‰  NOW 35 WPM  ‰  TEXT IS FROM MARCH 2009 QST  PAGES 34, 35 AND 81  ‰

ZIP CORD ANTENNAS AND FEED LINES FOR PORTABLE APPLICATIONS DONT LET LACK OF
REAL TRANSMISSION LINE KEEP YOU OFF THE AIR.  WILLIAM A. PARMLEY, KR8L
BECAUSE OF MY INTEREST IN PORTABLE LOW POWER OPERATION ON THE HF BANDS
OFTEN REFERRED TO AS HFPACKING, I DECIDED TO LOOK INTO THE POSSIBILITY OF
CONSTRUCTING LIGHTWEIGHT, PORTABLE ANTENNAS AND FEED LINES USING COMMONLY
AVAILABLE ZIP CORD.  THIS IS A SUBJECT THAT WAS EXPLORED PREVIOUSLY IN A
QST ARTICLE THAT QUESTIONED THE USEFULNESS OF ZIP CORD AS A FEED LINE FOR
THE HIGHER HF BANDS.  ALTHOUGH MY RESULTS ARE IN GENERAL AGREEMENT WITH THE
EARLIER TESTS, I BELIEVE I CAN SHOW THAT WITH THE PROPER SELECTION OF
MATERIAL AND CAREFUL DEPLOYMENT, FEED LINE LOSSES CAN BE MINIMIZED ON THE
HIGHER HF BANDS, MAKING ZIP CORD DIPOLE AND FEED LINE COMBINATIONS
SATISFACTORY PERFORMERS.  THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE FOR PORTABLE, LOW POWER
OPERATIONS IN WHICH SOME COMPROMISE MAY BE ACCEPTABLE IN THE INTEREST OF
SAVING WEIGHT AND BULK.  OTHER POTENTIAL USES FOR THIS TYPE OF ANTENNA AND
FEED LINE COMBINATION MIGHT INCLUDE ARRL FIELD DAY OR A STEALTH SITUATION
IN WHICH THE OPERATOR NEEDED AN EASILY STOWED ANTENNA THAT COULD BE ERECTED
‰  FROM PAGE 81  ‰
C C LW3DN 2,697 B A Asia RG3K 2,237,348 A C XE2WWW 22,250 C C PY2ZY 1,533 B
A RA0AY 36,729 A A RS3A 2,100,699 A C V31UB 725,750 D ZX2B 588,240 B B
7N4DNM 6,240 A A ES5RR 1,999,272 A C KL7RA 672,836 D HK3JJH 211,300 B B
‰  END OF 35 WPM TEXT  ‰  QST DE W1AW  ƒ