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In reply to <a href="https://hamradiooutsidethebox.ca/2025/03/05/a-quick-and-easy-qrp-emergency-field-antenna/comment-page-1/#comment-1008">alaskamike</a>. Good idea about the 14MHz resonator Mike. Thanks for the feedback.
7.3.2025 17:04Comment on A Quick and Easy QRP Emergency Field Antenna by John VA3KOTI bought a tinytenna a couple of months ago, but really haven’t used it yet. The idea of a resonant tinytenna is awesome! Looking at online calculators, it seems that an 8 foot wire and a T50-43 with 4 turns of wire should resonate around 14MHz – keeping ARA’s antenna size but adding your resonance. I’m hoping to get a change to try it out this weekend. 73, Mike, KL7MJ
7.3.2025 16:55Comment on A Quick and Easy QRP Emergency Field Antenna by alaskamikeIn reply to <a href="https://hamradiooutsidethebox.ca/2025/03/05/a-quick-and-easy-qrp-emergency-field-antenna/comment-page-1/#comment-1006">WB3GCK</a>. A ham can never have too many antennas!
6.3.2025 13:09Comment on A Quick and Easy QRP Emergency Field Antenna by John VA3KOTI'm looking forward to seeing how it works for you. I don't really need an another antenna project, but I think I see one in my future. :-) 73, Craig WB3GCK
6.3.2025 10:57Comment on A Quick and Easy QRP Emergency Field Antenna by WB3GCKIn reply to <a href="https://hamradiooutsidethebox.ca/2025/03/05/a-quick-and-easy-qrp-emergency-field-antenna/comment-page-1/#comment-1004">montybates</a>. That's not a dumb question at all Monty. Yes the radials could be clipped on in the same place as the counterpoise, but I have fitted a banana jack to the BNC bracket so I can simply plug in my radials when needed. The alligator clip for the counterpoise was a temporary arrangement while I was testing the antenna.
5.3.2025 17:37Comment on A Quick and Easy QRP Emergency Field Antenna by John VA3KOT<!-- wp:paragraph --> Would you hook the radials to the same place the counterpoise is attached? Yes, I'm dumb as a rock. <!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --> Thank you <!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --> Monty/KF0GPX <!-- /wp:paragraph -->
5.3.2025 16:25Comment on A Quick and Easy QRP Emergency Field Antenna by montybatesNice one John, I’ll have to give this a try.
Snow drifts On The Air
[…] A Universal Unun? Not so fast! The animosity towards feeding a wire antenna at one of its ends approaches supernova intensity at times. Ham Radio Outside the Box […]
5.3.2025 15:09Comment on A Universal Unun? Not so fast! by Amateur Radio Daily – Hawaii ARRL News[…] I once drove to a park about 45 minutes away from home to do a POTA activation then realized I had left my antenna at home. <<Panic>>. I improvised by digging a 33ft wire out of my pack, cutting it in half and hastily erecting a V-dipole with its ends only about 10ft above the ground. The propagation gods must have been in a benevolent mood that day because I completed the activation and even logged some DX with what was probably the craziest antenna I have ever used. You can read about it here: No Antenna? No Problem! […]
5.3.2025 07:13Comment on No Antenna? No Problem! by A Quick and Easy QRP Emergency Field Antenna – Ham Radio Outside the BoxI once drove to a park about 45 minutes away from home to do a POTA activation then realized I had left my antenna at home. <<Panic>>. I improvised by digging a 33ft wire out of my pack, cutting it in half and hastily erecting a V-dipole with its ends only about 10ft above the … Continue reading A Quick and Easy QRP Emergency Field Antenna
5.3.2025 07:00A Quick and Easy QRP Emergency Field AntennaIn reply to <a href="https://hamradiooutsidethebox.ca/2025/01/23/an-off-center-fed-sleeve-dipole/comment-page-1/#comment-983">Dale WB6BYU</a>. Thanks for the expert correction Dale. BTW, your comment got caught by the spam filter and I just noticed it and "unspammed it". Hopefully that won't happen again. I appreciate your input.
3.3.2025 21:55Comment on An Off-Center Fed Sleeve Dipole by John VA3KOTI have been reading a lot from the “Ban all End-Feds” brigade lately. The animosity towards feeding a wire antenna at one of its ends approaches supernova intensity at times. Some of the opinions expressed are perfectly valid, true and backed up with sound science and math. But some of the denizens of end-fed doom … Continue reading A Universal Unun? Not so fast!
28.2.2025 07:00A Universal Unun? Not so fast!I have had this topic in mind for quite a long time but have hesitated to write about it. Why? Because it is probably one of the most controversial topics in amateur radio. However, at the risk of causing a heated debate, and because I am still snowed in and unable to get out to … Continue reading Are You a Rag Chewer or a “59 73” Operator?
