Simple Ham Radio Antennas

Most of the " rubber duckie" antennas that come with 2 meter handheld transceivers leave a lot to be desired. You can get better performance out of your HT by either buying a commercially-made telescoping 1/2 wave or 5/8 wave metal rod antenna or by simply adding the missing half of the antenna by attaching a " tiger tail" counterpoise wire to the base of your stock "rubber duckie" antenna. This video does a fairly good job of describing how to make an inexpensive "tiger tail" that helps your "rubbie duckie" antenna perform better. I made one of these "tiger tails" for my old Kenwood TH-21A HT. When I'm in Hilo, Hawaii , I can now reach all East Hawaii repeaters with the low power setting (.1 of a watt) on the old Kenwood HT. I soldered a ring connector to a 19-inch/48.26 cm length of #22 AWG hookup wire and attached the ring to the base of the screw-in "rubber duckie" antenna. With the "tiger

Helpful video by Dave (W0ZF) on how to build a simple portable antenna for the amateur radio bands .  The antenna, whether it be for 20 meters, or some other band , is simple, inexpensive, and easy to build.  I've built several 20 and 40 meter versions following Dave's general example.  All have worked very well with powers in the QRP range (1-10 watts).  I got my speaker wire from Radio Shack , the pole was a telescoping fiberglass fishing pole I found at The Sports Authority , and the nylon string, insulators, and coax I had around the shack.  Although you can get by with just a vertical element and a "counterpoise" wire lying on the ground, you will get better performance if you use several elevated radials below the base of the vertical element.  I have a 40 meter version of Dave's antenna which is erected in the backyard of my one-acre property.  I used a 33-ft/10.06 meters MFJ telescoping fiberglass pole, 32-ft/9.75 meters of #18 gauge speaker wire f

A curiously fascinating "shoot out" between a 135-ft/41.15 meters OCF dipole antenna mounted 40-ft/12.19 meters above ground versus a 31-ft/9.45 meters halfwave vertical sitting on an apartment deck. The empirical "test" of Tony's (W1ZMB) OCF dipole and Stan's (WB2LQF) halfwave vertical shows that the simple vertical halfwave antenna performs almost as well as the OCF. The halfwave vertical has a few advantages over its fully extended OCF dipole cousin: It has a high feed point impedance which makes it efficient; it's simple to build and relatively inexpensive to assemble; it's versatile for both home and portable use; it doesn't require a ground radial system; and it can be used in a variety of configurations--sloper, inverted "L", or horizontal. All you need is a 31 ft/9.45 meters telescoping fiberglass pole (Jackite or MFJ), a homebrewed 9:1 balun, enough wire for a half wavelength vertical at your favorite frequency, a convenien

It's time for a little nostalgia, thanks to the Heathkit AT-1 Amateur Radio Transmitter. Jeff Tranter does an excellent job of explaining how the AT-1 works and demonstrates some of its capabilities. This 3-tube transmitter, coupled with a simple dipole or vertical antenna, gave newly licensed novice operators many hours of enjoyable contacts. The rig was well-shielded and offered fairly good TVI suppression. Once a novice passed the General License Exam, he/she could plug in a VFO and an AM modulator. I've only used an AT-1 once in my 37-year amateur radio "career"-a rig belonging to a fellow amateur operator on Hawaii Island back in 1977. Even in that year, the AT-1 was well out of production, having been originally introduced around 1953. As Jeff warns all would-be restorers, special care must be taken around this rig, since high voltage may be present on the chassis. Tranter recommends removing the old 2-prong cord and replacing it with the 3-prong plug

Here's another great antenna idea for those amateur radio operators limited by HOAs and CC & Rs.  Stan's "stealth antenna" is simple, cheap, and easily deployed for both home and portable use. When I first became a novice licensee back in 1977, I used a similar antenna at a rented home near the Honokaa High School campus. The community was located along the Hamakua Coast of Hawaii Island and had an excellent clear water shot to the mainland United States and Europe. The only difficulty I had in those days was the lack of a decent back yard to support a dipole or a radial system for a vertical antenna. I did have a tall Norfolk Pine Tree in the back yard which I "recruited" to support the end of my random length wire. I used an 85-ft/25.91 meters length of #22 AWG wire for the radiating element and a 17-ft/5.18 meters length of #22 AWG wire for the counterpoise. My crude antenna was a variation of the once popular "Zepp" antenna used on the