When it comes to antennas; Nike has the right idea!

Do you remember Nike's slogan "Just Do It"?  There are times when I believe that is good advice for Ham Radio operators.  I meet with a group of local hams a couple of times a week to cuss and discuss Ham Radio.  Several ideas for antenna projects come up, but often get discouraged for various technical reasons.  "The swr will be off the charts" or "this will react with that" or some other discouraging remark on theoretical antenna design.  To listen to most folks; your antenna most be perfect or the sky will open up and you and your radio will be swallowed up by the radio gods.
     Fall is here and I decided before it gets too cold I would like a little more flexible HF antenna for the winter.  I built a homebrew forty meter last fall which served me well but I wanted a few more options this winter.  I became interested in "fan dipoles" also called "multiband single feed dipoles.  After passing the idea around at coffee with the local guys, I got on my trusty pc and searched the internet for more info.  It seemed that for every site I found with plans there were also nay sayers who diligently explained the short comings of such an antenna.  I finally decided to follow Nike's wisdom and just do it.  My goal was to build an antenna run it up the mast and have it work the first time without a bunch of trimming, tuning, and hair pulling. 
     I ran across and article on Ham Universe which led me to a design I think originally created by KC4TAQ.  It used pvc to separate the legs at the feed point to minimize interaction.  I cut the dipole for 40, 20, and 10 meters.  15 will also work because it's a harmonic of 40 meters.  I figured the lengths using the standard calculations and left plenty of extra on the ends to work with.  My last dipole worked fine without the need for a balun but I thought I'd use one this time just to be different.  I made one of those "ugly baluns".  Cheap and effective.  I built the pvc support, measured and cut the legs for each band, wrapped the extra on each leg back on itself making a loop in the end of the wire and tie-wrapped them.  Made my coax feedline to fit from the mast to my upstairs window, and threw it all up in the air.  I checked the resonance of each band and it was as I expected: not perfect but fairly close.  I decided to go ahead and hook it up to the radio and give it a shot.  Keep in mind that I was running into my Icom 735 with the AT-150 automatic tuner.  I wanted to be careful so I backed the power off to about 50 watts dialed in 20 meters and started listening.  I heard an Italy station calling CQ and I'm not kidding you one bit; I forgot all about the 50 watts, answered his cq and bagged IZ1NPT in Fresonara, Italy as my first contact on my homebrew antenna!  It worked so well that I did pull it back down to solder loops in the ends of each leg so I could tie it off permanently and weather proofed it with some liquid electrical tape and gorilla snot around the connections.  I found a gigantic piece of shrink tube to go around the balun and voila!  I was ready for the winter.  I spent the rest of this weekend making contacts on the bands to test it out and it is working beyond my wildest expectations.  Could it be tuned closer to the center of the band? I'm sure it could.  Is it working as efficiently as it could?   Probably not.  But the point is it is working, and working well.

Various pieces of 1/2" pvc used to build the support loop

Completed support complete with "ugly balun"

Finished antenna on the mast at sundown!

    

Antenna's

     Your antenna is probably the most important part of your rig.  A ten-thousand dollar radio with an eight hundred dollar mic won't get you anywhere attached to a crappy antenna.   Generally speaking the best way to improve your performance is to improve your antenna.  This is true for all radios from your handie-talkie to your HF rig.  If you want to get the most out of your radio a good antenna is a must.
     Hand-held radios are generally the new hams first purchase.  They are the least expensive and they're very convenient.  The trade off for portability and compact size is that five watts is about all you are going to get out of most.  A base station uhf/vhf is going to require an antenna in the air and an HF rig is going to require an even bigger (read expensive) antenna.
     Enter the wonderful world of home brew antennas.  With basic soldering skills, an swr meter, and a little wire; you can build an antenna for your transceiver for very little money.  When I first upgraded from Technician my buddy (KD5MZE) and I both bought 10 meter radios from Radio Shack and home brewed a couple of 10 meter dipole antennas.  The satisfaction of building our own antennas was well worth the five bucks or so we spent building them.  We talked all over the world on those antennas and I still have mine stashed away somewhere.  You can get very creative with insulating material and the wire you use.  Often you can find items around the house that you can use.  Yeah, gazillion dollar beams will perform better and you may not win any contests; there is still a lot of operating fun to be had with home brew antenna and a few watts.  There is tons of info on the internet on building antennas and I have no designs that you can't find with a casual search for home brew antennas.  It is easy to find a design to fit your need.  While you may never reach a point where you are comfortable building a radio or working on them, home brew antenna's are a great way to get your feet wet building something on your own.  Did I mention how little they cost? :-)  73

The lost art of the "Rag-chewing" net

     One of the greatest things about amateur radio is it's diversity.  There are so many modes of operation and activities to participate in.  There's something for everyone and it never gets old.  If you ever get tired of one mode there's always something new to try.  Many clubs and other organizations hold nets.  These nets can be for anything from response to emergency communications to passing traffic pertinent to local hams.  For years I have missed checking into a good old rag-chewin' net.  It seems at least in my location; the nets have become rather dry and predictable.  Kind of like going to church.  You do it every week and have the whole ritual memorized.  There is seldom anything new and the nets begin to lose their appeal.  Before too long you feel as though you are checking in more out of duty than enjoyment.

