Vestenna Review
Created by Paul Signorelli, W0RW on 2024-06-30
Vestenna Review
By: Paul Signorelli, W0RW
The 'Vestenna' is not a commercial product. You have to make your own.
This special vest holds your pedestrian mobile whip while you hike along using your handheld radio (Like the KX1).
All you need is a fabric loop at the top right back shoulder and a base for your whip.
The PRC319 whip is a segmented whip that has 8 - one-foot sections. They slide together but do not twist together like the US whip. They are hollow, made of steel and copper plated. Very light, about 2 or 3 oz.
I use an extender whip that is a 3-foot VHF solid whip at the top, so I get a 10-foot whip. The 319 segmented whip pulls apart into 1-foot sections.
Here’s a picture of the loading coil used with the whip. Since the whip antenna is short on most HF bands, the antenna needs some inductance loading.
My Vestenna is lightweight and makes for easy pedestrian mobile operation.
I hope you enjoyed this article and if you have any questions, please email me.
Paul, W0RW/pm
| W0RW | 2024-07-20 | |
|---|---|---|
| Vestenna Review | ||
| You can see the whip counterpoise in the Cripple Creek snow picture. i always use a 1/4 wave radial. Called a 'Drag Wire' on a breakaway banana plug. It is directional and the antenna is 'Less Lossy' when the wire is pointed toward the station you are working. One guy tried to use Brillo Pads in his shorts to ground his rig. That is not a good idea. Paul w0rw | ||
