A product that would revolutionize ham radio

[Vic Rosenthal]

I am presenting the idea below in the hope that some manufacturer will
embrace it. No royalties will be demanded! :-)

One of the biggest problems facing today's hams contemplating HF
operation is the prohibition of antennas by HOA's, etc. One way of
dealing with this is a with temporary antenna that can be set up only
when operating. But there are lots of compromises -- in efficiency,
flexibility, wasted time -- that this entails.

Many hams also would like to operate from temporary locations --
mountaintops, building roofs, beaches, campsites, cruise ships,
rowboats, etc. There are many approaches to this, but they generally
require setup of several station components which may or may not be
practical, and which takes time that might not be available.

I propose a device that I call a Universal Amateur Station (UAS) that
will make it possible to operate an /effective/ station in the greatest
possible number of environments with an absolute minimum amount of setup.

Picture a folding tripod with a vertical whip on top and a box at the
point where the legs meet the vertical part. The tripod will comprise an
off-center fed vertical antenna, with the legs working against the
vertical part.  The box will contain a transceiver capable of QRP to 100
watts output, internal batteries for 5-watt operation, an automatic
antenna matching device, and a wireless link controller.

I am thinking of a package the size of an airline-approved carry-on. It
should be practical with some ingenuity to make such a thing with an
antenna that can extend to about 17 feet (5m), but it should also be
possible to use in smaller configurations if space isn't available. It
should be easier to set up than the usual tent.

There will also be a control head which will contain a built-in paddle
and microphone.

The HOA-oppressed ham can simply unfold the unit in his backyard, on an
accessible roof, etc. and sit in any comfortable location within range
and operate.

In a hotel? Unfold it on your balcony. Driving around and see a nice
spot? Place it on the roof of the vehicle and connect it to the battery
for a full 100 watts. Camping? Set it up outside your tent or on a
nearby hill. A small notebook computer would be the only accessory
needed for an instant FD station or DXpedition. Of course you would not
need it for casual operation. The possible uses in an emergency can
easily be imagined.

If you have seen the mechanical ingenuity demonstrated by the makers of
camping and hiking gear, you can see that it is possible to make
something like this remarkably small and light.

Why is this better than, for example, a KX3 and Buddipole? For one
thing, there is no feedline or fiddling with the antenna necessary. The
integrated transmitter/tuner/antenna is more efficient. The lack of a
feedline makes it possible to place it on the roof of a building that
you don't own and operate from inside.

--
Vic
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[JHRichards]

Interesting question... although,

I have all that now, with my portable tripod mounted antenna (it can be
configured as either an OCF vertical dipole or as a vertical ground
plane on several bands)  and my transceiver with internal ATU.

The only difference is my kit needs a transmission line - WHICH I WANT
TO KEEP, because that enables me to operate away from the antenna,
keeping RF off the rig, and out of my head.  Remember exposure to high
levels of RF can be dangerous...  A transmission line allows me to
operate from inside my camper, or tent, or under an awning outside the
camper, but out of the sun, or within a park pavilion, while the antenna
resides outside, a safe distance away.    It also allows me to place the
antenna away from the operating position, perhaps at the fringe of the
forest, where it is less conspicuous, and gives substantial flexibility
in setting up a temporary operating position.

My tripod mounted antenna can become either an OCF dipole or ground
plane within a couple of minutes.  I can substitute that for a low
dipole or end-fed half wave or some other design in the same time.

I would NOT want an all in one solution and I want the flexibility in
mixing and matching different antennas with different radios, and would
feel constrained if limited to one, built in radio/antenna product,
where I could not mix and match rigs, antennas, and other components at
will.

Neat idea... but it does not appeal to me.

Thanks for posting something interesting and off the usual trail - it is
a good question, even if it does not appeal tome.  Maybe someone will
make a mint on it!  I like business success stories!

Happy days, OM.

------------------  JHR ----------------------------



On 6/16/2014 2:21 PM, Vic Rosenthal wrote:> I am presenting the idea
below in the hope that some manufacturer will
 > embrace it. No royalties will be demanded! :-)
 >
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[Tony Estep]

On Mon, Jun 16, 2014 at 5:37 PM, K8JHR <[hidden email]> wrote:

> ....I would NOT want an all in one solution....

