part 1, 2025-03-05
most hams turn their noses at spending more than $20 on a wire antenna, why aren't they doing the same with whips?
the ax1 is a short, compromised whip antenna for the 20m, 17m, and 15m bands. with an additional loading coil it may be used on 40m, and with a wide ranging enough atu, 12m and 10m. from what this dog hears, it provided unparalleled ease of deployment, far outweighing the compromise, which when used for CW, doesn't seem to be that much of a problem. in typical elecraft fashion, it is a very beautifully designed system, with accompanying tripod and bipod mounts, but also in typical elecraft fashion, it is outrageously expensive, with just the whip with the 20/17/15m coils coming out to $120. the tripod adapter, another $30.
anyways, you can buy just the whip of the AX1 for $14, plus shipping ... or just the buddipole featherweight whip for $8, plus shipping ... after scouring ebay for some time, the dog found a 115cm telescopic whip, approximately equal length to the AX1 and buddipole offerings, for $3.77 with free shipping.
the ax1 in its 20/17/15m configuration actually only has two coils, not three. there is a single switch which, when in one position, is described as bringing the whip into -approximate- resonance on 20m, and in the other, -approximate- resonance -between- 17m and 15m. the ax1, as written in its marketing material, is designed for use with an ATU. so, that being said, the way that it -probably- works is as follows:
there are two loading coils, L1 and L2, and a switch. L1s inductance is whatever is necessary to bring the whip into resonance between 17m and 15m, and L2s inductance such that L1+L2 brings the whip into resonance around 20m. the switch, then, removes L2 from the circuit some way or another. in order to simplify construction, this dog is just going to use a SPST slidey toggle switch in order to short L2.
end as of 2025-03-05. we'll see when this whip arrives~