     In the past few months it has been my pleasure to participate in a 2 meter net in Kokomo, Indiana.  The net control operator is either KC9DHG or KB9MDP.  It is an old fashioned rag-chewin' net and everybody is welcome.  All of the gentlemen and ladies involved are exemplary operators.  We meet Monday through Saturday at 00:00 UTC.  We pass it around through the net control operator and everyone talks about anything from their days activities to ongoing amateur radio operations to local or news events.  Although I have never met most of these guys as I live in Lafayette, Indiana; I feel as though I know them.  We have retired guys, farmers, a bee keeper, a musician, city and country folks.  It is a great hour or so of fellowship and I find myself looking forward to checking in as often as I can.  Every ham starts out on the 2 meter band and most hams monitor the local repeaters.  If you don't have a rag-chewing net in your area I highly recommend you take the initiative and begin one.  They are a great way for new hams to get plugged in with other operators.  They are also a great place to find an Elmer.  With our frequencies under constant attack it is good to hear traffic on them.  There are too many repeaters that sit idle, seldom used until a weather event or the weekly club net.  Start or participate in a local net and get Radioactive!  Until next time 73. 

New Ham And The First Radio

     All new hams are faced with the same dilemma.  Deciding on that first rig.  I have come across quite a few articles lately that say the humble Handy Talkie (HT) is a bad choice for a first rig.  The popular wisdom says the limitations and lack of power make it a poor choice.  I beg to differ.  Let's think about this for a moment.
      I know there are exceptions to every rule but most new hams receive their Technician license first, and then spend some time studying and learning to go the next levels.  The primary bands the new ham will be experimenting with will be 2 meter (vhf) and 70 centimeter (uhf). For around $150-170 you can have a brand new self contained radio station that covers two of the amateur radio bands (VHF/UHF).  You can get off cheaper than that if you go with a single band 2 meter radio.  Unless you live in the desert or other sparsely populated area, there is at least one club owned repeater in your area and most likely there are a few.  So right out of the box and about ten hours to recharge that new battery the new ham can be interacting with other hams in the area.  He can learn the etiquette for using the local repeater; get used to using his newly earned call sign; and over come the fear of the microphone that a lot of new hams experience.  Ah...nothing like that first contact.
     It won't be long before you are an old hand on the local repeater and while you may later buy another radio, or two or three; that little handy talkie will never lose its usefulness.  Listening in on severe weather nets when you have to disconnect your outside antennas because of the storm.  Communicating with your buddy who's helping you install your new antenna on your roof or tower.  Monitoring the local repeaters while you're working in the yard or drinking coffee at Starbucks.  There are a gazillion reasons to own a hand held radio.
     There are some challenges to using a handy talkie, but most can be overcome.  My first radio was a Yaesu VX-5r.  It was a little pricier than the category I'm talking about right now.  It was also a tri-bander which included six meters.  It also had a ton of bells and whistles on it that I have never used (yes I still have it).  As I said there are some challenges.  Here is a list of the most common challenges and solutions:
     1. Rx/Tx not as good inside the house - A base antenna on a pushup pole or the roof will do wonders for extending the range of your HT.
     2. Operation time is limited by the battery - Some HT's can be operated on an external power supply.  For those that cannot a second battery charging while the first is being used is a simple fix.
     3. HT gets hot during QSO - an external mic and a cell phone holder for cars mounted on some sort of base will make your HT more stable on your desktop as well as take care of the heat problem.  Also with that outside antenna connected you can likely drop your transmitting by half or more.  That will help with the heat problem.
     4. QSO interfering with wife watching Top Model or other program - a headset with a boom mic cuts out at least half of the conversation :-)
     5. Your external mic, a mag-mount antenna, a cell phone holder, and you have a nifty little mobile rig!  I use mine like this all the time and it works great.  It beats hacking up that new car.
     The bottom line is with a little ingenuity and a few accessories you can make your HT work in almost any environment; portable, mobile, or stationary.  While you will probably eventually buy another VHF/UHF rig, your handy talky will always have a place in your radio arsenal.

Why I began "Ham Radio For the Rest of Us"

Hello all; Ron Reece here (WO9H).  I have thought about blogging for a long time now.  I decided to bite the bullet, jump in, and give it a try.  I have had my Amateur Radio license for several years.  I've even had to renew it once.  Lord knows I didn't want it to expire and have to start over again.  I have tried a little bit of everything, and operated from various QTH's from cliff dwelling (apartment) to a home with a fairly large lot.  I have yet to experience a country QTH with a few acres to plant antennas on but I'm working on it!  I have been discouraged at times by the seemingly endless theories, formulas, and technical information I've had to wade through to do a little of my own experimenting.  Now I don't hold anything against those hams who are electronic geniuses and have forgotten more about electronics than I'll ever know.  In fact I salute them.  They are the trailblazers of the hobby.  But some of us less technically gifted guys would like to dip our toes in a little experimenting and tinkering on a little less complicated plane.  It seems most projects are always to technical or childishly simple.  It also seems that well meaning elmers on the internet and locally often unintentionally talk way over our heads.  After more than ten years of operating, I have found that you don't have to have an electronics/engineering degree to enjoy the hobby.  I have also learned that you don't have to have a huge budget.  We all drool over the mega expensive radios and equipment.  But if you're like me you don't have a money tree growing in the back yard.  I have to make my radio dollars go as far as I can.  I'm always searching for the best bang for the buck.  There are ways to get on the air and operate on a shoe string.  For me, a lot of the fun in this hobby is the ground work involved in getting on the air.  I'm particularly fond of experimenting with antennas.  So as I reflect on what I have learned; and as I continue my adventure in this great hobby, I will share it with you in my blog: "Ham Radio For the Rest of Us".  I hope you enjoy it.