If you find this video useful hit the like button, and consider subscribing --ua-cam.com/channels/jK9PO5WoZYkcuUhNEK0Q9g.html If you have any questions, or would like to share your own experience related to the video, leave a comment below. I do enjoy interacting with my viewers.
Welcome to the amateur radio hobby, my friend! Depending on how deep you want to get into antenna theory and design (I wouldn't recommend going very deep in the beginning), you can come up with several reasons to run both transmit and receive antennas. The best new to amateur radio answer I think I can give is that you will often hear, and soon know, that everything in radio is a compromise. Probably the most common antenna for most hobbyists is one that is in the middle ground of several compromises. Be it an "end fed half wave" or a "multi-band vertical" etc.. it is one that does an okay job at transmitting and receiving on one or more bands. If you start to move away from that middle ground, say to improve transmit efficiency, then you start to lose receive capabilities or multi band performance and vice versa. At my QTH (home base) I experimented with and tweaked my short vertical antenna, pushing the limits of multi-band transmit capabilities. It does an excellent job at getting my signal out DX (long distance) on 20m, and is fine for all bands 10-40m, but all of this is at the expense of receive capabilities. The antenna can still recieve, especially strong signals, but all received signals are lower than they would be with the compromise antenna. I can talk to Great Britain, and they can hear me loud and clear; which is great with 100w, compact antenna, and Indiana soil, but I can't hear their side of the conversation through the same antenna. So, I have my flag yard / receive field (which I actually set up for listening long before I had an amateur license). In the opposite manner, it is an extremely capable multi-band receive setup. With it, I can hear the other side of conversations that my transmit antenna can not, and even moreso, I can hear signals that I can not reach with the vertical. This setup is so far away from that middle ground compromise, that I couldn't even transmit through the antennas. I could probably try with QRP (low power), but normal 100w power would certainly burn up the baluns or worse. You'll soon learn that although most HAM operators stick with 1 or 2 basic compromise antennas, there are some with entire "antenna farms". These hobbyists will run a few, or even dozens of antennas, each with a specific high efficiency purpose. Some transceivers come with multiple TX (transmit) and RX (receive) antenna inputs to fill this need, while some hobbyists prefer to use multiple radios that fill roles as specific as their antennas. Some build or buy switches to select antennas, some use SDR (Software Defined Radio) and computers to automate the process. But don't let any of that scare you, because it is all hobby and no more necessary than 1 capable transceiver and 1 capable antenna. Multiple antenna setups are not for everyone, but it is an aspect of the hobby that is certainly available for those operators with inquisitive minds and experimenting natures (as well as the needed space). If you do find yourself drawn to the antenna theory and design nook within the niche, I would suggest finding a copy of "The ARRL Antenna Book For Radio Communications". It is a big, heavy book, and excellent resource for all things antenna. The newest addition is always pretty expensive, but used copies are relatively easy to obtain online. If you have any questions, feel free to ask at any time. I'm sorry this went on so long. I didn't realize just how much I was typing. I should probably make a video on the subject in the future. Good luck with your licensing and all your radio adventures! 73 KD9ZCG
@@abundantlifehomestead3100 Thanks for the very detailed answer to my question. One thing that is clear from all the youtube videos I've watched, is that getting a great antenna trumps just about everything in the radio world.
Yes, you are correct: the antenna(s) is everything! Many aspiring HAM's will fall into the trap of improving performance with amplifiers, but gains from any piece of equipment from the transceiver to the feed point are minimal until you have a great antenna dialed in. Still, just starting out, I would recommend 1 radio and 1 antenna that fits your abilities, property, local restrictions etc.. and learn up from there. Just like any other hobby, from gardening to coin collecting, the newcomer can get quickly overwhelmed and burnout before they ever get the chance to realize their own potential. 73 KD9ZCG
If you find this video useful hit the like button, and consider subscribing --ua-cam.com/channels/jK9PO5WoZYkcuUhNEK0Q9g.html
If you have any questions, or would like to share your own experience related to the video, leave a comment below. I do enjoy interacting with my viewers.
