That statement contains a bit of hyperbole, but honestly this is one of the cheapest antennas that I’ve built. All of the parts for my 10 meter J-Pole came out of the scrap bin of parts that I’ve collected over the years. If you are a newer ham, you may have not collected a lot of these goodies yet. But even buying the parts: window line, wire, and SO-239 connector, won’t break the bank. We are standing at the peak of the solar cycle right now and the ten meter band is at the best it is right now. Build this antenna, and enjoy the band.
Plans and video for my 10 meter J-Pole are here:
This week’s video is the 10 meter J-Pole antenna is action. Now I will admit that I haven’t put this particular antenna on the air much. I think this is the third time in the last year that I pulled it out for an activation. When I go out to a operate in a park, I am more likely to use a multiband antenna instead of being constrained by just one. But being constrained by one band and one antenna was also a bit rewarding. I had to work harder to get the contacts, so the whole activation was more meaningful. Patron members that watch my behind the scenes activation video will instantly notice that I spent a lot of time over the 90 minute activation period calling CQ and getting little response.
Watch this week’s video here:
My newest piece of kit is this line isolator from ABR Industries. The purpose of an isolator is to keep common mode currents from running back down the outside braid of your feed line, which can affect the performance of your antenna system. I’ve been using the MFG-915 isolator for quite some time, but MFJ closed up shop and that item is no longer available. I’ve gotten plenty of questions on a replacement and this is what I’ve settled on. Both items work the same way, they are basically a series of ferrite chokes secured to the end of the feed line. The MFJ isolator was built inside a PVC housing while ABR’s use heat shrink tubing to keep the ferrites in place. One thing I like about ABR’s isolator is that it has an SO-239 on one end and a PL-259 on the other, so I don’t have to add a short jumper or adapter to convert the gender of the connector. In full disclosure, I purchased this item with my own funds.

This buried lede in this week’s video are the Merrill Ice Drags. Ice drags are a uniquely upper Midwest thing. As the weather goes cold, the ice on the lakes freeze thick. So thick that it vehicles can safely drive on it. Lake Alexander, near Council Grounds State Park is part of the Wisconsin River, but it is long, straight, and protected, a perfect location to drag race on the ice. Driving on ice can be terrifying, but within the confines of this drag strip, it becomes exhilarating. The ice drags will continue through February, so my quiet little boat landing in the park will be a busy place for the next few weeks.
Finishing up, this weekend is Winter Field Day. We’ve been in the deep freeze the last few days, but temperatures are expected to moderate by the weekend, albeit with a chance of snow. This year a friend of Joe graciously offered us his rental cabin on Big Roche lake near Adams, WI. This year will certainly be the most luxurious WFD ever, and we are looking forward to it. As Joe and I have said on the livestream, we’ve gotten pretty good at refining our antenna setup and I have no doubts that we will have a loud station. Listen for callsign N9CNF as we get on the air January 25-26.
I hope to hear you on the air,
MichaelKB9VBR
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