It is the season
Looking North West from the gallery of V44KF
Amateur Radio Greetings from the QTH of V44KF. In the picture above is the 34-foot tall vertical used for the experimental 20-meter EFHW [end fed half wave] antenna. While testing the antenna my ongoing research indicated that the EFHW was not as good, by a long shot, as the half wave vertical that I used over the past few years. Not saying that the EFHW is no good, but compared to what I have it it just not as good, and in most cases by 2 or more 's' units. The EFHW seems to be a great antenna if you can't get up anything better to work DX. I am into working DX, that radio station on the other side of the world, not rag chewing with the hams down the block. As a DX station in V4 land this is what it is all about.
All amateur radio transceivers are great in their own right, but the station antenna is what makes the ham radio station tick. Antennas seem to be the biggest problem for radio stations, because there seems to be the idea that a radio station must have a certain brand and type of antenna to make it. At one time I thought so too, and over the years I have invested in ready made beams, which always seem to get damaged by the storm and hurricane winds and more. So I stopped listening to people, the hams who seem to know it all, and got back to basics, reading the papers of the hams that were achieving something, setting contest records and making it happen in ham radio. This was the eye opener.
In our part of the world we do not have ready access to the many things, like the ham radio operators in most developed countries. I have been recycling the same lengths of aluminum tubing for over forty [40] years and my coax cables of over 10 years still test good. But then we have summer all year round. These two ham radio products are in great demand and very short supply, as far as I am concerned. But then the ham radio suppliers are only a short distance away by international air freight. Since the recent pandemic the freight rates are still climbing, but our ham radio operators are creative and innovative and this climbing will not be a deterrent. I am now down to looking at a couple suppliers who are still in business, and who can ship/export to the Caribbean.
You are blessed if your relative in the US can pick up some ham radio stuff at the corner store and ship it USPS, and hopefully there is no tangle with import duty. It is high time that all ham radio products imported into V4 be made DUTY FREE.
Almost any well mounted piece of wire works great for a receiver, but very poorly on transmit. A review of transmitter and transmitting antenna is helpful to developing the right mindset. With the money to spend you do not even need this, but all of us are not in this bracket and certainly not after the recent pandemic. One antenna cannot fill the needs or meet our DX requirements for operating on all amateur radio bands from 160 meters to 10 meters. One antenna could work well on 10 meters, 15 meters and 20 meters. 40 meters, 80 meters and 160 meters are also related. All my antennas are for single bands, and adjusted and tuned for best performance. No tuners are used, which eliminates RF power wasting and hard cash.
Over the years my best beam has been the Hygain 5 element 15 meter long john 155CA.
If you are serious about working DX on the 10-15-17-20 meter bands go for a 5 element beam, single band or multi band, ready made or home made. If you favour a log periodic antenna, give it a shot. Also, get a real antenna analyzer, to tune the antennas properly and to get every last watt out of them
My best 40 and 80 meter antenna has been the half wave top and bottom loaded vertical antenna. Nothing has worked better for me on these bands since then. If one has the space to install these antennas it is worth a try, and the antenna details can be found on EI7BA's webpage at https://www.qsl.net/ei7ba/low_band_antennae.htm
A google search may reveal other helpful data if you are into antenna experimenting.
Recently I have adjusted my view and outlook on antennas, and I am now looking at effective DX antennas without spending a small fortune on them. This was before the pandemic, and everything is now falling into place. If you are serious about antennas and more, I invite you to browse this website and pages
For the available antennas click on "more" and check out the range of antenna on the drop down menu. For me, the antenna is the most important item in the amateur radio station, whether we are chasing after a DX station, or being chased by a DX station. This is the season, band conditions are improving and some even say beyond our expectations. Be ready and waiting for that DX call.
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