Ham Radio

[Mark_K5LXP]

Comes down to your expectation of performance. The little loaded verticals aren't much more than stationary mobile antennas. On the right band and the right time you can make contacts. If that's all you're looking for then it can check the box. If you want to improve the odds a bit what the POTA/SOTA guys use, end fed half waves are pretty quick and easy to deploy and work well. Ideally you'd use a tree but a fiberglass pole like a Jackite can be used as a support, either as a vertical wire, sloper or inverted vee.

Mark K5LXP
Albuquerque, NM

[texntenn]

I POTA is state and National parks on s regular basis. I use a TN Engineering telescoping fiberglass mast. I have a mast holder mounted on my rear ladder and I can get the antenna almost 30 feet off the ground. I run SOTA Beam dipole antenna mainly. I have several end feds and a Wolf River coil that has been handy sometimes. Some parks dont like stakes in the ground so I will hold the ends down with sand bags, dead sticks etc. I have never been approached and ask to remove the antennas. I hope this works. I think portable ops is a great way to enjoy the hobby .

73
Jeff WB5WAJ

[Bob_W]

Can you send me more information on this? Website?

[Arch Hoagland]

Originally Posted by texntenn

I POTA is state and National parks on s regular basis. I use a TN Engineering telescoping fiberglass mast. I have a mast holder mounted on my rear ladder and I can get the antenna almost 30 feet off the ground. I run SOTA Beam dipole antenna mainly. I have several end feds and a Wolf River coil that has been handy sometimes. Some parks dont like stakes in the ground so I will hold the ends down with sand bags, dead sticks etc. I have never been approached and ask to remove the antennas. I hope this works. I think portable ops is a great way to enjoy the hobby .

73
Jeff WB5WAJ

How much power are you putting out?

[RiskyVenture]

Bob_W - Until I read your post, did not know about the JPC-12. The antenna looks like a good starting point when comparing it to say a screwdriver type antenna such as the Tarheel Design. I've just ordered the JPC-12 from Amazon. Yes, I paid a few extra bucks for shipping, we expect to receive the antenna by May 1. Over the next couple of weeks I will be testing the JPC-12 and will post a short performance report here on this thread and our blog rvriskyventure.com.

If you should acquire the JPC-12 I'd like to know your thoughts as to how you think it performs.
Cheers,

[Mark_K5LXP]

Any thoughts on a HF antenna that would be easy setup/remove. I am looking at a JPC-12.

Keep looking:

The coils originally supplied with the JPC-7 and JPC-12 are wound with 1mm diameter (18 AWG) stainless-steel wire.

This antenna configuration is loss upon loss. A hamstick would probably be better than this, and that's not saying a lot.

I get it - the perfect setup would be light, small, simple to deploy, work well and is inexpensive. Pick any two. Having done portable operating for decades now the answer is a wire antenna, just a matter of picking out which kind. Since wire is cheap, I carry a variety of precut wire segments in my RV and deploy what makes sense for the situation. The answer 90% of the time is an end fed half wave, deployed in a way that fits the site or location. Could be a flattop, vertical, inverted vee or "whatever", strung out and supported on what's around. I use a 30' jackite pole or 16' crappie pole as a support when trees are not an option. No little parts to lose, nothing to tune and cost is minimal. You're welcome to go down the rabbit hole of buying convoluted contraptions with guaranteed limited performance but am offering a data point that it's not the only option.

Mark K5LXP
Albuquerque, NM

[RiskyVenture]

Mark K5LXP makes some good points. I too have a 31' Jackite and a QRP guys Portable Multi-Band End Fed Antenna, 40/30/20m two trap wire antenna with a built-in tuner and SWR indicator. One of the most effective QRP antennas I've used for SOTA expeditions.

Never the less, nothing like actual field tests and measurements. I received the JPC-12 this afternoon and will set it up as soon as possible. The price is right. I'll get some measurements with my Nano VNA, QSOs, reverse Beacon etc and compare with the EFHW.

One good aspect of a multi-band vertical is it's omnidirectionality. At my home QTH I use a vertical in combination with my 3 EL Yagi. For years I've always surveyed the band first wilth a vertical to find best path, then switched over to the Yagi for better performance.
73 Hal WA2AKV

[Mark_K5LXP]

The non-starter for me with the JPC vertical is the stainless wire for the coil. Loaded verticals are a staple for any number of applications but the battle is size vs efficiency. When you're starting out with a loaded vertical in the first place you don't want a coil that inherently turns RF to heat. Per N6BT, "Everything Works" but sometimes you don't have to settle for better than nothing.

That being said I do carry parts to make a deployable vertical, namely precut wires for the vertical element, a chunk of airdux on a PVC pipe/stake base and a roll of precut ground radial wires. I like the broadband nature of a resonant vertical, the downside being deployment effort and having radials laying around. But it's a tool in the toolbox and a good contender. I also made a base for my HF screwdriver antenna, which is something that can be readily lashed/bungeed/taped to a nominal support and used with radials. Being remotely band agile is a feature for that option.

Another antenna I take from time to time is a (now unobtanium) Force 12 vertical dipole. This is a bit large to put up in a crowded RV park but out in the hinterlands it's a nice antenna for 40M. Testing with a QRP rig and RBN it performs favorably to a full size dipole at my QTH up 30 feet. Need to come up with a clever way to make it more portable, but it's my go-to when I'm camping somewhere without trees.

Mark K5LXP
Albuquerque, NM

[texntenn]

There are a few that post from time to time. I have a pull behind trailer and I use the rear ladder as a support for the mast. I enjoy doing POTA activations from the different parks.