K3MRI

Hamvention has had a rich history. For many of us it is a kind of pilgrimage, like Sturgis is for bikers or Daytona for race car enthusiasts. Hamvention is the place where you see the latest equipment but also walk away with the greatest bargain on 50 yards of feedline. For some it's just a short drive from Columbus or Cincinnati, for others it's a flight in from Japan or Thailand. For me it used to be a drive with my dad from Northern Québec and now it's a drive from D.C. with my buddy Alan, and occasionally my wife – though the real reason she comes is because our daughter lives in Columbus 🤐 Here is an excerpt from the Hamvention website: What's your history with Hamvention? Did you ever attend? When was the first time?

Here is a link to the definitive scientific article on 'crossed dipoles'. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282776048_Crossed_Dipole_Antennas_A_review It's not an 'easy read' but it will tell you everything you need to know. Note that there are different ways of wiring up the dipole, you'll see that in the article. I've tried the three major ways, crossed, crossed trident and crossed asymmetric. You can also create a crossed multi-band. Let me know when you've read the article, and maybe a couple of other online references to 'crossed dipoles' and then I can go deeper into what I found works best and what doesn't. Remember to look at both 'same band' and 'different band' versions.

I'll give you a long answer, from experience, because I have done this extensively. However, first a question... We agree that you are trying to run the two together, correct? This is not about having two switched dipoles?

I love this idea of a rotating net control operator.

So, this is one of those... happened to me moments. @W4DOI knows this story well. I was in my second or third flight in PFS - Primary Flight School. We were just climbing out and still fairly low at ±1000 feet altitude. I was flying left seat and the instructor was flying right seat. Alan (W4DOI) knows his name, but here in public, I guess I'll be kind and not throw him under the bus, I'll just use his initials... Lieutenant D. Well, sure enough his door, the right door, pops open (slightly). I have not mentioned this yet, but the aircraft was a small single engine low wing called a Musketeer. Anyway, this Lt. freaks right out; total panic. I HAVE CONTROL, I HAVE CONTROL. Calls the tower with a MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY. You'd think we had lost our wings! The door was ajar literally one inch and the airflow was obviously doing a very nice job of keeping the door tight to the aircraft. Anyway, we land and - big mistake Jim... - I decide to chuckle 🥴 with maybe a touch of sneering thrown in. The short version is he tried really hard to fail me in coming weeks and was not too pleased that the entire squadron was well aware (what, me squeal?) that Lt. D. had quite literally wetted himself (I think so anyway). As for listening in, obviously the ATC were in on the conversation, quite literally, but so was the flight line. I tell you, when the fire trucks came out, the firemen (enlisted) were in stitches... literally. Of course he played his Officer RHIP card but that just fueled the laughter. Anyway, thought I'd share... As for your listening in, sounds really cool. Just curious why the aircraft was on HF for a local ATC comms... bizarre.

I gotta say, that's something I love about amateur radio, the fact that we are the ones administering the exams as opposed to the FCC!!

Lind does make good points. On point 1 there is, of course, the threat to life exception. If it's an emergency, anyone can pick up an amateur radio transceiver and use it, period. In non critical scenarios, he is correct. Regarding news from around the world I half agree with Lind. I agree in that there is a better tool called Short Wave Radio. All you need is a shortwave and you can pick up news stations from across the country or abroad. However, if you want to connect with someone and dive deeper into a given piece of information, then yes. But now we're getting into armageddon level needs. I can't see a regular scenario in which amateur radio would be the best way to obtain news. (Lind loves it when I 'half-agree' with him. Actually so does Anthony. Actually wait, ... 😇)

Hi Jamie and welcome aboard. Our small but growing community is happy to have you on board.

Hi Larry. Thanks for joining our small band of hams. We’re thrilled to have you aboard.

Wait, I'm a vegan with both Jewish and Muslim heritage and I decided to become a ham!? Never thought of that!!!

Let's see if someone else weighs in, if not I'll come back and reply. I don't like to 'hog' the threads 😇

Hey Bill, consider yourself lucky... he could've asked you to transmit on another band 😅

Welcome aboard Tiffany. Tiffany is considering obtaining her amateur radio license. I've been chatting with her via DM. She's hesitating... maybe we can convince her that it's a great idea to get her license 😇

Hi Peter. So glad you joined. Welcome to our small but growing group.

Hi Peter. Welcome aboard!

Hey Rory, welcome aboard our small but growing community. Glad you joined.

Good morning David and welcome to our little group of dedicated amateur radio operators. Glad to have you aboard.

I absolutely love the banjo metaphor. I play classical guitar (a little 🙄) and know what you mean. With your permission, I will use the metaphor going forward. Yes, increase the number of radials, especially in the VHF/UHF range.

Hi again. My follow up answer may sound lazy to you (it is) but if you are interested in antennas, you need to buy the ARRL Antenna Book. This truly is a comprehensive volume of all things antennas, including grounding. Chapter 3 (of my 24th edition) is all about grounding. Now, before picking out the points that I think are most important, let me begin with my tired old speech about complexity. Amateur radio is an exercise in compromise. Anything we do has so many variables. Whether it be grounding, transmission, lines, or antenna design, it's never as simple as a single variable. I could also add that modern day antennas, paired with modern day feedlines and modern day transceivers allow us to overcome many of the shortcomings of a mediocre installation. Obviously, a bad installation is a bad installation, but if an antenna is properly designed, relatively well tuned, and installed not too close to a building or to man-made interference, then it will more than likely operate acceptably well. Now back to the question about length. First of all, good grounding assumes a flat ground. Does it make a difference considering what I just said above? Actually it does. Many have tested what an inclined plane does to a signal and it's very noticeable. As for the number and length of radials, this is where it gets super duper complex (or not). The complex version is too long to type here but suffice it to say that because of ground conductivity, because of wire thickness, because of height above ground (or below) that the number and length of radials is incalculably variable. The conventional wisdom among amateurs is definitely that the radial should be the length of the height of the antenna. Another bit of conventional wisdom is that the shorter the antenna, the more wires you need. This actually makes life simpler because the, as you can imagine, cutting dozens of wires that are the length of a half wave 80m antenna will be expensive and a PITA. A third bit of conventional wisdom, and btw, all of these 'conventional wisdoms' are backed by actual numbers and years of trial and error. So, the third bit is that given the choice between length and quantity of radials, length is better. A very important element in radial design is to be equal! If you have something in the way on one side, forget it... You're better off having all the radials shorter but the same length. As to the number of radials, based on a 1937 study, broadcast towers were deemed effective when they had 120 radials!!!!!! Not a typo. My advice to all amateurs has been the following. I like the number 16. I can calculate my way higher or lower, but 16 has always worked for me, both in practice and mathematically. But if you want absolute precision, I will take the time to calculate the exact/approximate number and length 😉 Not sure if this has been helpful or useless...

Hey Rhett. I second Anthony's welcome! Thanks for joining in.

Hey Bill. Great for you to join our small but growing community. Welcome aboard.

Anthony, I'll give you a much longer response, possibly later today, 'cause I'm rushing out the door, but I did want to point you to a neat vertical antenna which makes great use of radials. I don't expect you to buy it considering how good you are at making things, and considering I love building my own antennas, but this one has some ideas in it that may be of use. There are also a couple of videos. https://dxcommander.com/product-category/products/antenna-kits/classic/

Super duper classy!! I would have expected nothing less from you. Well done!!!! This begs the question though, how did you do it? Are they stick ons? Painted?...

Hi Van. Indeed, welcome to the group. We are a small but growing community of passionate amateur radio operators.