This simple setup works really well for me and I made it to New Hampshire despite alleged poor band conditions, all with QRP on a KX2 and a cheap antenna I made. What setup do you use? Share with the group so we can all glean further insights into portable operation hacks.
Great 👍🏼 Instructional video Jerry! My hat 🧢 off to you! Thanks for the video!🗽👍🏼😎👽. I just purchased the mast last night for small lightweight portability. Thanks 🙏 for the link! N1UFO/Gabe 73
Hi Jerry, Thanks for all the good information here and on your channel. If you flip the snap swivel so the round (monofilament) end goes over the mast the antenna should hang higher up…not that you need that extra foot when you just hiked several thousand vertical:) All the best, John KD2FLG.
Ha! After making that video I replaced that swivel with a smaller one to do just that 😎👍🏻. I’ll take every inch that helps after crawling up those mountains lol. Thanks John
I just started making my setup too - very similar to this. Yes, I got the smaller swivel as well, and the zip-tie won't go through it, so I had to add an 'inbetween' piece of small insulated wire sort of like a twist tie between the swivel and the zip tie. That still worked. I'll plan to setup mine this afternoon if all goes well. 73
Always good to see the details of a setup. I had not considered using the initial guying so close to the base of the pole relying on the legs/feedline to provide stability at the high end. Great videos, awesome channel, thank you.
Thanks! There's so many ways to setup in the field and the best way is the way that works for you on your given location. I've done all kinds of configurations but this is the base plan absent gnarly wind conditions. I think the important thing to remember is that the setup does't have to be perfect. Get the thing in the air and the legs out as best you can depending upon your terrain and give it a shot. Only area to really be mindful would be the proximity of the legs to the ground. I do think opening the legs to at least a 45 degree angle is better and get the ends of the elements about 4-5 feet off the ground if possible. If not, set it up anyway and see what it looks like on the meter. I base that on principles from the ARRL Antenna Book and from playing with the setup at home with my analyzer. The closer the ends were to the ground the higher the Z became. What's your call sign? Have we worked one another yet?
Hey Jerry, another great video. I watched a UA-cam "Corporals Corner" regarding line management that I use and minimizes line knotting. I also use it for my 20 meter dipole. I also saw where you had been spotted on SOTA Goat app while I was hiking with my ft817, unfortunately you were on another frequency. Continued good luck de Roger W8RLP
That’s a bummer we missed a chance to QSO, I’m headed back out next Monday if your available. I’ll post up on SOTA Watch once I finalize my plans. Be good to get you in the log
Great video again Jerry. I use a couple link dipoles for SOTA mostly because I need 40m and even 80 m these days to qualify. The tie off strings for the dipole have a slip knot loop at the ends and like California and rocks we have lots on summits here too in vk5. I have some pegs with me but usually just use a larger rock and make a noose type thingy around a rock to hold out the ends of the dipole. My pole is 7m these days and usually have stumps or posts all kind of things to hook the pole onto. Good work happy new year ..
This was insightful, through would like to see/hear more of the antenna fundamentals explained as well, eg why be above ground, was there radiating elements or just a single speaker wire, does this antenna propagate directionally based on placement and why, insulator and other metal concerns (eg why not hang from a tree or metal structure).
Speaker wire is actually two wires attached in a pair. All you have to do is carefully split/peel it down the middle until you reach the desired length of each "leg". The "legs" of the antenna are the radiating elements. One leg is for positive flow and the other leg is for negative flow. Dipoles are directional because they propagate broadside. Imagine a "clock" on the ground. Now, imagine laying your dipole in straight line from 12:00 to 6:00 (or North to South). This means that most of the signal and energy will be pushed toward 9:00 and 3:00 (or West and East). So if you're in Florida and you want to talk to California, you can "spin" the dipole a little. So put one leg at 2:00 and the other at 8:00. That should push your signal toward a northwest direction toward Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and everything between there and Louisiana. As far as holding the antenna off the ground... I am not sure, but i believe that the ground/Earth itself will cause some interference or resistance. He could definitely hang it from a tree but hanging it from a metal object could cause interference kinda like the Earth/ground can. A lot of operators like to use fiberglass or carbon fiber fishing poles or painter's poles. I think i've seen people using metal poles (like galvanized fence poles or aluminum poles) before--and with success--but maybe their signals suffered a little. It's a game of give and take. Nothing is 100% efficient or has 100% of your desired features and capabilities.
