I am new to HF and am working on my General license. So I listen for now but do operate on the small piece of 10m that Technicians are alloted. My first antenna build, based on what I have learned from your channel, was a 25' random wire. My second build was a 17.5' random wire for my dad who is in my same boat with a Technician license. Both antennas work on various bands and I am quite happy with them. I did use an Unun and counterpoise on both antennas based on you recommendations.
Great video as always, Walt. I have just built my first Rybakov using the DX Commander pole and LDG 4:1 I got from DXE, and I am eager to put it to work this weekend for field day. So far, the tuner in my little X6100 gets in flat on 40-10. Also, let folks know that when you set up your verticals on the beach, the "salt water amplifier" is REAL! We can't get that down here in the foothills of the Appalachians where I live, but having operated from Navarre Beach, FL once, I can say for sure it is a wonderful thing. K5SFC
I enjoy watching your videos. I’m studying for my Technician license. I’m 65 & just got a AnyTone at-5555 radio. 10 meter is awesome to me & being disabled building a 10 meter antenna seems feasible to me. Love your explanation on how to build one & what I will need.
Walt, you did this from reading the minds of all us new general operators. Really enjoyed the simple approach and especially the clamp on the 64:1 unun I picked up from your hint. I put up a 7M DX commander with 6.69 M wire and have been picking up active contacts all over NA from Northlake, TX. You are doing exactly what we need for common sense operating. I will be back in Louisiana in 10 days and really excited about going to my place on Grand Isle, La and doing the saltwater vertical. Will give you a report when I’m done, maybe a pic or two. Also picked up the fiberglass antenna you have at your house as my place is 12 ft off the ground and then also have a metal roof. Will be standing it up and will likely have to tune the metal tip like you mentioned in your video. Thanks again for your common sense approach and your dedication to doing these videos almost on a daily basis. Your a good man Charlie Brown!!!
Love your videos. I have been doing great with a 55ft wire up a 80ft. tree with a 9 to 1 UNUN from Palamar. 50ft. coax to a Palamar super choke then I run the coax into the shack with an electrical LB and 1in PVC. I have worked 155 countries from near Greenville, SC.
Great video Walt! I've only had my general a few months. My first HF antenna, built on 04/01 was a 17.5' wire velcro strapped to a pole saw handle. I already had a manual tuner, and I've done some tweaking and experimenting, but it's still my only antenna. I've made almost 1000 contacts on this simple setup. It really is that easy to get on the air.
Real easy and effective radials can be had by laying down 2 4x8 foot pieces of aluminum screen. Attach 1 ground lead to each section piece of screen. This is very easy to deploy and pack up. Others have used sheets of Faraday Cloth with similar results
Absolutely correct. Using a Faraday cloth about the same size as the metal insect screen I used to use, with a 17ft vertical whip, 9:1 unun and auto tuner to my FT891 or IC7300, and operating portable on my trips around the Australian outback I have had many 20m SSB contacts with the USA including with Walt. VK4BOB
Hey Walt, I've been studying for the past month or so and am going to take my Technician test tomorrow. Your videos have been educational, entertaining and a great motivator for me as I've been preparing. Thanks a lot and keep it coming! Thank you!
Hola Walt, he visto tu vídeo con traductor a español, no hablo muy bien inglés. Estoy estudiando para conseguir la licencia. Me gusta mucho tu canal, muy interesante👏👏👏. Un saludo desde Valencia 🇪🇸
Going back watching some of your videos Walt, I have made quickie antennas using house wire and wire nuts on the stripped end of the coax (all that was available). Was showing people you don't have to buy an antenna to get on the air. Some of us old timers like getting out in the yard and playing with simple antennas too!
The wire you show early in the video looks like the same wire I use to make snares to catch vermin in my backyard! Home Depot stuff. Once again, my time well spent. I'm basically a new ham since I just got into HF about three months ago. You are showing me the way. KD7LWL
Siempre encantado con su filosofía. Salir al campo y realizar mil pruebas propias,,,,, es lo más divertido y efectivo para aprender lo positivo o lo negativo.👏👏👏
Excellent vid! I’ve had a general class license for a couple of years and still haven’t gotten on HF. I am definitely overthinking, and trying to over perfect a first attempt at making an antenna. As my steel pan tuner said when I asked him how I should learn to improvise, he said: “Go out on stage, sound like s*t for a while, and get better.”
very good Walt. best thing. do not over think it. I start with speaker wire. one thing I learned that cut length of wire can change around. different insulated wire has different villosity factor . like silicone to PTFE to PVC . even the wire diameter can effect the length . and type of soil the ground is on has a big impact . even snow on the ground . usually a good thing , on lower frequency . 73's
I wish I saw this video when I first set out for the "grail" vertical. I ended up (after some experiemntation) with about a 37' vertical wire, qty 10 10 foot radials. Playing with VNA and experimenting I ended up with a 9:1 on it and an LDG600 W remote trans-match/ATU. The feed line is about 60' with the common mode choke 25 feet from the base of the antenna. Tunes up fantastic on 80, 40, 30, 20, 17 and 10. The 9:1 was the magic that opened up the range of bands. The elevation chart probably looks like a porcupine on steroids on 10 but it gets some DX. 40 and 20 really sing DX though, even when the solar was low I was working globally with ease most of the time. I took it down in the spring of '23 for a yard party. I haven't been able to construct something a little shorter that worked quite like it yet. Will probably bring it back to life after the leaves are gone to re-confirm the performance.
