K3

[Phil LaMarche-2]

I'll be vacationing in NC this summer at a nice cottage in the mountains.
Taking my K3, what is the best portable antenna to take with me for that
week.  There are many and I'm sure there are some strong opinions.  Thanks
 
Phil
 

Philip LaMarche
LaMarche Enterprises, Inc.
 <http://www.instantgourmetspices.com/> www.instantgourmetspices.com

www.w9dvm.com <http://www.w9dvm.com/>  
800-395-7795 pin 02
727-944-3226
FAX [phone]
NASFT 30210

K3  #1605

CCA 98  00827
W9DVM


 
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You know, a dipole is pretty good antenna if you have trees.  And if you have some building skills, you could make it so you could add on wire to make a 80 40 30 and 20 meter dipole.  Also, if you want to spend some dollars I like the Force 12 XK40 antennas for 40 through 10 meteres.

Lee
K0WA


The New Kansas QSO Party - August 29, Sat 9am-9pm and August 30 Sun 9am-3pm CDT
More Info at:  http://www.ksqsoparty.org/
 
In our day and age it seems that Common Sense is in short supply.  If you don't have any Common Sense - get some Common Sense and use it.  If you can't find any Common Sense, ask for help from somebody who has some Common Sense.  Is Common Sense divine?

--- On Tue, 3/31/09, Phil LaMarche <[hidden email]> wrote:
From: Phil LaMarche <[hidden email]>
Subject: [Elecraft] K3
To: [hidden email]
Date: Tuesday, March 31, 2009, 2:12 PM

I'll be vacationing in NC this summer at a nice cottage in the mountains.
Taking my K3, what is the best portable antenna to take with me for that
week.  There are many and I'm sure there are some strong opinions.  Thanks
 
Phil
 

Philip LaMarche
LaMarche Enterprises, Inc.
 <http://www.instantgourmetspices.com/> www.instantgourmetspices.com

www.w9dvm.com <http://www.w9dvm.com/>  
800-395-7795 pin 02
727-944-3226
FAX [phone]
NASFT 30210

K3  #1605

CCA 98  00827
W9DVM


 
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[Craig Smith]

If you want to "play antenna" and try different configurations on different
bands, the BuddiPole system is fun and flexible.

If you want to put something up and forget about it, get one or more of the
PAR end-feds for the bands of your choice.  

Of course a regular dipole will also work quite well.

        ... Craig  AC0DS

<> I'll be vacationing in NC this summer at a nice cottage in the mountains.
<> Taking my K3, what is the best portable antenna to take with me for that
<> week.  There are many and I'm sure there are some strong opinions.
Thanks


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[WILLIS COOKE]

Phil, I have had very good luck with a combination inverted vee with a 80 meter and 40 meter dipole antennas fed with one coax.  If you can get a pulley up in a tree 35 to 45 feet up and pull the center up with that.  It does  not work too well on 20, but you could add an insulators in the 80 meter dipole at 48 feet and jumper them with clip leads for 80 and open for 20 it would give you 3/4 wave length on 20.  The antenna will also work on 15 and 10 if you catch openings.  Just tie the ends of the dipoles to trees as high as you can reach so that no one gets clothes lined by your antenna.  The tuner in my K3 works very well if the swr is a bit high.  I usually feed with RG8X which is good for about a KW, certainly for 100 watts.

I also have used an 160 meter inverted L with a 80 meter trap made from 4 in sewer and drain pipe.  I put about 60 ft in the vertical leg and about 55 ft in the "horizontal" leg, but it does not need to be horizontal, it can slope down at almost vertical without changing anything much.  I feed mine against 5 50 ft long wires as a counterpoise.  I have worked all bands, 160, 80, 40, 30, 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10 with it and it works quite well.  

Either of these antennas will work quite well at a fixed station as well as a vacation cottage.

