Antenna Wars Part One - Dipole v Speaker Wire

This is part one of a three part series on the head to head comparison of the well known "KG6HQD" speaker wire antenna vs the formerly known "K9ARV" linked dipole. This video highlights some of the features, pros, cons, and considerations of the two which will lead to a sterile field test followed by a live SOTA operation field test. Every effort will be made to neutralize these two capable antennas to be as fair as possible.
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[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Have you ever made your own antenna? Tell us about that first time experience if you have.

[@WJ6FRadio]

I made an end fed antenna a number of years ago. It didn't go well the first time, but finally got it right.

[@Capt_Duffy]

Made a vertical antenna couple of days back with linear loading and 4 tuned radials for 40m but failed miserably, now im gonna try this speaker antenna...

[@W5DON_in_Oklahoma]

KG6HQD Jerry - I’ve made dipoles with regular RG58 and with zip cord. All had compromises one way or another. But, all worked. I try to keep away from using tuners. They are just a way to trick the transmitter. The key to maximum ERP is appropriate Impedance and Reactance, as in any other tuned AC circuit. Don / W5DON

[@TechGearJunkie]

I made a 20 M dipole antenna before I passed my General Exam. I would just listen for hours...Once I passed and keyed it up for the first time, it was like magic making those first contacts. In the end, as long as you're on the air and and making contacts, that's all that matters.

[@K6ARK]

My first antenna build was a doublet (G5RV style) which is essential the same as a speaker wire antenna, but with a slightly more efficient feedline. Not wanting to carry the tuner, I then built dipoles, OCF dipoles, Delta loops, end-fed halfwaves, small transmitting loops ("magnetic" loops), a linked dipole, trapped end-fed halfwaves, and most recently a half-square. But I have NEVER built or used a speaker wire antenna. Perhaps I need to make one now... And a tuner to go with it.

[@KU9L]

R.I.P. Jerry - We love your spirit and your spirit rides inside of us!!!

[@dongibbskk4qam]

I have made many antennas from speaker wire. Endfeds, loops, and doublets. All work when done properly. If it screws up, make something else out of it(feed your speakers?). No need to cry and make excuses because you haven't taken the time to learn to do something for yourself. This hobby is about trying and learning. If you rely on someone else for everything, you will not accomplish anything. All the negative people out there need to put their "big boy" panties on and go make something for radio use, and give positive input to our hobby.

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Totally agree! Just make something and try for sure

[@ke6mt]

Great video, Jerry! I recently bought a 100' foot roll of speaker wire (for $9!) and made my own. Made a contact with Chile from my back yard to test it out. A couple of comments: 1. I think the linked dipole was going for around $40 on eBay -- I almost bought one! They really do look well-made. But then again, I already have a SOTABeams linked dipole (works really well!). 2. Even though speaker wire isn't the ideal feedline, open-wire feedline does have advantages over coax when multi-banding it with a tuner, so I think there'd be a definite advantage there, loss-wise. 3. This is by far, the easiest to build antenna I've seen. I put it together with my kids' help in less than an hour and got on the air. I think that one thing may matter more than anything else (even though the performance seems to be stellar). 73, Rex KE6MT

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Totally Rex! It's cheap, easy to build and works very well when compared to other options that matter for us QRP SOTA Portable Ops guys/gals.

[@woodrow6611]

Just ordered a roll of speaker wire to build one. Gonna use it for some POTA activations I'm planning. I know it works well because I've seen the proof. Thanks for all you do for us Jerry.

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Thanks Woody and you'll have to share your results here with us too... I hope we get to work one another on a POTA to SOTA soon.

[@adamkimmerly5929]

Jerry, one cost/weight/capability comparison you didn't mention is that the speaker wire antenna requires a tuner for multi-band use. The linked dipole is resonant on every band it has a link for. The one I built has links for 17m, 20m, 30m, and 40m currently. It's my go-to antenna for 100w operation. I can't imagine carrying a tuner big enough to handle 100w to use a speaker wire antenna. But for multi-band simplicity and functionality with a KX-2 or KX-3? That, or a random wire would be my go-to as well.

