Me: DX with a motorcycle battery, end fed wire, standing on a rock at only 1100' elevation from Connecticut with a valley view. Antenna was also about 8' off the ground. Not only DX but my first contact to ALASKA from there. It worked, and, since I like to hike and excerise, I kept doing it over and over. Same location. I only operated PHONE - no digital modes at all - It was incredible how many contacts I made. Everything in scribble until I got home and transcribed to HRDLogbook. That's the FUN of being a Ham. I understand why guys are doing POTA. I was in SOTA for a brief bit, but really didn't care about keep score and earning awards. I just liked getting outside into fresh air. One time I saw a Fox chase down someone's little yappy dog and then heard the characteristic "whelp". Good for the Fox! Another time a rather large black bear approach me. I wanted to certain there weren't any cubs around. There weren't. He was curious, so I actually told him how to get his ticket. I just kept operating. No problem. I know from experience that hams with JK antennas and other extremely good antennas and a good radio horizon can drop to 1W, because I worked them across the USA. Sometimes those big gun stations will spot the little guy. But, you know what? I made the choice of not investing in that. My always fun in this hobby has been mobile or portable. Don't worry about "ground losses", "gain at the horizon" all that. Just have fun! As much modeling as Hams do with EZNEC, etc it's only theoretical, because you can never model the ionosphere.
For years I've been using the Tarheel Antennas model 40HP mobile screwdriver antenna... mounted on a cargo load bar vertically..with a 45 degree angle dish network swivel arm ...with 7 radials at various lengths...running in the ceiling of my patio..down the walls and all over my patio floor. Please take a look at my Qrz.com page under my callsign K9KEV and you will see the contraption of an antenna I'm using..and it works incredibly awesome ! I live in a apartment on the 1st floor... and my antenna is up 10 feet in the air. Across from me is a 30ft high stone retention wall and my building is also 30ft high so it's like my antenna is down in a canyon. I occasionally use an amplifier for 400 watts...no interference at all. All antennas are compromised in some way or another. To all the HOA and apartment hams... You have to be creative ! There's always a way to get yourself on the air ! 73 De Kevin K 9KEV
Nope. Not the ionosphere. Both 'theory' and practice have another variable in the mix, which is the geometry of the ground at the peak. Your ground has a fall off. EZNEC does flat grounds. Only. Your results aren't indicative of an efficient, gain-ful antenna: they are indicative of advantageous power pattern distortion (relative to flat ground) at low elevation angles, caused by ground fall off at or near a topographical peak. 73 Chip W1YW
I used to have a stealth wire antenna under the waves of the roof, all the way around the house, about 10 feet off the ground, worked fine for what it was. Made contacts on 75 and even DX on 40. Yeah, “that won’t work.” It did. “Well, that won’t work very well.” Well DUH, but it was what it was. It’s like some people are insulted that you would actually use a quick barebones antenna and make contacts and they put up a dipole with the engineering of a NASA rocket or something.
How dare you try to get on the air with that! Where’s your respect for all the OMs here who can quick draw a slide rule and quote the electrical code for grounding verbatim??? What are you, an amateur??? Yes, you are and so am I and all of us!
Amen. What some of the OTs do NOT have is cumulative experience in good manners or mentorship. Thanks for including that link, by the way. Hoping to something like that soon with the kids, although not at 12k feet like you. Who knows, I just might be able to hump a 60’ mast up there.
OMG - should he put asterisks next to all his QSOs in his log book then? Battery-powered QSO from CT to AK: sounds like his antenna works just fine. Sheesh.
"Mentorship" is exactly what some of the "OTs" are trying to do. Some people don't want to be mentored, they want to keep repeating the same old falsehoods, half-truths, and misconceptions that the OTs have heard for decades. And then they want to accuse those who are trying to help them of being ill-mannered.
I honestly don't understand your unhappiness here. No one here said that the antenna didin't 'work', nor discouraged anyone from using these humble arrangements. The point is that if you WANT to UNDERSTAND how these antennas work in their environments--that is the physical principles that are producing the results-- then you can enjoy the exercise of learning how to make these antennas even better. Ham radio Part 97, by the very nature of its license requirements, is forward looking in acquisition of technical knowedge and skills (hence the various license classes which mete out the minimums of each new skill set.)No one is looking down on others; we are encouraging you to look up. Best to you, Chip W1YW
Yeah, I guess rude and condascending mentorship is technically still mentorship. You got me there! We all see genuine and fraternal mentorship when it happens; we also see people hide behind that flag because “I got no filter” and “you’re just accusing me of being ill-mannered.” With all due respect, some of these OTs need to brush up on their email communication skills. There are plenty of ways to impart knowledge if you’re genuinely doing it nicely. Those of us who do the majority of workplace communication by email know the drill: particular people come off extremely poorly in written communication. In my and my colleagues many years of collective experience, the offenders come off the same way in person and are often loathe to be called out for their BS — unintended or otherwise.
I learned a long time ago if you don't try something you won't know if you like it. That goes for food, sports, and antennas!
Don't forget the old incandescent light bulb. Heck, I've made unintentional contacts on a dummy load. We just have to accept the fact that most people licensed in the last 20 or so years, simply memorized answers to questions to obtain their license. "It works" isn't the same as working efficiently, but that doesn't seem to matter. I build all my hf antennas. Sometimes efficiency is sacrificed for a given situation, but I certainly wouldn't crow about the antenna working, and all those "OM'S" are full of sh@#. Our hobby is slowly becoming a knowledge vacuum. "I checked the SWR's, and they were good" is the benchmark of a great antenna system in todays world of ham radio.