Willis 'Cookie' Cooke
K5EWJ


--- On Tue, 3/31/09, Phil LaMarche <[hidden email]> wrote:

> From: Phil LaMarche <[hidden email]>
> Subject: RE: [Elecraft] K3
> To: [hidden email]
> Date: Tuesday, March 31, 2009, 12:27 PM
> Never been there but a cottage on one acre with plenty of
> trees. Mostly 75
> and 20.
>
>
> Philip LaMarche
> LaMarche Enterprises, Inc.
> www.instantgourmetspices.com
>
> www.w9dvm.com
> 800-395-7795 pin 02
> 727-944-3226
> FAX [phone]
> NASFT 30210
>
> K3  #1605
>
> CCA 98  00827
> W9DVM
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: WILLIS COOKE [mailto:[hidden email]]
> Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2009 3:23 PM
> To: Phil LaMarche
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3
>
>
> What bands do you want to operate?  What advantages or
> constraints do you
> have in the way of trees, supports or restrictions?  Is it
> a single cottage
> in the woods where you can do anything you want? Or is is a
> cottage in a
> group where you have close neighbors to complain?
>
>
> Willis 'Cookie' Cooke
> K5EWJ
>
>
> --- On Tue, 3/31/09, Phil LaMarche
> <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> > From: Phil LaMarche <[hidden email]>
> > Subject: [Elecraft] K3
> > To: [hidden email]
> > Date: Tuesday, March 31, 2009, 12:12 PM
> > I'll be vacationing in NC this summer at a nice
> cottage
> > in the mountains.
> > Taking my K3, what is the best portable antenna to
> take
> > with me for that
> > week.  There are many and I'm sure there are some
> > strong opinions.  Thanks
> >  
> > Phil
> >  
> >
> > Philip LaMarche
> > LaMarche Enterprises, Inc.
> >  <http://www.instantgourmetspices.com/>
> > www.instantgourmetspices.com
> >
> > www.w9dvm.com <http://www.w9dvm.com/>  
> > 800-395-7795 pin 02
> > 727-944-3226
> > FAX [phone]
> > NASFT 30210
> >
> > K3  #1605
> >
> > CCA 98  00827
> > W9DVM
> >
> >
> >  
> >
> ______________________________________________________________
> > 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

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[John W2XS]

Here's what I use with good results:

Portable 40m to 10m Inverted V Antenna used by W2XS

Jackite 31-foot pole and ground mount (or, bungee-cord it to a table or deck railing):

http://www.jackite.com/product_info.php?products_id=132

Coleman camping reel.  Buy 4 of them.  Use two for the antenna wire (I use 33 feet on each side but you can 22 feet and above for 40m to 10m).  Use the other two as ropes to secure the antenna ends to the ground stakes. Walmart, etc., sells these things.

http://www.mysimon.com/9015-11034_8-30962052.html

Two tent stakes to secure the rope ends:

http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?categoryId=7310&storeId=226&catalogId=40000000226

300-ohm twin lead for the feed line.  I bought 50 feet from Radio Shack.

I use a small piece of Plexiglas for the center insulator with a small hole drilled in it.  I use a twist-tie to secure it to the ring on the top section of the pole. I have also used a small PVC pipe coupling section from the local hardware store.

Pole mounting: The Earthworm

http://www.theearthworm.com/

BLT Tuner (or equivalent set up.  I use the K2 internal tuner and a BL1 balun):

http://www.qrpkits.com/norcal_blt.htm

It works very well on 40m to 10m.

73,

John W2XS


<quote author="Phil LaMarche-2">
I'll be vacationing in NC this summer at a nice cottage in the mountains.
Taking my K3, what is the best portable antenna to take with me for that
week.  There are many and I'm sure there are some strong opinions.  Thanks
 
Phil
 

Philip

[Phil Salas]

"I'll be vacationing in NC this summer at a nice cottage in the mountains.
Taking my K3, what is the best portable antenna to take with me for that
week.  There are many and I'm sure there are some strong opinions."

