Portable on shortwave and VHF
Both frequency ranges, shortwave (HF) and VHF, are also (or especially) a lot of fun when portable. For example, because, unlike at home, you have plenty of space to set up long wire aerials for shortwave. Or because you have climbed a mountain that promises long ranges for VHF. However, there are virtually no efficient antennas that cover all these frequencies: We therefore consider shortwave and VHF separately.
Shortwave antennas for portable operation and holidays
One of the challenges of portable operation is that I don't know exactly what the local conditions will be. Where can I mount an antenna, is there a tree nearby, where can I attach guy wires? So I have to prepare for different scenarios. On the other hand, I don't want to take all my mounting materials with me, because light weight is crucial, especially when hiking.
WIRE Antennas
End-fed wire antennas have proven to be extremely attractive for portable activities for several reasons. They are light, they can be packed small and they are easy to set up. In most cases, you only need a tree or a window on the first floor to mount such a wire. Because the feed is at one end (and not in the centre as with a dipole), the wire can be thin and light. It does not have to carry anything other than its own weight. The balun at the end can be fastened separately. A piece of light guy rope is helpful for this, a few metres is usually enough. In addition, a light tent peg to securely fasten the antenna to the ground. All of this fits easily into a small rucksack, alongside a picnic and a bottle of water. The advantage - suitable EFHW antennas (End Fed Half Wave Antenna) are resonant on several bands, a tuner is only necessary in certain cases. And the efficiency of EFHW antennas is also quite good in terms of space requirements and weight. And if you prefer to build your own antennas - there are countless suggestions for building qrp end-fed antennas, especially for travelling.
Even greater flexibility is offered by wire antennas of any length, which are adjusted using a lightweight tuner. This design has the advantage that the wire length does not play a major role above a certain minimum length. There is a whole range of suitable tuners for portable operation, see box. The advantage of a wire antenna with tuner is the larger and more convenient frequency selection. All bands from 40 to 10 m can be used from a length of approx. 10 m wire. Slightly longer wires also work well on 60 and 80 metres. However, in some cases it may be necessary to attach a short piece of wire to the tuner as a counterweight. Fortunately, this can simply be laid out on the ground; a length of 5 m is often sufficient. If you equip this counterweight with the appropriate connections, you can also combine it with the radiator wire and easily do some experiments, simply test what works better. The slightly poorer efficiency (due to tuner losses) is gladly accepted, because operation when changing the band is much easier. This is one of the reasons why many commercial services go down this route.
Our recommendation for tuners in portable mode
The market offers several tuners that are well suited for portable use, here is a small selection.
Vertical antennas for shortwave and portable activities
Of course, you can also set up a wire vertically (assuming you have a small mast or suitable tree). But what to do if there is no tree or mast available? For example, if you are above the tree line in the Alps? There are various antenna systems available here that are easy to operate and can be dismantled into small pieces.
Vertical antennas have the advantage that their low radiation pattern makes them ideal for DX. You can set them up on the ground or elevated, there are tripods and masts as options, the possibilities are hardly limited.
Portable dipoles
Of course, a dipole would also be great for portable activities if it weren't for the mounting issue. A wire dipole needs two reasonably high rigging points, or maybe only one when suspended as a sloper. If you know the situation on site, for example because you have been there on holiday before, this may work, but without this knowledge it will be difficult. Dipoles have the advantage that they have good radiation characteristics for different ranges depending on the height above ground.
An alternative to wire dipoles are dipoles made of rigid components, such as those from Buddipole or Chelegance. These dipoles are shortened by coils and can therefore also be set up on a small camping pitch without disturbing the neighbours. Or install it on the balcony of a holiday appartment. Small masts, broomsticks or similar are suitable mounting options. The disadvantage is that you have to align these dipoles for each band. Once you have done this, you will be rewarded with high efficiency in radiation. Another advantage of such dipoles is that you are completely independent of the ground conditions. So it doesn't matter whether you are setting up in dry, rocky mountains or in wet shoreline terrain, the radiation is essentially only dependent on the height above ground.
VHF - ideal for portable
At frequencies above shortwave, propagation is quasi-optical. Put very simply: You can reach stations as far as you can see. And where can you see far? Of course, on the mountains. So what could be better than VHF operation on a suitable mountain? The problem here is again the antenna. Omnidirectional antennas are okay for operation via nearby FM relays, but I can usually do that from home or my holiday flat. The real attraction is DX in SSB or CW or even in FT8 if you want to take a computer with you.
Most of the activity takes place on 2 metres, sometimes also on 70 cm and higher. However, you will often only find many other stations there on special occasions, for example in contests or competitions such as the Bavarian Mountain Day (BBT).
HB9CV antenna
The HB9CV antenna is one of the most popular portable antennas for VHF. They offer the best gain for a 2-element antenna. A pronounced directivity makes it well suited for direction finding. The lightweight design allows mounting in horizontal or vertical polarisation, so it is ideally equipped for DX and beacons or FM relays. The HB9CV is available in a dismountable form and therefore also fits in a rucksack. A dual-band version for 2 m and 70 cm is also available if you want to reach the more distant relays on 70 cm on the mountain.
To the productsLogPer SOTA antenna
The LogPer (logarithmic-periodic) antenna is a special design of a phase-shifted array of dipole elements. The HB9CV is basically the same, but in this case with more elements, thus with more gain and stronger directivity. This comes at the cost of a slightly larger design and a little more weight. But even this antenna is still light enough to be mounted on a lightweight GRP mast. Other systems provide for mounting on a broomstick or suspension in a tree with a light rope. A huge advantage of the LogPer is its wide bandwidth! It covers the two most important VHF bands 2 m and 70 cm simultaneously, with only one antenna connection, i.e. only one cable to the antenna.
To the productsOther VHF antennas
If none of the above-mentioned directional antennas are suitable, very light dipoles or magnetic base antennas are also available. These do not offer the same performance, but if there is no other option due to space or weight, then these antennas are better than no antenna at all. For example, the dismountable Hari VHF dipole can be used as a dipole. Lightweight designs such as the Diamond MR-73 are suitable as magnetic base antennas. However, it is essential to provide a good counterweight. This could be a metal balcony railing or a fence wire.
To the productsFlexibility when travelling:
The right antenna choice for
portable amateur radio operation
Being able to dedicate yourself to your hobby while travelling is one of the best forms of amateur radio. When selecting an antenna for portable operation, it is important to be prepared for the local conditions. This applies above all to the mounting options. Ideally, you should choose antennas that offer many possible combinations with other components. Regardless of whether it is a broomstick, a lightweight wire antenna or systems with identical threaded fittings - flexibility is important. This allows you to react well in unforeseen situations and set up an efficient antenna that offers a lot of fun on holiday or on a hike.