19.2.2025 07:00Are You a Rag Chewer or a “59 73” Operator?The winter takes it all – aka A Brief Break Activity We haven’t had this much winter snow for several years. Every day seems to bring a fresh snowfall to add to the accumulation on the ground. My poor John Deere snowblower is getting a real workout keeping the driveway clear. I live on the … Continue reading Fighting the winter blues with a little radio therapy
13.2.2025 07:00Fighting the winter blues with a little radio therapyThe QRP Labs QMX is a wonder of modern technology. By employing an SDR hardware platform a whole plethora of features can be made available by simply installing new firmware. I absolutely love my QMX. It has become my most used radio for field operations. I grumbled into my beer glass about the long wait … Continue reading How to Really Make the QMX Ready for the Big Blue Sky Shack
6.2.2025 19:11How to Really Make the QMX Ready for the Big Blue Sky ShackIn reply to <a href="https://mastodon.social/@gmoretti/113925282129820142">Giovanni - ZL2GX</a>. <a href="https://mastodon.social/@gmoretti" rel="nofollow ugc">@gmoretti</a> <a href="https://hamradiooutsidethebox.ca/@hamradiooutsidethebox.ca" rel="ugc">@hamradiooutsidethebox.ca</a> My apologies Giovanni. I misinterpreted your description of your antenna as a V-beam. The article by VU3DXR cleared that up. I have seen other antennas, similar to the TEFV, that use terminating resistors to achieve broadband coverage. It's an interesting idea.
1.2.2025 13:47By: va3kotIn reply to <a href="https://hamradiooutsidethebox.ca/2025/01/30/how-can-a-lossy-wire-on-the-ground-work-better-than-a-quarter-wave-vertical-antenna/comment-page-1/#comment-951">John VA3KOT</a>. <a href="https://hamradiooutsidethebox.ca/@hamradiooutsidethebox.ca" rel="ugc">@hamradiooutsidethebox.ca</a> The antenna I built one much the same as the one described here: <a href="https://vu3dxr.in/diy-terminated-end-fed-vee-antenna-tefv/" rel="nofollow ugc">https://vu3dxr.in/diy-terminated-end-fed-vee-antenna-tefv/</a> It's like half a vertical rhombic but my one having a wire length of 25.6m won't have much gain. I also had a ground wire joining the ground pegs at both the feedpoint and the far end. Re gain, I found the TEFV with main lobe to the north from NZ received CB (27.025 and 27.085) from Hawaii more strongly than either of my other antennas. <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/amateurradio" rel="nofollow ugc">#amateurradio</a>
31.1.2025 22:17By: Giovanni - ZL2GXLet’s get real here! If we lay a wire antenna on the ground, surely It can’t radiate more power than that cool-looking, expensive quarter-wave whip you just spent a small fortune to buy? Well, yes it can – but with a few caveats. We can use a trick of geometry to support our claim. Our … Continue reading How Can A Lossy Wire on the Ground Work Better Than A Quarter Wave Vertical Antenna?
30.1.2025 07:00How Can A Lossy Wire on the Ground Work Better Than A Quarter Wave Vertical Antenna?At Ham Radio Outside the Box the urge to experiment is always front and center. Isn’t that what radio amateurs are supposed to do – continuously improve our knowledge and hone our expertise? In the minds of the government departments that give us our spectrum allocations we are a reserve resource of communications expertise to … Continue reading An Off-Center Fed Sleeve Dipole
23.1.2025 07:00An Off-Center Fed Sleeve DipoleImagine this: a short, vertical antenna for 20m that requires no ground, no counterpoise or radials … And … no tuner. Now, let’s add that it is only 14 feet tall and can be erected in just a couple of minutes. But wait, there’s more: it is very lightweight, slips into a shirt pocket and … Continue reading A Top Loaded End-Fed Half-Wave Antenna for 20m
16.1.2025 17:44A Top Loaded End-Fed Half-Wave Antenna for 20mA fierce debate rages on one of the online forums I read. Is an End-Fed Half-Wave (EFHW) truly a multiband antenna? By “multiband” I mean resonant on even harmonics without a tuner. The most vocal posters in that forum keenly disparage these popular antennas despite their popularity. Resonant on every band, earn DXCC in a … Continue reading Is an EFHW Antenna Truly Multiband?
8.1.2025 12:00Is an EFHW Antenna Truly Multiband?Everybody knows That’s how it goes Everybody knows Everybody knows loading coils are lossy so it must be true eh? No need to question what “everybody knows” – unless you think outside the box. Well, that’s the primary mission of this blog so let’s take a look at the proposition that “loading coils are lossy” … Continue reading Loading Coils are Lossy. True or False?
