I have been reading about the Black Widow vertical and similar antennas using the BNM Black Widow fiberglass pole. I got over to Walmart and they had a 13 foot model for less than $10. I wanted to see if I could extend the military mast I use with the Widow. Indeed it will feed through a 4 foot mast section and wedge nicely out the male end. I used a little tape to stabilize it. So that means I can have a 13 foot extension that is light weight. Therefore the usual 20 foot mast can now be extended to 33 feet.
It also dawned on me that a 20 meter ground plane could take advantage of this by taping the 1/4 wave vertical element to the mast starting at the tip of the Black Widow. The three radials meet the vertical element about 16 feet up.
So at last a portable antenna that is not a cloud warmer and is at a good height. I setup up this antenna for testing in the backyard and had a good run of QSOs with the Ten Tec R4020. I worked PA, ME, OH, IL, and MD. The MD contact was W3PO running 1 watt. I think the 20 meter ground plane is going to be a go-to configuration. You might notice I was using an external 10 pack of Eneloop AAs for these QSOs Velcro-ed to the bottom of the lap shack..
Greg N4KGL
I enjoy Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio, Field Days, QRP, satellites, and CW. I have many friends in the hobby that make it fun. I will keep you posted on what I learn about amateur radio on this blog.
