If you recall from my last field report, I’ve been pairing the Elecraft AX1 antenna with a number of radios. For me, it’s been a fun exercise because I always enjoy seeing what sort of results the AX1 might produce. So far, it has never disappointed.
On Thursday, February 2, 2023, I packed two radios in my car with the idea of fitting in two consecutive park activations.
At my first activation of the day–Lake James State Park–I paired the AX1 with my Mission RGO One transceiver. The activation was a blast! Not only did I stay busy working stations, but I also managed a little QRP DX thanks to a hunter from Italy.
K2 and AX1 Under Shelter
Little Guatemala Café
After grabbing a curried chicken salad wrap at Food Matters and a coffee at Little Guatemala roasters in Morganton, I hit my second and final park of the day: Tuttle Educational State Forest (K-4861). It was rainy, so the park was empty which allowed me to take over the very large picnic shelter at Tuttle.
Even though this particular shelter is in a bit of a dip in the land and has a large metal roof, I’ve had successful activations there in the past employing the AX1 antenna.
Many thanks to Conrad (N2YCH) who shares the following field report:
AX1 Test using American Radio Supply AM-801 Window Mount: POTA Activation at Stuart B. McKinney Wildlife Refuge, K-0228
February 19, 2023
By: Conrad Trautmann (N2YCH)
If you’ve been reading the posts here on QRPer.com lately, you probably already know that the Elecraft AX1 has proven to be an excellent antenna for POTA activations for CW, SSB and Digital modes.
Personally, I used it for a New York City POTA rove I did at the end of 2022 and was able to activate four parks in one day all over Manhattan.
Recently, Alan, W2AEW contributed a story to QRPer.com detailing how he used a window bracket he constructed with an AX1 to do a CW park activation from his car. I’ve actually done a few digital activations from the car using the AX1, however, I used the tripod with the Elecraft tripod adapter and ran coax to it out the window and draped the counterpoise down the hood or trunk. This has worked well except for windy days where it would blow over. I was intrigued by the possibility of using the window mount and a number of the commenters to Alan’s post suggested sources for these types of mounts. I ended up ordering an AM-801 from American Radio Supply.
Since the AX1 depends on a counterpoise wire to operate properly, the first thing I did after receiving the AM-801 mount was to drill a hole in the base for a screw and a wing nut. The base is painted black, so I got my continuity meter out to double check that the screw was making a good ground, which it was. I had to bend the mount up slightly for the antenna to be vertical, since my Jeep windows don’t have much of an angle to them. I’m sure it would be just right for most cars.
After posting my latest field reports using the Elecraft AX1 antenna, I’ve received a number of messages from new AX1 owners. All of the following have kindly allowed me to share them here with you.
AX1 Patio DXing
From Michael (K1ETA):
Thomas,
I am a subscriber and an avid follower. [L]ike you, I do a lot of portable ops with various antenna setups and radios. I was recently offered an AX1 and I was told it was basically a dummy load. Having seen your videos and proof of success I accepted it and I can’t say how much fun I have with it. Yesterday, I made 22 DX contacts throughout Europe in the ARRL World Wide CW contest from my patio in my back yard with 5 watts, the AX1 and my KX2.
I would never have tried that with the AX1 had I not seen your videos. You see it is even good enough for contests if you don’t try to compete with the big guns. Listen, search and call back the stations without pileups!
Many thank for all you do and for making me an AX1 believer.
72
Michael Kenney (K1ETA)
Pairing the AX2 and Emtech ZM-2
From Michael (N7CCD):
Hi Thomas,
I just finished your video comparing the AX1 and AX2 and thought you might appreciate a solution I came up with for making my travel more compact.
I purchased the AX2 during the February sale and found it pairs well with the ZM-2 ATU for my IC-705 (wow what a mouthful of acronyms. No wonder my wife and daughter call me a nerd…). I didn’t get the tripod adapter in the sale, but found the AX2 sits perfectly on the ZM-2 which acts as a very stable stand. There is some body capacitance when tuning, but not too much. I was even able to easily tune it on 17M. I need to try other higher bands sometime.
I set it up in our breakfast nook just for kicks and sent a few JS8 and FT8 transmissions to see where I was being heard (I’ll include a screenshot). Was able to successfully send an APRS text message, and I even made an SSB contact into a special event station in Nevada!
I found a hard sided case I can store the tuner and AX2 in, which also had enough room to put in a “speaker wire” antenna as an option. Why not?
I think this may replace the AlexLoop for air travel since it’s so compact and versatile.
Hope all is well on your side of the country!
Michael – N7CCD
P.S. +16 into Michigan!
AX1 DXing
From Kevin (KD8IE):
Hi Tom,
After video about the AX1 recently, I decided to order one and it came last week.
