Amateur Radio Blog
If there is one antenna that has grown considerably in popularity in recent years, it is the Cobweb antenna. The Cobweb is so popular because of various reasons, like its small size, only 2.8 x 2.8 m for a version with the 20 meter band, as its longest wavelength. In Continue reading Cobweb antenna pros and cons
It’s been a while since I posted again, but then I have something to report. Last year, I started experimenting with variants of a horizontal polarized omnidirectional antenna. The Cobweb, the Cobwebb and the Classic Halo. I can now tell, from my own personal experiences, which of these variants could Continue reading Multiband Cobweb(b) vs Classic Halo; final verdict
It’s becoming more and more a standard part of the average radio amateur station, the X-phase QRM Eliminator. In the fight against manmade noise on HF, a QRM Eliminator can be an excellent tool. Ay least, if the noise source is close by and that it is also a single Continue reading Tips on how to operate and finetune a QRM Eliminator
There is no other band that is affected by so many forms of propagation as 6 meters (50 MHz). Sporadic-E (Es) in summer and midwinter. TEP (transequatorial propagation) around March/April and September/October. F2 propagation and aurora in periods of high solar activity. Meteorscatter and the almost daily present troposcatter. But Continue reading The Hula Hoop Halo; a simple DIY antenna for 6 meter band DX
The Cobwebb is an antenna that has gained in popularity in recent years. The horizontally polarized omnidirectional antenna is suitable for the 10m, 12m, 15m, 17m and 20m band. All elements are fed through one single feed line. At only half wave length above the ground, it will outperform any Continue reading A different approach to tuning the Cobwebb antenna
Better horizontally than vertically polarized If you only have limited space for an antenna, but still want to DX on HF on multiple bands, you will soon have to rely on a vertical antenna. DX’ers among us know that on the 10 and 20 meter band you can often work Continue reading How to build a limited space 10 and 20 meter band Square Halo DX antenna
Manmade QRM; I am now an expert by experience. In the almost 17 years that I have lived on my current QTH, I have seen the noise floor on 20 meter band, rise from S1-S2 to an average S5. I did manage to significantly reduce the interference from the largest Continue reading How to setup a webSDR as your secundary receiver
Past time my focus was on resolving the interference caused by neighbors’ two solar panel installations. Last year I bought a QRM eliminator with which I, in combination with a Miniwhip active antenna as auxiliary antenna, achieved good results on a decent part of the HF spectrum. But the interference Continue reading How the replacement of solar panel micro inverters lead to 50 dB less QRM
In most cases, radio amateurs love it when their antenna resonates, because a resonating antenna is usually an efficiently radiating antenna. At least, when we talk about electrical resonance and not acoustic resonance. The latter can cause considerable nuisance and even dangerous situations. Fortunately, there is an effective and inexpensive way to keep Continue reading Is your antenna making noise? Use a rope!
In a previous post I did a review on the X-phase QRM eliminator. I found out that the antenna for receiving QRM, the auxiliary or secondary antenna, holds the key to optimum performance of the QRM eliminator. A single wire along a shelf in your shack is, for what I Continue reading Boost your QRM eliminator performance with an active antenna