Month: February 2019

Got that shiny new Technician ticket, and you are probably clicking on the checkout button on your Amazon purchase of a BaoFeng or similar HT. You even read the advice of disposing of the stock rubber duck antenna for a Nagoya one which will help quite a bit. But if you really want to be heard, spend about $30 shipped on a roll up 2M/70cm antenna, in the J Pole style. Read about the J Poles for extra credit, and you will start to get an understanding on how weird and wonderful our universe is (spoiler alert, the J Pole is basically an end fed antenna with a direct DC short, except it doesn’t act like a direct short due to the amount of impedance built into the design.)
I chose the N9TAX roll up J Pole, with a ferrite choke on the feed point (keeps unwanted current off the line, a nice touch.)  It is made from ladder line, so pretty tought to start with. I put it on my MFJ 269, and got back a nice flat SWR of 1.1 across all of 2m, and similar on 70cm.
For the quick test, I hung the antenna from a nail near the ceiling, and a short piece of coax to connect my little BF HT to the SO 239 that comes standard, but you can get a N style connector as well.
My local repeater is 13 miles away, N0UGO, and pretty sure it’s up pretty good as far as height. I can hit the repeater with a Nagoya flexible antenna, but its scratchy RX for those listening. With this roll up antenna, I am full strength into the repeater, with full quieting, minus the white noise you get with BaoFengs and other cheaper HTs.
The antenna is well made, lightweight, and would fit into any back pack. You will need to carry a small length of coax, as it is not designed to attach directly to the radio, which I feel is a good thing for adding some counterpoise, and getting some distance for your head and the RF.
For the new ham on a budget inside a apartment or HOA restricted area, it could be a option, as long as you don’t live inside a metal box. You can check out reviews on eHam, and the page for the antenna on these links:

https://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/8499

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Authentic-N9TAX-VHF-UHF-Slim-Jim-J-Pole-Dual-Band-2m-70cm-Antenna-jpole/222236729091?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Well, I left the humidity drenched eastern Nebraska swamps for the Sandhills around North Platte.  Moving always sucks, period.  The bright spot, if you look at it that way, is the chance to make a new QTH.

    A few things that have cropped up.  My power supply now is giving birdies about every two minutes, which when I adjust the noise offset it instantly goes away.  I suspect a ground loop could be happening.  The QTH has no grounds yet, and not even sure how good of a AC ground there actually is.    One thing (behinds humidity) that I don’t have an abundance of here are trees.  One tree that could support a wire about 20′ up is about it.  And lots of sand.  Not sure how many grounds I will need to establish a good ground plane.  Or so I thought.  I decided I am going to put up my old vertical, and an EFHW, which really doesn’t need the grounding a vertical does.  I ventured to Denver to Ham Radio Outlet this past Saturday (the 17th), and picked up a 33′ push up mast, and some copperweld wire to give myself a project for the coming Thanksgiving weekend.  Temperatures are predicted to be in the 50’s, so that should work out well.  I have an acre of land to play with, and have more than enough room for the 134′ length I need to stretch it out. 

   I have met one neighbor, who gave me the ACE of the area.  Apparently, most everyone around me is like minded.  After a discussion about myself, my ham activities came up, and I asked him to let me know if I start interfering with any electronics he has.  He led me over to a grassy area, which hidden among the varioud pieces of scrap metal, was a 50′ crank up tower.  Visions of contest verticals, dipoles, inverted Vs, etc, danced wildly around my mind.  The price will be reasonable, and now to investigate how much concrete I need to stabilize it, guy wires, hectares of radials, etc.   So an important lesson that applies to hams and non hams alike, get to know your neighbors.  Especially those with lots of grassy areas hiding potential treasures.

73,

KG7OTQ