Hey Jerry thanks for the videos. I just bought some speaker wire and will try building my own speaker wire antenna. I just tried an endfed random wire with a matchbox this weekend and it worked pretty well. Always look forward to learning something from your videos. Do you have a website? I couldn't find you on internet. 73 George KB3WAQ
Great setup! I'm inspired.. thinking about doing something similar. Couple questions - @12:13 close-up picture of the little knot between the transmission line & where the two ends split apart. How did you loop that? How many feet did you cut your speaker wire to? Or, perhaps better - after they split, how long is each end? Next, how long are the green cords & the Orange cords? Thanks!
Jerry, thanks for the great videos. I built your speaker wire antenna for 40m an intend on turning it into a linked dipole for 20/40 later. Early testing of the 40m in the back yard was encouraging, SWR reading are great with many contacts. I have two questions, have you tried it with 24 ga. wire and have you found the feed line length has any effect, plus or minus. I have it up around 18 ft inverted V, feed line run straight down then a horizontal run of 20 to radio. The legs are nearly 6' off the ground. Thanks for all you do. Tom in Lincoln NE KE0JVS
Hi Tom, there are many out there building the linked version and reports are anywhere from fickle to great. I do believe the feed line length is a factor. IIRC, The antenna book calls for 1/4 wavelength above ground minimum and multiple of that for the band your using so maybe play with linked feed lines too? Be a fun experiment.
good video Jerry. I tried to work you this past Sunday. I saw your activation on Sotawatch.... I could hear some stations talking to you with big booming signals but I couldn't receive your station at all. Im in Fresno, so maybe the way the antenna was angled, perhaps I was just outside of your reach. Or maybe it was operator error on my part which is also likely. Love the videos.
Hey David, thanks for the effort for sure. SOTA is nothing without others so I appreciate every one of the people who give it a shot. I’m headed back out next Monday and I’ll try again if you’re available. What’s your preferred band?
my station at home is good for anything 10 m through 40 m. I have a similar portable set up to what you have.... also running a KX2 with a sotabeams linked dipole for 20, 30, and 40. (inverted V) It has little alligator clips that you can connect/disconnect for your preferred band. I just got the radio and antenna, so I'm planning for my first activation. I just need to find a summit to climb :-)
Awesome! I'd guess that 40m would be our best shot being so close to one another but I am able to work that way on 20 as well depending on conditions. If you are available on Monday let's definitely try to make it work. I post on Twitter the night prior, and I add the alert before leaving just in case too. If I have cell service or am feeling the scene will be a challenge I'll also spot on APRS2SOTA. Monday is my new day off now so most of my activations will be between 9-11AM ish PST on Mondays if that helps. I've been lucky to be several people's first SOTA contact as either a chaser or activator so I hope it works for us soon. Do you have any questions on planning a SOTA hike or how to navigate the website info or are you pretty well versed on it by now? Let me know if I can help in anyway. 73 - KG6HQD Jerry
Thanks Jerry... I will look for you on Monday morning on 40 meters. I have the day off work so should have time to play with the radio. I'm pretty new to ham and just venturing out with getting on the air. I'm really interested in getting out and activating summits ... I'm more interested in being an activator than being a chaser. I have learned a good deal by watching your videos. Thanks. I'm just about to start CW academy in a couple weeks so I hope to get out there with morse code. If you ever venture farther north let me know, Id love to activate a summit with you some day!