@@COASTALWAVESWIRES At the beginning of this year we had Harris Technician for a week, teaching us about field antennas and dealing with just the wire ones made by ourself. Guy was quite experienced. His DIY example ladder antenna was noisy... I mean very noisy ;) We had scheduled comms plan with someone across Poland and we could not establish propper comms. I made vertical without even a pole, just hanging from tree. Well grounded, bit of counterpoise. I had crystal quality voice and digital transfer speed he didn't see for a while. He was literally astonished 😁😆 It was right before I retired and this was one of most proud moments of my service. There was a lot of ppl participating in this training and word has spread quickly. Very high rank officers came to my farewell and named me as The Last Professional Radio Operator in my unit, expressing sadness about losing me from service. I tried to pass my experioence to youngsters but there is no passion :( Tears man, a lot of tears. And all of this thanks to you and others, sharing knowledge. Thank you Walt.
Good video! Just to clarify, the radiating element on verticals is the center conductor on the coax, the braid on the coax gets connected to ground or radials. Love your videos, keep it up! You got me into anyenna building and I have built several of the antennas you have featured. 73 N2SCD
My gates amps do rip holes in the universe. Only when I aim my dish incorrectly wrong direction towards ettae carinae. Sucks when I bounce and create my own Aurora borealis. Thank you walt...from the heart. Loud 73.
Hi Walt. Very nicely explained well done. I'm a retired antenna design engineer and trying to get these points over to the beginner can be a taste. So well done keep it going. Best 73. De HS0ZLQ, G0MIH. Paul in Thailand
One way of adding radials is to buy a cheap inline lightning arrestor add it between your balun/unun and your coax, then attach the radials to the grounding screw on the arrestor. *73 de AF6AS in **_“DM13”_** land*
Thanks for your great videos. I have been following your lead on trying out antennas. I have tried a coastal 20, an EFHW for 40m horizontal NVIS and just started using a Rybakov on a fishing pole. The last two in the last two days. Both tuned very well. However, my first try on both resulted in very high noise S5-6. I thought my setup was bad. I went back to the C 20 and had the same noise. I couldn’t find anything wrong. Later that evening I hooked the Rybakov back up. Worked great, no to little noise. Got up early today and was checking it out again. Connected to several NE QSO parties and experienced good RST, 5/7 to 5/9. Later in the morning made contact with Australia on my G90 - clear as a bell. This evening contacted Portugal - both 5/7. I have yet to retry the EFHW antenna. I spoke with other HAMs in the area and they too experienced the noise. What I learned was that I need to try antennas more than once before coming to conclusions about their performance. I have not checked solar activities for the past few days, but I suspect there was some interference. I am new to HAM and not yet familiar with signal interference symptoms in real time. I enjoy your videos and trying out the antennas too. 👍
Examined the solar flare activity for this past weekend and there was major solar activity that seems to coincide with my noise problem. I also listened to RUclips videos of the noise from such flares and it sounded the same. The horizontal EFHW was much worse than vertical antenna orientation that also indicated flare interference problems. On the flip side, I think my DX on 20m was enhanced on Sunday morning. Contacts to Australia and Portugal were very clear and strong. I was pretty stoked to make these contacts at all. Way to go G90 and Rybakov! KISS works again. I wonder how the progression of flare activity affects RF propagation? The initial contact of the ionizing radiation causes problems, but once passed and the ionosphere gets supercharged, does this help RF for DX?
Great job Walt! As always! 👌 Your movies and adventures are inspiration for many new radiooperators. It's a pleasure to follow channel somebody with great hobby. Keep it up 💪 greetings from 🇵🇱, Łukasz SP5NT
"Rip a hole in the universe". That would be kinda cool, tho' the FCC might frown on the power output for that event... Thanks - great layout for the new operators! 73 Ed KK7SAB
Hi Walt, I love your simple but in-depth explanations and have a question. Here is my situation. I live on a postage stamp city lot with a 35'+ tree with a pulley mounted at its top. Four feet away from the base of the tree is a rusty but intact 42" high chain link fence that circles my yard with a total length of 150 feet with 2 right angles. In theory, if I mount the wire to about 25 feet + 42" fence = 28.5 feet up and use the fence as the radial attached through a 4:1 UNUN( level with the top of the fence), do you think it would radiate properly? I don't live in a HOA but in a major city and this would disappear into its surroundings. Thanks!
