The MOST IMPORTANT part of your Ham Station is NOT your RIG!

-

 



Over the last few weeks all over the planet Mother Nature has been rearing her ugly head with rounds and rounds of different types of devastating effects of Terrestrial Weather.  For some of us in the Amateur Radio community Space Weather has not been a bed of Roses either.

How does this play into my Amateur Radio operating?  It leads me to an ADAGE most of you may have read about in that the MOST IMPORTANT part of your Ham Radio Station is NOT your RIG. IT IS YOUR ANTENNA.

I've spent the better part of this summer checking all of my antenna for wear and tear, repairing those that needed and putting each one through their paces on my Nano NVA.

Due to unpredictable Terrestrial and Space Weather conditions, my HF operating and Parks on the Air operating have been somewhat diminished during the last few weeks. That has lead me to understand that in the waning period of Solar Cycle 25, I can likely expect the unexpected as we journey on the downside of this cycle. 

As a result I've I've set aside my mono QRP band radios.  I love my QRP Labs QCX minis but recent daily unpredictable HF band conditions limit my band options when conditions change unexpectedly. I've stating using my Yaesu FT-817 and FT-891 due to the multiple HF band options from 80 - 6 meters.


Yaesu FT-817


Yaesu FT-891


 Additionally,  the same holds true for what antenna to take along.  I've been using my Buddipole Deluxe Antenna system a lot lately due to its versatility. 



I've had my Buddipole deluxe for almost 20 years and don't use it as much as I would like to for no other reason than being lazy.  Over the years I've complied a multitude of information of different Buddipole configurations and settings. A hard binder for home use and a soft binder which stays in my Buddipole case. 


 
The contents of both binders contain different setups for dipoles, verticas, L-shaped, V-shaped, Yagi, J-Pole and configurations with Coil Tap settings, Whip lengths, Counterpoise lengths, Mast height, Nano NVA measurements for a wide and varied range of bands and frequencies.



It has been my experience that the 40 meter band can be somewhat finicky when trying to turn in the Buddipole Dipole and Vertical configurations. Since I do a lot of sunrise Parks on the Air activations 40 and 30 meters offer the best HF bands for a successful early morning POTA activation.  Over the years I've experimented and  found settings which allow me to operate on the 40 meter band with much success by using measurements from my Nano NVA .

Buddipole Dipole 40 Meter Configuration



Buddipole Dipole 40 Meters



Buddipole Dipole 40 Meters



Buddipole Vertical 40 Meter Configuration



Buddipole Vertical 40 Meters





Buddipole Vertical 40 Meters

         

You can be sure that as we move away from Solar Cycle 25 maximum and the HF bands continue to be unpredictable,  I'll be using my Buddipole Deluxe antenna system more in different configurations for my portable Ham Radio activities. 
































Location: Louisville, KY, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

What Everyone Else is Reading

"Too Many Antenna? What You Talking About Willis?"

-
Image
Earlier this spring I did a Blog about taking advantage of the warmer temperatures in the U.S. to do antenna maintenance and construction.  One of my plans was to deploy a Kite Antenna. However, weather conditions have presented wind speeds above the Kite's ratings with lots of severe weather days or days with low wind speeds. As a result, I have had to altered those plans. But fear not; that only leads me to build another antenna.  I have a saying about antenna. They are like underwear. You can NEVER have TOO MANY. As I look back over my Ham Radio years I wish I had  built more of my antenna  as a Novice. There is nothing wrong with purchasing commercial made antenna but building your own gives one a better understanding of how that antenna works and quite frankly how antenna work in general.  I have purchased a handful of commercial manufactured ham radio antenna over the years but prefer to build my own when possible. With today's U.S. Ham Radio License struc...
Read more

These 2 Go Together Like Peanut Butter & Jelly. The QRPGuys Mini Tuner & YouKits HB-1B CW Transceiver

-
Image
   In May 2023, I purchased a 40 - 15 meter Mini Tuner Kit from QRPGuys. I didn't get around to assembling it until July 2023 which was likely not the right time for me to be building things.  For me, the summer months are the height of my bicycling and portable ham radio activities. It was an easy simple build less than an hour assembly.  The chart below show the amount of wire needed for 40 - 15 meter.       I had over 500' of 26 AWG wire so that was not an issue. I cut 100' of wire and started the process of building and marking the wire per each band and for the counterpoise.  I cut 72' for the total length to fold back for each band and a 28' counterpoise.  I found this approach very tedious and cumbersome. I spent the better part of two days while doing POTA activations trying to construct a wire to my satisfaction. At the time I found it was taking too much time away from my operating fun and put it all away. Fast forward to May 2...
Read more