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

That's a very true point Adam and while I touched on the concept of multi-band use for both antennas, the head to head I envision is strictly 20m v 20m to keep a resonant system on an equal playing field. I guess I feel lucky my KX2 has an internal tuner but I do remember the days of dragging Z817 with me when I had the 817ND radio and wanted to use other bands. Forget that noise when I'm doing SOTA for sure. But, another thing to consider is I can easily attach linked sections to the speaker wire antenna just as easy as the linked dipole. Elevation off the ground is the only sticking point but that would effect both antennas the same so it's a wash. Testing will confirm. Thanks buddy and hope we get to meet up next weekend for the SOTA campout, or is that this weekend? Crap I've got lost in time already....

[@K6ARK]

@@KG6HQDJerrySOTA, indeed! The FT-817 and z-817 combo is heavy and bulky, and it's only 5w! Because the feedline is not 50 ohms in the speaker wire antenna, making it multi-band without a tuner is not as simple as adding links at carefully measured points along the radiating elements. The length of the feedline impacts the tuning and will make your resonant link points unpredictable. It may be possible, but would be much more difficult to make (if those resonant points even exist) than with a coax fed version. Have you experimented with links on the speaker wire antenna? Out of curiosity, have you measured the impedance of the speaker wire?

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Hey Adam, I haven't even put that much thought into the linked sections as it was never my goal. It only was brought up here because I'm using the 20m main portion of a linked dipole that should be and will be resonant on 20m as compared to the resonant 20m speaker wire antenna I use. I did note and record the z of the speaker wire antenna during the build and last Saturday in the field. The z is at or near (setup dependent) to the 50 ohms mark on the speaker wire setup. Much more on this topic will be explored and shared during part 2 of this series as that is the controlled conditions experiment plan for the head to head. This video series isn't about making linked speaker wire antennas, though it could be a spin-off series since you brought it up and it fits into the spirit of the whole idea. Anything fun and challenging and experimenting is worth exploring to me. Never know, might get an update to my patent lol

[@K6ARK]

@@KG6HQDJerrySOTA FWIW, I measured the impedance of some 24ga speaker wire I have: 135 ohms.

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

How did you measure it? What was the setup?

[@RonanCantwell]

Really looking forward to seeing how this pans out. I built a speaker wire linked dipole for 20/30/40 the other day for portable use and was amazed at how simple it was to put together and how well it tuned up. Proper radio!

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

So you made a linked version of the speaker wire antenna? What did you do for the overall length of the transmission line? What was your apex height? @k6ark

[@RonanCantwell]

@@KG6HQDJerrySOTA Yep. It was pretty much thrown together using what was to hand. I used the linked dipole calculator on the sotabeams website to get some starting values for radial lengths. The telescopic pole is only 5m tall with the feedpoint sitting at about 4.5m up so it's pretty much firing up the way on 40m. Wire lengths from the calculator were 4.81m, 1.92m and 2.88m with a 1.5m paracord on the far end. Actual lengths after experimenting and cutting to tune are: 4.19m (seems very short!), 2.79, 3.48m with a 1.5m paracord on the far end to take it to ground level. These are way off the calculated lengths! I left the feedline 10m long for the moment but may shorten it. Links were done with bullet connectors. It's pig-ugly but cheap, effective and I'll not burst into tears if it gets wrecked. I've yet to use it in anger. If it turns out to be a keeper, I'll tidy up the connections. I think I'll make up a single 20m band one too as it doesn't get much simpler than that. Thanks for all your videos. Always interesting and well put together 👍

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Wow man that’s very cool. I’m totally digging how so many of you are making these antennas and sharing your experiences. I’m going to make a 40m version and see how it shows on my analyzer then if it dials in it’ll be my home station antenna. Like you said, if I wreck it who cares lol.

