[K6ARK] likes to operate portable, so he puts together very lightweight antennas. One of his latest uses tiny toroids and SMD capacitors to form trap elements. You can see the construction of it in the video below.
You usually think of toroid winding as something you do when building transmitters or receivers, especially small ones like these. We presume the antenna is best for QRP (low power) operation since the tiny core would saturate pretty quickly at higher power. Exactly how much power you should pass through an FT50-43 core depends on the exact application, but we’ve seen numbers around 5 watts.
The SMD capacitors mount right inside a hacked up BNC connector. That makes for a very compact construction at the expense of a little fine work with a soldering iron while building. There is more construction detail on similar traps in a second video that you can see below.
The availability of antenna analyzer equipment makes projects like this easier. The concept of end-fed halfwave has its detractors and proponents. [AA5TB] has a page that explains a bit about the theories surrounding the antenna. Regardless, [K6ARK] says he’s worked the world on this type of antenna and many people swear by them.
Not a ham yet? [Dan Malone] wants you to invest $50 and change that. We suspect, though, you’ll be happier with more wire in the air.