BTW, did not see where to pick up the RG8x with the choke in the coax. Could not find it on amazon. Drop a link if you have one on this posting. Thanks
Very educational! One question I’ve had (not an engineer!) is why you might use half-wave versus quarter-wave versus 5/8-wave, etc. And while I know you’ve addressed it before, but when should we use different ratios of transformers?
Thank you! As far as length it's all a matter of takeoff angle and preference. I just did a lengthy explanation of the transformer ratio topic. I'd be typing long reply here to explain it. Please go have a look at that video. 73, Walt
Very helpful to this absolute Newby. Can you provide links for purchasing chokes, ununs and banana plugs? What bands are best for local listening only. No transmit. What bands best for longer range listening? I've got a freshly refurbished Yaesu FT101E that I've owned for years but never powered up. I'm hoping to find instruction on how to listen ONLY and how to properly dial in this complex looking vintage radio. Thanks
Check out the LDG baluns and ununs at DX Engineering. Not much for just local ham listening unless you get a little 2 meter radio and program it for your local repeaters. For long range HF check out the 40 meter band at night and 20 through 10 meters in the day.
25.4mm = 2.54cm = 1 inch. Learn the worldwide metric system and get a tape measure showing metric measurements. To work out any wavelength, just divide 300 by the frequency, easy peasy.
Walt well what can i say brilliant i made my first anntena by watching your vids just amazing great info even i can understand lol well done mate, M7ETK this is the way of the ham.
This is excellent. And a huge help. Quick question: do things (by things I mean the counterpoise wires and arrangement) change if the base of the vertical is off the ground, such as mounted on a fence post?? This is a really helpful video. Much appreciated!
Thanks, I’ve found that as long as you get the counterpoise down to the ground and out that 3 or 4 foot span from the base to the ground really doesn’t matter. 73, Walt
Walt, do you have a video discussing the ferrite beads? Maybe which to use for a choke? I think I understand where I would place them. For example, If I want to use the feedline as part of the ground then I might place them closer to the transceiver. Or, I could isolate the feedline by placing them at the feedpoint. Or I could even place them at both ends of the feedline. But how do we know which to use and how many of them? thanks! KK6IPK.
I just update the firmware. Etcher wouldn’t work so I used Rufus. My question though is I’ve got the radio plug into an external battery but I can’t turn to power up to 10 watts. I remember that the radio would do 5 watts on its internal battery and 10 watts with an external. What am I missing?
@Ron-xn4wf If you're in the USA, you might check with DX Engineering in Ohio & Nevada. I believe their price for the Expedition Pole is $86. I don't know about S/H charges. 73 es DX.
As a new Ham, I enjoy your videos and get a lot out of them. Thanks! Question: can I use the cheap TV coax for ground radials? I know it’s not good for feed line. Wondering if the shielding makes it not good for the radials either. Thanks again.
"If you key the mic you're not gonna rip a hole in The Universe" 😂 That's reassuring, thanks! Btw, I may have already asked this, but do you happen to know the external diameter of the bottom of the DX Commander Classic? Everyone seems to talk about the interior dimensions, but I'd find that info useful ahead of getting one next week and trying out some of your ideas. Thanks for another great vid.
Your videos are encouraging. I have been a ham for about 5 years and I am still lost. I like to have things known before I spend money and seems like ham radio that is impossible. I also enjoy CB and I have a question. Is there a cheap wire antenna you can build that will work on 10 and 11 meters? Thank you for your time.
You can use any 10 meter antenna on 11 with a tuner. Unfortunately it’s a little trickier to make a resonant antenna that will work on both bands with good SWR on both bands. A vertical dipole might be worth a try.
@@COASTALWAVESWIRES Thank you. I got started in all this with a CB about 30 years ago. I still like 11 meters and I had a Antron 99. Once I became a ham things got so complicated with what antenna to use that it became a burden and not fun anymore. My dad died so I moved into my mom's house to take care of her and now have limited space and no trees. People tell you the opposite things so I am trying to embrace your motto of just get a wire in the air. But my goal is to have one very good antenna that is mounted and then play with other ones. Problem is I can not figure out that one to mount. I can get a tall Spiderbeam aluminum mast and do a dipole but then people say it can not be on a metal mast. Others say it can be so who knows who to listen to. I thought about a multi band vertical but then some say those suck and others say they are great. Very hard to know what is right in any of this anymore. I hate to spend money on crap or have to keep messing with something when I only want to come home and use it after a long day at work. I guess CB and ignorance was better!