[@RonanCantwell]

@@KG6HQDJerrySOTA So.... After some experimenting with the antenna in a completely open and RF noise free spot I was a bit unhappy with its performance. Yes, it did get out - just not very well. The antenna tuned well on 20, 30 and 40m but I was wondering what on earth was stopping it radiating. I decided to swap out the 10m long speaker wire feeder for an equal length piece of rg174 with a balun at the feedpoint. After that I re-checked the tuning and it had shifted WAAAAY off! The 20m band section was resonant at 16 MHz, the 30m band was resonant at 9.6MHz and the 40m band resonated at 6.3 MHz. These frequencies are more consistent with the actual cut lengths of the radiators. I remade the sections from the now unused speaker wire feeder and cut them to tune with the rg174 and the antenna sprang to life. The difference was remarkable. Where I had only been able to contact close EU stations before, with the new antenna I made several good CW contacts into the US with one down in Florida - all on 5 Watts from the East Coast of Scotland. From this, I can only deduce that the speaker wire feeder was interacting very heavily with the resonant properties of the antenna. In which case it would be very difficult to predict performance when the feeder is run over different surfaces or in different directions.

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

I’m sure the transmission line does act as part of the antenna and would change the resonate lengths of the legs as compared to coax and balun, a more traditional dipole flattop configuration calculation. All this is great fun and I’ve found I’ll accept the minor trade offs of speaker wire tx line vs coax for the weight and bulk when doing SOTA, but that’s just my choice. I’m not trying to win any DX contests rather just make fun qsos all across the US via qrp from peaks. Nothing is a one size fits all but again, it’s fun to see how different peoples experiments are stacking up.

[@roneymonte]

Hello Tony, where R U? Miss your adventures... Thanks Jerry! 73 de PY1ZB

[@randyransier7947]

good video. i figured out from the antenna book about the transmission line. using the same wire you can use 1/4 lambda, 3/4 lamda, 5/4 lambda etc. it totally cancels the impedance of the dipole at those intervals. so using the same wire for 20m antenna, if your ears of the dipole are 5m, your transmission line using the same speaker wire to be matched can be 5m, 15m, 25m, 35m etc just adding a half lambda (10m) over and over. 5m is kinda short for getting to my radio so i'm building mine with 15m transmission line. (total distance from radio to end of one of the ears is 20m). you cannot use transmission line of half lambda, 1 lambda, 3/2 lambda etc as that will actually double the impedance.

[@hamradiotube]

Great video Jerry, and long live the KG6HQD speaker wire antenna! Can't wait to see it kick butt (although I already know it does).

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

heck ya man! As Dennis was saying, it's a #JerryNet™ production lol

[@WJ6FRadio]

Great video! I am going to the high desert in a few weeks and if time permits I am going to see if I can make one of the now famous KG6HQD Antennas, and take it with me. Keep up the most outstanding work!!

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

That's awesome man! You'll have to come back here, or on part two or three, and let us know how it worked and about your experience in making the antenna. Thanks for sharing!

[@MrCowboybud]

I like Tim’s antennas but he is not on eBay anymore. Try SotaBeams linked dipole, it works great.

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

I have eyeballed the SOTABeams products and they look very nice. Maybe someday I’ll get something from them.

[@W8MJL]

Jerry you are a great elmer my friend, I'm a new General and bought an Icom IC-718 and have been researching antenna's for portable use. First i bought was a MFJ-1899t (not a great one for my radio) to save some money, I'm on a tight budget, not good for a ham operator, THEN i found your videos. You have inspired me to learn more and build my own, much better on a budget IMO. My club is now interested in seeing the final result after i talked to them about you build. Again i say thank you for such helpful videos for beginner hams. 73 de W8MJL

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Now THIS is what it's ALL about to me. This makes me happier than you'll ever know to hear it motivated you to make an antenna, on the cheap nonetheless, and share your experience. It will open many doors to understanding for you I'm sure. Please report back on how it all went for you. I actually do like to hear the results myself and it helps others here when they see them too. It can be done with pretty good results. Have fun Michael and thanks for the comment.

[@W8MJL]

@@KG6HQDJerrySOTA I will defiantly report back on my results. Again thank you and can;t wait for the other 2 videos

[@justinmoyers1179]

I built a speaker wire dipole as my first HF antenna based off of your design. I havent final tuned it yet so I had to use my LDG tuner but i have hit Hawaii and Japan with my center section only being 14' off the ground. Its a solid design.

