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 Previous: The K7RA Solar Update |  Next: Amateur Radio Awareness Day to Feature Emergency Power Operating Event |
By Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU
Contributing Editor
August 19, 2005
This week, visit a Web site dedicated to the copper and aluminum masterpieces we call "antennas."
I am not a rocket scientist. I am not even an engineer, so a lot of what makes Amateur Radio work is voodoo to me. What makes a resistor resist or a capacitor store not to mention all the doings inside a transistor or an IC is black magic as far as I am concerned.
On the other hand, antennas make sense to me. They don't have a hidden agenda. What they do and how they do it is logical, at least to this writer's mind. As a result, I like reading about antennas and sometimes apply some of that reading to building my own with some success.
 W4RNL's Antennas Web site has a wealth of information for antenna builders and modelers. |
So, it was a great pleasure to visit a Web site suggested by Surfin' reader Marc Ziegler, W6ZZZ. The site is called simply Antennas and it is the handiwork of L. B. Cebik, W4RNL, who is the author of several books on the topic of sky wires. Check out the "Antenna Modeling Aids" and "Books" links to find out more about W4RNL's antenna tomes.
Also check out the "Tales and Technicals" link where you will find a complete set of selections from W4RNL's notebooks. "Besides a few notes on the history of radio work and some other semi-technical oddities, the collection contains information of interest to radio amateurs and professionals interested in antennas, antenna modeling, and related subjects, such as antenna tuners and impedance matching."
W4RNL's notebooks are geared to helping radio amateurs and antenna enthusiasts discover what he "managed to uncover over the years--and then to go well beyond." There is a lot of great reading here that will keep you occupied for hours. I highly recommend it.
And don't forget, if you are searching for an old installment of Surfin', check out the Surfin' index at StanZapples.
Until next week, keep on surfin'.
Editor' note: Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU, recalls that his
first antenna was a copper wire strung between his parents' house and a
clothesline pole and that his latest antenna was a copper wire strung between
two trees. Now that's progress! To contact Stan, send e-mail to wa1lou@arrl.net.
| Previous: The K7RA Solar Update | Next: Amateur Radio Awareness Day to Feature Emergency Power Operating Event |