1.1.2025 12:00Loading Coils are Lossy. True or False?In reply to <a href="https://hamradiooutsidethebox.ca/2024/11/20/op-ed-does-making-it-easier-to-get-licensed-really-grow-our-hobby/comment-page-1/#comment-865">John VA3KOT</a>. I'm not as displeased as I might sound. I originally planned to go on as long as I have ideas. But pretty much ANY aspect of our hobby has become broader during the decades, so I could go on for a long time if I wanted to. Doing so would slowly change this from amusing and thought-provoking to boring. I have already argued my case. Finally: A message each day takes time and effort. Unsurprisingly, I do have interesting alternatives into which to invest those two. <a href="https://hamradiooutsidethebox.ca/@hamradiooutsidethebox.ca" rel="ugc">@hamradiooutsidethebox.ca</a>
29.11.2024 08:05By: Andreas, DJ3EI, he/himIn reply to <a href="https://hamradiooutsidethebox.ca/2024/11/20/op-ed-does-making-it-easier-to-get-licensed-really-grow-our-hobby/comment-page-1/#comment-865">John VA3KOT</a>. Thanks! And you, I hope you'll recover fully soon! <a href="https://hamradiooutsidethebox.ca/@hamradiooutsidethebox.ca" rel="ugc">@hamradiooutsidethebox.ca</a>
29.11.2024 07:49By: Andreas, DJ3EI, he/himIn reply to <a href="https://mastodon.radio/@dj3ei/113550626099983248">Andreas, DJ3EI, he/him</a>. That's the basic concept. But call signs occasionally move from one op to another. (E.g., someone else had DJ3EI before I did.) Out of the top of my head, I'd suggest QSL service providers or national IARU member headquarters could add additional certification to signed files claiming "I have seen this file at so-and-so date". Such certification is also part of the solution for the key theft problem. Which requires some more thinking / thread scenario analysis. <a href="https://hamradiooutsidethebox.ca/@hamradiooutsidethebox.ca" rel="ugc">@hamradiooutsidethebox.ca</a>
26.11.2024 19:46By: Andreas, DJ3EI, he/himIn reply to <a href="https://hamradiooutsidethebox.ca/2024/11/20/op-ed-does-making-it-easier-to-get-licensed-really-grow-our-hobby/comment-page-1/#comment-859">John VA3KOT</a>. My dream: Digital decentralized QSL verification. Individual ops generate a key pair each, say, with GPG, claiming a call sign owned.</p> <p>Local ham club officials sign such keys, after license and identity check.</p> <p>National IARU member associations' headquarters sign keys to amplify the local official's signature.</p> <p>Public keys with signatures are published.</p> <p>The op signs ADIF files with their key.</p> <p>Such files are freely exchanged between QSL services.</p> <p><a href="https://hamradiooutsidethebox.ca/@hamradiooutsidethebox.ca" rel="ugc">@hamradiooutsidethebox.ca</a>
26.11.2024 18:17By: Andreas, DJ3EI, he/himIn reply to <a href="https://hamradiooutsidethebox.ca/2024/11/20/op-ed-does-making-it-easier-to-get-licensed-really-grow-our-hobby/comment-page-1/#comment-836">John VA3KOT</a>. <a href="https://mastodon.radio/@M0RKM" rel="nofollow ugc">@M0RKM</a> <a href="https://hamradiooutsidethebox.ca/@hamradiooutsidethebox.ca" rel="ugc">@hamradiooutsidethebox.ca</a> It definitely feels a bit as if the idea that there are people who will get a Foundation licence and never feel the need to "progress" is finally being considered a valid one. And that should be just fine. If you get into the hobby and find a thing you love which you can do with <25W then go for it. Hell, I've had a licence forever and barely ever ran over 10W for anything until a week or two ago when I bought an HF base and provided a decent antenna.
21.11.2024 07:39By: Mike Knell… liked this!
21.11.2024 06:03By: Rik - M0RKM… liked this!
21.11.2024 03:49By: Andreas, DJ3EI, he/himIn reply to <a href="https://hamradiooutsidethebox.ca/2024/11/20/op-ed-does-making-it-easier-to-get-licensed-really-grow-our-hobby/comment-page-1/#comment-836">John VA3KOT</a>. <a href="https://hamradiooutsidethebox.ca/@hamradiooutsidethebox.ca" rel="ugc">@hamradiooutsidethebox.ca</a> It also helps to reduce the elitism among higher licensees (well, among some, I don't think I'm very elitist :) ) by not having certain bands or segments that are "not for you". The bigger problem as a whole seems to be that the US being the US has its own peculiar attitude to amateur radio, almost as if it's there to be a convenience for the state and a good supply of semi-trained people if a war breaks out rather than a hobby dedicated to, to quote the actual purpose of the Amateur Service as defined in the ITU RRs 1.56: "A radiocommunication service for the purpose of self-training,<br />intercommunication and technical investigations carried out by amateurs, that is, by duly authorized<br />persons interested in radio technique solely with a personal aim and without pecuniary interest."
20.11.2024 21:11By: Mike Knell