VHFcontesting
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: [VHFcontesting] Getting beginners interested in VHF Contesting

To: vhfcontesting@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] Getting beginners interested in VHF Contesting
From: "Joshua M. Arritt" <jarritt@vt.edu>
Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:53:35 -0500
List-post: <vhfcontesting@contesting.com">mailto:vhfcontesting@contesting.com>
David Pruett wrote:
>  From the conversations I've had with non-VHFers, cost is a major issue 
> to getting on VHF/UHF.  On HF you can toss a $5 dipole in a tree, feed 
> it witn junk coax and work a bunch of people on 80 and 40.  As W3ZZ 
> points out, that doesn't work on VHF.  Most decent VHF/UHF antennas are 
> at least $100, and a decent low lost feedline is at least $50, depending 
> on how much length you need.  So $150 gets you ONE BAND worth of 
> effective antenna.  Joe706 needs $450 worth of antennas (assuming he has 
> a support for them) just to try something he might not even enjoy 
> doing.  And if he want to get on a band where he needs a transverter, 
> that's another $400.
>   

The wire antenna can be very effective at VHF and even UHF -- just as 
cheap and easy as the HF brethren, if not cheaper and easier with the 
reduced size requirements.   Multi-element arrays and "curtain" style 
wire antennas have been proven to be a nice alternative to lugging 
around a lot of aluminum yagis for years. 

We're talking something beyond the standard dipole.  A moxon, curtain 
quad, H-doublebay, the venerable quad loop.... too many designs to 
mention all of them -- and I won't try to advertise one's worth over the 
other here.   But plenty of information about each is available on the 
web tubes for free.


Build antennas for all three standard packaged bands for less than 
$30.   Simple electrical tape, basic tools, 50' of #14 or #12 solid, and 
some modern PVC conduit/plumbing makes construction quick and easy (some 
as quick as 20 minutes) and cheap.   Scrap the connector in favor of 
"direct coupling".   This cuts the investment down to some reasonably 
low-loss coax -- which can be used on HF just as readily to fantastic 
effect.


Also, with simple wire antennas, there is far less chance of getting 
your eye poked out when that low-mounted rover yagi swings in the wind 
unexpectedly.   Seriously, yagis can be a health hazard for even 
experienced.  (hi hi)


Is it a "high-performance" super station antenna that the seasoned "pro" 
would approve?   Certainly not.   Are they expected to be durable, 
40-year antennas you mount on the tower and forget about?   Nope.   In 
fact, this is likely an antenna that may only survive one trip to the 
mountain top.  Do they have to conform to great engineering practice?  
Not necessarily, as we're attempting to /demonstrate/ that something 
like VHF "can" be a lot of fun. 

We're talking about beginners here.  You wouldn't hand a bazooka to 
someone who's never fired a water pistol before, right?  If they get 
bitten by the bug, the prickly aluminum monsters of V/U yagi-dom will 
follow.


REMEMBER -- ALL antennas are /temporary/.

73,
 - Josh Arritt / KF4YLM





_______________________________________________
VHFcontesting mailing list
VHFcontesting@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/vhfcontesting

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>