Simple Ham Radio Antennas

If you have trouble viewing this video, please insert this URL into your browser search box:  https://youtu.bedHRSsbpy2aU.  As the ARRL Field Day approaches (27-28 June 2015), many hams will be considering portable operations beyond the confines of "civilization."  You may elect to hike into a national park as the producer of this video, Timmy D., did back in August 2009.  Timmy does a good job of showing how to pack HF gear for a wilderness hike and camping.  His equipment is light and fairly simple: The rig is a Yaesu FT-817ND; the antenna is a homebrewed 20 meter dipole; his powe supply is a "trusty" 9 Ah sealed lead-acid battery (SLA); and his DC cord is an alligator clip lead.  With this simple system, Timmy made many contacts in the eastern part of the United States. You could adapt some of his ideas for a 1E (emergency power) portable station for Field Day.  Good luck!  For the latest Amateur Radio news and events, please check out th...

This excellent video on Phased Array Antennas was submitted to the 2015 Microwave Educational Video Competition.   Mark Hinkle , Jenna Hinkle, and Michael Sinanis have done an outstanding job of explaining how phased array antennas work.  His explanation is simple, accurate, and easy to follow.  The illustrations are pretty interesting, especially the ones using water ripples to explain how phased antennas work in the real world.  This video could be shown to an Amateur Radio Licensing Class as suplementary material.  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 e-mail subscription or by tapping into the blog RSS feed.  If you have trouble viewing this video, please enter this URL in the search box of your browser:  http://youtu.be/vtPPAnvJSbc.  Thanks for joining us today!  Aloha es 73 de Russ (KH6JRM). ...

If you are having trouble viewing this video, please enter the following URL into your browser search box: https://youtu.be/z--MsevN2U.  This is an outstanding video tutorial on the workings of the 10 meter Amateur Radio Band --a swath of frequencies from 28,000 MHz to 29.700 MHz.  Within the broad range of frequencies you can find CW , SSB, AM, FM , digital modes, and HF beacons. Technician Class Amateur Radio operators have SSB privileges from 28.300 MHz to 28.500 MHz, and that segment of the band is often quite busy when propagation is open.  Like many ham opertors, I have a love-hate relationship to 10 meters.  When it's "open", low-power ( QRP ) signals and simple dipole antennas can reach around the world.  When propagation is marginal, you couldn't raise a DX station if you ran a full kilowatt.  Such is the nature of this most peculiar band.  I rather enjoy listening to both newly licensed hams and the "old timers" discussing amateur ra...

Excellent, well-produced video by KB9VBR antennas on the pros and cons of attic antennas.  This video should help those amateur radio operators facing severe HOA and CC&R limitations.  KB9VBR explains how to design and use attic antennas without damaging your property or interfering with electronic systems around your house.  This is part one of a possible continuing series on antennas from KB9VBR.  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 e-mail subscription or by tapping into the blog RSS feed.  Thanks for joining us today!  Aloha es 73 de Russ (KH6JRM). Related articles Field Day demonstrates science, skill and service WX4NHC Reports It's Ready for Hurricane Season Is anyone else experiencing these problems? Neighbors sue Avon over plan for amateur radio tower Simple Ham Radio Bluetooth Interface Liste...

Well-produced video by Randy Hall (K7AGE) on how to use a MFJ 259/MFJ 269 Antenna Analyzer to check your antenna for SWR and resonance.This inexpensive antenna analyzer is a helpful antenna designing tool that will help you build antennas quickly without major problems. If you have trouble viewing this video, please insert this URL into your browser search box: http://youtu.be/jOCG6bFGfuE. 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 e-mail subscription or by tapping into the blog RSS feed. Thanks for joining us today! Aloha es 73 de Russ (KH6JRM).

If you have trouble viewing this video, please enter this URL into your browser search box: https://youtu.be/84F4UgSWmQo. Another great antenna tutorial from Randy Hall (K7AGE).  This time, Randy shows us how to build a simple, cheap, and effective dipole for  the 10 meter amateur radio band .  Technician Class licensees can use a large portion of the 10 meter band for CW , digital, and Phone communications.  In fact, the frequency range from 28.300 MHz to 28.500 MHz is specifically dedicated to Technician Class hams, although that portion of 10 meters is open to all licensed amateur radio operators .  When the band is open, all you need is a basic dipole at a convenient height (16 feet/4.87 meters above ground--just about a half-wavelength at 28.300 MHz) to get some nice contacts. Add some 50 ohm coaxial cable as a feed line, an antenna transmatch ("tuner") to take care of a small SWR mismatch, and around 8.26 feet/2.52 meters of #12 AWG household wir...

If you have trouble viewing this video, please enter this URL into your browser search box: https://youtu.be/wqf758MukHE?list=PL104BF440E9B07EF. Martin (KD8LON) wraps up his three-part introduction to HAM/ Amateur Radio Antennas with a brief discussion of switching power supply problems, natural noise ( QRN ), and man-made interference (QRM). Martin does an excellent job of explaining basic antenna theory , practice, and basic measurements relative to antennas. This series would make an excellent reference source for your personal amateur radio library or for an introductory license course. For the latest Amateur Radio news and events, please check out the blog sidebars.  These news feeds are updated daily.  You can find additional news items at my other news sites:  http://kh6jrm.net and http://paper.li/kh6jrm/1430289353.  You can follow our blog community with a free e-mail subscription or by tapping into the blog RSS feed.  Thanks for joining us toda...