The Chalkline Antenna is gone

 The Chalkline Antenna is gone.

If you have read my previous post, Playing with Tuners and Longwires -

https://zl3cc.blogspot.com/2024/09/playing-with-tuners-and-longwires-i-am.html

and you have considered building one of these Chalkline Antenna’s, I can only offer two words of advice……JUST DON’T. Mine is is gone from my Go-Bag, in a box in a tangled mess, just waiting for a rainy day when I have the time and patience to untangle the wire for use in another project

Why the sudden change in heart you might ask and I shall tell you. Last Saturday I went out to my favourite country road site to set up for the Go-QRP evening. I had taken the Chalkline Antenna with me intending to use it as, apart from a longer and heavier doublet, it was the only portable antenna that I had in my inventory that could work the 80 metre band. I had the antenna out earlier in the afternoon and ensured that the marks for the 80 metre band were still on the wire and easily distinguishable in the dark and I further set it up to ensure I could get a match on the frequency for the night. All confirmed, I took it down, rewound it and placed it back in my Go-Bag ready for the evening. 

When I arrived out onsite later that evening, I decided to setup right beside the farmers fence furthest away from the road that I could get, so as not to cause any possible hazard to traffic. Below is a short video of my setup onsite a day before

https://youtube.com/shorts/VXZCXSj4ivc?feature=share

Unreeling the wire, I got about 6 metres out and it jammed. I partially rewound it and unreeled it again in an attempt to clear the jam, but to no effect. Regardless of what I did it just jammed solid. As all the wire is internal inside the winder there was no way to inspect what was causing the jam without taking it all apart, which I couldn’t do anyway as I had no tools with me. That would have to wait until the morning.

Initially I thought that was my night finished before it had even started. Then I thought, I also had the AliExpress EFHW and a tuner with me; why not set that up and see if it will possibly give me a match on 80 meters. It was relatively easy I found, even though it had a high ‘Q’ requiring a further retune anytime I moved up or down the band by 100 Khz or so. So I tuned the IC-705 onto 3.690 Mhz and and matched the antenna and sure enough, I could hear the other QRP operators in full swing. I attempted to answer about 3 CQ’s but was not heard each time. Then Stan ZL2TK from Waikeria Beach booming through at 59. He could only give me a report of 32 but I was readable so a QSO was made. Stan was on 8 watts  and I was on 10 watts on a very compromised 40 m EFHW. Not the ideal setup my end, but it shows that it can be done. From Stan’s signal into Springfield one would not guess that he was on only 8 watts. Obviously all the magic is in his antenna and if he reads this, I can only hope he will be inclined to share the details of his setup with us all.

Anyway, in accordance to the rules of Go-QRP, after the QSO Stan moved off frequency and left it to me. I called CQ for about another 5 minutes and then abandoned my efforts as I was being called on PRS channel 59. Yes, I am a ham and I carry and play with PRS at times to further explore its possibilities so I can make recommendations to the community for a radio to use in emergencies. Anyway I spent the next 10 minutes in a net with two other operators, from Christchurch, 54 km away as the crow flies. Don’t ever underestimate the functionality of PRS handhelds, especially for use by the community in a disaster.

Moving on to the following day. I inspected the jammed chalkline antenna and it just beggared belief that it could get itself into such a tangle when in a fully enclosed case.

So, I have abandoned the idea of encasing an antenna in a chalkline case and have gone back to an old fashioned fishing reel. The only difference now from my previous attempt at this has been I am now using a better wire from SOTABeams, the standard wire they use on all of their assembled products. Previously I had been using thin hook-up wire and was getting mixed results.

I only have 30 metres on the reel but more than enough for all the bands that I require. For a counterpoise I have another 42 foot of the same wire I had been using in another project. Now 42 feet seems excessive, especially in light of the classic W3EDP design with 84’ radiator and 17’ counterpoise, but all I do is roll up the excess length when a shorter counterpoise is called for; seems to work well.

I tested it that afternoon and made a good match on all bands except 10 meters. That definitely needed the counterpoise shortened somewhat to get a match. Here are some pictures of the setup, both ends of the wire and SWR on 80 metres.

Now there was not much around on 80 metres at 01:52 pm - for those observant ones, the clock on the radio is taking the time off GPS and is 1 hour behind daylight saving. However I found Matt ZL4NVW down in the mountains in Haast somewhere wanting to see if he could get a weather forecast to further plan his trip for the next 2 days. Weather forecast duly passed on, Matt gave me a report of 57 and I was getting him at 58. He was on his Discovery TX-500 feeding into an EFHW with a linked extension for 80 metres and me of course with this fishing reel random wire and the IC-705. Both of us were only putting out 10 watts. Can I judge that as proving the antenna? Not really after only one contact but definitely looking encouraging.

I am planning a SOTA activation on Saturday and will use it there if the real estate on the summit allows it and then on Sunday I intend being up at Porters Heights Ski Field to carry out some further testing. I will report back my findings, and if I get to the ski field early enough on Sunday you just might hear me using it there on the Alpine Fault Net, though on 40 metres.

Hope this might have been useful to someone.

Cheers

Phil ZL3CC