So, since this is about Ham Radio, you had to have guessed that there would be talk about various types of antenna. I have a terrible dislike of spending money, so instead of buying my first antenna, I decided to build one instead.
As a newly minted Technician class Ham Radio Operator, the only HF bands that you have voice privileges on is the 10-meter band (28.3MHz - 28.5MHz). You can operate CW on a few lower bands, but since I am still in the process of learning Morse Code (CW), I decided to build an antenna for use where I can talk on voice (using what is called SSB or Single Side Band).
A dipole is a very basic antenna, and very easy to build. Basically, you need some wire, and something to use as a feedline, such as coax or twinlead.
My Parts List:
- 20' of stranded copper wire
- 1 x 3/4" PVC "T" fitting
- 2 x 2" pieces of 3/4" PVC pic as insulators
- 20' of nylon rope
- 100' of 300-Ohm twinlead from Radio Shack
Time to Completion:
- One hour to measure, cut, solder, mess-up, re-do, and finish.
- One additional hour to hang between two trees.
Here is a quick pic:
Once it was up in the air, I connected it to my radio via my tuner, and was talking to California, Idaho, Montana using SSB on 28.4MHz!
That it for this post, hope you enjoyed it!
73,
Richard, KK4JDO
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