Im on a sailboat ? Pole would be a rope. Is tinned copper wire ok? Where or how to do counter poise wires? I do have a vhf antenna at the top of the mast 32 ft. Thank you
As an idea, as you mature the audience, maybe even moving to other more complex antennas within the theme--use with big 46' pole from DXE to support longer wire antennas, and also maybe single band wire vertical array. I bet if you did you 20m 1/4 vertical with a passive Director stuck wherever you wanted better gain (your VK targets) itd be more gain, you only need about 10% wavelength spacing. This would open up the ideas more too, EFHW vertical beams are not much in use so playing would be in order. Just some ideas, thanks for your content amd format, BTW Love You ❤️ 😍 💖 ❣️ 💕 the music and how you do it all on your phone. De WO8USA🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Thank you! I actually have wires cut and a plan for a 10 meter vertical with a director, just waiting for better conditions. Thanks for the ideas! The music is my son so I greatly appreciate the compliment! 73, Walt
There are different grades of PVC pipe based on the wall thickness. Try the stuff called "Schedule 40" or even better, "Schedule 80" for the most strength. Don't bother with "Class 125" PVC because of the thin walls.
What would you recommend for a 40m vertical? I have a net I work everyday at 7225 and I have been doing pretty good with my NVIS antenna. But I want to do better for the guys out there 400-600 miles away.
Great video Walt as always, have you ever thought of having a go at using a kite antenna? would make a great video of you with 20 metere of wire in the sky. 73's David 2E0IXK
Hey Walt, Sorry to ask this on a public forum, but I am traveling from Saint Louis to St. Augustine Florida for the scattering of my Dad's ashes. I intend to take a HAM radio with me and an EFHW antenna I have (Probably my 40m) and a pole out to the beach. Have you ever had to get any kind of permit or cordon off the area you're operating at when at a public beach? 73 WB0ZAY
My little gray kitten keeps trying to put her paw in your mouth, so far, she has not figured out there is not a person behind the screen. She is funny. I thought you might enjoy this side of life!
Correction: I had a senior moment and said PL-239 in the video, it’s PL-259 and SO-239.
ive had those
Dang! I never knew that PL was for "plug" and SO was for "socket." I just memorized them without any guiding reference. Thanks Walt! Makes sense!
Same here!
"You're not gonna rip a hole in the universe!" -- love it, Walt! Great video as always!
Scientific Q here. If I rip a hole in the universe, will it be a black hole, and can i control it with wattage or SWR
I am new to HF and am working on my General license. So I listen for now but do operate on the small piece of 10m that Technicians are alloted. My first antenna build, based on what I have learned from your channel, was a 25' random wire. My second build was a 17.5' random wire for my dad who is in my same boat with a Technician license. Both antennas work on various bands and I am quite happy with them. I did use an Unun and counterpoise on both antennas based on you recommendations.
Thank you for posting this video. You've answered so many basic beginner questions!
Another great video for the community! Thanks for what you do, Walt! 73 es DX, Tom.
Thank you so very much! 73, Walt
Great video as always, Walt. I have just built my first Rybakov using the DX Commander pole and LDG 4:1 I got from DXE, and I am eager to put it to work this weekend for field day. So far, the tuner in my little X6100 gets in flat on 40-10. Also, let folks know that when you set up your verticals on the beach, the "salt water amplifier" is REAL! We can't get that down here in the foothills of the Appalachians where I live, but having operated from Navarre Beach, FL once, I can say for sure it is a wonderful thing.
K5SFC
I enjoy watching your videos. I’m studying for my Technician license. I’m 65 & just got a AnyTone at-5555 radio. 10 meter is awesome to me & being disabled building a 10 meter antenna seems feasible to me. Love your explanation on how to build one & what I will need.
Thank you my friend! Good luck and hope to catch you on the air soon!
Walt, it works.. I have 98 confirmed countries on 20 watts and wire antennas. Keep up the great work.
Thank you! 73, Walt
Walt, you did this from reading the minds of all us new general operators. Really enjoyed the simple approach and especially the clamp on the 64:1 unun I picked up from your hint. I put up a 7M DX commander with 6.69 M wire and have been picking up active contacts all over NA from Northlake, TX. You are doing exactly what we need for common sense operating. I will be back in Louisiana in 10 days and really excited about going to my place on Grand Isle, La and doing the saltwater vertical. Will give you a report when I’m done, maybe a pic or two. Also picked up the fiberglass antenna you have at your house as my place is 12 ft off the ground and then also have a metal roof. Will be standing it up and will likely have to tune the metal tip like you mentioned in your video. Thanks again for your common sense approach and your dedication to doing these videos almost on a daily basis. Your a good man Charlie Brown!!!
Nice... I'll. Be traveling to terrebonne parish at end of the month... Planning on operating point-aux-chene WMA hopefully twice.
Thank You Walt!!! This is a perfect and quick lesson for new hams.
Thanks. The more I learn, the more I appreciate your videos.
Love your videos. I have been doing great with a 55ft wire up a 80ft. tree with a 9 to 1 UNUN from Palamar. 50ft. coax to a Palamar super choke then I run the coax into the shack with an electrical LB and 1in PVC. I have worked 155 countries from near Greenville, SC.
Great video Walt!
