One of the easiest and most affordable ways to get on the air during Field Day is with a wire antenna. As you’re making plans for the big weekend (June 27-28, 2020), here are three wire antenna kit options to consider:
DX Engineering EZ-BUILD® UWA Center-T and End Insulator Kit: Not sure which type of wire antenna to build on Field Day? That’s not a problem with this kit, which contains the pieces you need to create a range of wire antennas, including single-band, multi-band, multi-frequency, folded dipole, doublet and inverted-V, off-center fed, Windom, Zepp, long wires, rhombic, V-beam, or loop antennas. There’s no need for looping, wrapping or soldering, so adjusting wire lengths in the field is fast and simple. Plus, the kit is made from a strong UV-resistant poly-resin plastic that can handle the weight of huge wire antennas, with balun and attached coax.
Designed for building wire antennas for high-power operations, this model mounts to any DX Engineering balun for a balanced and isolated wire antenna, or this insulator kit may be used directly with DX Engineering 300-ohm Ladder Line for a non-resonant multi-band dipole. Read more about resonant versus non-resonant antennas here.
The kit includes:
- One center-T insulator featuring an exclusive no-loop, no-solder wire, multiple wire, or 300-ohm ladder line serpentine grip design, which allows for rapid field adjustments; the center-T includes a centered top hole for attaching support ropes
- Two end insulators featuring the no-loop, no-solder, serpentine grip design
- Two stainless steel wire connection bolts, nuts, and washers
- Six crimp ring terminals for antenna and ladder line wire connections
- Additional stainless steel hardware for mounting DX Engineering baluns
Other Antenna Wire Kits
Use the DX Engineering EZ-BUILD® UWA213-KIT for the construction of an RG-213 or RG-8U coax-fed wire antenna, without a balun, that will be operated at high power and high duty cycle modes of operation, such as AM, RTTY, or FM.
The UWA8X-KIT is designed to handle low and medium power levels and tolerate low SWR levels.
DX Engineering baluns, antenna wire, 300-ohm ladder line, and support rope are sold separately.
DX Engineering also has Ladder Line Fed Multi-Band Dipole Antenna Kits for 160M and up, 80M and up, and 40M and up.
Find many more options at DX Engineering.com from leadings brands, including Alpha Delta, Buckmaster, Bushcom, Chameleon, Diamond, EAntenna, MFJ, and SOTABeams.
A Final Field Day Thought
Most importantly during this extraordinary time, Amateur Radio clubs are being forced to rethink how to best approach Field Day 2020. Here are some thoughts to consider and tips on ways to adapt from the ARRL.
