by Michael Martens | Jul 3, 2012 | Antennas
All of my J-Pole and Slim Jim antennas are constructed out of Type-M hard copper tubing. Type-M, also known as Red Copper is primarily used in the plumbing industry for supplying drinking water in homes and businesses. Although with the cost of...
by Michael Martens | Jun 25, 2012 | 2 meter, Amateur Radio, Antennas, emcomm, News
Well, another Field Day is in the bag. This year our club pulled out all the stops and showed the community what amateur radio and Field Day is all about. Setting up in a large public park in the Wausau area, the Wisconsin Valley Radio Association not only had their...
by Michael Martens | Jun 22, 2012 | Amateur Radio, emcomm, News
ARRL Field Day, always the 4th full weekend in June is fast approaching. Starting at 19:00UTC on Saturday June 23, 2012 and running for 24 hours, over 10,000 amateur radio operators in the US and Canada will be on the air looking for contacts. Field Day is a big...
by Michael Martens | Jun 17, 2012 | 2 meter, Amateur Radio, Antennas, VHF
I love reader questions and I had a great question this past week that I wanted to share with the rest of my readers. I’ve recommended installing antennas in the attic if you don’t have an adequate location outdoors or if you have to deal with homeowners...
by Michael Martens | Jun 10, 2012 | 2 meter, Amateur Radio, Marine, Railroad, VHF
Here’s a common, and sometimes confusing, question that I get asked: “Do I need to do any special tuning, or need a tuner for my J-Pole antenna?” The easy answer to this question is: No. Now for a little background to the answer. The J-Pole and Slim...
by Michael Martens | Jun 6, 2012 | Amateur Radio, News
It’s a good thing when two hobbies intersect. Last night our amateur radio club met out at the location where we will be holding our Field Day event to do some planning and logistics. Gary, WD9CPY graciously offered to bring his telescope so we would also have a...
by Michael Martens | Jun 1, 2012 | 6 Meter, Amateur Radio, Antennas, VHF
June is here, and now that the days are getting longer and warmer, my attention turns to VHF propagation, most notably the 6 meter band. Six Meters really starts to heat up in June, just in time for the ARRL’s VHF QSO Party. June marks the opening the...
by Michael Martens | May 26, 2012 | 2 meter, Amateur Radio, emcomm
On Thursday May 22 a confirmed tornado was sighted within the city limits of the Wausau, WI area. Fortunately the EF-0 tornado only had a five mile path and caused minimal damage and no injuries as it skipped along the countryside. This weather event could have been...
by Michael Martens | May 24, 2012 | News
At KB9VBR J-Pole Antennas we’ve overhauled our website and added a new shopping cart and merchant system. A new merchant system doesn’t sound like a big deal, but for our customers it means faster, easier checkout and increased security and reliability....
by Michael Martens | May 19, 2012 | 2 meter, Amateur Radio, Antennas, Scanner, UHF, VHF
A common question I get asked is ‘What is the best VHF/UHF amateur radio antenna?’ There’s no simple answer to that question since there’s countless antennas on the market, but in reality, the best amateur radio antenna is the one that works...
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