The weather’s been kind of chilly up here. As a matter of fact, it was 41 when I decided to go out and do an activation then at Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Well, suffice to say I made contacts with the antenna a lot farther than I expected it would be. The bands were really long. First station I worked was in New Brunswick. The last two stations were Italy and Slovenia.
73,
KD8IE
Many thanks to all of you for sharing your experience and tips using the AX series antennas!
I look forward to all your videos and am enjoying how you use the Elecraft AX-1 in the field.
I have built the “WD-PT-PB” attachment for my AX-1 antenna.
That is, it is for Windy Day-Picnic Table-Park Bench use. It can be set up horizontally or vertically on the edge of a picnic table or at any angle on the back of a park bench and is a secure attachment for the AX-1 off the radio.
[I] bought the bolts straight and put them thru a random C clamp secured with a nut or wing nut and then bent one in my vise. Loosen the wing nut and angle the bolt any way I want and tighten the wing nut.
The pictures show it better than paragraphs of a description.
73,
Jim Long
Madison, WI
N9EET
That’s brilliant, Jim! I love how versatile the clamp is and that it even fits in your Maxpedition pouch! No doubt, it’ll help the AX1 (or AX2, or any similar antenna) survive the windiest of deployments.
If you’ve been following QRPer.com and my YouTube channel for long, you’ll notice that I typically post two field reports with videos per week when my free time allows. Each report takes about four hours to produce along with a video. I’ve currently got a small backlog of videos I need to post, so in order to squeeze them into my schedule, I’m going to use a slightly more abbreviated field report format: a “postcard” format!
My Postcard Field Reports will still be information-packed, just slightly more concise and distilled than my average field report. I’ll primarily post these for sites I visit frequently.
Speaking of which….
Lake James State Park (K-2739)
Thursday, February 2, 2023, was a rainy, dreary day so the perfect time to play a little POTA, right? I made time in my morning to visit Lake James State Park (K-2739).
When I arrived at the Catawba River Access, the parking lot was empty. Not too surprising considering it was a Thursday morning on a chilly, rainy day.
During the months of January and February 2023, I’ve given my Elecraft AX1 a thorough workout. As I mentioned in a previous post, I thought it might be fun to take the AX1 out on a good 30 days worth of activations.
Turns out, I’ve had such brief windows of opportunity to play radio recently, the AX1 and now AX2 have been valuable tools in my field kit. They are, no doubt, the quickest-to-deploy and most portable antennas in my collection.
The Elecraft AX2 paired with the KX2.
If I only have a 20 minute window to squeeze in a quick park activation, the AX1 and AX2 make a valid POTA activation–with 10 logged contacts– a reality.
I originally purchased my Elecraft AX1 in the spring of 2020 and have used it extensively since then. In January 2023, I finally caved in and purchased the most recent addition to the AX family, the mono-band AX2.
Elecraft AX1 vs. AX2
Since I’ve been publishing numerous field reports recently using the AX1 (with more to come) and since Elecraft has included both the AX1 and AX2 in their February 2023 Specials, I’ve received questions from readers asking:
“Should I buy an AX1 or AX2–?”
and“If so, which one should I buy? What are the differences?”
At first, I simply pointed readers to the concise comparison guide that Elecraft publishes on their website (linked below).
I realize, though, that there are characteristics of each antenna that you might only discover after actually using them in the field.
I decided to make am unedited video–based on a few notes–not only describing the differences and similarities of the AX1 and AX2, but also if either would potentially benefit you as a field operator or traveler.
One quick note about resonance…
One point I touch on in the video is that both the AX1 and AX2 antennas are designed to be mostly resonant on 20 meters.
Small verticals like the AX1 and AX2, that use coils to electrically “lengthen” the antenna, have a higher Q than, say, a large aperture quarter or half wave antenna. In practical terms, this means that the window of resonance is narrow and more fickle than, for example, an end-fed half-wave.
A lot of factors can affect the SWR on higher-Q antennas like the AX1/AX2 including:
the type of terrain,
height off the ground,
length of counterpoise,
configuration of counterpoise,
and, most notably, the operator’s own body capacitance.
You may find that the AX2, for example, is natively resonant on 20 meters at one location, but isn’t at another location. This is quite normal. It’s also the reason why Elecraft states that both antennas are designed to be used with an ATU.
If you are pairing the AX1 or AX2 with a radio that doesn’t have an ATU (or you can’t use an external one), then you might consider making a simple capacity hat. Check out this field report and video where I paired the AX1 with the IC-705 and used a capacity hat to sort out the SWR.
Video
As with all of my videos, this one is unedited and commercial-free. If you’d like to skip through the video to the parts you might find most relevant, simply hover your mouse over the YouTube time line and click on the chapter indicated:
Another note here: I have no affiliation with Elecraft, but pushed this article and video to the front of the line to help those who are consider taking advantage of Elecraft’s AX1/AX2 February 2023 Package Deals.
