Foundations Of Amateur Radio

Foundations of Amateur Radio The other day I was asked about what antenna should you get as your first one. This question is pretty simple, but the answer is likely much less so. You might recall that I've pointed out that we can prove you physically cannot build the ideal antenna, so by definition all antennas are compromises. You might also find yourself being bamboozled by claims about how an antenna is the perfect match across all or many frequencies. The same is true for a dummy load where the purpose is not to radiate at all. With that in mind and armed with a healthy dose of scepticism, you can now go hunting for the answer. On my journey through this minefield of mysticism I went from a self built wire vertical on a squid pole with a 16 radial ground plane and an electronic antenna coupler, through a set of purchased single band verticals, a wire dipole, a wire delta loop, a Buddi-pole, a magnetic loop, a multi-tap vertical, and many others along the way. Some of those antennas were bought, othe