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

And I've noticed you've been making all kinds of ham radio things to go with it which is cool. So the ham radio gods don't strike us down and the hi hi OM's don't blow their minds, I really didn't "design" it rather I shared the design from the ARRL Antenna book 22nd Edition. Had to put that in there because some people are really losing their minds over that inside joke, which is fun all on it's own lol.

[@neubert500]

Tonys videos always were fun and I enjoyed them and still miss his and BOOMER'S presence on youtube. I made myself listen to your entire vid and am glad I did because you came across to me, as defensive and attacking Tony, I am GLAD to hear that you and he are friends and I was mistaken.

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

I'm glad you watched the whole thing too. Tony and I can totally disagree on this and still be friends. He's been a great "ham bassador" to our hobby and just because we may have different thoughts on this topics doesn't mean we can't get along. Now only if the politicians could do the same and then get some work done lol

[@Hogdriver88]

$5 for 100' of 24 gauge speaker wire at the local Ace hardware store. Plastic end insulators cut from a grated cheese container. Already had the binding post/BNC adapter. Can't get much less expensive than that. I think I cut the feed length to about 24 feet based on what I read on velocity factor, and the antenna is cut for the CW portion of 20M. I can work 40-6 with the kx3 tuner. Feedline loss at HF is negligible - I've worked from Europe to the west coast, from the east coast, QRP. Let the naysayers blather on about loss - the antenna works, and at a low point in the sunspot cycle. Glad I built this, thanks to your video. de KE2SX

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Thanks man, I’m glad it’s working for you

[@W5DON_in_Oklahoma]

Also, to be fair, you could also step on & crush your bnc to binding post adapter. Which would also render the speaker wire antenna useless. Don / W5DON

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Don Imhoff it’s in his kx2 bag until he needs it.

[@W5DON_in_Oklahoma]

Ham Radio Crash Course - yes it is. Right up to the point when he has to connect the speaker wire antenna.

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

I was responding to this when a software install happened .... grrrr.. Anyway, Don is correct that it's a connection none the less and susceptible to damage. Josh is also correct, since he's seen how I activate in person, that it stays in my pack until it's time to connect the antenna to the radio at which time I'm usually seated. In both cases, the wires could be bare and jammed into the BNC connection and wrapped around it if absolutely necessary but it would suck to have your BNC connector on your coax get crushed by accident when setting the antenna up, that was my point in the video.

[@W5DON_in_Oklahoma]

Jerry - exactly my point, and you’re correct: The wires can be inserted into the BNC connector directly. The speaker wire antenna is a clever update of the zip cord antenna. I’ll likely give it a shot. Don / W5DON

[@jbell7232]

You could fall down, injure your brain, and the antenna and radio won't work. :-^ - KF8JBB, The Mom Ham (I love this antenna. Made one myself. Thank you, Jerry. GREAT channel.)

[@willian.direction6740]

Thanks Jerry can you do portable/backyard WSPR testing it shows interesting results at times.

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Hi William - Putting these two antennas on a fixed CW beacon type test once they are setup identical I will be pulling and including that data in the next two sub-series to show hard results, whatever they may be.

[@MrJwerth]

Good job Jerry. Looking forward to part 2 and 3. Saving my judgement till all the evidence is in! 73, KE9AJ

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Fair enough Joesph and I am looking forward to moving this series forward too. Thanks for checking in here.

[@HillCountryDemo]

Jerry, Have you built a speak wire antenna for any of the lower bands such as 60M or 80M and if so how have they worked out? How long was your feed line for these antennas? Rich KB5EDR.

