My First Antenna
Don J Gillette (WN4DEM)
on
April 3, 2004
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The very first antenna I used was in 1958 and it was the telephone system in my subdivision in Florida.
I had built a crystal diode radio and found that the finger stop on the dial phone made a good antenna. Putting two and two together I then proceeded to run a wire around the outside of the house from the phone box to my bedroom.
It seemed to work and the next day I heard some other sounds along with radio stations. I paid no attention to it and left the house to help deliver newspapers, when I returned home my mother met me at the door and downloaded on me for wiping out the party line system for the sub. The phone man was still there and suggested that I use a capacitor in series... hi hi -- since I grounded the other side of the coil...
Believe it or not I became a phone man...
73 Don, WN4DEM
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My First Antenna
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by K0BG on April 3, 2004
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Well, I used the bed springs for an antenna and the center screw on the outlet for a ground. I used to lay awake listening to stations as far away as Mexico. This experience got me hooked and here I am 50 plus years later.
Alan, KØBG
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My First Antenna
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by KO6IC on April 3, 2004
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My first introduction into radio was when I was 11 years old. It was 1968 and our family just moved into the new home that they had built. It was my parent's pride and joy. That Christmas, I had received a project kit board made by Heathkit. This board had rows of resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors connected to springs. By placing a wire into the component springs, one could “build” the various projects in the book.
While working on a one-transistor radio, I found a “no-parking" sign in the street. I thought that because this sign had a lot of metal, it would be good for an antenna. I proceeded to grind off all of the paint and tie one end of the sign to a piece of bare wire. I then lowered the wire and sign out of my second story bedroom window.
It just so happened that my parents were attending a block party at a house down the next street. They happened to be in the backyard and looked over toward my bedroom window to see a large piece of metal at the end of 12 feet of wire blowing in the wind and banging against the cedar boards on the side of the house. My parents were upset, came home, and made take my antenna out of service.
This was my first experience with antenna restrictions. For the next seven years I would regularly get busted for the stealth antennas I would have hanging from my bedroom window to listen to short wave and amateur radio. Somehow I managed to keep my interest in radio alive and 24 years later I finally became licensed. Now that I own my house, I no longer have antenna restrictions.
Jack Hafner
KO6IC
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My First Antenna
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by VA2DV on April 3, 2004
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I almost does the same at 13.
I was using the shield of the CATV drop
for a long wire.Was ok until i get a transmitter...
Believe it or not , i am now a cable guy...
Nice Article,
Dave VA2DV
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RE: My First Antenna
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by AG4RQ on April 3, 2004
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Great story! I love stories like this. I can't profess to having done anything like this, and have nothing like this to my credit. ;-) What a shame!
BTW, only kids can get away with stuff like this. An adult would have gotten into some serious trouble. Hi-Hi!
73 de Mark
AG4RQ
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by WB9NJB on April 3, 2004
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Growing up in Chicago and living in apartments, I caught the radio bug listening to a 1940's Philco table radio at the age of 9. I ran a length of wire out of my bedroon window (at my father's advice) and could hear all over the country, Canada and Mexico (Wolfman Jack and the baby chicks by mail order). My first station consisted of a HeathKit DX 20, and an S120 Hallicrafters table radio with short wave and a BFO (later upgraded to an NC-125 with a Central Electronics Sideband Slicer). The ARRL Handbook had information on Long wire antennas, and I figured if wire works, several hundred feet of solid copper gutter would be great. I was on the third floor, and could get on the roof of the building (much to the dismay of the Super). I reached over the edge of the roof, and sanded the paint off of the gutter. I tapped a screw into it, and wrapped an insulated wire around it (with the insulation stripped off of course). I ran the wire down to my window and pulled it inside. I ran it to a coupler my Elmer made for me (Bill Bennet, W9QLQ), grounded it to a radiator pipe and went to town. I worked 80/40/15 CW all over the country. I also earned the "Worked All Toasters and Appliances Award" within two weeks. That set-up served me well for several years, until I discovered girls, high school, and Uncle Sam's invitation to see the world. My license lapsed in 1968 while I was away, and it was not until 1974 that I was relicensed while in law school. You guessed it. I was back in an apartment on the North side of Chicago, third floor, and had access to solid copper gutters again. History repeated itself, and I was back in business. This time, I had an FPM 300 Hallicrafters transceiver (the last piece of Ham equipment they made, I think) and I had learned more about TVI supression. This time, I worked the world, and only a few stereos near by. At 54 I am still at it, and having more fun than ever here in Colorado, at seven thousand feet or so. My tower and beams (and assorted wires) are a joy, but I wish I could find some of that wideband gutter again.
