This week I will address my take on “Vertical” antennas…see below.
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STATUS UPDATE: As of March 3, 14:45 UTC.
Finally, a nice sunny day here on the island. Both camps are safe and secure with 8 tents in total. One camp is located at the NA focus location.
Equipment is – 10 ICOM 7610 radios and 10 amps in the camps- ACOM 2020s,1400s & 500s.
We have antennas for all bands in the air except 10m. We are operating 4 stations now from 500W to 1 kW+. Two yagis for 20m + one for 17/12, 1 18m top-loaded 160m, 1 full size 80m verticals.
Tomorrow the 10m antennas will go up, with an another for 17/12.
Expect 160m every night as long as the antenna holds up. We do have spares!
Tonight, we plan 160,80,40 & 30m.
Expected operation till March 18 or 20, weather dependent.
As mentioned I will no longer be publishing a comprehensive list of DX, Contests or Special Events. However I will list below the sites where you can find the information I use weekly to bring you the info.
1 – DX World.Net: https://www.dx-world.net/?s=bulletin Click on “Read More” then “Download the Latest Bulletin”. My favourite site for information!
2 – 425 DX News: https://www.425dxn.org/ Under “News & Updates” click on the latest update or any of the links along the top to find what is of interest to you.
3 – Ham Radio World: https://www.hamradioworld.org/ Click on whatever interest you.
4 – DX News.Com: https://dxnews.com/ Click on whatever interest you.
5 – DXing with VA3RJ: https://www.qsl.net/va3rj/dx.html Dave has a lot of info on his site.
Take note of Solar Flares, they are a huge part of successful DXing and Contesting on HF!
To see the daily conditions go to: https://solar.w5mmw.net/
WA7BNM Contest Calendar to Wednesday Feb 12, 2026. Information for the next 8 Days of Contest go to: https://www.contestcalendar.com/weeklycont.php
Contests to look forward to this weekend:
ARRL Inter. DX Contest, SSB: 0000Z, Mar 7 to 2400Z, Mar 8
Vertical Antennas…
For most of my DXing I used dipoles, Delta loops and beams and for some reason neglected verticals. When I was having problems making DX contacts on the low bands I decided to try the Cushcraft AV-80. On a trip to the New Hampshire Flea Market I picked up 2 Cushcraft AV-80’s which were co-phased making them directional. The verticals worked exceptionally well until the inevitable ice storm hit and away went the verticals. Unfortunately the construction was less than adequate for this part of the world. I did salvage enough to build a single vertical but even guyed lasted only a few years until ice got it again.
My next vertical was a linear loaded vertical for 160M by M2 which was built to last the nastiest of storms. After a few years using this antenna I decided to dismantle it and use the parts for other verticals on 30M, 40M and 80M. I built these antennas to withstand our WX with parts from the 160M vertical and schedule 80 pipes I had acquired over the years, most from the flag poles used during the Confederation Bridge opening.
The downfall for many hams is the lack of space for the radials required for verticals as well verticals are prone to picking up a lot of noise depending on where you live and what might be close to you QTH. Verticals require a good ground radial system with a minimum of from 8 to 32 radials. See: https://brokensignal.tv/pages/ground-radials-hf-antenna-guide.html
How to Put Amateur Radio Radial Wires Down Without Digging….
The best time to put down radial wires for your amateur radio setup is in the fall or early spring but it can be done other times as well. I have even done it in the fall and had good results.
The idea behind installing radial wires without digging is to let your grass grow over the radials and protect them from the mower. You don’t have to trench or bury them!
First, mow the grass pretty short in the areas where you will be laying the radial wires down. Notice, I didn’t say “scalp” it—just lower the mower until the grass is about one-inch or so long after cutting. (Remember to readjust the height of the mower back to normal before you put it away).
Some AM broadcast engineers might tell you that the radials should be as long as you can make them up to about 1/2 wavelength. However, if you can only do 1/4-wave or 1/8-wave in certain directions then do it and don’t worry about it. They won’t be resonant since they are lying on (or in) the ground. You will be surprised how much better your vertical will work. After you install a few radials and see how much better you antenna performs you will have an urge to put in more of them. Remember, laying them on the ground (or burying them) detunes them, so electrical length is relatively unimportant. Don’t resist – more is better.
TIP: If it isn’t possible to lay radials 360 degrees around your vertical then laying them in a half moon or 180 degrees will work fairly well. Don’t over think your situation…lay at least 8 radials!
Finally, starting from the antenna end of the radial wires and about every three-to-four feet, hold the wire down with a landscape wire staple (available at Princess Auto or at most Garden Centers) while pulling the radial out from the antenna to keep it taut. Push it in as far as possible to get the wire as close to the grass roots as possible. I typically use a hammer or rubber mallet to drive the staples home. If a radial wire is sticking up any place due to uneven ground or the wire is loose just put another staple or two at those points. The idea is to get all parts of the wire down as close as possible to the ground so that the grass can grow over it. The wire radial will disappear and the staple will eventually rust away. Your mower will miss them completely. I have also laid coax on the grass using this method which also works very well.
How Many, How Long: Advice for Installing Ground or Above Ground Radials by Mark (K8MSH): https://www.onallbands.com/how-many-how-long-advice-for-installing-ground-or-above-ground-radials%EF%BB%BF/
For my 30M, 40M and 80M verticals I used the design and measurements from DX Engineering all of which worked extremely well…info below:
I then bought the DXE-7580FS-VA-2 from DX Engineering which I never did assemble and use…that antenna is new and “for sale” and negotiable if anyone is interested: https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/dxe-7580fs-va-2
I have also used the multi band type commercial verticals such as such as the Cushcraft R5 and R7, HyGain 14AVQ and Butternut verticals. These antennas all worked reasonably well although the Butternut antennas require ground radials where the others do not.
73 de Ken VY2RU