Projects

Homebrew Projects

Back-packable Antennas for HF Interested in backpacking or some other weekend ham hobby? Click on the link below to see more pictures and more ideas of how you can take ham radio with you, and other backyard projects. Thanks to Dan Yang K6DPY for these pictures and projects!
	Backpack-able antennas for HF


End Fed Half Wave Vertical Antenna

Magnetic Loop Antenna
Thanks to club member NG6R, Jerry Kendrick, who gave me the 200pf variable capacitor, I was able to put together this magnetic loop antenna. Used some scrap RG-6 cable-TV coax that was lying around -- used it for both the small and large loops. (Coax shield is aluminum so no soldering.) Bought a $3 hula hoop from Sports Chalet. Found a suitable plastic electrical box from Home Depot. A knob from Radio Shack, 3/4 inch PVC and scrap plastic, etc. How it all came together is in the pictures. The big pointer on the knob allows me to tune the variable capacitor while keeping my capacitive hand sufficiently away from it. I was pleasantly surprised how tolerant this design is to dimensions and materials. I was concerned RG-6 coax would not be thick enough. Turns out 1/4 inch diameter RG-6 gives me 70kHz bandwidth on 20 meters (from SWR 2.0 to 2.0). I've read articles on larger diameter material use that provided less bandwidth. This antenna tunes from 7.94MHz to 19.84MHz at SWR 2.0 or less. Large loop: 91". Small loop: 22". Covers 17m, 20m, and 30m bands. If you're going to build one, be sure to visit: http://www.66pacific.com/calculators/small_tx_loop_calc.aspx Dan Yang, K6DPY