I've only had my general a few months. My first HF antenna, built on 04/01 was a 17.5' wire velcro strapped to a pole saw handle. I already had a manual tuner, and I've done some tweaking and experimenting, but it's still my only antenna. I've made almost 1000 contacts on this simple setup. It really is that easy to get on the air.
Wow, I have never known what PL and SO mean until today. Thank you. (Why hasn't anyone mentioned that before?)
Real easy and effective radials can be had by laying down 2 4x8 foot pieces of aluminum screen. Attach 1 ground lead to each section piece of screen. This is very easy to deploy and pack up. Others have used sheets of Faraday Cloth with similar results
Absolutely correct. Using a Faraday cloth about the same size as the metal insect screen I used to use, with a 17ft vertical whip, 9:1 unun and auto tuner to my FT891 or IC7300, and operating portable on my trips around the Australian outback I have had many 20m SSB contacts with the USA including with Walt. VK4BOB
Hey Walt, I've been studying for the past month or so and am going to take my Technician test tomorrow. Your videos have been educational, entertaining and a great motivator for me as I've been preparing. Thanks a lot and keep it coming! Thank you!
Go luck tomorrow, you got this!!!!
Hola Walt, he visto tu vídeo con traductor a español, no hablo muy bien inglés. Estoy estudiando para conseguir la licencia. Me gusta mucho tu canal, muy interesante👏👏👏. Un saludo desde Valencia 🇪🇸
Going back watching some of your videos Walt, I have made quickie antennas using house wire and wire nuts on the stripped end of the coax (all that was available). Was showing people you don't have to buy an antenna to get on the air. Some of us old timers like getting out in the yard and playing with simple antennas too!
Thanks, Roger that!
Many thanks, Walt. We need more videos with this type of instruction. Cheers!
Thank you! Cheers
Thanks Walt for keeping things simple
Walt, you have helped me so much. I have built many antennas that you have recommended, and I made many contacts.
Thank you so much.
The wire you show early in the video looks like the same wire I use to make snares to catch vermin in my backyard! Home Depot stuff. Once again, my time well spent. I'm basically a new ham since I just got into HF about three months ago. You are showing me the way. KD7LWL
Siempre encantado con su filosofía.
Salir al campo y realizar mil pruebas propias,,,,, es lo más divertido y efectivo para aprender lo positivo o lo negativo.👏👏👏
Great stuff man!!
I'm close to pulling the trigger! You've been a great help.
Thanks! 73, Walt
Thanks for going down to the basics. Helpful!
Excellent vid! I’ve had a general class license for a couple of years and still haven’t gotten on HF. I am definitely overthinking, and trying to over perfect a first attempt at making an antenna.
As my steel pan tuner said when I asked him how I should learn to improvise, he said:
“Go out on stage, sound like s*t for a while, and get better.”
Thanks! And that is exactly right! 73, Walt
🫵🏻😂
very good Walt. best thing. do not over think it. I start with speaker wire. one thing I learned that cut length of wire can change around. different insulated wire has different villosity factor . like silicone to PTFE to PVC . even the wire diameter can effect the length . and type of soil the ground is on has a big impact . even snow on the ground . usually a good thing , on lower frequency . 73's
Excellent refresher ty ive heard this before . Almost forgot👍
Thanks, just what I needed. New ham and I've not built an antenna yet, and want to do a vertical HR.
I wish I saw this video when I first set out for the "grail" vertical. I ended up (after some experiemntation) with about a 37' vertical wire, qty 10 10 foot radials. Playing with VNA and experimenting I ended up with a 9:1 on it and an LDG600 W remote trans-match/ATU. The feed line is about 60' with the common mode choke 25 feet from the base of the antenna. Tunes up fantastic on 80, 40, 30, 20, 17 and 10. The 9:1 was the magic that opened up the range of bands. The elevation chart probably looks like a porcupine on steroids on 10 but it gets some DX. 40 and 20 really sing DX though, even when the solar was low I was working globally with ease most of the time. I took it down in the spring of '23 for a yard party. I haven't been able to construct something a little shorter that worked quite like it yet. Will probably bring it back to life after the leaves are gone to re-confirm the performance.
Walt, again great video. Thinking of doing a dipole for 10 m then you come out with this video. All I know loving the information, thank you.
Thanks!
Thank you so much for supporting the channel my friend!!
Brilliant tips Walt. Especially about using the Metric system !!! 73, Mike M0MTJ
Most easy to digest piece of antenna knowledge on YT. 73
Wow, thanks! 73, Walt
@@COASTALWAVESWIRES At the beginning of this year we had Harris Technician for a week, teaching us about field antennas and dealing with just the wire ones made by ourself. Guy was quite experienced. His DIY example ladder antenna was noisy... I mean very noisy ;) We had scheduled comms plan with someone across Poland and we could not establish propper comms. I made vertical without even a pole, just hanging from tree. Well grounded, bit of counterpoise. I had crystal quality voice and digital transfer speed he didn't see for a while. He was literally astonished 😁😆 It was right before I retired and this was one of most proud moments of my service. There was a lot of ppl participating in this training and word has spread quickly. Very high rank officers came to my farewell and named me as The Last Professional Radio Operator in my unit, expressing sadness about losing me from service. I tried to pass my experioence to youngsters but there is no passion :(
Tears man, a lot of tears. And all of this thanks to you and others, sharing knowledge.
