Antenna deployment & matching networks

                       +-------------------------------+
                       | Select Antenna Architecture   |
                       +---------------+---------------+
                                       |
        +------------------------------+------------------------------+
        |                              |                              |
        v                              v                              v
+-----------------------+    +-------------------+    +-------------------------------+
| 4WAVE / hitch vertical|    | End-Fed Half-Wave |    | Random Wire Antenna           |
| 9:1 UNUN + radials    |    | (EFHW 49:1 Unun)  |    | (29', 35.5', 41', 58')        |
+-----------+-----------+    +---------+---------+    +---------------+---------------+
            |                          |                              |
            v                          v                              v
+-----------------------+    +-------------------+    +-------------------------------+
| Radials 12 / 17 / 33  |    | No Tuner Required |    | REQUIRES Internal/External    |
| Hitch, RV, or stealth |    | on Resonant Bands |    | Antenna Tuner + 9:1 Unun      |
+-----------------------+    +-------------------+    +-------------------------------+

Detail pages:

• 4WAVE portable HF vertical — hitch / RV / stealth, the vertical this site actually packs
• EFHW — default first-activation wire
• Random wire — when 66 ft will not fit
• Quarter-wave verticals — 17 ft whip + radial field (theory)
• Limited space: HOA, apartment, attic — antennas that hide or fit, RF exposure indoors, and the legal status as of Oct 2026

Park rules beat RF theory. If the unit bans throw-lines in trees, you mast. If you cannot guy without blocking a trail, you pick a smaller antenna. If you cannot lay radials, you do not run a vertical. See ethics.

Thirty-second pick

Pack list: field-pack-list.txt

Matching, chokes, and “it loaded”

SWR after a tuner is not proof the antenna is radiating. A 9:1 plus ATU will “load” a wet fence. Sweep before the tuner (analyzer at the unun, low power) on the bands you will CQ. Then choke the shield so the picnic table is not the other half of the antenna. EFHW, random, and 4WAVE chapters each have the return-path recipe for that geometry — do not mix them.

Tuner at the feed vs at the radio: short jumper + internal ATU is fine at QRP. 50–100 W or a long run of coax wants the match at the antenna (AH-4, SGC, mAT-705 class) so the coax is 50 Ω. IC-705 has no HF ATU — resonant EFHW, 4WAVE + external, or a random with an external.

Radials / counterpoise stay inside the park boundary and inside a SOTA 25 m AZ. Flag the far end. If you cannot lay them, you do not run a vertical today.

Beyond the field wires

Dipoles. A half-wave dipole is the reference antenna, about 468 ÷ frequency in MHz feet overall (roughly 33 ft for 14.2 MHz). Cut it a little long and trim it. A linked dipole adds jumpers or connectors partway along each leg so one wire covers several bands without a tuner. Feed it with coax through a choke.

Magnetic loops are small, quiet and fit on a balcony, but they are narrow and need retuning as you change frequency. See Limited space.

VHF/UHF antennas. On 2 m and 70 cm, height and antenna quality matter more than power:

Antenna analyzers. An analyzer shows SWR and impedance across a whole band, so you can see where an antenna is resonant before you transmit. The low-cost NanoVNA family started as an open-source design, and many clones exist. Buy from a known seller and check the hardware version. Commercial analyzers such as RigExpert are simpler to use in the field. Sweep at the antenna end or through a known length of coax, and compare with the tuner-off reading from your radio.

Habits / gotchas / checklist

• Park rules beat RF: no throw-line, no radials, no guy across a trail → pick a different antenna or go home.
• Low power SWR first. Then operating power.
• Choke at the feed (or a short jumper away on an EFHW that needs shield as return — then add a real counterpoise).
• 4WAVE: 12 / 17 / 33 radials, hitch pin tight, mast vertical before the radiator.
• EFHW: 49:1, ~66 ft for 40 m, counterpoise, unun not at face height.
• Random: length that is not a half-wave on the money band; 9:1 + tuner required.
• Paper sketch of what you deployed (length, height, bands that dipped) — next Saturday you will not remember.