Antenna Materials & Efficiency
You can not make a very good antenna using insulators like PVC tubing, drinking straws, or nylon rope. I think we can all agree on that. Why? Materials like plastic are electrical insulators, and...
Tagged: Antenna
Antenna Tuners, Impedance Matching, and SWR
Antenna tuners seem to be some of the most misunderstood devices in all of amateur radio. In this article, I’ll try to explain what is happening when you use an antenna tuner. I’ll try...
Alpha Delta Switch Arc-Plugs
I recently bought a couple of Alpha Delta coaxial switches, and noticed they come with a built-in surge arrester which can be replaced after a surge. They call them “Arc-Plugs”. These are on sale...
WSPR Antenna Comparison
Having recently raised a Off-Center Fed Dipole, and figured out how to use WSPR with my FT-991, I thought it would be interesting to compare the OCFD with my 35′ End Fed Wire. Getting...
Antenna Field Regions
Antenna radiation is made up of several different regions. The transitions between these regions are not distinct and changes between them are gradual. The reactive near-field region is the region close to the antenna....