Gen 3 of the NY4G End Fed Half Wave (Ariel's Aerials)

 

I have added both the 60m and 80m extensions to the system

The 60 meter extension is particularly suited to the narrow allocation on 60m between 5.3 MHz and 5.4 MHz.  The SWR is at or below 1.5:1 for the entire 60m allocation.  See the image below:

Weight of the entire antenna is 316g with the 60m extension - or only 53g heavier than the base antenna with 40-6m coverage.

Testing of the antenna using the Reverse Beacon Network on December 26, 2020 showed that the second harmonic of the 40m half wave has a better signal than the third harmonic of the 80 half wave as seen on the 20m RBN hits at 1527 UTC on 14.061 MHz (third harmonic) versus the ones at a later time on14.065 and 14.067 MHz (second harmonic).  RBN S/N ratio on both the 60m and 80m extensions were quite good and comparable to the 20m S/N ratio.  One can easily be heard on the 60m and 80m extensions.

The band width on 80m is quite narrow - with the 2:1 SWR band width being about 100 kHz wide and the extension must be carefully tuned for the rig to be employed.   If you are a recent buyer of the LNR MTR4Bv2 or the YouKits 7 Band 2020 version (https://www.youkits.com/products/youkits-hb-1b-mk5-2020-4-band-qrp-cw-transceiver-fully-assembled-and-tested), these extensions would be perfect.

Contrast the above image with the full size 135 foot EFHW Inverted L shown by the image below - shows that the shortening of the antenna has reduced the bandwidth by a factor of 3.  The KX3 being my shack radio has no problem tuning the antenna in the upper portion of 75m in the phone portion

Gen2 of the NY4G End Fed Half Wave

 

Generation 2 with the following improvements:

Winder is separable from the transformer so it can be replaced if damaged or if one that is impervious to weather is desired, a plastic one may be substituted

The end caps are now made of aluminum instead if walnut.   This gives more ruggedness to these parts.

Picture shown below is during testing and pruning for best balance across the bands.

Walnut winder and transformer box

88 feet of wire in the air for 60m operation.  The 60m extension is separable so that the 40-20-15-10-6 can also be deployed - resonant on these five bands

Walnut transformer box and white UHMW winder

Pruning and VSWR scans - the following are typical from the bottom end of each band

to the top portion of the band

The 60m extension connected

Antenna for SOTA, POTA, and DXpeditions

Initial Prototype:  The initial prototype had a turns ratio of 14:2 (14 secondary and 2 primary).  It used a single 100 pF capacitor across the center conductor to ground.  The tests of this initial prototype after pruning for a best compromise resulted in:

2:1 SWR Bandwidth on 40 meters is 6.730 -> 7.530 MHz with a dip to 1.3:1 SWR at 7.060 MHz

2:1 SWR Bandwidth on 20 meters is 13.910 -> 14.806 MHz with a dip to 1:1 SWR at 14.360 MHz

2:1 SWR Bandwidth on 15 meters is 21.010 -> 22.070 MHz with a dip to 1.6:1 SWR at 21.610 MHz

2:1 SWR Bandwidth on 10 meters is 29.1 -> 30.8 MHz with a dip to 1.8:1 SWR at 29.900 MHz

On 10m it is not very usable unless one has an ATU.

The second prototype (photo below) used two 220 pF capacitors in series which technically by the numbers should be 110 pF.  My measurements of the capacitance was closer to 130 - 140 pF.  This had a substantial effect on making 10 meters usable without a tuner.   The results are as follows:

2:1 SWR Bandwidth on 40 meters is 6.820 -> 7.510 MHz with a dip to 1.3:1 SWR at 7.150 MHz

2:1 SWR Bandwidth on 20 meters is 13.990 -> 14.840 MHz with a dip to 1:1 SWR at 14.430 MHz

2:1 SWR Bandwidth on 15 meters is 20.950 -> 22.270 MHz with a dip to 1.1:1 SWR at 21.650 MHz

2:1 SWR Bandwidth on 10 meters is 29.1 -> 30.8 MHz with a dip to 1.3:1 SWR at 29.900 MHz

Being a link dipole for 30m - here are the results for 30m:

2:1 SWR Bandwidth on 30 meters is 9.730 -> 10.880 MHz with a dip to 1.0:1 SWR at 10.280 MHz with a SWR between 1.3 and 1.2:1 from 10.100 to 10.150 MHz

A third prototype had the following results (identical in construction to the second one) with the following results.

2:1 SWR Bandwidth on 40 meters is 6.820 -> 7.500 MHz with a dip to 1.3:1 SWR at 7.150 MHz

2:1 SWR Bandwidth on 20 meters is 13.980 -> 14.850 MHz with a dip to 1:1 SWR at 14.440 MHz

2:1 SWR Bandwidth on 15 meters is 20.780 -> 22.280 MHz with a dip to 1.2:1 SWR at 21.600 MHz

2:1 SWR Bandwidth on 10 meters is 24.5 -> 29.9 MHz (which actually overlaps into 12 meters) with a dip to 1.1:1 SWR which is wide - 28.0 to 28.5 MHz so 10 meters is now perfectly usable without a tuner and so is 12m which is a very narrow band.

This is one heck of an antenna - requiring no tuner on 40m, 20m, 15m, 12m and 10m and power handling ability as follows SSB 60w, CW - 40w and Digital (key down) - 30w.

The final product:

 

 

All Time New One (ATNO) #315. South Orkney Islands

This DXpedition took place between late February and early March 2020 just before the pandemic hit with full force.  Because of the pandemic, the major DXpeditions have been cancelled.  The one going to Midway was one I was looking forward to but became victim to the pandemic.   The last major one I was able to work was VP8PJ and I was able to make contact on 30m CW.  Between the sunspot minimum and the effects of the pandemic - I will likely be stuck on #315 for a long while.

My latest activation videos

My new backpacking set-up for SOTA Activations

 For backpacking where minimalism is important to me, my go to radio is the LNR MTR3B Mountain Topper.   The radio itself weighs 174 grams.  WG0AT has repackaged his into a clear lid tin that only weighs 120g.   With the battery and the key made GM0EUL, the whole set up weighs less than a pound.

I used a small camera case which has the earbud.

For an antenna, I use a 40-30-20 link dipole.  There is a separable link for 30m.  Separating this link makes it an EFHW on 30m.  With the link connected - it is a full wave on 20m and a half wave on 40m.  The winder is a home made UHMW PE plastic.  The line is spearfishing line and the wire is from SOTABeams.  The weight includes the weight of the line thrower.   

The entire set-up including antenna, radio, etc weighs about 1.5 pounds including the waterproof dry bag from Sea-to-Summit.