Any Antenna Is Better Than No Antenna!

It's a saying newbie hams hear very often: any antenna is better than no antenna!

The saying encourages hams, often completely lost as to what antenna to buy or make, to simply get anything that will accept RF energy and radiate it towards some distant land.

Take two of these (preferably without plastic bits that isolate one part from the other) and connect up some feeder and an ATU.  Voila!  An antenna that will get you out across Europe, maybe beyond.

What many green-behind-the-ears hams don't realise is that there is an awful lot of metal stuff that will act as an antenna, albeit not very efficient ones in most cases.  Plenty have connected two metal step ladders or shopping trolleys to some coax or twinfeed, and managed to get out to at least one skip distance - typically about 1000 miles.

So if you are really confused by the adverts that claim their  antenna is made from aircraft alloys and will deliver real DX (whilst costing you much more money than it should), then try two bits of wire for a dipole, or some step ladders (which, admittedly, cost quite a bit if you buy them new!)

Poor Jerry had to listen hard, but the simplest of wires did allow a QSO - if only just.  Much better than no antenna at all!  Image: PH9HB

As a case in point, I normally use a delta loop, itself just a triangle of wire, but which is a very capable antenna for global DX, especially from my uncluttered, elevated position with good ground (I live on a metal deposit!)   But today, it was a very strong, blustery northerly wind, gusting about 45mph.  The delta can take that sort of wind, but I prefer not to chance it too much.

So, with very little time on my hands, I put up an end-fed wire as a sloper from a 6 metre fishing pole in a hurry.  I was lucky enough to hear PH9HB/AM somewhere over Hungary at 39,000 feet.  I gave him a call, and he heard me, albeit at a weak 3/3 report (short of not being heard at all, my worst ever report!)  Still, we did manage a confirmed QSO, which is more than I would have done with no antenna at all!

Geoff Brown, G-Whip, makes these lovely matched end-feds, which rarely need an ATU, and deliver very good performance at a low price.  The Hawaii Emergency Radio Club also makes a very effective, multiband version.

So there it is: proof positive that, even if your signal isn't contest station quality, any antenna really is better than no antenna!   So connect something up, and forget the conflicting bravado on internet forums, which serve only to make things worse!