna transmatch ("tuner") for that "long wire" or random length wire connecting your transceiver to the "ether", you've found the right place. Stan Gibilisco (W1CV) provides an easy to understand tutorial on how to build a random wire antenna "tuner" for your QTH or for that portable operation on the weekends. The "tuner" can also work with end-fed half-wave antennas. It's important to have a good ground or radial system with this type of antenna. I built a similar antenna transmatch during my Novice License years (1977-1979) and got a lot of enjoyment and contacts with it. As I recall, I was using a Heathkit HW-101 transceiver attached to a 100-ft/30.48 meters wire strung up in a tall Norfolk Pine Tree. My radial system consisted of an 8-ft/2.43 meters copper ground rod with four, 33-ft/10.06 meters radial wires attached and buried about 1 inch/2.54 cm below the lawn. My feed ...

While this excellent tutorial by N7TFP is aimed at newly licensed General and Amateur Extra Class licensees, it contains valuable refresher material for those of us who've been out of the hobby for a while and need to catch up on some basic principles. Much of the tutorial is spent on explaining the differences between VHF and HF operations, including propagation, antennas, frequencies, and modes available for the new General and Amateur Extra Class license holders. The discussion centers around two popular amateur HF bands--80 and 20 meters. The conversation and discussion of these bands is brief, but unhurried. This would be a nice video for "elmers" (mentors) helping newly licensed amateurs get on the air. For the latest in Amateur Radio news and events, please check out the blog sidebars. These news feeds are updated daily. Aloha es 73 de Russ (KH6JRM).

Great video by Dave Turlock! It's time to recycle those aluminum soft drink cans and turn them into functioning amateur radio antennas. Dave says this antenna can be used on 10 meters, 11 meters (CB), and even the 15 meter amateur radio bands. With the price of copper tubing going higher every day, this economical approach to a metal vertical makes a lot of sense. I would be concerned, however, in making sure the cans were joined together tightly to maintain integrity throughout the length of the antenna. Some of the paint would have to be removed from the joined sections to make sure aluminum met aluminum along the entire length of the vertical. "QST" published a story in the late 1950s about a ham who built a beautiful "beer can" antenna for 40 meters, complete with guylines and an extensive ground system. That antenna worked very well. Although I pride myself in making antennas out of the scrap wire and metal lying about my shack, I've never tried...