Talking about antenna’s is always risky. This is one aspect of the Ham radio community where passions run high. Ham’s have strong opinions about antenna’s; most are biased towards antenna’s that meet their specific needs.
My POTA antenna needs are simple. I want an antenna that is easy to deploy, does not require a tuner, and does not cost a lot. It also must be a good performer.
Without a doubt, my favorite POTA antenna is the TennTennas made by NE4TN (Walt). The TennTenna is an EF 1/2 wave with a 49:1 transformer using a quality FT-240-43 toroid. You can find them on eBay. Walt hand makes each antenna, and they are of superb quality.
I prefer 20M when doing POTA activations, so I grabbed @33′ length of 14 gauge yellow antenna wire (DXEngineering) from my parts box, and cut it to resonance using an antenna analyzer.
I get the wire in the air using a TN07 fiberglass mast supported by my custom flag-pole trailer hitch mount. I mount the TennTenna to the base of the pole using a velcro strap, run coax to my radio, and I am on the air.
To give you an idea of what the TennTenna can do, check out the below map of contacts I made during a recent POTA activation (US-3559).
I made 101 contacts, including two in Alaska, and two in Canada. You must admit, this is very impressive!
Walt charges $45 for his antenna + shipping. This is the best 50 bucks I ever spent. Thank you Walt!
73,
N1SPW