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Hi Rich, I have not mainly because of the elevation off the ground that would be required for optimum deployment and the usually small spaces on the SOTA peaks that would make deploying one of those antenna sizes rough at times. Plus, for my application the 20m band during the hours I operate are usually the most consistent. Now having said that. I imagine the same theories would apply and it could be worth a try since the project is so incredibly cheap and easy. Be aware that this is where Tony's argument of loss on the transmission line would start becoming much more evident. Attenuation at 100' of transmission line on 14mHz is about 4DB compared to RG-174 and 2.4DB compared to RG-58. For 80m the attenuation due to loss is at 2.7DB compared to RG-174 and .8DB compared to RG-58 so again, because of the low cost it's worth the experiment if you have the space to try it in my opinion. If you do make an 80m version I would aim to get the antenna apex at least a 1/4 wavelength off the ground and for 80m that would be about 61' but per my antenna tool calculations at 3.8mHz ish a minimum height could be 41.37' so YMMV. Either way, it'll cost like $20 to find out :)

[@mikemcdonald5147]

you might think of being in a more silent room than the big metal room. Some people use sound deadening material to get the reverb down.

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Ya, I kicked myself when I heard it and fixed it on the part two video.

[@TheOpenAirGarage]

Will be watching the series!!!!.

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Very cool!

[@Blue-Collar-Radio]

The only antenna I have used in my short time in the hobby is a 9:1 end fed. I plan to make a speaker wire antenna so I can do POTA. As a blue collar ham, even if it's 'less efficient' the price is on point.

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Totally agreed! And it's fun to make and it actually works too. :)

[@USXPOP]

KZbin has a lot of videos on Road Rage. Your first Antenna Wars attitude comes close. Ease up Brother. It's a hobby. Hams test and try and experiment. The prefect antenna does not exist. I've used speaker wire for random length for both transceiver and pure SW receive and have used 300 ohm TV wire as well. To be sure, I'll keep watching you vids, just don't go Postal, ok?

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

So funny 🤣🤣. I’ll do my best man and this is all just too much fun.. road rage ham radio style haaa .. guessing you may not gave seen the full Twitter fun on it all 😎

[@davequick3373]

Any idea what has happened to Tony?

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

He’s around on Twitter and lurks here too. Still playing qrp radio and stuff just no KZbin channel anymore. Truth is having a YT channel is a lot of work, and can easily consume much of your time if you let it..... this I know too

[@davequick3373]

KG6HQD Jerry ..... Thanks for the reply Jerry. Wish he didn’t just disappear like he did. One might think he died for goodness sakes. A lot of his videos were good to watch.... I’m glad I found your channel. Enjoying all your stuff! I’ve been a ham since 1970 and never have I seen the bands as bad. Yes, u can make contacts but gone are the days of working DXCC in one weekend on 10 with QRP 5W! Keep making videos. The quality both content and production are spot on. I pray YOU don’t disappear any time soon! 73

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Thanks Dave much appreciated. There’s so much more to do and learn in this hobby so just trying to share along the way.

[@W5DON_in_Oklahoma]

I have one of the 20 meter antennas from Tim Ortiz. I feed it with RG8. With that antenna, I have also reached all over CONUS, and as far as Australia. All with my FT-817 at 5 watts. I have not yet built one of the speaker wire antennas, but will in the near future. I’m not a backpacker anymore. My last back surgery fixed that. So, I’m not weight restricted. I pack whatever I can carry in the truck. 😁 Don / W5DON

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

I tell ya, I'm experience some serious back issues now so I'm praying it does't take SOTA away from me either, but if that happened I'd just switch to POTA and pack what I wanted in my truck too lol. Regarding the Tim Ortiz antenna, I hope people know I'm NOT talking that antenna down rather the overall goal is to show others options if money it tight, or a design that's easy to make if they want to explore that area of ham radio, and/or have a very capable antenna that isn't far from a "store bought" version when it comes to actual results. I said it in this video and I'll say it again, I think the linked dipole from Tony will perform every bit as good as the speaker wire one I use, but for the cost I'm offering an alternative consideration is all. Not like it's really patented and trademarked and I'm getting money from this...hehe

[@W5DON_in_Oklahoma]

Jerry - I know you’re not slamming the Tim Ortiz antenna. I hope others feel the same. I tell you brother - stay away from back surgeries as long as you can. I just went through my 3rd one in 4 years. I can carry a shitload of stuff in my truck. Life is good. I agree that experimenting is learning for us. I’ve been licensed for over 25 years, and am constantly tweaking/modifying/improving my equipment and methods from little projects that I try out. I’m looking forward to the head to head testing. If you need some operators on the other end of your wires, let me know. I can set up fairly quickly. And get a POTA activation at the same time. Don / W5DON