==========
If some manufacturer thought this was a good idea, I suppose they could do
some market research. One data point would be to survey how many KX3 owners
have rigged theirs up with a whip and made it into a porta-station -- not
many, I suspect. There may be some HF operators who would like such a
thing, but the majority of licensees are Technicians, who have had such a
gadget for more than 40 years. And by the way, the HT did revolutionize ham
radio, in a certain sense. As an HF operator, my preference is to have an
efficient enough antenna to make contacts easy and solid, rather than to be
able to cart it all around in one piece, or strap it to my belt.

Tony KT0NY
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[Phil Hystad-3]

Interesting idea but I can't understand how using coaxial cable for a well matched system be just as effective.  I operate my KX3 (and, before that my KX1) in portable situations with compromise antennas and everything works nicely with today's available resources and products.  I just got myself a Buddistick antenna to play around with.  I have had it for two weeks but haven't had the chance yet to put it into operation but it is just one of a number of good portable antenna situations.

Other pretty descent solutions besides the Buddipole (dipole arrangement) and the new SteppIR CrankIR antenna include just plain wire in the tree or whatever.

All my portable work is QRP but all of these solutions are pretty good for the HOA resident too operating at 100 watts or even higher (although, some of these antennas, such as the Buddistick, are limited in total power handling.

73, phil, K7PEH


On Jun 16, 2014, at 11:21 AM, Vic Rosenthal <[hidden email]> wrote:

> I am presenting the idea below in the hope that some manufacturer will embrace it. No royalties will be demanded! :-)
>
> One of the biggest problems facing today's hams contemplating HF operation is the prohibition of antennas by HOA's, etc. One way of dealing with this is a with temporary antenna that can be set up only when operating. But there are lots of compromises -- in efficiency, flexibility, wasted time -- that this entails.
>
> Many hams also would like to operate from temporary locations -- mountaintops, building roofs, beaches, campsites, cruise ships, rowboats, etc. There are many approaches to this, but they generally require setup of several station components which may or may not be practical, and which takes time that might not be available.
>
> I propose a device that I call a Universal Amateur Station (UAS) that will make it possible to operate an /effective/ station in the greatest possible number of environments with an absolute minimum amount of setup.
>
> Picture a folding tripod with a vertical whip on top and a box at the point where the legs meet the vertical part. The tripod will comprise an off-center fed vertical antenna, with the legs working against the vertical part.  The box will contain a transceiver capable of QRP to 100 watts output, internal batteries for 5-watt operation, an automatic antenna matching device, and a wireless link controller.
>
> I am thinking of a package the size of an airline-approved carry-on. It should be practical with some ingenuity to make such a thing with an antenna that can extend to about 17 feet (5m), but it should also be possible to use in smaller configurations if space isn't available. It should be easier to set up than the usual tent.
>
> There will also be a control head which will contain a built-in paddle and microphone.
>
> The HOA-oppressed ham can simply unfold the unit in his backyard, on an accessible roof, etc. and sit in any comfortable location within range and operate.
>
> In a hotel? Unfold it on your balcony. Driving around and see a nice spot? Place it on the roof of the vehicle and connect it to the battery for a full 100 watts. Camping? Set it up outside your tent or on a nearby hill. A small notebook computer would be the only accessory needed for an instant FD station or DXpedition. Of course you would not need it for casual operation. The possible uses in an emergency can easily be imagined.
>
> If you have seen the mechanical ingenuity demonstrated by the makers of camping and hiking gear, you can see that it is possible to make something like this remarkably small and light.
>
> Why is this better than, for example, a KX3 and Buddipole? For one thing, there is no feedline or fiddling with the antenna necessary. The integrated transmitter/tuner/antenna is more efficient. The lack of a feedline makes it possible to place it on the roof of a building that you don't own and operate from inside.
>
> --
> Vic
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to [hidden email]

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[Bill Frantz]

On 6/16/14 at 6:21 PM, [hidden email] (Tony Estep) wrote:

>I suppose they could do
>some market research. One data point would be to survey how many KX3 owners
>have rigged theirs up with a whip and made it into a porta-station

I admit getting a BNC whip antenna so I can use my KX3 on 6
meters. It can hit the local repeater, but will probably work
better with a counterpose.

73 Bill AE6JV

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