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by KY6R on April 3, 2004
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Excellent story. When I was a kid (WA2QHN), I got a knock on my door from my neighbor who said he could hear me sending morse code when he listened to his record album "2001, A Space Odyssea".
I said "I'm so sorry, I will fix that" and he said,
"No Man, I really dig it!".
Yes, this was 1973, and my neighbor happened to be a really cool hippie dude.
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by KD7ZRO on April 3, 2004
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I used the side of my trailer for an antenna an my bedframe as a ground, worked great with my homebrew shortwave set!
Rod KD7ZRO
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by OBSERVER11 on April 3, 2004
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hummm... phoneman, cable guy... I wonder what the OB/GYN used for HIS first antenna...
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My First Antenna
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by WM5Z on April 3, 2004
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Hey, this is great stuff!.
My first antenna was when I lived in a trailer park in El Paso, TX with my foster parents. It was put up with permission of the landlady. Her husband was also OK about it too. It was an 80 meter doublet, that draped over several trailer homes.
The first time I fired up the home built 50 watt input 2 tube transmitter, it also "fired up" the florecent lights in my next door neighbor's kitchen. These were very superstitious people, that thought that an "evil spirit" had taken over their kitchen. They moved out a couple of days later.
I worked all states with that set-up.
A few years later, I moved into my own appartment in el Paso, on the third floor. I was not able to install a permanent antenna, so I rigged up a bamboo fishing pole with a spool of "Gibson girl" antenna wire that I bought at a surplus store. I would lower the sinker on the end of the wire until the SWR was right. I was able to work 40 and 15 and 10 with this setup.
Steve/WM5Z
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by WA5KRP on April 4, 2004
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{ I bet you slept like a log, periodic(ally).
-KI4BNH }
{ hummm... phoneman, cable guy... I wonder what the OB/GYN used for HIS first antenna...
-OBSERVER11 }
DAAAAANG! That's some funny <bleep>!
WA5KRP
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by KT8K on April 4, 2004
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I had lots of brushes with radio (and my parents), some using bedsprings, window parts, and tube radios I later disassembled to see what made them work (and ... they never did again). I didn't try transmitting until I had purchased my first CB from where I worked at the wholesale electronic parts warehouse (A Pace CB133 or something, all solid state AM with 23 channels - list price at the time was $135 or so). I made a dipole from speaker wire (my first real antenna construction project) and hung the driven element from a picture hanger in my girlfriend's 2nd floor apartment. The driven side was hung by its middle so it was basically folded in half, and the ground side of the dipole was layed out along the wall on the floor. Within a day or two I had made a contact 8 miles away, and within another day or two a neighbor a few apartments down was screaming out his window "SHUT THAT #$^* CB OFF!" As those particular neighbors were a pretty threatening looking crowd, I quickly got a mag-mount antenna and restricted myself to mobile operation thereafter.
A year or so later a customer (N8AP) "ordered" me to study the ARRL "Tune in the World" novice kit and report to his office at one of the nearby universities in three weeks time to take the test. I did that, and have been hamming ever since, and loving it.
73 es tnx for the great stories de kt8k - Tim
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by VE5JCF on April 4, 2004
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This is a little off topic but I was wondering what folks here recommended as far as an HF antenna in an apartment for a person who just recently passed their code test. I've already accepted that I'll most likely only be able to operate 40 metres and higher. I'll probably be mostly operating on SSB with some CW and maybe some digital modes. Thanks for the advice.