Phil - Check out the 40-10 meter portable dipole in the "Articles" section
of my website at www.ad5x.com.  That's been my favorite portable antenna for
quite awhile.  When I visit my Dad in New MExico, I use the Portable
Vertical (also on my website) as he has no trees or other supports on his
property.

Phil - AD5X

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[Jim Brown-10]

On Wed, 1 Apr 2009 06:10:06 -0500, Phil & Debbie Salas wrote:

>"I'll be vacationing in NC this summer at a nice cottage in the mountains.
>Taking my K3, what is the best portable antenna to take with me for that
>week.  

My "strong opinion" is to "be prepared" for a variety of possible
conditions with some simple solutions. One very useful piece, if you can
transport it, is the DK9SQ 10M long telescoping mast. It's a nine-section
fibreglas mast that comes in a very nice outer tube that's about 42 inches
long. Tape a suitable length of wire to it and you've got half of an
antenna that you stick stick out a window or set up on a patio. The other
half of the antenna is some more wire that you attach to the coax to act as
radials or a counterpoise.

It's also quite helpful to carry several short lengths of small diameter
insulated wire wound on spools. I found a half dozen spools of black #22 at
a hamfest, and they are part of my vacation tool kit. You can launch one or
more of these wires into a tree with a "wrist rocket" (advertised in QST
and on the internet, it's essentially a very short casting rod and reel).

If you're in a building with a steel frame, you can stick that pole or run
that wire out the window and  the building steel as a counterpoise (run a
wire from the radio chassis to the building -- a window frame, or even the
green wire of a power outlet).

My ham club when I lived back in Chicago holds an annual QRP night in a
local park, where members bring a rig and some sort of antenna. I wedged my
DK9SQ pole between the top and seat of a picnic table and strung some wire
radials on the ground. My K2 with tuner loaded it just fine on 30 and 40M,
and I made a half dozen Qs in a little over an hour (including busting a DX
pileup in the Carribean).  

And don't overlook the possibility of hoisting a simple dipole into some
trees with a wrist rocket. Take along a length of RG58, and an SO-239 that
you can attach wires to.

I like these simple wire options a LOT better than loaded whips like mobile
antennas and the Buddy Pole simply because loaded whips are 1) lossy and 2)
very narrow band. When we're running QRP, the last thing we need is loss.

73,

Jim Brown K9YC


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[K7TV]

The HFPACK yahoo group has conducted tests of shortened antennas which seem
to indicate that losses in loaded antennas are quite small when the total
antenna length is at least half the full length. They compared to reference
full-length antennas *at the same height*. As to bandwidth, the automatic
tuner in my KX1 easily takes care of that.

That said, I use both a BuddiPole and wire antennas, and often I prefer the
wires, depending on the situation.

Over Arizona's dry and rocky ground I often prefer horizontal polarization.
For 40m I replace the BuddiPole standard whips by the 6-section optional
whips that measure about 9'4", and I put extra tubing sections between the
center and the loading coils. (For 20 m this configuration is almost full
size.) It does stay up in calm weather on the BuddiPole tripod with the
short mast without guying. But his configuration weights a lot more than a
wire dipole!
For 20 m horizontal polarization, the standard BuddiPole works fine, but
weight still tends to favor wires in an inverted Vee configuration,
particularly if you use a small and light support pole, that may still be
taller than the BuddiPole short mast. (Some of the height advantage is
negated by the use of an inverted Vee vs the straight BuddiPole.) Where
weight is not a consideration I may use my DK9SQ mast for an inverted Vee.
In fact I use two of them in a beam configuration for 40 m. Using a 25 ft
spacing and a reflector plus driven element I get an almost perfect match to
50 ohms. On the other hand a fiberglass pole can be awkward to carry around.
For a recent hiking trip I put the longer BuddiPole configuration easily in
a backpack, worked a JA on 20 m in the afternoon using the KX1 at 2W.