Very cool David, and I totally get activating over chasing :) but we need both for sure. It's always nice to hear people are learning things from watching my outings and if there's a topic you'd like covered please let me know. I'm always down for new ideas and the challenge. Hope to work you on Monday if the weather hold for both of us.
Just curious here Jerry - Have you seen others use a fishing pole holder pounded into the ground rather than tent stakes and guy wires to secure it? Any pros/cons with going with that vs what you're currently doing? Maybe weight? thanks.
Some guys have something similar and to be honest it’s appealing on one hand and concerning where I’m at due to the very hard and rocky ground making it almost not feasible to use. I’d say it’s terrain depended and I envy those who can use that setup.
It was my fault..I thought I added it but somehow missed it...it's there now though :) and thanks for getting the link from my website, every little bit helps for sure. There's a website update happening now so it'll be back online shortly.
would a 40m tune on 80m I'm a new ham and planning on doing field operations since there is so much noise in my neighborhood because you said that the 20m would tune on 10m, 20m and 40m or would it be better just to make multiple dipole antennas for different bands.
Hi Roger - I have all my gear I use listed on my website www.kg6hqd.us and look for The “HQD” Gear Page. Scroll to the bottom and there’s a link for it there. Love this pole! Any purchase you make from my site helps me out a bit so please consider that for me if you can.
@1:46 so, I noticed that on my setup (very similar to yours) the ziptie going around the bamboo pole may be slightly loose and I can't get it any tighter at the top of the largest section. Is yours positioned at the top of the largest section? How do you prevent it from slipping down the pole? thanks.
When I get home I’ll take a picture of it and post it on Twitter and Instagram for you if you’re following me there. Short answer is yes, it’s in the larger section and I haven’t had it slip on me and you can add a small strip of black electricians take to snug the zip tie up to if necessary. HTH
KG6HQD Jerry. I learn to avoid deployment for HP in proximity of solar generation. ....and as the NAVY taught me: there's no substitute for high-quality line
Just made a speaker wire doublet that'll cover me through 40m. Haven't deployed it yet so I have not trimmed the feeline portion from the 100 feet I started with. Want to see how set up takes me. But how long is your feedline portion?
I only run QRP so I wasn’t really too concerned with that part, but Mike @k8mrd has put a 100 watts through his. Check out his video for any tweaks he made to this design 👍🏻
This simple setup works really well for me and I made it to New Hampshire despite alleged poor band conditions, all with QRP on a KX2 and a cheap antenna I made. What setup do you use? Share with the group so we can all glean further insights into portable operation hacks.
Great 👍🏼 Instructional video Jerry! My hat 🧢 off to you! Thanks for the video!🗽👍🏼😎👽. I just purchased the mast last night for small lightweight portability. Thanks 🙏 for the link!
N1UFO/Gabe
73
Awesome Gabe! Hope to work you on Monday if you're available. 73 brother
Hi Jerry, Thanks for all the good information here and on your channel. If you flip the snap
swivel so the round (monofilament) end goes over the mast the antenna should
hang higher up…not that you need that extra foot when you just hiked several thousand vertical:) All
the best, John KD2FLG.
Ha! After making that video I replaced that swivel with a smaller one to do just that 😎👍🏻. I’ll take every inch that helps after crawling up those mountains lol. Thanks John
I just started making my setup too - very similar to this. Yes, I got the smaller swivel as well, and the zip-tie won't go through it, so I had to add an 'inbetween' piece of small insulated wire sort of like a twist tie between the swivel and the zip tie. That still worked. I'll plan to setup mine this afternoon if all goes well. 73
Cool!
Great to see the setup start to finish. I can't help but think that you would be better served using a taut line hitch everywhere, though.
Always good to see the details of a setup. I had not considered using the initial guying so close to the base of the pole relying on the legs/feedline to provide stability at the high end. Great videos, awesome channel, thank you.
