[MRCA] antenna chat = no more woe

[W2HX]

Hi Chris. Thanks for the email (and sorry for the late reply). I did get your original email through the reflector ok.  Yes, measuring will do the trick. But I am on vacation on the beach and didn't want to play with measuring tape. That is one of the reasons I was interested in these two antennas, the measuring is (supposed to be) built in!

To reply to WD8AXB, yes it is good to know how to make an expedient antenna.  I am pretty sure if there were an emergency I could make a dipole. I think anyone can cut some wire, make a center piece and make a dipole. I think it is more interesting to collect antennas used by the military, study them and use them. See what their strengths and weaknesses are.  Besides, I am much more of a collector than an operator.

On the good news front, I successfully set up the two dipoles, one on 40 and the other on 20 (after trying it on 60).  60m moose and squirrel net was a bust for me. Noise level here was approaching s9 on 60.  But I had a quick QSO with KW1I on 40 meters.  I am set up for 20m as well and might try tomorrow sometime.  But 40 was quite good from NH to NC

Thanks Chris, et. Al.
73, Eugene W2HX

From: mrca-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:mrca-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Christopher Bowne
Sent: Tuesday, August 20, 2013 11:28 PM
To: crp.wd8axb at comcast.net; mrca at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [MRCA] antenna chat = no more woe

Curious as to how you read it?  I didn't see it come back to me on the MRCA reflector as of 10:20PM tonight, and then saw that I somehow only sent it to Al Klase, and not to the list.  I just forwarded it to the list a minute or two ago !  Did Al forward it to you on another list or earlier today directly?

Re improvisation, I had to scramble to check into the OMRN AM net a few weeks ago.   My wife had put a bag containing a folding camp chair in the back of the Tacoma a few days earlier, and then when she got home, took what she thought were TWO chair bags out of the truck.  I use a very similar bag to the one she put in to hold my field antenna kit.  When I went to put up my 75 meter dipole just before the net, no antennas!  I went down to the basement of our cottage where we were that morning, came across a small jumbled up rats nest of actually nice 7 strand  No. 20 copper wire, that probably in a former life was an outdoor "aerial" for a TRF BC set.  Untangled it (which took most of the time needed), used a small piece of ceder shingle for an end insulator, and made up a 1/4 wave wire that I got up  about 20  feet on the far end and attached it to the Tacoma mobile antenna ball mount.  Hit a near perfect SWR match on the first try, and made it into the net just a little late.
________________________________
From: "crp.wd8asmallxb at comcast.net<mailto:crp.wd8asmallxb at comcast.net>" <crp.wd8axb at comcast.net<mailto:crp.wd8axb at comcast.net>>
To: aj1g at sbcglobal.net<mailto:aj1g at sbcglobal.net>
Sent: Tuesday, August 20, 2013 12:18 PM
Subject: antenna chat = no more woe

Mr. Bowne,

I appreciated reading the post about antennas. Well said and common sense.
Funky military wire antennas are just simple antennas with gizmos.

Making your own antennas, IMO, makes you more the special forces field radio operator because you improvised, adapted, and overcame...... you didn't deploy an antenna off of a commercial shelf.

thanks again,
Charlie WD8AXB
Vicksburg, MI

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