Thank you Walt.
@@pasjeihobbyHand salute! Great story👍
Ok! Now its time to get out and build another antenna! Walt, you have some serious motivational skills!! Great video!
Walt tks again for another interesting video, I have watched all of them at least once. Keep on building.
Good video! Just to clarify, the radiating element on verticals is the center conductor on the coax, the braid on the coax gets connected to ground or radials. Love your videos, keep it up! You got me into anyenna building and I have built several of the antennas you have featured. 73 N2SCD
Thanks! Yes that is correct. 73, Walt
no holes in the universe , great information thanks
This is antenna college, learn so much from Walt, have helped so many with so much, thank you!
Thanks so much, great information, looking forward to getting out on the hilltop and building my first vertical..👍
My gates amps do rip holes in the universe. Only when I aim my dish incorrectly wrong direction towards ettae carinae. Sucks when I bounce and create my own Aurora borealis. Thank you walt...from the heart. Loud 73.
hahaha that's awesome! 73, Walt
Hi Walt. Very nicely explained well done. I'm a retired antenna design engineer and trying to get these points over to the beginner can be a taste.
So well done keep it going.
Best 73.
De HS0ZLQ, G0MIH.
Paul in Thailand
Thank you! 73, Walt
Along the shore
You'll find him here
He's always on the go
With mic in hand
On the 20 meter band
It's K4OGO! 😃
Very informative video Walt.
One way of adding radials is to buy a cheap inline lightning arrestor add it between your balun/unun and your coax, then attach the radials to the grounding screw on the arrestor.
*73 de AF6AS in **_“DM13”_** land*
Interesting, thanks
Try putting a 9:1 transformer at the base of the JPC-7 and change the whip to a 5.2 m whip, work wonders
Key the mic your not going to rip a hole in the universe 🤣🤣
Another great and informative video Walt. 73.
Walt,loved this video!!!! Helped loads.thankyou
Thank you!! 73, Walt
Thanks for your great videos. I have been following your lead on trying out antennas. I have tried a coastal 20, an EFHW for 40m horizontal NVIS and just started using a Rybakov on a fishing pole. The last two in the last two days. Both tuned very well. However, my first try on both resulted in very high noise S5-6. I thought my setup was bad. I went back to the C 20 and had the same noise. I couldn’t find anything wrong. Later that evening I hooked the Rybakov back up. Worked great, no to little noise. Got up early today and was checking it out again. Connected to several NE QSO parties and experienced good RST, 5/7 to 5/9. Later in the morning made contact with Australia on my G90 - clear as a bell. This evening contacted Portugal - both 5/7. I have yet to retry the EFHW antenna. I spoke with other HAMs in the area and they too experienced the noise. What I learned was that I need to try antennas more than once before coming to conclusions about their performance. I have not checked solar activities for the past few days, but I suspect there was some interference. I am new to HAM and not yet familiar with signal interference symptoms in real time. I enjoy your videos and trying out the antennas too. 👍
Solar activity has been extremely high lately. That probably isn't helping. 73, Waly
Examined the solar flare activity for this past weekend and there was major solar activity that seems to coincide with my noise problem. I also listened to RUclips videos of the noise from such flares and it sounded the same. The horizontal EFHW was much worse than vertical antenna orientation that also indicated flare interference problems. On the flip side, I think my DX on 20m was enhanced on Sunday morning. Contacts to Australia and Portugal were very clear and strong. I was pretty stoked to make these contacts at all. Way to go G90 and Rybakov! KISS works again. I wonder how the progression of flare activity affects RF propagation? The initial contact of the ionizing radiation causes problems, but once passed and the ionosphere gets supercharged, does this help RF for DX?
Great job Walt! As always! 👌 Your movies and adventures are inspiration for many new radiooperators. It's a pleasure to follow channel somebody with great hobby. Keep it up 💪 greetings from 🇵🇱, Łukasz SP5NT
Love your videos Walt. I sometimes use the spider washing line tube in my garden as a pole mount!
Thanks for the video Walt. A lot of great information.
"Rip a hole in the universe". That would be kinda cool, tho' the FCC might frown on the power output for that event... Thanks - great layout for the new operators! 73 Ed KK7SAB
I love to see a pdf or even a book to buy of all your drawings.
I’m working on it!
@@COASTALWAVESWIRES Don't forget to put the PL-239 in it. Ooooops....sorry! 😮
@@KeystoneInvestigations hahaha yeah I had a senior moment there and didn’t catch it when I reviewed the video
Elmer on brother! Love what you do!
Great and informative as usual, thanks for the video!
