[Elecraft] Best Portable Antenna

[n5ib at juno.com]

I put this together a few months ago for a trip along the Blue Ridge
Parkway, and it served well from our "cabin in the woods" Wanted to try
it at the seashore near Hatteras but the weather cut thr trip short.

Jackite 31' fiberglas mast, with the very top section replaced by a
broken piece from an earlier mishap. AWG14 stranded wire runs **inside**
the mast from the bottom until it protrudes an inch or so from the top of
the (now hollow all the way) tip section.

A little fitting made of PC board with a BNC for coax feed, and four
screw lugs for radials/counterpoises. I usually use two pieces of AWG22
about 60 ft long and just stretch them out along the ground, zigzagging
or bending as needs for the space. vertical counductor connects to BNC
center with ring lugs and thumbscrews.

T1 autotuner connected at the base with a bias tee in front of it.
Another bias tee at the transmitter end. Optocoupler at the antenna end
bias tee connected to remote jack of the T1. Battery and PB switch at the
bias tee transmitter end.

I carry a piece of rebar and hammer. A 3 ft section of PVC pipe large
enough to slip **over** the bottom section of the Jackite. Some PVC Ts
are drilled to slip over the rebar.

Have used it on 80, 40, 30, 20, 17, 15, 12, and 10. I'm beginning to
believe it works better than my 40 m full wave loop at home that is only
15 ft or so off the ground.

73,
Jim, N5IB
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