Knowledge Base

Welcome to the Knowledge Base, your comprehensive resource for improving your understanding of antennas, RF systems, and station optimization. Whether you’re new to amateur radio or an experienced operator, this collection of articles is designed to provide practical advice, technical insights, and solutions to common challenges faced in antenna design, installation, and performance tuning.

The articles are divided into key categories to help you easily navigate through the topics that matter most to your station’s setup and operation.

Wire Antennas

  1. Advice on Wire Antennas for Those with Limited Space
  2. End-Fed Antennas Explained
  3. Does feedline length matter?
  4. Using an Antenna Analyzer for End-Fed Antennas with Coax as a Counterpoise
  5. Fold-Back Tuning for Antennas: Guidelines and Best Practices
  6. Comparing 80/40 Meter EFHW Antennas: Inverted L vs. Sloper/Flattop for DX and NVIS Operations

General Technical Articles

  1. The Importance of a High-Quality Common-Mode Choke or Line Isolator
  2. SWR Demystified: Understanding the Real Impact of SWR on Your Station
  3. Grounding Practices, Safety, Performance, and Regulatory Compliance
  4. Ground, Grounding and SWR
  5. A brief overview of BALUN types and their applications
  6. A brief overview of UNUN types and their applications
  7. The Guanella transformer (Current Balun/UNUN) explained
  8. The Ruthroff transformer (Voltage Balun/UNUN) explained
  9. The Autotransformer (Voltage Unun transformer) explained
  10. The Hybrid transformer explained
  11. Autotransformer vs. Ruthroff Transformer in UNUNs and BALUNS