Category: Antennas
-
Lightweight portable VHF antennas
One of my favourite sites is Martin DK7ZB’s collection of pages detailing the construction of practical antennas for VHF and UHF. I first visited the site following a link to designs for lightweight portable yagis that would be suitable for SOTA VHF activations. Under the link ‘2m/70cm-Yagis ultralight’, Martin describes a number of yagis for 2m and…
-
QRP at Bamarang
Last weekend I had a great time playing radio. Along with half a dozen other families and all our kids we went to spend the Easter weekend at the “mud brick mansion” at Bamarang on the Shoalhaven River, a few km west of Nowra on the south coast of New South Wales. Courtesy of the…
-
Arctic DXpedition
Over the weekend sunspot 1112 erupted and produced a strong solar flare. Now according to space weather sites there’s a 25-35% chance of high latitude auroras on 19-20 October. And right now a group of four Norwegian friends are enjoying their annual DXpedition to Kongsfjord – well and truly in the high latitudes – at 70°43′N 29°21′E at…
-
Homebrew ladder line spacers
It never ceases to amaze me what wisdom is simmering away amongst those email discussion groups I read. Out of the blue today – prompted by mention of a commercial solution on the Elecraft list – came a sequence of brilliant ideas about making effective and easy on the budget ladder line spacers. The commercial spacers from…
-
Fabric antenna
Via Southgate News and MAKE magazine news of a collapsible fabric yagi antenna developed by Diana Eng KC2UHB who has combined two craft skills in a stylish way, electronics and sewing. It’s a design for a Yagi for portable amateur radio satellite operation. Her MAKE magazine article is well-written, comprehensive and brilliantly illustrated. Diana Eng has also…
-
The KGD antenna
Via Julian G4ILO I came across a WSPRnet report from DM1RG on his success with a newly built KGD Antenna from the German site QRP Project. I had actually ordered their other antenna project (a Multiband Fuchs antenna that enables a single 41m wire to operate on all 8 HF bands) a few days ago and earlier tonight revisiting their site I…