Ultra-light Antennas Based on a Panfish Pole
Contributing Editor, The ARS Sojourner
In my never ending quest for efficient, lightweight backpacking antennas, I've pretty much settled on end fed wires made from Teflon covered #26 stranded hookup wire. When I'm backpacking, I've found that dinner and warmth are my highest priorities when I reach camp in the evening, and I'm likely to blow off radio activities unless the setup is quick and easy.
I like end fed wires with a counterpoise because they require a single support whose location is not critical, and because they don't require a feedline. Although the radiation pattern varies because each setup is different, I don't find that to be a problem in practice. With an antenna tuner, I can operate the end fed wire on all bands. I carried this to its logical extreme when I used a Wilderness Radio Sierra and a ZM-2 tuner on all bands from 160 to 10 with an 82 foot end fed wire and 33 foot counterpoise. Now, I'm using an Elecraft KX1 with internal automatic antenna tuner to work 40, 30 and 20 meters. The ATU makes the end fed wire really practical, because I can tune up using very little battery power and change bands instantly.
The Teflon wire that I used for the end fed wires is slippery and slides over tree limbs easily and seems to be plenty strong for its weight. I've successfully used this lightweight wire to put up a 270 foot horizontal loop, supported with 16 pound monofilament fish line. The loop withstood 30 mph winds and swaying pine tree supports during the day of the contest without damage.
Sometimes, though, there are no trees in the places I like to hike, such as the Southwest deserts and above timberline in the mountains. A couple of years ago I picked up a 14 foot panfish pole from Cabelas and used it to make a lightweight vertical antenna. The antenna uses a 14' radiator, which is slightly short for 20 meters but it seems to work well on both 20 and 30. It uses 8 seven foot radials, and is fed with about 20 feet of 300 ohm TV twin lead. To extend the antenna to 40 meters, I added a clip on 18 foot wire to the top, which I extend to one side and attach to brush or whatever's convenient. This makes the vertical into an inverted L. I've used this antenna to work the Flight of the Bumblebees from above timberline in the San Juan Mountains and the Wind River Range, with good results. Although I'm not really a DXer, I managed to work a Ukrainian on the Wind River trip also.
It recently occurred to me that I could support the end fed wires from the panfish pole. Trying it in the field, I found that the 42 foot wire was even easier to set up than the vertical, and it tunes up better. I've yet to run a contest with this setup, but I've always found the 42 foot wire to be a good performer. The 82 foot wire is certainly better yet, but I don't usually take it backpacking, instead saving it for major events such as Field Day, where I have a 33 foot DK9SQ mast available.
The panfish pole mounts on a wooden dowel which has a 3/16” aluminum tent peg mounted in one end. I cut the eye off the peg, then drilled the end of the dowel and glued the peg into the hole. I added several layers of electrical tape to the top and bottom of the dowel so that the base of the panfish pole would fit snugly. To set up the panfish pole, I just push the stake into firm ground until the dowel is flush with the ground. The panfish pole has so little wind resistance that the stake keeps it up, even in a stiff breeze.
The 20 meter vertical uses a 14 foot radiator which I tie to the eye at the top of the pole. The 18 foot wire used to create the inverted L clips to the top of the radiator with an aligator clip. There's about 20 feet of monofilament at the far end of the inverted L, which I use to tie off the end to the highest object available. Eight 7 foot radials are gathered together and secured with heat shrink tubing. A small loop made from nylon cord is attached to the bundled radials and slips over the base of the pole to secure the radials to the pole so that I can spread them. The feed line clips to the radials and the radiator with alligator clips. The Teflon wire radials don't get tangled, so to pack them up I just gather them together and fold them into a bundle secured with a rubber band.
To set up the end fed wire, I extend the pole, then lay out the wire from my operating site. I tie off the station end of the wire to a bush or a tent guy loop so that the wire won't pull on the rig. Then, I slip the wire through the eye at the top of the pole, then set up the pole at about the midpoint of the wire. The far end has a length of monofilament, and I tie it off to the highest object available in the vicinity of the end of the wire. The result is a sort of end fed inverted V, which takes only 5 minutes to set up, and like the vertical, requires no trees or other natural supports. I've yet to run a contest with this antenna, but it seems to hear well, and tree-supported versions have worked very well in the past.
I plan to be in the Chiricahua Mountains in southeast Arizona shooting photos for a book project during the April Spartan Sprint, so look for me, the KX1, and the panfish inverted V end fed wire on the 5th.
Antenna: Vertical
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Band
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SWR
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40
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5.9
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30
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1.1
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20
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1.0
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Antenna: Inverted L
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Band
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SWR
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40
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2.5
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30
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1.0
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20
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1.3
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Antenna: 42' end fed wire with 16' counterpoise
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Band
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SWR
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40
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1.1
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30
|
1.5
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20
|
1.0
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Antenna: 82' end fed wire with 33' counterpoise
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Band
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SWR
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40
|
1.0
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|
30
|
1.0
|
|
20
|
1.0
|
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Panfish pole antenna components. The panfish pole, it's bag and the mounting stake are in the center. Above them are the components for the vertical antenna. Below the pole are two end fed wires, 42 amd 82 feet long with counterpoise wires. |
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The radiator and inverted L wire for the vertical |
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The radials for the vertical |
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Twin lead feedline for the vertical |
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The mounting stake |
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Detail showing the aluminum tent peg mounted in the dowel |
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The 14 foot panfish pole |
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82 foot endfed wire with 33 foot counterpoise |
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42 foot endfed wire with 16 foot counterpoise |
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The mounting stake in the ground. The twin lead feedline is behind the stake, terminated in two alligator clips. |
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The panfish pole on the mounting stake |
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The panfish pole set up. Notice that there are taller trees on this operating site. If I hadn't been testing the pole, I would have used the trees for antenna supports! |
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Base of the panfish pole with the vertical antenna set up, showing the feedline clipped to the radials and the radiator |
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The radiator hanging down the panfish pole. |
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The radials |
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The panfish pole and radiator wire |
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View from my operating site |
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The panfish pole supporting the 42 foot end fed wire |
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The Elecraft KX1 at the operating position |
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Another view, from the slope of the cinder cone just below the operating
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