Thanks for the new antenna to build info!
Hi Walt, I love your simple but in-depth explanations and have a question. Here is my situation. I live on a postage stamp city lot with a 35'+ tree with a pulley mounted at its top. Four feet away from the base of the tree is a rusty but intact 42" high chain link fence that circles my yard with a total length of 150 feet with 2 right angles. In theory, if I mount the wire to about 25 feet + 42" fence = 28.5 feet up and use the fence as the radial attached through a 4:1 UNUN( level with the top of the fence), do you think it would radiate properly?
I don't live in a HOA but in a major city and this would disappear into its surroundings. Thanks!
I actually think that would work well. Give it a shot!
@@COASTALWAVESWIRES Thanks, I will and let you know the results.
Great video for beginners
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 more for dummies, please
BTW, did not see where to pick up the RG8x with the choke in the coax. Could not find it on amazon. Drop a link if you have one on this posting. Thanks
Here you go:
chameleonantenna.com/shop-here/ols/products/cha-50-coax-with-integrated-rfi-choke
Launching RUclips to find a new video is like Christmas
True 😁
Thank you for this video. Very informative and helpful.
Thanks for watching! 73, Walt
U look right at home with that world map behind you :)
Walt Thanks! Exactly my speed at this point. I appreciated this! N4STS
I'm very new to this and also had a question? If I use more adapters and converters for my antenna do I introduce more noise to my radio?
Not really, I use them frequently and don’t have any issues
@@COASTALWAVESWIRESRoger that.
Thank you!
San Antonio, TX
You have proved that not all "doers" can be teachers.
Very educational! One question I’ve had (not an engineer!) is why you might use half-wave versus quarter-wave versus 5/8-wave, etc. And while I know you’ve addressed it before, but when should we use different ratios of transformers?
Thank you! As far as length it's all a matter of takeoff angle and preference. I just did a lengthy explanation of the transformer ratio topic. I'd be typing long reply here to explain it. Please go have a look at that video. 73, Walt
Very helpful to this absolute Newby. Can you provide links for purchasing chokes, ununs and banana plugs?
What bands are best for local listening only. No transmit.
What bands best for longer range listening?
I've got a freshly refurbished Yaesu FT101E that I've owned for years but never powered up.
I'm hoping to find instruction on how to listen ONLY and how to properly dial in this complex looking vintage radio.
Thanks
Check out the LDG baluns and ununs at DX Engineering. Not much for just local ham listening unless you get a little 2 meter radio and program it for your local repeaters. For long range HF check out the 40 meter band at night and 20 through 10 meters in the day.
Great video Walt. A question is working with MM how many points after the decimal do you use or a rule of thumb to go by?
25.4mm = 2.54cm = 1 inch. Learn the worldwide metric system and get a tape measure showing metric measurements. To work out any wavelength, just divide 300 by the frequency, easy peasy.
I just go to millimeters. So 5.01 meters is 5010 millimeters on the tape
Walt well what can i say brilliant i made my first anntena by watching your vids just amazing great info even i can understand lol well done mate, M7ETK this is the way of the ham.
Thank you my friend!! 73, Walt
This is excellent. And a huge help. Quick question: do things (by things I mean the counterpoise wires and arrangement) change if the base of the vertical is off the ground, such as mounted on a fence post??
This is a really helpful video. Much appreciated!
Thanks, I’ve found that as long as you get the counterpoise down to the ground and out that 3 or 4 foot span from the base to the ground really doesn’t matter. 73, Walt
Thanks Walt! This is Great Stuff!!
Can I use a metal roof for a counter poise
Yes! That’s exactly what I do for my home antenna
Thanks Walt!
Super helpful - thanks!
can you share the link for the online antenna calculator? DV1K 73
It’s in the Apple and Android app stores as “Antenna Tool”
Gr8 video. Thanks. Question: Where did you get the Wall Map behind you from? Love it.
Walt, do you have a video discussing the ferrite beads? Maybe which to use for a choke? I think I understand where I would place them. For example, If I want to use the feedline as part of the ground then I might place them closer to the transceiver. Or, I could isolate the feedline by placing them at the feedpoint. Or I could even place them at both ends of the feedline.
But how do we know which to use and how many of them? thanks! KK6IPK.
Love your videos, keep em up.
I just update the firmware. Etcher wouldn’t work so I used Rufus. My question though is I’ve got the radio plug into an external battery but I can’t turn to power up to 10 watts. I remember that the radio would do 5 watts on its internal battery and 10 watts with an external. What am I missing?
Where can I buy the DXCommander 10 meter pole ?
Here’s the one I have:
dxcommander.com/product/10m-expedition-pole-dx-commander/
@Ron-xn4wf If you're in the USA, you might check with DX Engineering in Ohio & Nevada. I believe their price for the Expedition Pole is $86. I don't know about S/H charges. 73 es DX.
