Common Misconceptions in Ham Radio

Amateur radio is a field where technical concepts often get simplified for ease of understanding. However, oversimplification can sometimes lead to misconceptions or misguided truths that persist within the community. Many common beliefs about antennas, grounding, power, and propagation are based on partial truths, outdated knowledge, or misunderstandings of complex RF principles. This document aims to clarify some of the most frequently misinterpreted statements in ham radio.

Common Misconceptions in Ham Radio

1) My antenna is perfectly matched because my SWR is 1:1.

2) A 50-ohm antenna is always the best choice for my radio.

  • While most transceivers are designed to work with a 50-ohm load, many antennas naturally have different impedances and require a matching network for optimal performance. (read more: A brief overview of UNUN - BALUN types and their applications)

3) My RF ground must be connected to an earth ground to work properly.

  • RF grounding differs from DC grounding. Proper RF grounding can be achieved with counterpoises, radials, or elevated ground planes. Simply driving a rod into the ground does not necessarily improve RF performance.
  • Additionally, proper DC grounding is essential for safety and equipment protection. For antennas that are DC grounded, a good grounding system can help prevent static buildup, protect against lightning strikes, and reduce noise. Following safety guidelines for DC grounding can prevent equipment damage and save lives. (read more: Ground, Grounding and SWR and Grounding Practices for Antenna Systems: Safety, Performance, and Regulatory Compliance Across Europe
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4) The higher the power, the better the signal.

  • Power helps, but antenna efficiency, propagation, and interference play a much bigger role in communication success.
  • Higher power also leads to increased I²R (resistive) losses, causing heat buildup in feedlines, connectors, and transformers. These losses are not linear, meaning that simply increasing power does not always translate to better signal strength. In some cases, improving antenna efficiency is far more effective than boosting power. (read more: Why Do I Need a Kilowatt-Rated BALUN If I Only Run 100 Watts?)

5) You should always use an antenna tuner to match the antenna.

  • A tuner matches impedance at the radio, not at the antenna. It does not improve radiation efficiency—only prevents the radio from seeing a mismatch.
  • Most modern radios can operate just fine with an SWR up to 2.5:1 before engaging built-in protection circuits or reducing power output.

6) Balanced antennas don’t need a balun.

  • Even symmetrical antennas like dipoles can pick up common-mode currents on the coax, causing RF in the shack. A current balun helps prevent this issue. (read more: Our baluns)

7) A horizontal antenna is always better for DX than a vertical.

  • The effectiveness depends on height, frequency, and ground conductivity. A low horizontal antenna often has high-angle radiation, which is bad for DX. Verticals can be excellent for low-angle DX, especially on low bands.
  • For example, on the 20m band (λ ≈ 14m), a horizontal dipole at 7m height (~½λ) has a decent takeoff angle, while on the 40m band (λ ≈ 28m), the same dipole at 7m height (~¼λ) will have much higher-angle radiation, making it less suitable for DX.

8) A quarter-wave vertical doesn’t need radials.

  • Ground-mounted quarter-wave verticals depend on radials for efficient operation. Without them, ground losses can be significant.
  • However, half-wave verticals do not necessarily need radials. That said, adding radials can further improve efficiency, especially when used as an elevated counterpoise.

9) A longer antenna is always better.

  • While a longer antenna can improve efficiency, it must be properly matched. An overly long antenna can have undesirable lobes or a poor radiation pattern.
  • Sticking with well-known lengths like quarter-wave, half-wave, or 5/8-wave generally results in a predictable and efficient radiation pattern. Going longer or shorter can lead to less predictable lobes and inefficiencies.

10) Dummy loads can be used to test antennas.

  • A dummy load absorbs RF rather than radiating it. It is useful for testing transmitters but does not reflect real-world antenna performance.

  • You can test a coaxial cable using a dummy load, and it’s actually a simple and effective way to check for issues like high losses, impedance mismatches, or faulty connectors.

11) All coax is the same.

  • Different coax types have different loss characteristics, especially at higher frequencies. For example, RG-58 has high loss at UHF, while LMR-400 has much lower loss.

12) You need a big tower and a beam to work the world.

13) End-fed antennas don’t need a counterpoise.

  • End-fed antennas act like one-half of a dipole and usually need some form of counterpoise or grounding to prevent feedline radiation.
  • Whether a ground pin is sufficient depends on the choking capacity of the transformer. If the choking impedance is high enough, a simple ground pin may work. If the choking capacity is lower, adding an extra choke or a 1:1 balun placed about 0.05λ from the feedpoint can help mitigate unwanted currents.

14) An open wire feedline is always better than coax.

  • Open-wire feedlines have lower loss than coaxial cables, making them a great choice for feeding doublets and other high-impedance antennas. However, their practicality is limited due to their vulnerability to environmental conditions like coupling and the challenges of physical routing.
  • Despite common misconceptions, a fully balanced tuner is not always necessary for open-wire feedlines. By incorporating a properly chosen 4:1 or 1:1 balun before a standard tuner, the system can operate efficiently—especially when the open-wire feedline is long enough to aid impedance transformation. (read more: Correct Use of RF.Guru Antenna Tuner Baluns)
  • For dipoles and doublets, a hybrid setup—using coax from the radio to the tuner and open-wire from the tuner to the antenna—often provides better efficiency compared to using coax alone.
  • For resonant dipoles, an open-wire feedline can be effectively used when it terminates at a balun on the ground, which then feeds coax to the station.

15) If I can hear them, I can work them.

  • Just because you receive a station well doesn’t mean they can hear you. Their noise floor, directional antennas, and propagation differences play a role.
  • However, if you can work every station you hear, it might indicate that your reception is compromised. A high noise floor or poor selectivity can mask weaker signals that should be present. Well-designed, shielded receive antennas—such as magnetic loops, E-probes, or active antennas with proper filtering—often outperform large transmitting antennas in terms of signal-to-noise ratio, allowing you to detect weaker signals that might otherwise be lost in the noise.

16) Higher SWR means my power is lost in heat.

  • When the SWR exceeds 2:1, a common misconception is that all mismatched power is lost as heat. In reality, the forward power in the transmission line increases because the reflected power bounces between the antenna and the transmitter, forming a standing wave. While a portion of this power is still radiated, some is dissipated as heat in the feedline and lossy elements of the antenna.

Written by Joeri Van Dooren, ON6URE – RF, electronics and software engineer, complex platform and antenna designer. Founder of RF.Guru. An expert in active and passive antennas, high-power RF transformers, and custom RF solutions, he has also engineered telecom and broadcast hardware, including set-top boxes, transcoders, and E1/T1 switchboards. His expertise spans high-power RF, embedded systems, digital signal processing, and complex software platforms, driving innovation in both amateur and professional communications industries.