VE5JCF
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My First Antenna
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by WR8D on April 4, 2004
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Thanks for the flashback Don, you reminded me of the old party lines they had when i was a kid. I stayed in trouble. Watched all the cop shows and would pick the phone up and say, "Operator give me the police" One day the operator was really on there and scared the hell out of me. It was a long time in doing but that broke me. hi hi
73
John WR8D
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My First Antenna
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by N2FPJ on April 4, 2004
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Don,
This brought back a lot of memories. Especially the antenna to the phone finger stop. We use to hook up a am 100mw transmitter to the stop and run a small am radio station in our neighborhood. We used to get great comments from the people and support. Even had some commercials from the local business for a quarter / spot. It used to cover about 1/4 mile
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My First Antenna
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by SIDEBANDER on April 4, 2004
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Well I can tell the truth!! HI HI!! My first antenna was a long wire(17.5) feet in a big old oak tree hooked to a Radio Shack 40 ch SSB CB.I was hooked from that point on. Later that year bought a old German made WWll transmitter and had a high voltage cap explode in my face!I prefer to use MURS now alot safer
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My First Antenna
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by K0AMZ on April 5, 2004
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I'm not worried about the ob/gyn, it's what the proctologist is using!!
Yes these bring back memories. I remember string a long wire to an S-38B in the late 50's and "hearing the world. It took another 15-20 years but finally licensed and now "working the world".
Thanks for the memories.
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by W0FM on April 6, 2004
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When I was eleven, I built a Knight Kit Span Master with a long wire for the antenna. I had a neighbor who bragged about the great local reception she got on her roof-top TV antenna.
I figured that if her TV antenna was so good, I could run my long wire across my roof and toss it over her TV antenna, thus "tapping into" it. That would have to be an exceptional arrangement I thought.
Then I picked up an old CB transceiver. I ran the long wire (still draped over her TV antenna) from the SO-239 jack on the back of the radio. I did manage a few neighborhood contacts on the CB. A few days later I noticed a TV set sitting near the street along with my neighbor's trash.
Can't say for sure if it was my fault, or even the same TV, but I immediately deconstructed my antenna "extension".
Fun stories!
Thanks,
Terry, WØFM
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by N2MG on April 6, 2004
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I usually don't "do the phone." I usually "do the code". ;-)
Mike N2MG
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RE: My First Antenna
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by KE2IV on April 7, 2004
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Mike N2MG,
Oow gawd - you just know that sooner or later some rearender would throw the damned CW thing into the stew!
Hey Mike - who cares if you work CW at umpteen words per minute? Can you do DSL or RR speed?
If CW is so great - why are you here on line telling us about it? Shouldn't you be down on the lower 25kHz or 40m?
Never stops - small achievers seeking large acknowledgment.
I wonder if the guys and gals in IRAQ are studying up their CW skills right now?
"Hey,anyone here got a cell phone?"
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by A9KW on April 7, 2004
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I have 180 feet of gutter around my house i split it on one corner and put some teflon sheet to bridge the gap and feed it with ladder line to my tuner.This is the best hidden antenna the sky loop it loads up fine on top band.80 is no problem also on a hot summer day the shingles smoke a little with ol henry going.
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by WA4UF on April 8, 2004
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Typical teenage shortwave buff with a Hallicrafters S-107 (if anyone EVER runs across one with the tuning knob replaced with a spinner from an MRC model rr power pack, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!). I unwound the yoke from a junked tv (that was an exercise in applied patience let me tell you) and hung the wire with a couple ceramic insulators from Dad's junkpile (Yes, he was a ham (W3PNT, sk) and hence an understanding co-conspirator) up under the eaves and into my bedroom window. Did great, and I spent many a long night seeing the world through the eyes of the BBC Foreign Service broadcasts. Ah, the good ol' days.
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by N8IK on April 9, 2004
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Jared VE5CJF,
I use hamsticks on my 5th floor balcony. 135 countries. 40 and up is no problem (counterpoise helps a lot). Also can get on 80 and 75 but not much frequency agility there. Contact me at n8ik at arrl.net for more details.
