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Review: More Hand-Carried QRP Antennas

Ever since I restarted with ham radio in 2016, I have looked up to Peter Parker, VK3YE. His extensive coverage of various topics on his YouTube channel was inspiring, and you can see his influence throughout These Pages, such as the VK3YE inspired L-Match tuner. My own perception of QRP radio was greatly influenced by his videos and website.

When Peter announced his new book, “More Hand-carried QRP antennas: Simple antennas and accessories to operate from almost anywhere” I immediately went over to Amazon and picked up a copy. His books are inexpensive, and a fantastic value. I also own a copy of “Minimum QRP: Doing more with under five watt amateur radio” and it too is great. I don’t think Peter knows how to write a lousy book- especially for $5!

A Plethora of Antennae

If you’ve ever wondered how an antenna might work in a given situation, chances are that Peter could tell you. He’s tried good antennas, bad antennas, compromise antennas, mediocre antennas, surprisingly great antennas, and everything in between. And he wrote down his results. That elevates him from an Antenna Experimenter to an Antenna Scientist, I think!

The book covers HF antennas as well as VHF and UHF antennas suitable for use with satellites.

What’s even better is that you can read descriptions of these antennae and learn how it went. Oh sure, he covers the ones that worked. But he also covers the ones that didn’t. That is at least as valuable.

And as if that were not enough, he covers some really interesting things like lecher lines, magnetic loops, and some more esoteric designs.

More Than Antennas

There’s another gem in this book, and I especially applaud Peter for including it: How to Ask Good Questions. One of the most important skills you can learn is to ask good questions. Peter goes into this in a detailed but concise chapter that explains how to (and how not to) ask good questions so as to elicit good constructive answers. If this isn’t something you’re good at, then those pages are worth the price of admission alone.

Buy the book. You won’t be disappointed,and you’ll be supporting a guy who’s a great resource of reliable information on the ‘net. That’s something we definitely need more of.

Here’s a list of Peter’s books that are currently available on Amazon. You can (and should) also check out his Website Here.

  • Minimum QRP: Doing more with under five watt amateur radio (Amazon Link)
  • Hand-carried QRP antennas: Simple antennas and accessories to operate from almost anywhere (Amazon Link)
  • More Hand-carried QRP antennas: Simple antennas and accessories to operate from almost anywhere (Amazon Link)
  • 99 things you can do with Amateur Radio (Amazon Link)
  • Getting back into Amateur Radio: What’s new and what you forgot (Amazon Link)
  • Australian Ham Radio Handbook (Amazon Link)
  • Illustrated International Ham Radio Dictionary: Over 1500 radio terms explained! (Amazon Link)

Leave your own review and thoughts about the book in the comments below:

1 comment

    • Shirley Dulcey on April 26, 2020 at 9:41 AM
    • Reply

    One of the joys of Parker’s antenna books is how rough around the edges his antenna and accessories are. Most of the projects you see in magazines like QST are very slick, looking nearly like professional products, and that’s fine if doing that kind of work is your thing. But it’s reassuring to see that ham radio doesn’t have to be that way.

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