It is kind of funny that now we are recognized as a disaster satellite communications organization. First, our mission is to bring a little peace of mind to survivors by giving them their right to communicate with their loved ones. Secondly, N2NGO is my amateur radio callsign which is how this all started after Maria hit Puerto Rico.
This past weekend was the ARRL’s DX Contest, I used it to test 2 new parts for my Buddipole antenna. I just received the Mini Shockcord Whip and short Shockcord Mast, I absolutely love the first one, and while I have reservations about the mast I don’t think I will stop using it. People that know my radio history know that I have a love-hate relationship with my Buddipole, I love the detail put into its design, but find some parts like it’s clips a bit of a bother. I have owned an ATAS and a few others, and my choice is mainly the Buddipole backed by my magnetic loop.
After I set up the Buddipole I was impressed at how fast QSOs started, then I also realized that most of the people who I contacted were transmitting at 1000 watts, therefore the likeliness is that they have an amazing antenna as well. But truthfully I test mainly to use my equipment at times of disasters, and I am usually at the disaster site, usually, the people who I work with also have incredible antennas so this worked well for me. I believe I made 29 QSOs and with the exception of 2, they were all at 20 watts and using a battery.
For a brief period I also set up my AlexLoop which I love using while next to a body of water. I only got 1 or 2 QSOs which to me was strange, but I was not next to water, instead, in the roof of my building in NYC. The main reason I like the magnetic loop is the speed in which I can switch bands, and as most users, I don’t like the narrow bandwidth, but can live with it.
Between both antennas, I believe the Buddipole wins in every aspect except for speed of setting it up. The loop takes less than 2 minutes while the Buddipole can take as little as 8-10 minutes if you have it preset to the band you wish to use, otherwise it can be 10-20 minutes to set up. If I am going to be for a few hours at the site, the Buddipole is definitely more reliable.
I really would love to test a 100W magnetic loop that can be tuned remotely, so if you manufacture one, please would love to see if that would be our dream antenna for disaster work. I like the flexibility of 100W but usually we try to Tx at 20W or under to conserve battery power.