23cm Double Quad Antenna

You may have read my earlier post on the IC-9100 transceiver that has taken center stage in my ham shack. As noted there, I’ve been working satellites along with a few 6 meter and HF JT65 contacts. It’s been great fun.

But I’ve also started getting the 23 cm side of the station set up for the ARRL VHF January Contest. That means building an antenna.

Of course, at that wavelength there are lots of sophisticated options. I like the 23 cm helix from WiMo and, of course, something like the dish shown at the top of this post. But for starters I needed something easy and quick.

I selected W6PQL’s information on a 23 cm double quad. He’s provided solid directions and images along with excellent insight into how it works.

You can see a couple of photos of my variation nearby. I used about 10 feet of coax, no need for more and it’s nice to keep the losses down. I also strapped it to a five-foot mast that sits by the operating desk in my ham shack. Point by hand, minimize loss, and see how it works.

My first contact was via D-Star and the K5TIT repeater in downtown Dallas. AE5PL, Pete Loveall, was kind enough to come back to me. So it works.

I’ll see what happens during the contest and decide whether it’s worth putting an antenna on my push-up mast. I note, too, that some L-band satellite transponders are expected to be in orbit later this year. That could be fun.