Friday, May 31, 2024

Antenna Ready

The antennas will be a pair of "DX-Commander" style verticals.  Caged verticals that offer 40m through 10m.

These won't be name-brand DX-Commander Expedition antennas, but home-brew equivalents that are ready for work on LHI.

The SWR and performance seem to be inline with the capabilities expected.  

The fabrication involved a bit of TIG welding to make the fittings ideal.   The aluminum was minimized to the point where the whole antenna is very light-weight.   Instead of copper wire for elements, I'm using aluminum solid core #17 gauge for the driven elements and radials.   The aluminum wire is easier to work with, lighter, stronger and can be repaired in the field much faster.

What's an antenna build without a blow-torch, anyway.




The days are counting down and soon I'll be pre-packing everything up into the gear cases to make the journey.   I think I can get it all into three items of luggage and one carry on.  

The bulkiest items will be:

KPA-500 + KAT-500 
K3/100
200 feet of RG-8X.
Two 32 foot verticals for 80-10m


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Small Film

I made a short film. It will document highlights and provide an essence of the experience on Lord Howe Island. Please enjoy.