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A little fun with some 8awg ground wire and a (surprisingly straight) 1/2 x 3/4" furring strip. Swept well and works great. I call it Jacob's Ladder.

I'm going to start experimenting with GMRS Yagis and so now I'm building my first balun ever. The plan I'm using calls for a 1:1 coax balun using a 1/4 and 3/4 wave sections. Am I correct that I can connect a 50 ohm load across the leads and check impedance on my nanovna and adjust? I went ahead...

Found some 1/4 and 3/8 OD and 1" ID copper tubing. Shined up nice. It'll be my first attempt at a Topfkreis build. Hoping I can get that impedance close.

I'm having a heck of a time with the online moxon calculators and can't get moxgen to install on my old linux system. I'm using insulated solid 14AWG. Thanks in advance.

1/2 over 1/2 over 1/4. Not sure why I had to lengthen the top element but it sure works good. Also bent the radials down a bit to get the impedance right. Hooked it up to my little Retevis RB27 and made it out of our basement to a repeater 13 miles away with multiple structures in the path. I'll...

One thing that's really nice about UHF, the small antennas. Made this little guy the other night. Fun to watch the impedance change with height above ground and nearby objects. VNA sweep is with antenna about six feet above ground outside. Calibrated at the feed point. Able to hit my usual...

Our four children all chipped in and got dad a NanoVNA H4 for Christmas! What a great tool. I tested all of my mobile antennas yesterday and each one needed some fine tuning to get spot on. I calibrated at the feed point so the NanoVNA was only looking at the antenna. I'd never studied Smith...

All I want for Christmas is to move into our new property and get a proper antenna up in the air. Have a great day!

2 hour project. Used 10awg ground wire. Hooked it up to my Retevis RB27 with a 3 ft TNC to PL239 cable. No way to measure SWR but works great and easily hit a repeater I usually have trouble with even with a super smiley telescopic.

Made me cringe a little when I read it. https://shopgoodwill.com/item/181542252

I hate call buttons, especially when they're right under a menu button. A razor blade took care of the little nub that actuates the switch. Stuffed a thin piece of foam behind the PTT button as it's way too easy to accidentally key. Pulled the weight out also. Suits my preferences much better now.

I acquired a TRS Challenger 850 and have determined that the 9.785 crystal in the LSB circuit (X1) is bad. I know very little about these circuits. I'm assuming this is an SSB filter? Anyway, when I tap on it, I get audio on LSB. USB and AM are fine. Solder joints look good. Anyone have one of...

SWR started acting sketchy the last few days. I disassembled the antenna and found the area inside the item circled to be full of corrosion. Only that area. Not sure if moisture got it from the top where the whip enters and ran down or if it got in lower and condensed up in that area. It was a...

Neighbor rang the door bell, said he was thinning out his collection, and handed this to me. He said it's a spare and works fine. Thanks neighbor!

Snatched this off marketplace for $30 last night. All the knobs were a little loose so I pulled them, tightened the pot nuts underneath, and cleaned it up a bit. It's a talker on AM at least. I had a peak inside and it appears original. Still has the DIN mic plug too, yuk. Hopefully conditions...

Figured I'd try this bad boy out for stationary use in the wind. I just extend all top segments and leave the first segment about 1 inch extended, easy to tune. Works great.

Used 14awg wire from an old extension cord, hub and insulators are cut from a couple of old campground signs. Spreaders are from a previous 1/4 wave ground plane project. I cut a section of female acme threaded paint roller handle to use as a nut for the center of the hub. The top post...

“Most of my wandering in the desert I've done alone. Not so much from choice as from necessity - I generally prefer to go into places where no one else wants to go. I find that in contemplating the natural world my pleasure is greater if there are not too many others contemplating it with me, at...

they're so dang long. Is it feasible to cut a whip in half and connect with an appropriate collar for static use? Or use two shorter whips in the same fashion to make a tank whip like those sold in the UK?

Since I usually run a larsen nmo27 I installed an nmo mount. When I mount the Sirio I have to use an adapter. The Tram adapter is pretty narrow and allows the Sirio base to overhang. I don't like that. I don't see any other adapters that appear any wider. Anyone else have this issue or possible...