My favorite field antenna

My primary filed antenna is a monobander end-fed half-wave (EFHW) wire antenna erected on a carbon mast. It is cut to be resonant on the CW portion of the 20m band. I use it in a sloper or inverted V configuration (one leg usually longer than the other). With the tuner it works reasonably well on other bands like 30m and 15m.

Radiator

24 AWG ultra flexible silicone tinned copper wire from Amazon. The length is about 9.50 meters or 31 feet. It connects to the transformer with a 2 mm gold bullet connector.

Transformer

A miniature 64:1 transformer designed by DG1JAN. He has published several designs on GitHub. I went with the MicroUnUn variant. The classic 49:1 ratio works well too.

Coax

RG316 coaxial cable with BNC on one end and SMA on the other. The length is 10 feet.

Deployment 

I am using a 6m carbon or fiberglass masts. A small loop of rope is attached to a plastic eyelet near the top section of the mast. The radiator slides freely in the loop and allows me to adjust the length of the legs when deploying in an inverted V. The longer leg is connected to the transformer and the coax. I use a short rope to secure it to a nearby tree, brush or to my backpack :) The shorter leg is attached to a longer rope which is then secured to a tree or a brush in the opposite direction.  

Hardware

Winder, plastic eyelets and  lightweight cord from Sotabeams, a grip knot to attach the cord to the radiator, plastic S-clips.

Variants

I had a linked 15-17m version. It is shorter than the 20m version and easier to use in a sloper configuration when the space is limited. The tuner allows me to work on 20m as well. The extra hardware and the degraded performance on 20m and 40m makes it slightly less practical than the 20m version.

I also have a 40m version to use when the space is abundant. It is twice as big as the 20 version. The radiator resonates on the CW portion of 40m. Unfortunately,  it is slightly off resonance on 20, 15 and 10 meters. My solution is to either use the tuner or add a stub of about 30 cm on the far leg.

Mini EFHW transformers

 DG1JAN has shared on GitHub some really nice designs. I went with the MicroUnUn which seems to be a nice alternative of the popular K6ARK.

It uses Amdion FT82-43 (FairRite 5943000601) toroid. The author suggests two other variations:

1. combining 5943000601 with a smaller inner toroid 5943001101  
2. using the double length FairRite 5943000501

I was hesitant about he combined toroid design - the winding was really dense inside the small toroid. So I made few units with 601 and one with 501. I made several configurations and measured the lowest SWR.

Winding	Secondary turns	Secondary / primary	Ratio
10-1-10	21	7	49:1
10-1-10	22	7.33	54:1
11-1-11	23	7.66	59:1
11-1-12	24	8	64:1
12-1-12	25	8.33	70:1
12-1-13	26	8.66	75:1
13-1-13	27	9	81:1

I did my tests with a radiator for 18MHz and SotaBeams Carbon mast. Here are the results of the first round:

Subject	Ratio	Lowest SWR	Frequency
1	49:1	1.43	18.350
2	49:1	1.44	18.300
3	81:1	1.16	18.000
4	81:1	1.12	18.100
5	81:1	1.12	18.200

Second round of tests:

Subject	Ratio	Lowest SWR	Frequency
4	81:1	1.10	18.090
5	81:1	1.10	18.170
6	49:1	1.44	18.190
7	54:1	1.35	18.170

Third round of tests. 

Subject	Ratio	Lowest SWR	Frequency
5	81:1	1.16	18.210
7	54:1	1.38	18.170
8	64:1	1.20	18.150
9	64:1 *D	1.25	18.130

1:64* D uses the double length FairRite 5943000501

These are the indications of my RigExpert. When hooked to KX2, the values are about 0.25 better.

Morse code prosigns, abbreviations, Q-codes and slang

 We use a few codes, abbreviations and prosigns to speed up the Morse code exchange and avoid sending frequently used lengthy words. The complete lists are huge and only a few of them are still in use today. Here is what I usually hear and use:

 PROSIGNS (these are sent together without spacing between the letters)

[AS] - "Wait please, I will be back shortly"

[AR] - "End of the current message"

[BK] - "Break. I have finished sending, now it is your turn." In a long conversation, people use K instead because it is shorter.

