📶 Antennas
DIY antennas and measurements: ground plane, collinear, balcony mount, SWR.
DIY 1/4λ ground-plane antenna for 70 cm: calculation, soldering, tuning by SWR
A cheap and honest antenna for a hotspot or base station: the length formula, four radials, and tuning the SWR down to 1.1.
AntennasBalcony and rooftop antenna for 70 cm: J-pole, collinear, mounting and lightning protection
Getting the antenna up higher = dramatically more coverage: J-pole/collinear, choosing the cable, mounting, and the lightning protection you can't skip.
AntennasNanoVNA: how to measure SWR and tune an antenna
A cheap vector network analyzer: calibration, measuring SWR and resonance, finding a cable break — and how not to fry the device by transmitting into it.
AntennasCollinear antenna for 70 cm: calculation and build from coax
A high-gain antenna made from sections of coax: in-phase segments, length calculation with the velocity factor, and tuning by SWR.
AntennasSWR and antenna matching: how to read the graph and what to do about high SWR
SWR in plain words: reflected power and why a high SWR heats things up and can burn out the final stage. How to read the graph, the causes of high SWR, and what to do — trimming, connector, cable, radials.
AntennasStock antenna or Nagoya NA-771: is it worth swapping
The stock “stubby” versus the long Nagoya NA-771: does the swap give a real gain, how to avoid buying a fake, and when the antenna matters more than power.
AntennasCoax for 70 cm: RG-58, RG-213 or LMR-400
Where the signal is lost on the way to the antenna: losses in RG-58, RG-213 and LMR-400 at 433 MHz, feedline length and connectors. Which cable to choose for a remote antenna.
AntennasSMA, BNC, PL-259 and N connectors: what goes where and how not to mix them up
Antenna connectors explained plainly: SMA male/female (watch out for Baofeng!), BNC, PL-259/SO-239 and N-type. Where each one belongs and what's wrong with adapters.