[ARC5] Antenna for small yard

[Mike Feher]

Dave -

In September of '91 I started to work up here in NJ supporting Ft. Monmouth. As I did not want to move the family up right away, I told BAH the company that hired me that I need a year to see how it works out. They said fine a put me up in an apartment for a year at their expense. I was on the air the first night I was in the apartment. Ahead of time, I built an antenna mount that was about 18x18 x0.5 inches of aluminum plate, and mounted a military ceramic antenna mount in the middle. It had the perfect thread for the Hustler mobile whips. I had all the resonators and I also placed 4 banana jacks in each corner of the aluminum base for radials. I also had a BNC at the antenna base. Regardless, I was on the first night , on 75 AM, using a Multi Elmac AF-67 TX and an HRO-500 receiver. When I was done for the night, I just rolled up the coax, the radials and brought it all in the apartment. Did that for about a week and then eventually put up a thin wire into a tree for the rest of the year that I was there. I think there is always a solution, HI. 73 - Mike

Mike B. Feher, N4FS
89 Arnold Blvd.
Howell, NJ, 07731
848-245-9115


-----Original Message-----
From: ARC5 [mailto:arc5-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of David Stinson
Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2016 12:38 PM
To: ARC-5 List
Subject: Re: [ARC5] Antenna for small yard


> ... Why make things complicated by going to 50 ohms, then matching 
> that?

Because you need a feedline to get the RF outside without half your electrically-short antenna inside a building, with circulating current losses to the many grounded structures all around on its way out.
50-ohm feedline is abundant and available.  Matching a short capacitive antenna with a tapped coil at the other end is not difficult. 
you could
even use a mobile whip like a "Ham Stick" with a proper counterpoise.
Mount it somewhere on the fence where the fingers of curious kids do not go.  It will work.