{"id":19559,"date":"2016-06-19T19:14:14","date_gmt":"2016-06-19T23:14:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=19559"},"modified":"2016-06-19T19:14:14","modified_gmt":"2016-06-19T23:14:14","slug":"antenna-advice-needed-for-field-station","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/06\/antenna-advice-needed-for-field-station\/","title":{"rendered":"Antenna advice needed for field station"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Paul<\/a>

Paul Walker’s listening post in Galena, Alaska.<\/p><\/div>\n

I know you can’t cheat physics or RF and that magic pixie dust won’t work, but I’m hoping those with a little more technical expertise can help me solve an antenna dilemma.<\/p>\n

I’m in the central interior region of Alaska<\/a> and want to pick up Radio Vanuatu 7260 kHz<\/a> a bit better. I also get a somewhat poor signal from them (they may not be running the full 10,000 watts) and I just want something a little better. My problem is that my set up can’t be permanent as I don’t technically have rights to the land I’m on; it’s somewhat public.<\/p>\n

\"Paul-Wlaker-Listening-Post-2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I’ve looked at HF beam antennas and some of them can be huge, so that’s likely out of the question. I don’t think a 1\/4 wave or 1\/2 wave wire dipole would provide drastically better results then a longwire with a tuner, so I don’t want to waste the time and the effort.<\/p>\n

\"Wellbrook-Paul-Walker-Galena-AK\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I do have a Wellbrook ALA1530LNP<\/a> and that’s somewhat directional.\u00a0I also have a 225 foot long wire with an Emtech ZM2 tuner<\/a>. The Wellbrook and ZM2 do OK.<\/p>\n

I do have a Tripod and telescoping mast, so I can handle a beam antenna, it just cant be 30-40 feet! I have no problem carrying a beam antenna and tripod back across the street to my house at the end of a DX session.<\/p>\n

Something directional would probably be what’s on order to make this work. \u00a0I am not going to cheap out on this, but I am certainly not spending $1000 on an antenna….. something in the $200 to $400 range would be fantastic. Returning stuff would be a hassle for me, so I can’t do that.. so I need to buy something that stands a good chance of working.<\/p>\n

Am I stuck with my current set up and have no real better options based upon my limitations, is there someway I can make my set up better or is there some kind of antenna that’s directional which I can point right towards Vanuatu which will work that isn’t as big as a house and that doesn’t cost an arm, leg, kidney and foot?<\/p>\n

Paul Walker is located in Galena, Alaska and is a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Be sure to check out Paul\u2019s YouTube\u00a0channel<\/a> and SoundCloud channel<\/a>\u00a0where everything he logs is recorded and posted.\u00a0Click here<\/a> to read his other contributions on the SWLing Post.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I know you can’t cheat physics or RF and that magic pixie dust won’t work, but I’m hoping those with a little more technical expertise can help me solve an antenna dilemma. I’m in the central interior region of Alaska and want to pick up Radio Vanuatu 7260 kHz a bit better. I also get […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3607,56,43,5],"tags":[5193,4973,4156,3713],"class_list":["post-19559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-antennas","category-broadcasters","category-shortwave-radio","category-swlers","tag-antenna","tag-galena-alaska","tag-paul-walker","tag-radio-vanuatu"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-55t","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19294,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/06\/solomon-islands-and-vanuatu-on-shortwave\/","url_meta":{"origin":19559,"position":0},"title":"Solomon Islands and Vanuatu On Shortwave","author":"Paul Walker","date":"June 2, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Paul Walker I tried logging the\u00a0Solomon Islands and Vanuatu shortwave broadcast stations for years, however, owing to my location and poor antenna along with technical problems with the stations, I was never able to log them. Well, I recently moved to Alaska and was able to take the stations\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Guest Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Guest Posts","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/guest-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Paul Walker's listening post in Galena, Alaska.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Paul-Wlaker-Listening-Post-4.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Paul-Wlaker-Listening-Post-4.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Paul-Wlaker-Listening-Post-4.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Paul-Wlaker-Listening-Post-4.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20948,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/08\/galena-alaska-pauls-evolving-listening-post\/","url_meta":{"origin":19559,"position":1},"title":"Galena, Alaska: Paul’s evolving listening post","author":"Thomas","date":"August 31, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Walker, who writes: My listening post as it stands now Time: 1600-1700 UTC Location: Galena, Alaska (Rural central interior, halfway between Nome & Fairbanks) Equipment:Tecsun PL880, 225 foot long wire oriented north south and 225 foot long wire oriented east west, EmTech ZM2\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Paul-Walker-Galena-Alaska-TEcsun-PL880","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Paul-Walker-Galena-Alaska-TEcsun-PL880-e1472638724421.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Paul-Walker-Galena-Alaska-TEcsun-PL880-e1472638724421.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Paul-Walker-Galena-Alaska-TEcsun-PL880-e1472638724421.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18540,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/04\/recordings-paul-records-vanuatu-and-solomon-islands-from-central-alaska\/","url_meta":{"origin":19559,"position":2},"title":"Recordings: Paul records Vanuatu and Solomon Islands from central Alaska","author":"Thomas","date":"April 27, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Walker, who shares the following recordings of Radio Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands Broadcasting. Paul lives in Galena, Alaska, and records most of these broadcasts outside of his broadcasting studio: 7260 kHz: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=yAxa5_Oyl3M 5020 kHz: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=e9yw6GLy4Zw 5020 kHz: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=C9Rd-Whn2pA 3945 is much weaker\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"IMG_0866","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/IMG_0866-1024x304.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/IMG_0866-1024x304.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/IMG_0866-1024x304.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18475,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/04\/radio-vanuatu-on-target-for-nationwide-coverage\/","url_meta":{"origin":19559,"position":3},"title":"Radio Vanuatu on target for nationwide coverage under new leadership","author":"Thomas","date":"April 21, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Radio New Zealand via Mike Terry on the WRTH FB Page) The recently appointed chair of the board of the Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation is confident nationwide coverage will be achieved by Radio Vanuatu soon. The new government recently replaced the old board following concerns over the lack\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Vanuatu-Map","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Vanuatu-Map.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Vanuatu-Map.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Vanuatu-Map.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":21918,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/10\/shortwave-radio-recordings-voice-of-korea-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":19559,"position":4},"title":"Shortwave Radio Recordings: Voice of Korea","author":"Thomas","date":"October 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Walker, who shares the following: This is the English service broadcast for The Voice Of Korea to \"Latin America\" from Kujang, North Korea. Recorded 0430-0530UTC October 17, 2016 using a Tecsun PL-880, Wellbrook ALA1530LNP, EmTech ZM2 antenna tuner and DXEngineering HF Preamp. Listening\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"north_korean_propaganda","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/north_korean_propaganda.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/north_korean_propaganda.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/north_korean_propaganda.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/north_korean_propaganda.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17788,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/03\/pauls-shortwave-logs-commentary-and-audio-from-alaska\/","url_meta":{"origin":19559,"position":5},"title":"Paul’s shortwave logs, commentary and audio from Alaska","author":"Thomas","date":"March 17, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"SWLing Post contributor, Paul Walker, is a\u00a0radio host for KIYU in remote village of Galena, Alaska--we recently posted a few photos of Paul on site. Many thanks to Paul for sharing the following notes about SWLing at his location. Paul writes: Right now, all I have to DX with is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Guest Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Guest Posts","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/guest-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"KIRA in Galena, Alaska","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_0077.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_0077.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_0077.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_0077.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19559\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}