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Great to know that it’s not being perceived as talking Tim’s antenna down, there’s no reason to do that as both have pros and cons. I’ll keep your words in mind as I start some dr appts soon, but something has to change cuz I have no idea what happened. Re people on the other end of the wire, I was hoping for tomorrow but it’s looking like Saturday morning PST sometime now. I’ll post on Twitter when I nail down my time frame better and I know we are connected there too. Good stuff man! 👍🏻

[@hawkeyeCH53E]

Hey Jerry I never got my green fishing pole from the Chinese company off of Amazon. I had to cancel my order. Waited over 4 months. Tried to leave a bad review on Amazon about them and they wouldn't use it. Typical. Hopefully I can find a suitable substitute. Noted other guys having the same problem.

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Going to look into this cuz that’s crap. Sorry for that

[@WC6Q]

1. The ads. Surly you don't get enough money to drive us nuts? 2. I built a speaker dipole about 4 years ago. Worked good, but I switched to a linked dipole for 20/40. I like the linked dipole better just because it gets out just a bit farther. (Both in inverted V fashion)

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Good to know on your experience with both. Oh and you are right, I don't get much for the ads :)

[@sandraabarca6029]

ty informative and right to the point.Now iam ready to build , ty Tony 73

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Great! Come back and tell us about it when you do so we can hear how it went for you.

[@W6RIPRadioAdventures]

I need to make one of these but which one better?... I gotta wait know?... Holy Moly! I need to make a RIP Antenna........ 73 to everybody!

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

🤣 you did I thought

[@W6RIPRadioAdventures]

@@KG6HQDJerrySOTA LOL! Im just playing the objective viewer and see who calls me out. Haha!

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

I called you out 🤣

[@W6RIPRadioAdventures]

@@KG6HQDJerrySOTA haha! Thats twice. Damn administrator privileges. Lol

[@mikesmithg0rfd356]

any antenna your using and is working is better then you would like but have not got or you can not buy.

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Agreed! Just make it happen and have fun

[@mikesmithg0rfd356]

use should be using a balun to convert to unbalanced 1:1 will work, or use a balanced atu like a eez match. yours g0rfd mike

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Are you referring to the linked dipole or the speaker wire antenna for the balun?

[@VoeViking]

This could be a 5 minute video...

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Yet it wasn’t ... next one is 23 minutes so heads up

[@dennisthrush2835]

Is it me or are using an echo chamber?

[@justinmoyers1179]

Thats his garage lol

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Man, I hate how the audio came out on this and it won't happen again...

[@mikesmithg0rfd356]

it looks like you are lots of fun.

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Haha, I try to keep it fun and interesting. Thanks

[@mikesmithg0rfd356]

your kg6hqd one

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Nope, not part of the design... I know, it’s crazy and works great!

[@mikesmithg0rfd356]

its all good

[@alvarogaitan2529]

good morning Jerry 73 nice videos

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Thanks Alvaro and good morning to you sir

[@n3ljs399]

1:1 50 ohms.....on 20 meters. no way

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

ok

[@johnkershaw9575]

Have I every made my own antenna? Of course, this one. It worked great. JJK N6NRO

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Ha! Awesome John and thanks for jumping in and letting us know.

[@johnkershaw9575]

Right after you made the initial video I was off to Home Depot to get the wire. So easy. It's made several trips to Figueroa Mountain with me. Glad to see more videos, keep them coming. 73s

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Thanks John and will do. Seems these types of videos are more desirable to the group over my hiking ones 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@johnkershaw9575]

I disagree. The hiking ones are great. Its why I bought a KX3. Always been the outdoor type and now love having my radio with me. Now I hike with a purpose. Yours, W6RIP, Julian in Finland, many others, motive each other and all of us who watch.

[@KG6HQDJerrySOTA]

Well that motivates me to keep my channel going, hearing how my videos inspire others means more than anything else. Thanks for the kind words John.