Where soil conditions favor vertical polarization, the BuddiPole can be
configured as a vertical. The counterpoise can be the other half of the
dipole mounted horizontally. However, this configuration is heavy,  poorly
balanced and requires guying. A single wire counterpoise lying on the ground
is better but a little less efficient. Two counterpoise wires stretched in
opposite directions is best. Using wire counterpoises, the BuddiPole
vertical is rather light; and where the soil is relatively conductive I
think this configuration is quite good provided you configure it physically
long enough for the band to be used.

73,
Erik K7TV

Jim Brown wrote:

> I like these simple wire options a LOT better than loaded whips like
> mobile
> antennas and the Buddy Pole simply because loaded whips are 1) lossy and
> 2)
> very narrow band. When we're running QRP, the last thing we need is loss.


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[AC7AC]

CONTENTS DELETED

The author has deleted this message.

[K7TV]

Ron, I agree on all points.

My first antenna was a 40 m dipole with vertical end sections at about 35
ft. Initially I fed it with 300 ribbon cable. Although the antenna was cut
roughly for 40m it was probably a bit off. The SWR would have been a minimum
of roughly 4:1 but with the vertical ends and moderate height I would guess
6:1 or more. I used a home made balanced tuner and an incandecent bulb to
tune for max current. This setup worked, but it worked much better later
after I replaced the ribbon cable with home made ladder line. I guess
because of this experience I have never again bothered to try 300 ribbon
cable in the field. I have used window line in the field, but only for car
camping; I consider it too unwieldy for backpacking. For a 1/4 wavelength
dipole, in a choice between good high-Q loading coils vs window line, I'll
take the loading coils most of the time. However, the very best choice, that
I haven't yet tried, may be widely and haphazardly spaced single wires for
the feeder.

73,
Erik K7TV

> Quite true according to the literature and the antenna simulator programs
> (e.g. EZNEC).
>
> Since height of a horizontal radiator has a huge impact on the ground
> reflection gain, it's not uncommon to find a substantial *increase* in
> signal strength for short-skip operation by shifting to a lower frequency
> band where the antenna is only 1/4 wavelength long.
>
> Actually, such an antenna does not need to use loading coils. The
> difference
> in gain between a center fed radiator 1/2 wavelength long and one only 1/4
> wavelength long is less than 0.1 dB.
>
> Where more losses usually occur is in the feed line and matching network,
> wherever it exists. "Loading" the elements or putting some other sort of
> matching network at the antenna helps provide a low SWR for efficient
> transmission line operation, but if a low-loss line is used the matching
> can
> be done at the rig just as well.
>
> In all cases the losses are almost entirely the resistive losses in the
> conductors, typically the "loading coils" when they're used or in the feed
> line if a high SWR exists. Remember, we're not talking about d-c
> resistance,
> but RF resistance which is typically much, much greater since 'skin
> effect'
> forces all the RF current into the surface of the conductor. Small
> diameter
> conductors have far more loss at RF than their d-c resistance might
> suggest.
> So it's important that largest possible wire in the smallest possible coil
> be used for loading. That's obviously a big trade-off, of course, one that
> Buddipole seems to have handled well.
>
> Ron AC7AC

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[Jim Brown-10]

Eric, K7TV wrote:

>The HFPACK yahoo group has conducted tests of shortened antennas which seem
>to indicate that losses in loaded antennas are quite small when the total
>antenna length is at least half the full length. They compared to reference
>full-length antennas *at the same height*. As to bandwidth, the automatic
>tuner in my KX1 easily takes care of that

I agree. I've used loaded dipoles for both 160M and 80M that are roughly 65%
of full size and found them to work quite well. I've also modelled  both of
these antennas using NEC, using measured values for the coils (both
inductance and resistance). The models show that the efficiency of both
antennas is only about 0.5 dB less than a full size half wave dipole, and an
SWR bandwidth that is less than half that of a full sized half wave dipole.
I can't measure the efficiency, but the SWR behaves like the NEC model. I've
had both antennas in the air at multiple locations, and can run full legal
power into both antennas over all of 160M and 80/75M.

73,

Jim K9YC


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