‰  NOW 40 WPM  ‰  TEXT IS FROM MARCH 2009 QST  PAGES 34, 35 AND 81  ‰
SEEMED REASONABLE THAT IT MUST HAVE A GREATER INFLUENCE ON THE
CHARACTERISTIC IMPEDANCE SINCE MORE OF THE FIELD BETWEEN THE CONDUCTORS
WILL PASS THROUGH THE INSULATION AND LESS THROUGH THE AIR.  BASED ON ALL OF
THIS I ASSUMED THAT THE ADJUSTMENT FACTO
‰  FROM PAGE 81  ‰
8,880 B A OK2BYW 499,698 C A PY2SEX 69,180 C B YB3MM 151,140 A C C4W

QUICKLY WHENEVER SHE WANTED TO OPERATE.  OF COURSE, THIS WOULD ALSO MAKE AN
IDEAL ADDITION TO AN EMERGENCY OPERATIONS GO KIT.  MY PLAN WAS TO USE ZIP
CORD AS A HALF WAVELENGTH FEED LINE SO THAT THE DIPOLES IMPEDANCE WOULD BE
REPEATED AT THE TRANSMITTER END OF THE FEED LINE.  THE IMPEDANCE
TERMINATING A FEED LINE IS REPEATED EVERY HALF WAVELENGTH.  PLEASE SEE ANY
EDITION OF THE ARRL ANTENNA BOOK FOR MORE DISCUSSION.  BECAUSE OF THIS, THE
CHARACTERISTIC IMPEDANCE OF THE FEED LINE WOULD BE OF SECONDARY IMPORTANCE.
ALSO, BECAUSE THE RESULTING FEED LINE WOULD BE RELATIVELY SHORT, LOSSES
WOULD BE MINIMIZED.  THIS MEANT THAT I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO ERECT THE
DIPOLE AT OPTIMUM HEIGHT, BUT SINCE THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT WAS TO CREATE
LIGHT WEIGHT, COMPACT, POCKET SIZED ANTENNAS AND FEED LINES THAT COULD BE
USED IN THE FIELD WITH TEMPORARY SUPPORTS, ANTENNA HEIGHT WAS NOT A PRIMARY
CONSIDERATION.  AFTER TESTING A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT SAMPLES I SETTLED ON
RADIOSHACK NO.  278 1385, 22 SPEAKER WIRE AS A LIKELY CANDIDATE.  THIS WIRE
‰  FROM PAGE 81  ‰
RA9DZ 1,055,338 A B HA1WD 198,555 B A PT7CB 41,652 B B Oceania RK9AJZ
963,928 A B IZ1JLF 119,808 B A ZX5J 1,903,066 B C VK3TZ 77,616 A B RU9AC

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 40 WPM TEXT  ‰  QST DE W1AW  ƒ