73 de Ian
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by MARTYSGIRL on April 10, 2004
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Oh GAWD George, you're such a brave man....insulting the webmaster like that!!! You really make me hot!!
So when are you going to give me a call so we can get together for some quality time?
XOXOXOXOXOXOX
Eileen
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RE: My First Antenna
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by N2MG on April 11, 2004
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Hey George (KE2IV)
A little sensitive, aren't you?
Mike N2MG
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My First Antenna
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by AD5JN on April 12, 2004
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My first antenna was a dipole made from 300 ohm TV twin lead salvaged from a old house that was being torn down. I used it with my new HW-8.
Ronn
AD5JN
My call back then was WD5JPP
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by WB2NVY on April 14, 2004
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At the tender age of 13 my mentor W2PGS (SK) helped me erect a longwire antenna on 40m, which connected via an old knife switch to either my Eico 723 60w cw xmtr or Hallicrafters S108 rcvr. It worked well. But I have a novel ground that I'm using now (age 54) for my 2nd floor shack. I ran the braid of 8' of coax from my HF rig to a nearby floor heat duct & let the duct carry the ground to the cellar. There I isolated the duct from the rest of the ductwork with electrical tape (hopefully few pf coupling) and grounded the rig side of the duct to waterpipe. Works great. Any RF on the ground path sees skin effect of large duct & very low Z.
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by W3DCG on April 14, 2004
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CW/Phone aside (we should call it Voice, anyway, these days)-
Maybe Don was talking about he worked/works for a phone company- you know?
That's what phone means to me.
A hand set, Full-Duplex- you know, PHONE.
So what's wrong with CW, IV Troll, Sir?
Geez, I think everyone's over that debate, including me (whoa, there's a stretch).
It is another mode, like- well, like- hmmmmm.
LIKE NO OTHER, it probably stimulates specific parts of the brain, like no other mode.
No one here bombed Voice.
Most Coders are cool with Voice.
I'm cool with Voice.
Actually, George, you do bring up a good point on another post- regarding DXCC entities, the US is quite broad, and I know for me, 160m QSO's to different DXCC entities in the Carribean, would be easier than bagging- Washington State or some person on Cape Blanco operating 160m portable/mobile.
Anyway, don't change your disposition, George- if you did, it wouldn't be you then, would it.
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by WB5SCY on June 17, 2004
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Hello, Jared
I to am living in an apartment complex and I presently live on the second (top) floor. I don't know if you have an access to the attic but if you do, see if you can string a 43.5 meter rectangle loop. I did use a antenna calculator which said 47ft on the long legs and 23ft on the opposite sides. On one end of the 23ft, I split and stuck a 4:1 balun and fed it with RG-58/U. I can work all the bands - 40m thru 10 m and so far I have worked on 20m = Lithuania, Canada(VE3GSS), Croatia, Russia, Czech Republic, and on 17m = Guatomala, Canada also. This is running an Icom IC-718 tuned to 77watts on SSB and hope to get my CW going soon. I have been off the air since 1984 and just this month got back on. VE3GSS was my second contact.
If you need more info, email me: highfly98@cox.net
Maybe I will catch you on.
73's
Joe
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by WB5SCY on June 17, 2004
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Hello, Jared VE3JCF
I to am living in an apartment complex and I presently live on the second (top) floor. I don't know if you have an access to the attic but if you do, see if you can string a 43.5 meter rectangle loop. I did use a antenna calculator which said 47ft on the long legs and 23ft on the opposite sides. On one end of the 23ft, I split and stuck a 4:1 balun and fed it with RG-58/U. I can work all the bands - 40m thru 10 m and so far I have worked on 20m = Lithuania, Canada(VE3GSS), Croatia, Russia, Czech Republic, and on 17m = Guatomala, Canada also. This is running an Icom IC-718 tuned to 77watts on SSB and hope to get my CW going soon. I have been off the air since 1984 and just this month got back on. VE3GSS was my second contact.
If you need more info, email me: highfly98@cox.net
Maybe I will catch you on.
73's
Joe
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