How to build a simple speaker wire antenna for 10m and use it to make a contact with the IC-705

In this short video I demonstrate how easy it is to make a 10m dipole antenna using speaker wire. After building the antenna, I use it to make a QRP contact from my home in Atlanta to a station in Wyoming!

The formula to calculate the dipole length is L (ft) = 468 / f (MHz). My target frequency is 28.380, so 468 / 28.380 = 16.5 ft. Each element is 1/2 of that or just over 8 ft. To allow for fine tuning I recommend adding a little extra, so I used 8’ 8” for each side.

In order to turn the wire into antenna, I used a banana plug adapter with a BNC connection. The IC-705 has a neat SWR function that I used to check the SWR before getting on the air. No tuner needed if you have a resonant antenna like this one.

I found a young ham calling CQ on 10m and answered his call using my IC-705 and new dipole antenna. Did my antenna work? Watch the video and find out!

Watch until the very end for some bloopers including my dog Thor.

73,

Joe KI4ASK

PS – Please like, share, and subscribe.

#hamradio #ic705 #qrp #sota #pota

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Source by Joe Domaleski, KI4ASK