Thanks! There's so many ways to setup in the field and the best way is the way that works for you on your given location. I've done all kinds of configurations but this is the base plan absent gnarly wind conditions. I think the important thing to remember is that the setup does't have to be perfect. Get the thing in the air and the legs out as best you can depending upon your terrain and give it a shot. Only area to really be mindful would be the proximity of the legs to the ground. I do think opening the legs to at least a 45 degree angle is better and get the ends of the elements about 4-5 feet off the ground if possible. If not, set it up anyway and see what it looks like on the meter. I base that on principles from the ARRL Antenna Book and from playing with the setup at home with my analyzer. The closer the ends were to the ground the higher the Z became.
What's your call sign? Have we worked one another yet?
thanks for the Mention Jerry @ 2:05 glad the kite string I mentioned before worked out well. . Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the hot tip. Sorry I drew a blank when in the field.
KG6HQD Jerry don’t worry I can’t remember my own name when I record video
Hey Jerry, another great video. I watched a UA-cam "Corporals Corner" regarding line management that I use and minimizes line knotting. I also use it for my 20 meter dipole. I also saw where you had been spotted on SOTA Goat app while I was hiking with my ft817, unfortunately you were on another frequency. Continued good luck de Roger W8RLP
That’s a bummer we missed a chance to QSO, I’m headed back out next Monday if your available. I’ll post up on SOTA Watch once I finalize my plans. Be good to get you in the log
Great video again Jerry. I use a couple link dipoles for SOTA mostly because I need 40m and even 80 m these days to qualify. The tie off strings for the dipole have a slip knot loop at the ends and like California and rocks we have lots on summits here too in vk5. I have some pegs with me but usually just use a larger rock and make a noose type thingy around a rock to hold out the ends of the dipole. My pole is 7m these days and usually have stumps or posts all kind of things to hook the pole onto. Good work happy new year ..
Thanks and too funny how we have to use rocks to hold our stuff up 🤣
Looks like a cool place to operate from! Thanks for the video Jerry!
Thanks for checking out the video and channel much appreciated.
@@KG6HQDJerrySOTA Jerry I have something ARRL related to send you that I think you would appreciate. Are you good on QRZ?
Tango Tracker I am good on QRZ, you’ve got my curiosity piqued 🤔
This was insightful, through would like to see/hear more of the antenna fundamentals explained as well, eg why be above ground, was there radiating elements or just a single speaker wire, does this antenna propagate directionally based on placement and why, insulator and other metal concerns (eg why not hang from a tree or metal structure).
Speaker wire is actually two wires attached in a pair. All you have to do is carefully split/peel it down the middle until you reach the desired length of each "leg". The "legs" of the antenna are the radiating elements. One leg is for positive flow and the other leg is for negative flow. Dipoles are directional because they propagate broadside. Imagine a "clock" on the ground. Now, imagine laying your dipole in straight line from 12:00 to 6:00 (or North to South). This means that most of the signal and energy will be pushed toward 9:00 and 3:00 (or West and East). So if you're in Florida and you want to talk to California, you can "spin" the dipole a little. So put one leg at 2:00 and the other at 8:00. That should push your signal toward a northwest direction toward Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and everything between there and Louisiana. As far as holding the antenna off the ground... I am not sure, but i believe that the ground/Earth itself will cause some interference or resistance. He could definitely hang it from a tree but hanging it from a metal object could cause interference kinda like the Earth/ground can. A lot of operators like to use fiberglass or carbon fiber fishing poles or painter's poles. I think i've seen people using metal poles (like galvanized fence poles or aluminum poles) before--and with success--but maybe their signals suffered a little. It's a game of give and take. Nothing is 100% efficient or has 100% of your desired features and capabilities.
Just watched this video. Great ideas. I’m heading to your webpage.
Extra nice presentation; easy to remember; properly concise. Thanks! 73, K0VY
Thank you :)
Very helpful to see how you do this. Thx!
Thank you Paulie, any questions on the setup just let me know. Also, what's your call sign?
N7PVA. Will try to QSO with you on your next SOTA.
