James Barrett wrote:

...
Hi, I'm not really sure what all of that means. I'm learning about
antennas, and I've been doing a lot of reading on the web until I can
get a copy of the ARRL Antenna book. I'm learning the terminology and
the other day read a thread about loading coils. I had no idea what that
was, so I went in search of an explanation. So, when I saw the radio
shop selling antennas with funny looking coils I wondered if that's what
a loading coil looked like. But I had expected a loading coil to be at
the bottom of the antenna, these looked like they might be in the middle
of the antenna. Does that even work?

BTW, I enjoy reading old threads from Roy and Cecil. A ton of great
information there. I have learned alot, and have much more to learn. I
want to try to make a 2 meter yagi (3 elements) this weekend and
experiment a little. Maybe I can finally hit that repeater 30 miles
away. ;-)

Jim

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Well, that page deals with bootleg/illegal cb equipment. However, years
ago I bought a 1KW+ dave made amp which had been modified a bit and
covered 40-10m, it worked quite well, I drove it with a small homemade
xmitter I bought at a swap.

In addition to the material you are getting from the arrl
material--loads of amateurs have put together web pages dealing with
antennas/amps/equip. Most provide an email address and most are only
too glad to advise/help. And of course, you will find everyone here
interested in antennas and can share good advice, and you are quite
correct--Cecil, Roy and others have a LOT of good knowledge on amateur
antennas ...

Loading coils can be placed anywhere along the length of an antenna, for
varying effects on radiation pattern, matching requirements, etc.
EZNEC, Roys little program makes it a snap on graphing what to expect ...

Keep reading/studying, you'll get hooked and grab a license!

Regards,
JS