Category: Antennas
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The Random Wire Antenna: Magic Lengths, Lengths to Avoid, and the Right Transformer
A random wire antenna is one of the simplest, cheapest ways onto HF, but the length you cut it matters more than most people realize. Here is what actually makes one work well.
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Trap Dipoles and Verticals: How They Work and Where They Fall Short
Trap antennas promise something genuinely appealing: one antenna, multiple bands, no tuner required. That promise is real, but it comes with tradeoffs that don’t always get mentioned in the sales copy. How a trap actually works A trap is a parallel LC circuit, an inductor and capacitor wired together, inserted into the antenna element at…
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Using the Separate RX Antenna Ports for an External Preamp or Filter
How the Mark II’s separate RX antenna in and out connectors let you add an external preamp or filter without touching the main antenna line.
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Understanding PRB-1 and Local Antenna Ordinances
PRB-1 is the federal rule hams cite constantly when a local ordinance tries to ban antennas outright. It is also frequently misunderstood. Here is what it actually protects, and what it does not.
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Attic and Indoor HF Antennas: What Actually Works
Not everyone has a yard, and not everyone with a yard can put an antenna in it. Attic and fully indoor antennas are the fallback for apartment dwellers and strict HOA situations, and while they’re never going to outperform an outdoor antenna, they genuinely work well enough to get you on the air. What an…
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Full-Size Wire Loop Antennas: Delta and Horizontal Loops for HF
I’ve written about magnetic loops for tight spaces, but full-size wire loops are a completely different animal and they deserve their own writeup. A full-wave loop is simply a wire, roughly one wavelength long on your target band, formed into a closed shape and fed at one point. No magic, just a different geometry than…
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Stealth Antennas for HOA Neighborhoods: What Actually Works
An HOA restriction does not have to mean giving up on a real home HF antenna. It means getting more creative about what a real antenna is allowed to look like. Here is what actually holds up.
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How to Tune a Vertical Whip Antenna for HF
Verticals live and die by their ground system, not just their length. Here’s the actual process for getting a whip resonant on the band you want.
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Loading Coils and Shortened Verticals: The Physics of Compromise Antennas
Screwdriver antennas, mobile whips, and compact verticals all lean on the same trick to fit a low-band antenna into a fraction of its natural length: a loading coil. Understanding what that coil is actually doing helps explain why some shortened antennas perform noticeably better than others of similar size. Why a short antenna needs help…
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Setting Up HF for Mobile Operating: Screwdriver Antennas and Grounding in a Vehicle
Working HF from a moving vehicle is a different game than a fixed station. Here’s what it actually takes to run HF mobile, from screwdriver antennas to grounding it all properly.
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Pairing the IC-7300 Mark II with an External Tuner for Non-Resonant Antennas
When the built-in tuner isn’t enough, and how I pair the IC-7300 Mark II with an external tuner for antennas well outside its matching range.
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Permanent Wire Antenna Installs: Lessons From My Backyard
Everything I built for portable use eventually taught me something different once I tried to leave it up permanently. Here is what actually held up in my own backyard, and what I would do differently.