Awesome! I look forward to that :)
HI JERRY Next trip to poland im going to take that antenna KG6MN
Awesome, money says it’ll work 😎
Great job done! Vy 73's & stay safe
The link to the web site doesn’t load properly. Is there a new page for the gear listing? Thanks AB8AS
Hey Jerry thanks for the videos. I just bought some speaker wire and will try building my own speaker wire antenna. I just tried an endfed random wire with a matchbox this weekend and it worked pretty well. Always look forward to learning something from your videos. Do you have a website? I couldn't find you on internet.
73 George KB3WAQ
Great setup! I'm inspired.. thinking about doing something similar. Couple questions - @12:13 close-up picture of the little knot between the transmission line & where the two ends split apart. How did you loop that? How many feet did you cut your speaker wire to? Or, perhaps better - after they split, how long is each end? Next, how long are the green cords & the Orange cords? Thanks!
Jerry, thanks for the great videos. I built your speaker wire antenna for 40m an intend on turning it into a linked dipole for 20/40 later. Early testing of the 40m in the back yard was encouraging, SWR reading are great with many contacts. I have two questions, have you tried it with 24 ga. wire and have you found the feed line length has any effect, plus or minus. I have it up around 18 ft inverted V, feed line run straight down then a horizontal run of 20 to radio. The legs are nearly 6' off the ground. Thanks for all you do. Tom in Lincoln NE KE0JVS
Hi Tom, there are many out there building the linked version and reports are anywhere from fickle to great. I do believe the feed line length is a factor. IIRC, The antenna book calls for 1/4 wavelength above ground minimum and multiple of that for the band your using so maybe play with linked feed lines too? Be a fun experiment.
good video Jerry. I tried to work you this past Sunday. I saw your activation on Sotawatch.... I could hear some stations talking to you with big booming signals but I couldn't receive your station at all. Im in Fresno, so maybe the way the antenna was angled, perhaps I was just outside of your reach. Or maybe it was operator error on my part which is also likely. Love the videos.
Hey David, thanks for the effort for sure. SOTA is nothing without others so I appreciate every one of the people who give it a shot. I’m headed back out next Monday and I’ll try again if you’re available. What’s your preferred band?
my station at home is good for anything 10 m through 40 m. I have a similar portable set up to what you have.... also running a KX2 with a sotabeams linked dipole for 20, 30, and 40. (inverted V) It has little alligator clips that you can connect/disconnect for your preferred band. I just got the radio and antenna, so I'm planning for my first activation. I just need to find a summit to climb :-)
Awesome! I'd guess that 40m would be our best shot being so close to one another but I am able to work that way on 20 as well depending on conditions. If you are available on Monday let's definitely try to make it work. I post on Twitter the night prior, and I add the alert before leaving just in case too. If I have cell service or am feeling the scene will be a challenge I'll also spot on APRS2SOTA. Monday is my new day off now so most of my activations will be between 9-11AM ish PST on Mondays if that helps. I've been lucky to be several people's first SOTA contact as either a chaser or activator so I hope it works for us soon.
Do you have any questions on planning a SOTA hike or how to navigate the website info or are you pretty well versed on it by now? Let me know if I can help in anyway. 73 - KG6HQD Jerry
Thanks Jerry... I will look for you on Monday morning on 40 meters. I have the day off work so should have time to play with the radio. I'm pretty new to ham and just venturing out with getting on the air. I'm really interested in getting out and activating summits ... I'm more interested in being an activator than being a chaser. I have learned a good deal by watching your videos. Thanks. I'm just about to start CW academy in a couple weeks so I hope to get out there with morse code. If you ever venture farther north let me know, Id love to activate a summit with you some day!
Very cool David, and I totally get activating over chasing :) but we need both for sure. It's always nice to hear people are learning things from watching my outings and if there's a topic you'd like covered please let me know. I'm always down for new ideas and the challenge. Hope to work you on Monday if the weather hold for both of us.
