MODERN ANTENNAS

A NEW PARADIGM FOR BUILDING ANTENNAS

. . . . . . . A look at new Materials & Methods for building Antennas . . . . . . .

 

ARE YOU STILL BUILDING ANTENNAS FOR WORLD WAR II ?

ARMY SURPLUS was a welcome source of antenna building material in the 1950's and 1960's:  

  • Heavy steel masts
  • Heavy RG-8 coax
  • Heavy, thick copper wire
  • Heavy porcelon egg insulators
  • Heavy, thick, strong rope

 

The ARRL HANDBOOK and similar publications taught us how to use this kind of material for building our various dipoles, verticals, and loops.

 

50 YEARS LATER

  • MY copy of the 2009 ARRL HANDBOOK is still using the same pictures and drawings as the HANDBOOK in 1962 had, when I was first licensed.
  • The methods described in the 2009 HANDBOOK for building antennas are still the same as in 1962.
  • HAS NOTHING CHANGED IN 50 YEARS ?

 

HAM RADIO IN THE 1950's & early 60's:

  • Separate Receiver and Transmitter
  • Radios used Tubes 
  • Radios were about the size of 6 Shoe Boxes (fit for a 19 inch rack)
  • and very heavy
  • On HF we had 3 modes: AM, CW, & RTTY 
  • Antennas were built as described above

 

HAM RADIO 50 YEARS LATER, IN 2010+:

  • We use Transceivers
  • No more tubes, except in high power linears
  • Radios are very small, lightweight and portable
  • On HF we use SSB instead of AM (with exceptions)
  • CW & RTTY are still popular, but PSK and other digital modes are becoming even more popular.
  • Some people build antennas with modern, lightweight, low cost material
  • Most people are still building antennas for World War II  

 

 ANTENNA MATERIAL 50 YEARS LATER, IN 2010+:

  • The industry has given us:
    • Dyneema
    • Epoxy
    • Fiberglass
    • Kevlar
    • Plastics
    • Plexiglas
    • PVDF Monofil
    • Teflon
  • The following has become affordable:
    • Aluminum
    • Copperweld
    • Lightweight, low loss Coax (LMR-240, AIRCELL5, AIRCELL7)
  • Yet many people are still using the same material and building antennas exactly as described in the 1955 ARRL HANDBOOK.

 

MODERN ANTENNAS -->

 

HF antennas should be erected as high as possible for good DX results.

 

Antennas built with modern material are lightweight and can be erected much higher (for a given cost), than antennas made of old (WW-II) material !

 

THIS CHAPTER WILL SHOW YOU TIPS ON BUILDING ANTENNAS WITH THESE NEW LIGHTWEIGHT MATERIALS. 

 

It's time to let WW-II Rest in Peace!

 

I will describe typical methods of building modern antennas, but first we should take a look at the individual bits, beginning with the pole.

 

IT WILL PROBABLY TAKE ME ABOUT 6 MONTHS TO COMPLETE THIS SECTION.

In the meantime, if you have any specific questions, send me an email.

CONTACT

 

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Antenna Supports, Poles, Masts:

  1. The "Pole" Position
  2. Fiberglass Poles
  3. Aluminum Masts

 

Next we will look at the smaller stuff:

  1. Wire
  2. Insulators
  3. Rope

 

>>> TO BE CONTINUED . . .