MODERN ANTENNAS

A NEW PARADIGM 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 . . .