Thanks Jonathan.
Thank you so much G5STU!
Love your content, and your app!
That’s Incredibly Cool! Have A Great Weekend! Cheers!🥂🤩❤️✨
Thank you! Cheers!
Nice shack! 73 de VK2AOE
Thank you! and 73
I am new to amateur radio working towards my license. What is the the reason for having different antennas for receive and transmit?
Welcome to the amateur radio hobby, my friend!
Depending on how deep you want to get into antenna theory and design (I wouldn't recommend going very deep in the beginning), you can come up with several reasons to run both transmit and receive antennas.
The best new to amateur radio answer I think I can give is that you will often hear, and soon know, that everything in radio is a compromise. Probably the most common antenna for most hobbyists is one that is in the middle ground of several compromises. Be it an "end fed half wave" or a "multi-band vertical" etc.. it is one that does an okay job at transmitting and receiving on one or more bands.
If you start to move away from that middle ground, say to improve transmit efficiency, then you start to lose receive capabilities or multi band performance and vice versa.
At my QTH (home base) I experimented with and tweaked my short vertical antenna, pushing the limits of multi-band transmit capabilities. It does an excellent job at getting my signal out DX (long distance) on 20m, and is fine for all bands 10-40m, but all of this is at the expense of receive capabilities. The antenna can still recieve, especially strong signals, but all received signals are lower than they would be with the compromise antenna. I can talk to Great Britain, and they can hear me loud and clear; which is great with 100w, compact antenna, and Indiana soil, but I can't hear their side of the conversation through the same antenna.
So, I have my flag yard / receive field (which I actually set up for listening long before I had an amateur license). In the opposite manner, it is an extremely capable multi-band receive setup. With it, I can hear the other side of conversations that my transmit antenna can not, and even moreso, I can hear signals that I can not reach with the vertical. This setup is so far away from that middle ground compromise, that I couldn't even transmit through the antennas. I could probably try with QRP (low power), but normal 100w power would certainly burn up the baluns or worse.
You'll soon learn that although most HAM operators stick with 1 or 2 basic compromise antennas, there are some with entire "antenna farms". These hobbyists will run a few, or even dozens of antennas, each with a specific high efficiency purpose. Some transceivers come with multiple TX (transmit) and RX (receive) antenna inputs to fill this need, while some hobbyists prefer to use multiple radios that fill roles as specific as their antennas. Some build or buy switches to select antennas, some use SDR (Software Defined Radio) and computers to automate the process. But don't let any of that scare you, because it is all hobby and no more necessary than 1 capable transceiver and 1 capable antenna.
Multiple antenna setups are not for everyone, but it is an aspect of the hobby that is certainly available for those operators with inquisitive minds and experimenting natures (as well as the needed space). If you do find yourself drawn to the antenna theory and design nook within the niche, I would suggest finding a copy of "The ARRL Antenna Book For Radio Communications". It is a big, heavy book, and excellent resource for all things antenna. The newest addition is always pretty expensive, but used copies are relatively easy to obtain online.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask at any time. I'm sorry this went on so long. I didn't realize just how much I was typing. I should probably make a video on the subject in the future.
Good luck with your licensing and all your radio adventures!
73 KD9ZCG
@@abundantlifehomestead3100 Thanks for the very detailed answer to my question. One thing that is clear from all the youtube videos I've watched, is that getting a great antenna trumps just about everything in the radio world.
Yes, you are correct: the antenna(s) is everything! Many aspiring HAM's will fall into the trap of improving performance with amplifiers, but gains from any piece of equipment from the transceiver to the feed point are minimal until you have a great antenna dialed in.
Still, just starting out, I would recommend 1 radio and 1 antenna that fits your abilities, property, local restrictions etc.. and learn up from there. Just like any other hobby, from gardening to coin collecting, the newcomer can get quickly overwhelmed and burnout before they ever get the chance to realize their own potential.
73 KD9ZCG