As a new Ham, I enjoy your videos and get a lot out of them. Thanks! Question: can I use the cheap TV coax for ground radials? I know it’s not good for feed line. Wondering if the shielding makes it not good for the radials either. Thanks again.
Thank you Professor Walt. Next lesson please describe how to get rid of all the scrap wire I have created lol. 73 M7BLC
Could repurpose as radials...
Ground radials
"If you key the mic you're not gonna rip a hole in The Universe" 😂 That's reassuring, thanks! Btw, I may have already asked this, but do you happen to know the external diameter of the bottom of the DX Commander Classic? Everyone seems to talk about the interior dimensions, but I'd find that info useful ahead of getting one next week and trying out some of your ideas. Thanks for another great vid.
Your videos are encouraging. I have been a ham for about 5 years and I am still lost. I like to have things known before I spend money and seems like ham radio that is impossible. I also enjoy CB and I have a question. Is there a cheap wire antenna you can build that will work on 10 and 11 meters? Thank you for your time.
You can use any 10 meter antenna on 11 with a tuner. Unfortunately it’s a little trickier to make a resonant antenna that will work on both bands with good SWR on both bands. A vertical dipole might be worth a try.
@@COASTALWAVESWIRES Thank you. I got started in all this with a CB about 30 years ago. I still like 11 meters and I had a Antron 99. Once I became a ham things got so complicated with what antenna to use that it became a burden and not fun anymore. My dad died so I moved into my mom's house to take care of her and now have limited space and no trees. People tell you the opposite things so I am trying to embrace your motto of just get a wire in the air. But my goal is to have one very good antenna that is mounted and then play with other ones. Problem is I can not figure out that one to mount. I can get a tall Spiderbeam aluminum mast and do a dipole but then people say it can not be on a metal mast. Others say it can be so who knows who to listen to. I thought about a multi band vertical but then some say those suck and others say they are great. Very hard to know what is right in any of this anymore. I hate to spend money on crap or have to keep messing with something when I only want to come home and use it after a long day at work. I guess CB and ignorance was better!
Im on a sailboat ? Pole would be a rope. Is tinned copper wire ok?
Where or how to do counter poise wires?
I do have a vhf antenna at the top of the mast 32 ft. Thank you
As an idea, as you mature the audience, maybe even moving to other more complex antennas within the theme--use with big 46' pole from DXE to support longer wire antennas, and also maybe single band wire vertical array. I bet if you did you 20m 1/4 vertical with a passive Director stuck wherever you wanted better gain (your VK targets) itd be more gain, you only need about 10% wavelength spacing. This would open up the ideas more too, EFHW vertical beams are not much in use so playing would be in order. Just some ideas, thanks for your content amd format, BTW Love You ❤️ 😍 💖 ❣️ 💕 the music and how you do it all on your phone. De WO8USA🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Thank you! I actually have wires cut and a plan for a 10 meter vertical with a director, just waiting for better conditions. Thanks for the ideas! The music is my son so I greatly appreciate the compliment! 73, Walt
Which DX Commander pole are you using. The 10 meter original?
No, I use the 10M Expedition
@@COASTALWAVESWIRES Thanks
Can I use PVC pipe to make the pole?
Not sure it will stay rigid and straight for the amount of length you’ll need to make a vertical antenna
There are different grades of PVC pipe based on the wall thickness. Try the stuff called "Schedule 40" or even better, "Schedule 80" for the most strength. Don't bother with "Class 125" PVC because of the thin walls.
What would you recommend for a 40m vertical? I have a net I work everyday at 7225 and I have been doing pretty good with my NVIS antenna. But I want to do better for the guys out there 400-600 miles away.
The best experience I’ve ever had on 40 with a vertical was using a 17 foot telescope whip on a Wolf River Coil.
Great video Walt as always, have you ever thought of having a go at using a kite antenna? would make a great video of you with 20 metere of wire in the sky. 73's David 2E0IXK
Yes I actually have a kite for that and will get out on the beach with it someday
Walt. Thanks so much.
What dx commander pole do you recommend? I was looking at the 10m travel pole thanks I was wanting to get into pota and qrp I just ordered a g90..
Hey Walt, Sorry to ask this on a public forum, but I am traveling from Saint Louis to St. Augustine Florida for the scattering of my Dad's ashes. I intend to take a HAM radio with me and an EFHW antenna I have (Probably my 40m) and a pole out to the beach. Have you ever had to get any kind of permit or cordon off the area you're operating at when at a public beach? 73 WB0ZAY
I have never had to get any permits or had any issues. God bless your father.
Do you keep the insulation on the wire?
Thanks!
Have you ever built a 5/8 over 5/8 for 10m. ?
My little gray kitten keeps trying to put her paw in your mouth, so far, she has not figured out there is not a person behind the screen. She is funny. I thought you might enjoy this side of life!
hahaha Hello Kitty
@@COASTALWAVESWIRES Kitty waves back, she says she is a feline general, lol
Great advice. 👍 73