QRP before QRP was cool…
We had a spare upstairs bedroom, so I decided to make a workshop / radio room. Step 1, make a new workbench. Its made of 2×4’s and topped with 3/4″ plywood and masonite. The masonite work surface is replaceable by removing the aluminum trim. Also, the masonite can be flipped over for a new work surface. Here is the bench with everything in its place. I aslo added a mini lathe and mill machines to the side bench.
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I didn’t have time to test the antenna before our cabin trip, so I took some measurements on-site. The antenna was strung between the upper deck of the cabin and a nearby tree. The wire I used was 63 feet long, I intended to cut it to length when the antenna was put up. What actually happened was I passed the end of the wire through a plastic dog bone insulator and wrapped it back on itself about a foot, and called it good. The SWR turned out to be so close to perfect, I didn’t make any adjustments. Here
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I found some stranded, silver plated #22 wire that has Teflon insulation. It’s not copper-weld, but it’s tough stuff. I attached a 63 foot piece, and wrapped it around the PCB. According to the chart, the wire should be 61’6″, so I will have to trim the antenna for best SWR on site.
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Just finished building the kit. The instructions and illustrations were very good and easy to follow. Assembly took less than an hour. I will be using this antenna on our yearly cabin trip coming up in July 2019. I will do some testing before then and publish the results.
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