The Rybakov: Fishing for DX

In the past few days, I've been looking at building another antenna. My random wire is nice, but it's just not cutting it on the HF bands for DXing. 80 meters is a no-go for DX constantly and while I can get it to tune, it just has too much NVIS propagation. Time for something different, and I may have found the answer.

Balancing the Unbalanced Truth

Today and after many years of operating with an end fed antenna, I have learned that these antennas give off lots and lots of unwanted radiation, also known as common mode currents. So what's the answer? New antenna? More coax, less coax? Read on and I'll hopefully answer these questions!

Antenna Adventure

Hi again!

The end of October is almost here and with it comes winter weather, especially around these parts. A few days ago, I was told North Dakota was in a winter storm warning with 12+" of snowfall expected! Of course, I'm sure Northwest Missouri is next.

Which brings me to today's post - antennas. Currently, I am running a roughly 29' random wire antenna fed with a 9:1 unun around the ceiling of my room. It works, but we recently installed GFCI outlets in another room that trip every time I'm on a band below 15 meters. Obviously, there's too much RF for my house to contain, and the only option now is to put my antenna outside. So strap in, because this will be a thorough and long adventure! Oh, and feel free to correct me in the comments below... I'm still learning.

The Zip Wire/KG6HQD Speaker Wire Antenna

 Do you have some old speaker wire laying around? Don't have an antenna for your QRP or full-power rig? Is the RTTY contest just 2 hours or less away and you're panicking because your antenna broke or is out of commission???

Well, don't worry, because today, we're going to be building the Zip Wire antenna! This antenna has been around for a while and was popularized by KG6HQD (SK). I went back on YouTube and found the video where Jerry builds his antenna and demonstrates it. If you have some speaker wire, one of those balun adapters (like a BNC to screw terminal type), and some extra time, you can get on the air in no time!

Antenna Theory and Math

The first question you might be asking is, "why does this antenna not have any coax?" Well, it's actually quite simple. This antenna is configured in two pieces - the elements and the feedline. The feed line is built into the antenna elements, which acts as a balanced feeder.

For the first equation, we will focus on the elements, which follow the conventional 1/4-wave equation:

234/f

Where f is the frequency in MHz. This will give a final result in feet. For me, my frequency is 14.060, which results in just under 17ft. For now, I'll cut to the nearest foot and trim later.

Now, we'll focus on the feedline. The equation will look like this:

492/f * (vF)

Where f is the frequency in MHz and vF is the velocity factor. A velocity factor is a comparison ratio between a medium and the speed of light. For speaker wire, 0.7 (70%) will work for vF. My equation results in 24.5 feet. In total, I will need 41.5ft of speaker wire.

When you're done, tie a knot at the point where you measured your antenna elements. Start splitting the wire down the center up to the knot. When you've completed this DON'T SPLIT ANY FURTHER! Tie an electrician's knot, as displayed here:

Pull your ends tight, add some insulators to the end, cut your antenna to resonance, and you're done! Just add a screw terminal BNC connector and you're done!

The complete Instructable for this can be found here: https://www.instructables.com/No-Solder-Easy-Speaker-Wire-Dipole/.

I'll post photos later, I've gotten busy again and need to attend to school for a bit now. Until next time, 73s!

At Long Last, The CUB!!! (And how to make a dipole for it!)

 At long last, I have you now, Cub! After 2 or 3 weeks of waiting for it, I'm hoping it will be worth the wait.

In the meantime, I looked over the PDF instructions to see what I was working with. I will need some alignment tools, and some might just be rudimentary. I did manage to find my NanoVNA in a drawer on my workbench, so this week has been good... up until I began running a low grade fever and felt like I was going to pass out at any given moment.

Not sure what happened, but you can all breathe - it was NOT Covid. My guess is that I got overheated at band practice or something else. I'm not quite sure what happened with me, but I'm feeling just a bit better.

How to operate QRP: A partial guide

It's so much fun to operate ham radio when your on about 50W of power. Unfortunately, the cost of a 50W, let alone a 100W transceiver, is astronomical. Luckily, there's a solution: QRP. The world of low-powered radio communication is full of endless possibilities. With activities such as POTA (Parks on the Air), SOTA (Summits on the Air, usually done from a mountaintop), or even QRP clubs, the world of less than 5 watts is limitless. Unfortunately, low power comes with the consequence of low power. Sometimes, you'll fruitlessly call CQ for an hour with no response, or you'll succumb to QRM, or really bad interference. But don't let that scare you away, as QRP can be really fun! It's all part of the challenge.

As a QRPer myself, I like to build radios, and that's where QRP becomes an art and a trade. QRP rigs are often simple to understand, comprising of at least two transistors. The infamous Pixie kit is a fine example of QRP. Simple to build and easy on the pocketbook, this small radio only outputs around 500mW up to a watt with only two transistors. 

So how does one begin to operate a QRP station? In this post, I'll explain a few simple steps to get started.