2026-07-31 01:27 UTC
RE: https://ioc.exchange/@flyingsaceur/117011857542955774
Co-signing this.
Yes antennas can be simple and inexpensive and easy to build. But when I bought my HF rig this year I also bought a commercial antenna so that I could have some assurance that everything should just work and if it doesn’t it’s not because of a faulty piece of homebrew equipment. Now I have a “known good” baseline where I can experiment with different antennas (or radios or feedlines or …) and compare the result.
Replies (1)
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@W6KME@mastodon.radio 2026-07-31 01:32
@KD3BTG@mastodon.radio Everyone should start HF with a dipole. Period. Doesn't need to be fancy, doesn't need to be commercially made (nothing wrong with that either), doesn't even need a balun at the feed point; can add that later. Just needs to be simple. Multi-band antennas (other than plain dipoles that do double duty, like 40m/15m) have their own learning curves and sets of challenges. Do that stuff once you know how to operate your radio and use all of its features. That's what I tell students.