Antennas

My Antenna Projects

Here’s a running list of antennas I’ve built, tinkered with, or just found interesting. If you’re into DIY ham radio, you might find something here to spark your own experiments!

Arrow Dual-Band Clone

This was my very first antenna project, built not long after I earned my technician license. I remember the excitement of making my first contact with something I’d put together myself. It got me hooked on building my own gear.

2M 1/4 Wave Ground Plane

This is my daily driver for chatting on 2 meters from home, hooked up to the Yaesu FT-991a base station. It’s reliable, easy to build, and just works.

Multiband Fan Dipole

I’m currently working on a multiband fan dipole with elements tuned for 10M, 20M, and 40M. Each band has its own set of wires, all hanging from the same feedpoint. It’s a bit of a puzzle getting the spacing right so the bands don’t interfere with each other, but that’s half the fun! I’m still trimming and testing for the best SWR, but so far, it’s working well and lets me hop around the HF bands without a tuner.

Black Widow Fishing Pole Antenna

This is a recent experiment: I picked up a 10-meter collapsible Black Widow BW6 fishing pole (Amazon affiliate link) and turned it into a portable antenna. The key is the loading coil, which I printed from this Thingiverse design. It’s super light, packs down small, and is perfect for field operations or quick setups in the backyard. The coil lets me fine-tune to a specific band. I love how easy it is to deploy—just stick the holder in the ground, string the counterpoise and, optionally, guy wires, and get on the air.

Black Widow BW6 antenna packed up and ready for adventure
Black Widow BW6 antenna packed up and ready for adventure.

I’m always looking for new ideas, so if you’ve built something cool or have tips for tuning these designs, let me know. Ham radio is all about sharing and experimenting.