Slinkys

Slinkys are a children’s toy in the form of a flexible coiled spring. Interesting, useful, and sometimes effective antennas can be made from them. The greatest advantage is convenience and requiring less space than a regular wire antenna. Depending upon frequency, one to four slinkys are necessary. You will also need some nylon cord for support, a center insulator of some kind (a small plastic jar lid works), and transmission line (300 ohm TV lead in works.) Generally, a slinky antenna will end up relatively close to the ground (since the common placements are in a motel room, under the eaves of a house, or in the attic) and become more of an NVIS radiator. This can actually be an advantage if one wants to work closer in on 20 or 40 meters. (For instance, I can work Washington, Utah, and central California from my home in southern Oregon using a slinky on 20 meters; with a dipole in the attic the closest I can normally work is Kansas . Using the slinky on 40 meters I can work towns 50 miles away but with the dipole only a few feet higher the closes is usually about 400 miles. Even so, I have also worked Japan and Hawaii on 40 meters SSB using a slinky and 100 watts.

More to come . . .

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