M0IAX

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Inflatable 2m/70cm Antenna

Posted: 19 Apr 2021 03:21 AM PDT
https://m0iax.com/2021/04/19/inflata...-70cm-antenna/



Over the past weekend we went out to a couple of high points in Exmoor
national park so that I could try out my 2m/70cm Inflatable Antenna that I
bought from www.radiogeeks.co.uk .




Both places were just a few miles from home Home is not suitable for
VHF/UHF bands due to it being half way down a hill leading to Withpool so
we are in a valley. I can get to GB3EX (70cm repeater about 25 miles away
to the south) using an antenna in the loft but thats about it.




The Antenna




The antenna is housed inside an inflatable sleeve so like the HF version
the antenna when deflated packs up quite small and I can fit both
inflatable antennas into a pouch attached to my LC-192 Backpack.



LC-192 backpack with pouch attached



Pouch containing VHF/UHF antenna and the HF Version




It is fitted with about 6m of low loss coax and a PL259 plug and requires
no ground or radials so you have just about everything you need to use it
out of the box. Its waterproof and has extended RX for airband.



Inflatable antenna with 6m CoAx



Inflatable Antenna and Stroage Bag




Deployment




Remove from the supplied storage pouch, inflate by blowing into the valve
and thats it, it works best elevated like any VHF/HF antenna but if you are
already at the top of a hill or other high point you can just prop it up
aginst something, hang it from a tree or, like I did, use the velcro straps
to attach it to a pole.



Winsford Hill looking towards Withypool approx 400m ASL



radiogeeks 2m/70cm inflatable antenna on 10m pole




Thats what I like about this design. its simple, lightweight and self
supporting but small and portable when not in use.




Performance




OK so its a great design and great for portable use but does it work?



Portablle radio station IC705 LiFePo4 battery and SurfaceGo2




This weekend I was using a 10m pole, the car in the picture is used only as
a counterweight for the mast mount is provides no power to the radio, that
was done using either my 20Ah LIFEPO4 battery or on the Saturday my
PowerFilm Solar LightSaverMax (that I forgot to recharge in the sun hence
my reason for not using it on Sunday).




On Saturday with my radio set to 145.500 FM and 5W I had a QSO with MW0UCL
who was activating SOTA GW-SW007, turns out he had an IC705 as well so we
switched to DV and the radio measured the distance between us as 74.6KM
(46.4miles) audio quality was perfect both FM and DV and 59+ signal report.







Icom IC705




Sunday I didnt have too much time so I set up for about 1/2 hour of
operating and chose FT8 on 2m (144Mhz) as a the best mode to use so that I
could easily see where I was being heard on PSKReporter.info. Setting up is
a breeze, the mast and antenna were deployed in a couple of minutes and I
was on the air with 10w from the IC-705 connected wirelessly to my
SurfaceGo2.








As you can see from the map below, it works very well, with spots over
200miles away (I had similar results the day before and a couple of weeks
ago so wasnt just conditions on the day)








Once finished, tear down and packing everything back in the car took just
another couple of minutes.




Conclusion




This is a well made, simple to use, self contained and self supporting
antenna that works very well. Perfect for a SOTA or POTA activation or
carrying with you to greatly improve the performance of your hand held. As
I have said before I like this design, I will be keeping it in the black
pouch you see attached to my LC-1923 along with the HF version so that I
always have a quick deploy antenna solution, this version will be my
primary antenna for 2m/70cm.








73




Mark M0IAX