The AM Forum

I was camping last Labor Day weekend and thought it would be nice to bring some ham equipment along with me next year, but I don't have any sort of portable antenna and thought I'd ask what do you folks use for portable antennas?  The ones in the ARRL antenna handbook or something else?  I'm primarily interested in 80m and don't want to lug a lot of stuff.  I'll be using a Swan 350 (yeah, I know it's primarily a slopbucket rig, but it's a lot lighter than the 32V-1 in the shack, plus I'll be using it on AM.)

Scott Todd

I do a lot of camping & have tried many different antennas. My favorite is a 90' (approx.) center fed doublet that I can hang in an inverted V, sloper, L, Inv. L or standard dipole configuration depending on the available supports at the campsite. Feed it with cheapo radshack TV twin lead. You'll need to take along a tuner but you'll be able to load 10-80 with decent results. Go low dipole for NVIS or Inv L for DX.

I keep one rolled up in the back of my pickup. Light, easily packed away, easily hoisted with a slingshot.

My 2 cents.

  When I go camping it is really going in the RV. In this case I have had good luck with some inexpensive single band whip antennas I bought in Dayton but have seen at other ham fests. They are usually less than $10 a piece.  I have a mount on the luggage rack for the antenna and run the coax down under the awning to the picnic table. When you want to change bands, you just replace the whole antenna. When done I remove the antenna and coax and store them in the "home". Of course, the RV has a 27 foot one piece aluminum roof that helps. You could probably do this with a car if it is close to your site.
  But you would be better off with some sort of dipole or long wire/tuner combination for 80 meters. I just find these whips very easy to deal with.

I use one of the Radio Works Carolina Windom 40 models since I don't operate 80 portable.  It is easy to put up (all you need is a couple of trees or you can use a single tree/mast with it in an inverted V configuration.  It seems to work OK and has stood up to numerous camping trips to the Smokies and the Rockies.  It is easy enough to make your own but I won this one at a hamfest quite a while ago and winning is even cheaper than making!

Rodger WQ9E

   Scott, I just did some portable operation a couple of weeks ago in Vermont. Used a FT-101 with MFJ tuner and G5RV type ant, coax fed with a balun between the coax and ladder line. I couldn't get the ant very high up, but it worked out fine. I did not want to use a long wire due to high voltage usually ending up at the rig end or on the microphone, and because of the somewhat unpredictable ant and rig installation. If I did use a long wire, I would use a counterpoise wire under the ant. I would rather have used ladder line or twinlead all the way from tuner to ant, but the cheap MFJ tuner has a miniscule toroid in it, and it did not work well. Sure I could have used another tuner, but the only other tuners I have are much bigger, and the MFJ has built in metering and dum dum load. I will use this setup again, but I will bring a bigger slingshot or something better at flinging a fishing weight..........Larry

Seems to me, if you're only interested in 80 meters...
Why not just a plain old dipole fed with coax ?

Simple,  quick to put up..etc.  don't need a tuner..


I suppose if you're in a crowded camping area, the length might be an issue...
In that case, take a tuner, and as much wire as you can string out........

When I go out portable I use a 1/4 wave endfed, a tuner, with a counterpoise.  I have had good results performancewise, and it's easy to set it up in a sloper configuration to a tree.  It's also nice and compact carrying-wise.

73,
Ellen - AF9J

You were coming into VT FB with that set up Bill, until the band took a dive. Typical for 40m, otherwise we'd still be talking.  ;D

My ant at home isn't terribly high up (maybe 25-35') but has worked well to the West Coast and almost to Europe. So it seems a simple wire ant, dipole or otherwise, would be the way to go in the 'best bang for the buck/size' category. Hang some of those little porcelain egg insulators on the ends with lightweight nylon rope, however many feet of RG-58 or mini 8X and away you go. When you're done, simply roll it up and tie it well to prevent tangling.

I'd guess that big power isn't an issue when running portable (camping), so 58 or even lightweight twinlead should be fine. But I'm with '1Z, coax dipole should be fine and simpler to deal with.

 

For years I have used an end fed zepp (right out of the old ARRL antenna book) with success.  It is 66' long fed with ladder line.  Used it on 80 through 10 meters.  Never worried about a counterpoise or ground.  Easy to put up and feed. 

(http://amfone.net/Amforum/gallery/32_19_09_08_11_01_54.JPG)

Speed kills - one cast with the fishing pole...

Same setup as Ellen; quarter wave against ground. 66 Feet of wire (33 feet for 40m) as vertical as possible and whatever I can string out preferably into some nearby stream or lake, vehicle or tentpole for ground. No tuner.

I used this setup with my 2 Watt CW QRP for years camping as a well as with my GRC-9. 

This said, of course a dipole or inveted Vee will work better, if you can get it up in the air! Otherwise you are making a cloud warmer and the vertical quater wave will beat it easily.

Mike WU2D

Actually I was considering the dipole as the best option, at least in terms of simplicity.  The only thing that concerns me is the weight of the coax in the center.  It's better when you have three trees to work with but would only have been able to anchor the ends of the antenna this last go-round, hence asking this question in the first place.

A related question- those of you using slingshots:  do you use that fancy one advertised on QRZ or do you find the more pedestrian models work well enough?

My dipole usually doesn't have much of a center support, and the ends are held by mason twine...
(My "center" tree is about 20 feet out of line with the end supports)
Only breaks once a year !

My slingshot is a $12 (new) off ebay, (kinda PW, but will hit a 60 foot branch with a 1/4" drive, 3/8" socket for a weight)
The reel is a salvage off an old fishing pole... 
Works just fine... Why spend $80+  ?