Saturday, 17 April 2021

Short visit with a short antenna.

Little did I know that my decision to go down th beach with the shortened 20m vertical last evening was coinciding with a G2 storm!  Despite this, I was quite amazed by the performance of the tiny antenna.  It showed a perfect match at the beach, needing no 'tweaking', and using only one radial.  

Finally, it's warm!
 

For sure, it's a lot easier and much less obtrusive to use this antenna at the beach, even if it's somewhat less of a performer than a full-sized vertical.

I'm, 188cm tall, making the antenna pretty compact. 
 

I didn't have time to go chasing after some QSOs, mindful I had only a maximum 6W PEP under such conditions!  But I did capture some nice videos of the received signals.  The audio of the FT-818 out in the open is just outstanding, I have to say; great for attracting passers-by, wondering where the South African accent is coming from!  

The new LiFePO4 battery, which feels like an empty plastic box in the hand, worked great - no more heavy rucksack!



1 comment:

PE4BAS, Bas said...

Hello John, basically the antenna is the same as my superantenna MP-1. I think it would have similair results. Great signal from ZS on the beach. 73, Bas