Over the past year or so, I’ve read many articles about magnetic loop antennas, questioning to myself are they really all that great compared to the typical dipole that I’ve been using for 3+ years. Well, I finally decided to give it a shot and build something from what I had on hand, and thanks to a quite a few club members was able to get a few missing parts.
With Spring almost here (hi), comes the beginning of the SARC in the Park season. On Saturday May 11th, the Schaumburg Amateur Radio Club held their first one of 2019 in the grounds of the Schaumburg Community Recreation Center.
WX was a little wet and unseasonably chilly, but it didn’t deter people from coming out and we had a good flow of visitors from 8 am through to noon.
Continue reading “SARC in the Park – Saturday May 11th 2019”
MS Walk – Roselle, IL – Sunday May 5th 2019
A number of SARC club members volunteered their time and skills on Sunday May 5th 2019, by providing valuable communication support for the 2019 MS Charity walk held in Roselle, IL.
We have an excellent opportunity to build our own J pole antennas for minimum cost using a machine shop owned by club member. He has volunteered the use of his company’s facilities to machine and assemble J pole antennas out of heavy duty aluminum. This is a deal you can’t pass up. Even if you do not have an immediate need for a new antenna it would be beneficial to build one now at this extremely low cost and keep it in reserve for that day when yours blows down or ends up under a tree branch.
Cost of material: $20.00
Everyone has their own method of mounting a J pole so we ask that you bring a mounting bracket such as a muffler clamp or U bolt. Holes can be drilled in the base of the J pole for a two inch mount of your choice. Also, the J pole will have a 1/2 inch hole for the mounting of a PL 259/ SO 239 connector. If you have a PL 259 connector, bring it with you or plan to add it later.
The entire build process should take a couple of hours and after the build, we can purchase our own lunch and have it delivered to the shop which would make a great Saturday morning.
This is an excellent opportunity for the members of SARC to build a quality J pole antenna at a minimum cost and I am sure you will want to take advantage of this offer.
Full details on SARC-All, available to club members.