As I began planning my most recent ‘antenna farm’ adventure, the first criteria was set in that any horizontal wire design must cover at least 5 bands, with a native…
The Rabbit Ranch
Tradition long ago established the weather report of one’s QTH as a standard part of an initial QSO. In my intro patter, I often mention that my Ambient Weather WS-2902…
Antenna Farm Plan for My QTH
Antenna systems generally emerge organically–constrained by property boundaries and the position of trees or other elements to elevate them. Fifteen years ago my choice was simple, to stretch along some…
ChatGPT for Antenna Design Advice?
In years past, one of my favorite performers has been the venerable 134′ doublet. While the dipole is easy to construct, some issues and compromises emerge concerning various lengths of…
Is Your Balun Big Enough?
I was going through some old shack photos, and ran across this “Magic Smoke Moment” from 2012. The 4:1 current balun on the left was wound on an FT240-31 ring–I…
The Venerable VTVM
Alright Sherman, it’s time to join Mr. Peabody and “Set the Wayback Machine” for 1970. We have arrived in an average-sized Midwestern town where we will visit two electronics operations—one…