I hope you find the video helpful. I’ll try to answer any other questions you might have in the comments of this post.
I’d also like to send a special thanks to those of you who have been supporting the site and channel through Patreon and the Coffee Fund. While certainly not a requirement as my content will always be free, I really appreciate the support.
(This article is full of educational and fun links – click on as many as you wish)
Antenna tuning on Superb Owl Sunday
by Vince (VE6LK)
While many in North America were watching a number of Superb Owls move a pigskin around a playing field, I was off to play radio, successfully, for the first time in weeks. This is part of my goal to activate 200 CW POTA contacts per month this year.
During recent visit to Vancouver attempting to operate from within my hotel room, and utilizing the Edisonian Approach, I was shown -more than once- what did not work. This will no doubt be a discussion point on an upcoming Ham Radio Workbench Podcast. I was therefore in very bad need to get back on the air while operating portable. I was close to feeling twitchy and in need of some POTAXXIA (Hyperradio Moduzolium). A plan was needed!
My goals were to trim out a new-to-me EFHW (thanks VE6VID), and make some contacts while operating outdoors. The weather was forecast for 50F, but turned out to be unexpectedly windy. Also, when the wind comes off the Canadian Rockies in Southern Alberta, it cools the area where I’d be (downwind), so a choice of operating location was key. I love going to this park for the moment that you drive west along Highway 533 and come around the corner as you see here in this short video.
Chain Lakes Provincial Park (VE-1168) is located between the Porcupine Hills and the Rockies on Highway 22 (locally known as the Cowboy Trail) in Southern Alberta, about 90 minutes south of Calgary. It’s especially gorgeous at sunrise and sunsets. A campground, lake with boat launch and a day use area all adorn this park created for water management with an earthen dam. While it is in a valley, the wind can be howling on some days. On this day it would prove to be just above a nuisance, sort of like mosquitos in the spring -you can live with the nuisance, but only for so long before you blow a proverbial gasket.
I located a lovely spot below the dam -and the majority of the wind- however it was outside of cellular range. I’d need to rely on the Reverse Beacon Network to spot me. The RBN will, in turn, post your spot to the POTA website once it hears you if you schedule your activation in advance.
RBN showing spots on 30 to 10mOverhead site view showing my two operating positions
The place I found would only be more perfect were it warmer than 45F and without wind. A babbling brook was by the picnic table, and a nearby footbridge had built-in supports for my painter’s pole that would serve as the far end support. I’m pretty sure that they weren’t intended for me specifically, but they were the perfect size to simply slide the pole into place and hold it firmly. By luck I parked the truck the correct distance away with it’s drive-on mount and 28′ Fibreglass Flagpole from Flagpoles-To-Go via Amazon. Continue reading VE6LK: Antenna tuning on Superb Owl Sunday→
Many thanks to Brian (K3ES) who shares the following guest post:
The VK160 Antenna packed on its Winder/Feedpoint for storage, transport, and deployment.
Building and Testing the VK160 Antenna
by Brian (K3ES)
The ability to set and achieve long- and short-term goals keeps me interested and active in the Parks on the Air (POTA) program. Often these goals are associated with POTA awards. Currently, I am working slowly to complete the activator version of the James F. LaPorta N1CC award, which requires an activator to make QSOs on 10 amateur bands from 10 different parks. With my operating style, I have found it achievable to make QSOs on the 9 available HF bands (80m, 60m, 40m, 30m, 20m, 17m, 15m, 12m, and 10m), and this has become easier with the rising solar cycle. I have completed QSOs on non-HF bands using 2m and 70cm simplex. The other options to pick up 10th band QSOs include the 6m band and the 160m band.
I have found it difficult to make unscheduled POTA contacts on 2m and 70cm, and scheduled contacts can be difficult to arrange in parks that are remote from population centers. I have built a 6m antenna, but contacts are seasonal (and for me very elusive). So I started looking for a way to add 160m capability to my portable station. Ultimately that resulted in homebrewing a new antenna that I now call the VK160, and here is its story.
Objective
I needed a field-deployable 160m antenna. My operating style requires that the antenna system be both light and compact. QRP power levels are sufficient for my purposes. I am very comfortable deploying wire antennas in the Pennsylvania woods, and QRP wire antennas can be both light and compact. I have found that end-fed antennas are simpler to deploy in the field, because they can be configured as an inverted V or as a sloper, using only one point of support.
