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NEWINGTON, CT, Apr 26, 2004--You've heard the old saw, "RF's gotta go somewhere!" After taking ARRL's Antenna Design and Construction (EC-009) course, you'll not only understand why that RF energy gets off an antenna and out into the world, but you'll learn how to put together antennas that will get your signal heard. But you'll have to sign up fast--registration for the course is only open through May 2.
"I wish I'd had it available when I first started building a station and antennas," said course author H. Ward Silver, a contributing editor to QST and editor of The Contest Rate-Sheet. "When I was writing this course, the goal was to answer questions about the basics for understanding antennas, understanding more complex designs and delving into the big 'secrets' of antennas?" Silver is also the author of Ham Radio for Dummies, which was released earlier this month.
Silver said skyhooks are really pretty simple: "The secret is we want a structure that allows electrons to move back and forth and create radio waves. An antenna arranges the currents to direct those waves. That's all an antenna is. Of course, there are better and worse ways to do it."
The student will learn about the two most basic designs: the dipole and the ground plane, and how different combinations of these can be assembled into more complex structures that exhibit gain and directivity. There is also instruction on the mysteries of transmission lines, standing wave ratio, phased arrays, Yagis--and how all these things work. The ARRL book Simple and Fun Antennas for Hams, by Chuck Hutchinson, K8CH, and Dean Straw, N6BV, is used as the class textbook.
Aside from knowing how to build and use antennas, Silver said there are more benefits to completing the course: "With these tools in a ham's knowledge box, one can understand and more knowledgeably evaluate any commercial design or product. If students do the construction projects, they will learn how to build an essential part of a ham radio station and never be without an antenna again."
The course is run through ARRL's Certification and Continuing Education program. Tuition is $65 for members and $95 for non-members. Simple and Fun Antennas for Hams is for $22.95, plus shipping and handling. The class begins May 11 and continues through July 6.
Why not encourage a non-member friend to sign up for ARRL membership and then take the course with you? That way, your friend can enroll at the member rate, and have all the benefits of a year-long League membership for a difference of just $9.
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