I have constructed a QRP 1:1 current choke for a new homebrew 28.4 metre ZS6BKW antenna fed with 11.1 metres of 300 ohm window ladder line. The choke is placed at the end of the 300 ohm cable as a means of reducing common mode current. This choke will be used in combination with an…
This post was inspired by a discussion at the UK SOTA Reflector on a small commercial telescopic pole support (fishing pole support), ideal for lightweight VHF or HF antenna poles. https://reflector.sota.org.uk/t/small-mast-holder-from-decathlon/33238 Project construction time 10 minutes, cost $3.75. My portable lightweight 6m fibreglass telescopic pole is used to support a range of different VHF-UHF antennas;…
Since building a 6m coaxial dipole in January 2016 and later a 2m coaxial dipole in February 2018, I have often thought how a monoband half-wave vertical coaxial dipole would perform on 28 MHz. Summer has arrived in the southern hemisphere, now is an excellent time to construct a 10m half-wave coaxial dipole for the…
This 2m yagi antenna is light on the back-pocket and relatively easy to construct. This project starts with an old VHF TV antenna purchased from a local ‘Green’ recycle depot for $5.00 AUD. The repurposed TV antenna was a Phased Array comprised of two aluminium booms and four elements or eight 1/4 wave elements. Each…
I am constructing a lightweight 40/30/20/17/15m trap style inverted V dipole antenna for SOTA purposes. Can you use an antenna analyser to check the resonant frequency of a HF trap? Yes you can, here is a practical solution. The purpose of this post is to demonstrate how you can use a modern antenna analyser to…
At First use of a ZS6BKW antenna 1 February 2018, I mounted the ZS6BKW antenna on a 10 metre (32.8 feet) telescopic pole. For SOTA purposes the ZS6BKW antenna (enhanced G5RV) is quite versatile allowing operation on 80m through to 6m with the exception of 30 and 15m. With all the benefits invested this antenna,…
Saturday 23 November 2019 – I had planned to participate in the WIA VHF-UHF field day, however the forecast temperature is 33 degrees C (hot) and we have a thick red dust haze (hot northerly winds blow red dust from central Australia) which isn’t good for the respiratory system. So the plan for today is…
Peter VK3YE recently published a 2m rectangular loop antenna article in Amateur Radio Magazine edition 5 (Sep-Oct 19). The feedpoint impedance of the 2m rectangular loop is 50 ohms thus avoiding the need for a 1/4 wave impedance transformer. Are interested in a 6m oblong loop? I have constructed the lightweight 150 gram (5.2 ounces)…
At this link I constructed a 2m lightweight telescopic dipole where the toroid choke is a T37-0 (Tan 0 mix, 50 to 350 Mhz). This version is using a T37-17 (Blue/Yellow 17 mix, 20 to 200 MHz). In addition to the change of balun core, I made the center insulator 5 mm (~1/4 inch) longer…
2m 146 MHz dipole antenna construction project At SOTA – Lightweight Portable 2m – 70cm Dipole Antenna I described the construction of a compact lightweight dipole antenna using commonly available parts, a perfect addition to the emergency 2m Go-box. In that article I used a small section of kitchen cutting board as the mounting block…
Get out of the Radio Shack and Live Life 