Random Wire Antenna - Urban Portable

I built a Random Wire Antenna. Here’s how I did it and my results.
#RandomWireAntenna #HamRadio #AmateurRadio

Link to some websites I gathered information from:

[pdotzdb]

That's really cool. I love this kind of "improvisational" or "expedient" demo that gives an idea of what's possible with a minimalist kit.

[temporarilyoffline]

Always fun to play with antenna setups! My second favorite thing to do!

[brianmorris]

A lot of ham operators, and in general, just shortwave listeners forget the excitement of connecting with someone in a different country the old way. Yes, we have skype, zoom, and other social media...but it isn't the same thrill of experimenting and learning about different antennas and their capabilities. I still enjoy listening to shortwave listening to my Sangean ATS-505. Am amazed what I get on that thing. I also still have my parents old mantle radio hooked up to another antenna...the radio has been worked over by a hobby radtech, ex airforce. He got it back to tip top condition, found a new valve for it and I felt like a kid again, when I lived in Sydney, doing as I was then listening to far away stations, in foriegn countries. Unless kids have any connection to a ham operator or someone simply with a shortwave set, they'll never know the joy we had all those years ago. Simple pleasures.. I've lived in South Australia, north of Adelaide nowadays, since '72.
Keep it going Walter, your enthusiasm for your hobby is wonderful.

[dannyshortwave]

It is always interesting to play with different antenna setups. Especially when you put the antennas at different angles and directions. I enjoyed watching this video. Thank you and have a good day. 😊

[LBFI]

Great video! I actually find that random wire antennas are way better than their reputation. Also, I prefer to call Poland southern Europe :)

[Matt-qqdh]

Thank you very much for these videos. I'm looking at your Sloper videos and getting some great ideas from you. One thing that help me on my SWR is a toroid FT-240-43 with 12 wraps of RG-58 cable that I made hooked directly between the transceiver and the feedline. It dropped the SWR from 3.4 to 1.1. I have a 35.5 ft random wire antenna stretched around my room inside. It is compromised but I do get some reception on it. I was getting RF reflected back into my transceiver due to my antenna location near the radio. That choke dropped the SWR. I tried the radio with and without the choke I made. It did make a big difference. Thank you again for your videos and for giving me some ideas.

[davidc]

Nice things about these antenna is they can be bent around trees in pretty much direction you want, and they work well. In a neighborhood like you have, antenna height means a lot more than the type because signals broadcast/leaving the antenna in the Freznel zone will be absorbed by wire in other houses, trees, shrubs, you name it. If you can get the antenna high, meaning at rooftop level, will make a difference in how you send and receive. I live in a similar neighborhood, and have built many different types of antenna, and this has been my experience. Great job trying different antenna's and coming up with your own conclusions. This is what I enjoy about ham radio.

[KQJGS]

Great content Walt. Really enjoyed this one. 💯

[wwok]

I have an EFRW 71’ flat top up about 50’ with a DIY 9:1 unun and 50’ coax. I am continually amazed how good this wire works. As you said, not the best, but pretty darn good.

[mktwatcher]

Excellent Video Walt. Keep on Making It Happen !

[paulkinas]

Thanks for the video. I also run a "random length" 41 ft. wire antenna to a 9 to 1 homebrew unun. and tuner, for POTA for several years now. I have about 2000 CW contacts running 5 watts or less power with it. On 20 meters I have contacts into KL7, Poland, Spain. France, Finland, other European countries, and 40 some states in the US. It loads well on 10 through 40 meters. I run the antenna as a sloper, with the low end about 5-6 feet off the ground, and the high end 20-30 feet up (or however far I can toss a rope over a tree limb). It has worked almost as well (sometines better) than my EFHW antenna for portable QRP POTA work. Give it a try, it really works well! Paul NA9M

[lonesomekennels]

A 41’ end fed is my go to POTA/SOTA QRP antenna. It continues to amaze me. I normally deploy it 4 to 6 feet off the ground. Sure makes Ham Radio fun.

73,

Ron KF4GNV

[redstickham]

Great video. EndFed antennas can work well, but they can also pick up more noise than other types of antennas but like was said in the video, all antennas are compromise antennas. I had a 60 foot wire I had used for SWLing in an attic that I later used as a ham antenna when I got licensed. It was about 60 feet shaped in a U, but for the feedline, I just had a single wire coming into the shack and into the tuner. It worked pretty well, but of course, there were RF in the shack issues on 15-10. Even so, had fun with it.

[ianprittie]

Wow Australia! That is a major success!

[jonmcadams]

I like your tests of different configurations of an antenna that should be better known! I'm using a 71' stealth non resonant sloper, 15' at high end, 6' low end, 9:1 unun, 50' LMR240 coax, common mode choke, no counterpoise. SWR 1.2 to 1 or less with no tuner 20, 17, 15, 12, 10. SWR is 1.5 to 1 or less using my G90 or XPA125B tuner on 160, 75/80, 60, 40, 30. Have made contacts on all HF bands. From California worked Europe, Baltic, Mediterranean, Africa, South and Central America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand on SSB. Daily 80 & 40 SSB nets with solid 5/9 reports. Using from 1 watt QRP to 100 watts SSB. A remarkable low cost all band HF antenna!

[piotrka]

Great video, great channel. I've just purchased G90 and see I can achieve so much in my location even with such a piece of wire. Greetings from Gdańsk :-)

[penzman]

I'm having fun with a Nelson 9:1 on FT8 10 to 160. Well worth it. Can't install my 6BTV here and there are plenty of wires and bus engines around but it's sloping up a tree and perfect for now.

[agoraphobicadam]

That little G-90 seems to do a decent job along with almost any antenna.

[dangermandave]

Great result with that high noise floor. I've got a G90 too. That internal ATU is great, eh? I've also used my FX-4C with a 41' random wire and ATU-100 tuner successfully. I use LDG ununs. For my random wire, I use the LDG 9:1 and a 1:1 at the radio end.

[garyh]

I use my own as helical up a 10m fibreglass pole. Appears to reduce stress and drag on the pole. It works well with my G90, 73