Robert Schoenfeld, KA1ARR

The main transceiver is a Kenwood 940S; my QRP rig is the new Ten-Tec Argonaut (5). On top of the Ten-Tec is ALDG-Z11 auto antenna tuner. On the top shelf is an MFJ Speech Intelligibility Enhancer. I have found this unit of great help as I have a hearing loss in one ear (high frequency) and can adjust the unit to compensate for the loss. Also on the top shelf is the switching arrangement for the 160-10 M dipole and the Cushcraft R8 multiband vertical antenna.

My dipole antenna is a modified design taken from LTC David M. Fiedler and MAJ Edward Farmer’s book “Near Vertical Incidence Skywave Communications.” It is 22 feet off the ground in a “V” configuration. Each leg of the dipole is 65 feet long with the ends tied to 8-ft. posts, approximately 75-ft. from center. An additional 65 feet of wire is soldered on each end and continues on at a 45-degree angle to a 10-ft. grounded base pole in line with the mast. The ends are not tied together, but are spaced by 4-ft., forming a somewhat open loop. The dipole is fed with 60 ft. of 450 ohm open ladder line terminated into a 4:1 balun which then feeds 5 ft. of RG8 into my QTH. The SWR on 160 through 10 Meters varies from less than 1.5 to 1.25 (checked with Bird watt meter). I have found that this dipole is highly efficient for both local QSOs and reasonable DX (±600 miles) depending on band conditions. Any further information can best be found in the book “Near Vertical Incidence Skywave Communications” by
LTC David M. Fiedler and MAJ Edward Farmer.

The Cushcraft R8 multiband vertical antenna is fed with 70-ft. of RG8 coax that runs trough flexible electrical tubing. This is buried 10 inches below the surface of the ground. The 50-ohm coax enters along side of the dipole lead-in. Switching both antennas and transceivers is simple and efficient.