Longtime Elmer, and writer for many amateur radio club newsletters in Colorado and California. 7 articles on OneShack, each to read here or download as a PDF to print.
© Bill Rinker, W6OAV. Shared on OneShack with his permission. Not to be copied or reused without his permission.
Antennas
By Bill Rinker, W6OAV
Covenants pushed Bill's HF antennas into the attic in 1986, and he has worked the world from there since. What he learned: stop trying to resonate anything, put up the biggest wire that fits, feed it with ladder line, and let the tuner do the work.
Antennas · Equipment
By Bill Rinker, W6OAV
An SWR of 3:1, or even 10:1, costs far less than most operators think — provided the feedline is good and the tuner is doing its job. And the same fact gives you one wire that works on every band.
Antennas
By Bill Rinker, W6OAV
Lengthening a vertical past 5/8 wavelength should send the signal skyward — yet commercial dual band antennas are longer than that and still claim gain at the horizon. Here is how they do it, and how to read their gain figures.
Antennas · Operating
By Bill Rinker, W6OAV
A magnetic loop and a pair of Hamstick whips, each set up in a covenant-controlled yard and compared against a full size reference vertical over a week of real contacts.
Equipment · History
By Bill Rinker, W6OAV
Before digital readouts, knowing where you were transmitting took two dials, a crystal oscillator and a half hour of warm-up. How hams in the 1950s and 60s got onto the right frequency.
Equipment · Operating
By Bill Rinker, W6OAV
Your portable station is only as reliable as its power source. Choosing between sealed lead acid, lithium-ion and LiFePO₄, sizing the battery, estimating operating time, wiring it safely and keeping it charged with solar.
Antennas · Equipment
By Bill Rinker, W6OAV
Plenty of antenna ads quote a gain figure that means nothing at all. Here is how to read them: what a dB really is, how dBi and dBd differ, and the three rules that protect you from a misleading claim.