An end-fed half wave (EFHW) antenna would be naturally resonant, but would need to be over 250 ft (76m) long. A wire antenna of that length would be challenging to deploy, even in more open areas. So, I decided to pursue a 9:1 unun-based end-fed “random wire” (EFRW) antenna. In fact, I have two commercial EFRW antennas available, but have never been successful in tuning them for 160m using the ZM-2 tuner in my field kit. So, I concluded (probably incorrectly, but more on that later) that I needed to build a 9:1 random wire antenna with a longer radiating element than the 71 ft wire built into my largest existing EFRW. I also wanted to build this antenna myself, using available components, so that it would be both inexpensive and customized to my needs.
I broke the task into four parts:
First, I needed to build a 9:1 unun suitable for use at QRP power levels. The 9:1 unun is an autotransformer that reduces antenna feedpoint impedance by a factor of 9, hopefully a level that a wide-range tuner can match to the 50 ohm transceiver impedance.
Second, I had to design and build mechanical elements of the antenna system, incorporating the electrical components needed for the feedpoint.
Third, I needed to select a suitable non-resonant wire length for the radiator.
Finally, I needed to deploy and test the finished antenna on the air. If successful, testing would culminate in completing an on-air QSO with the antenna being driven at 5 watts or less.
Building the 9:1 Unun
While I have built successful 49:1 ununs as the basis for EFHW antennas, I had no experience building 9:1 ununs. Accordingly, I started with the ARRL Antenna Book, then a web search. VK6YSF’s excellent web page provided very detailed instructions for 9:1 unun construction. His 9:1 Unun design was based on a FT140-43 toroid wrapped with heavy gauge magnet wire, with design power rating around 100 watts. My application was focused on 10 watts maximum, and I wanted a lighter-weight solution to the unun design.
Looking at the components I had available, I found FT50-43 toroids and 24 AWG magnet wire in my inventory. I had used those during construction of successful 49:1 EFHW antennas. The VK6YSF design, built with the smaller toroids and lighter magnet wire, seemed to be a good (and cheap) starting point.
The “50” portion of the FT50-43 toroid designation specifies its 0.50 inch (1.27 cm) outside diameter. The “43” portion designates nickel/zinc composition that is suitable for high frequency inductive applications.
The next problem that presented itself was a problem with translating the winding technique to smaller wire and a smaller toroid. Put simply, my fingers do not have the dexterity to wrap three parallel 24 AWG wires around a ½ inch OD toroid without getting them crossed, twisted, or worse. So, why not twist the three conductors from the start, and wrap the toroid with “trifilar” windings? It would be simple enough to identify the mating wire ends after wrapping, just with a set of continuity tests. That would facilitate proper connection of the wires to yield the final auto-transformer configuration.
FT50-43 toroid with three-10 inch (25.4 cm) segments of 24 AWG enameled magnet wire staged for construction of the 9:1 unun.
I posed the “trifilar” winding question to my friends over on the QRPer.net discussion board. Nobody identified a significant flaw with the proposed method, but neither did anyone have experience that would assure success. So, I decided to use the “trifilar” winding technique to construct my 9:1 unun, with the full recognition that its success would be uncertain, and only proven by testing the finished product. Continue reading In Pursuit of the Top Band: Brian describes how he built and tested a field-portable 160 meter EFRW antenna→
Because I receive so many tips from readers here on QRPer, I wanted way to share them in a concise newsletter format. To that end, welcome to QRPer Notes, a collection of links to interesting stories and tips making waves in the world of radio!
PSK-31 on the Elecraft KX2
Many thanks to Tony (K2MO) who writes:
I have no doubt that you’ve tried this in the field, but thought I’d send along a video I posted on working PSK31 using the CW-to-Data feature on the KX series rigs.
Great job on the latest TR-45 vids!
73 Tony -K2MO
Thank you, Tony!
DX and Travels of Lloyd & Iris Colvin
Many thanks to Don (W7SSB) who shares an article he has written for the Sierra Nevada Amateur Radio Club Newsletter. His article focuses on the lives of DXers and world travelers Lloyd & Iris Colvin.
Don’s article begins on page 10, but there are many others to enjoy in this newsletter as well!
Ironically–and a testament to my terrible timing–I purchased the equivalent of the AX2 package on Jan 30 (yes, two days before the Feb sale started) and I paid $130.51 shipped. I can confirm that $101.94 shipped is a great price!
I decided to purchase a second AX1 package yesterday, basically to have a dedicated AX1 system for my Elecraft KX2 field kit.
Note that Elecraft is not a sponsor of QRPer.com (though they really should be, shouldn’t they–? Please put in a good word for us!) and I have no affiliation with them other than buying, using, and evaluating their products.
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If you recall from my last field report, I’ve been pairing the Elecraft AX1 antenna with a number of radios. For me, it’s been a fun exercise because I always enjoy seeing what sort of results the AX1 might produce. So far, it has never disappointed.
