I did pretty good and got good signal reports. I setup the antenna as an inverted V up at 16ft. I built the antenna and first tested it at my home on a ham radio mast in my backyard. I decided to go with 20 meters since it is the most common ham radio band and has the most action. I had always wanted to try and build my own antenna. You can read my blog post about my 2020 ARRL Field Day POTA Activation to learn more about the antenna or you can see my YouTube video on ARRL Field Day 2020 and POTA Activation K 5573 using Portable Ham Radio I know it is not that many but the band conditions were terrible and there was a lot of RF noise. Some were shared with my friend using his Buddipole. I wanted an antenna that could cover all the HF ham radio bands. I used this antenna for the 2020 ARRL Field Day. I bought an extra 60ft wire for it so I could leave my wire up at home and take the antenna to a POTA Park. I used this as my home ham radio antenna. This would be the best antenna for portable ham radio when you are going to be staying at one location for several days and you have trees to hang the antenna. You do need to put this antenna high up in the trees to get the best results. Some might not call this a portable HF antenna. The reason I made this HF antenna #5 is because the easiness to change bands.Īlpha Antenna J-POLE SR 60 Foot End Fed HF Antenna Part of it was being at the end of Solar Cycle 24 but also I discovered it just hard get out on the airwaves from Washington state. I always had a hard time making ham radio contacts from there. I used this portable ham radio antenna configuration for several POTA activations while living in Washington. I definitely needed to use my auto tuner. So if I went too far from where I tuned the ham radio HF antenna then the SWR would rise rapidly. One issue was that the antenna was very narrow in the band. I tuned the Ham Sticks to be in the middle of the bands. I found I needed to use the Buddipole Triple Ratio Switch Balun (TRSB) on 40 meters so I could get the SWR right. The one thing I liked about this antenna was that to change to a different band all I needed to do was put on Ham Sticks for the band I wanted. I attached my Buddipole antenna adaptor to the ends with the antennas. I needed to guy wire the antenna since it was so high in the air. I again used my Buddipole VersaTee and the Buddipole 18ft mast. Then I saw someone using Ham Sticks as a dipole antenna. Most of the time they used just one mounted on their car. I saw people using Ham Sticks for their portable HF antennas. SteppIR – CrankIR Portable Ham Radio Antenna DIY 20 Meter Portable Ham Radio Antennaġ. Alpha Antenna J-POLE SR 60 Foot End Fed HF AntennaĤ. I will start with the ones I don’t like as much and move to my best HF antenna for portable ham radio.ĥ. Here is my list my Best POTA HF antennas I have used on my Parks on the Air activations. So, what are the best portable ham radio HF antenna I use for my POTA activations? I live in a condo with no way to put up a ham radio HF antenna and there is so much RF noise I can’t hear anyone. The other reason I love doing POTA activations is because I can’t do any ham radio operations from my home. I have had the chance to see a lot of beautiful scenery in the United States. I love the challenge of making ham radio contacts all over the world and visiting national parks, state parks and other POTA entities while doing it. I love doing POTA – Parks on the Air activations.
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