Nice video. Thank you. 73 - Julia (KF8JBB, The Mom Ham)
Thanks Julie and how cool being the “Mom Ham” 👍🏻👍🏻
Great video Jerry, I'll look for you next Monday. Please spot on the sota site. I don't have twitter.
Dave KI6FYQ
Will do Dave and looking forward to it!
Just curious here Jerry - Have you seen others use a fishing pole holder pounded into the ground rather than tent stakes and guy wires to secure it? Any pros/cons with going with that vs what you're currently doing? Maybe weight? thanks.
Some guys have something similar and to be honest it’s appealing on one hand and concerning where I’m at due to the very hard and rocky ground making it almost not feasible to use. I’d say it’s terrain depended and I envy those who can use that setup.
Where did you get that super-thin cordage? I've been looking around for stuff like that. About ready to order something like it from UK.
Hey Rex, I was recommended from Rafael and I put a link on my website to click n buy - www.kg6hqd.us and toward the bottom ;)
Dang, somehow missing it. I think I've looked everywhere on your site (I did before and after posting the original comment). I'll keep looking!
It was my fault..I thought I added it but somehow missed it...it's there now though :) and thanks for getting the link from my website, every little bit helps for sure. There's a website update happening now so it'll be back online shortly.
Thanks!
would a 40m tune on 80m I'm a new ham and planning on doing field operations since there is so much noise in my neighborhood because you said that the 20m would tune on 10m, 20m and 40m or would it be better just to make multiple dipole antennas for different bands.
Very well explained. Great video Jerry. 73 zs5tc
Thanks 👍🏻
Jerry, where did you buy the pole you are using as your mast?
Roger W8RLP
Hi Roger - I have all my gear I use listed on my website www.kg6hqd.us and look for The “HQD” Gear Page. Scroll to the bottom and there’s a link for it there. Love this pole! Any purchase you make from my site helps me out a bit so please consider that for me if you can.
KG6HQD Jerry I scrolled down found many items trekking pole but no fishing pole. Must be doing something wrong.
Rogee
It’s at the very bottom ... if you’re on a mobile phone then you’ll need to hit the right arrow to toggle but on a desktop they are all three in a row
Jerry, thanks, found it and ordered it. I also made a stereo wire antenna today. Haven’t tuned it yet. Thanks Roger
Awesome & thanks! I look forward to hearing how it all works for you.
@1:46 so, I noticed that on my setup (very similar to yours) the ziptie going around the bamboo pole may be slightly loose and I can't get it any tighter at the top of the largest section. Is yours positioned at the top of the largest section? How do you prevent it from slipping down the pole? thanks.
When I get home I’ll take a picture of it and post it on Twitter and Instagram for you if you’re following me there. Short answer is yes, it’s in the larger section and I haven’t had it slip on me and you can add a small strip of black electricians take to snug the zip tie up to if necessary. HTH
Very helpful video. I always learn something new with each video.
Sweet! What did you learn from this one?
KG6HQD Jerry. I learn to avoid deployment for HP in proximity of solar generation.
....and as the NAVY taught me: there's no substitute for high-quality line
Just made a speaker wire doublet that'll cover me through 40m. Haven't deployed it yet so I have not trimmed the feeline portion from the 100 feet I started with. Want to see how set up takes me.
But how long is your feedline portion?
Hi Grasshopper!!!!
GM0CQV Many Thanks, you given me man6 good ideas, 73’s
Awesome Brendan!
how much power can you use with the banana plugs and the alligator clip
I only run QRP so I wasn’t really too concerned with that part, but Mike @k8mrd has put a 100 watts through his. Check out his video for any tweaks he made to this design 👍🏻
Nice, thanks, K5TGS
Thanks for the call sign too - it helps me put usernames with call signs with real names :)
I Built a small P V C h base to hold my verticle 12 inch by 12 inch it cuts my assembly time hi hi kg6mn
Can you email me a pic? It’s kg6hqd@gmail.com. Thanks
GMOCQV Many thanks
very interesting!!73 IZ0EHX
Will the real tbh please stand