[BT] - just a separator between logical parts of the message

[CQ]  - originates from the French C'est qui? which means "Who is there?".

DE - another french word, means "From"

K - "Any station please reply."

[KN] - the opposite of K. "I expect an answer from the above mentioned station. If it is not you, stay down and wait your turn."

[SK] - "That was my last message for you, end of the conversation"

ABBREVIATIONS

ABT - "About"

AGN? - "Again, please", "Please repeat"

BTU - "Back to you"  I have finished sending, now it is your turn."

FB - "Fine business"  Your code is clean and I was able to understand it easily.

FER - "For"

GD, GM, GA or GE - "Good day", "Good morning", "Good afternoon", "Good evening".

HPE - "I hope to" 

IOTA - Islands on the Air

CUL - "See you later"

CUAGN - "See you again"

MNI - "Many"

OM - "Old man". Used for all male ham radio operators, regardless of their age. 

POTA - Parks on the Air

RR - "Roger, roger" I was able to decode it correctly.

RX - receiving radio signal

SOTA - Summits on the air

SK - "Straight key"

SK - it could also mean "Silent key" - a deceased morse code operator. 

SKCC - Straight key Century Club

SRI - "Sorry" 

TNX - "Thanks"

TU - "Thank you"

TX - sending radio signal

VY - "Very"

YL - "Young lady". Used for all female ham radio operators, regardless of their age.

XYL - "Ex young lady". The wife of a radio opeator.

WX - "The weather"

73 - Equivalent to "Best regards", "My best wishes", "I wish you all the best", "Cheers"

88 - "Love and kisses". Typically, a male operator sends 73 to all male operators and 88 to all female operators.

44 - used by World Wide Flora and Fauna activators and hunters instead of 73 or 88

 Q-CODES

QTH - "The locations of my station" 

QRL? - "Is the frequency in use?"

QRP - "Low power". Typically 5W for CW and 10W for SSB.

QRO - "High power station". Typically 100W or above.

QRS? - "Would you like me to send slower?"

QRS - "Could you please send slower?", "Slow speed Morse code" 

QRQ - "High speed Morse code"

QRZ? - "Who is calling me?" or "Who is the next station that wants to contact me?" 

QRT - "I am turning off the station". If it comes from a portable operator, it means he is done for the day, he will pack up his gear and head back home or enjoy the rest of his outdoor time with his family :) 

QRM - man-made interference that generates radio-frequency noise and makes it harder or impossible to hear the other stations.

QRN - natural atmosferic radio-frequency noise that interferes with the signal

QSO - a radio contact

HAM SLANG

DX - a remote station or contact with a remote station. The other side of the ocean or the other side of the continent is far enough to be considered a DX

FIELD DAY - the special day of the year when the typically indoor operators operate outdoor

FIST - when someone is sending with a straight key and his rhythm is "unique" or difficult to decode

HAM RADIO - amateur radio

HAM - a radio amateur

HAMFEST - a convention of amateur radio enthusiasts, often combining a trade show, flea market, and various other activities of interest to amateur radio operators

LID - a poor operator.

PILEUP - when many stations try to call one staton at the same time, Their signals overlap and it is hard to distinguish what they say. Imagine a group of people yelling at you their names simultaneously. Or a pack of reporters trying desperately to get the attention of a VIP.

RIG - radio transmitter

TO WORK - to have a radio exchange with. Exemple: I have worked Australia with this antenna.

Standard Morse exchange

Here is what the standard Morse code radio exchange looks like:

Morse code message	Translation
CQ CQ DE VE2WLD K	Who is there? My callsign is VE2WLD. Any station please reply.
VE2WLD DE KG2MM [KN]	Hey VE2WLD! It is KG2MM. Please reply if you hear me.
KG2MM DE VE2WLD [BT] GM ES TU FER UR CALL RST 599 [BT] QTH MONTREAL [BT] NAME IS GEORGE GEORGE [BT] HW CPI? KG2MM DE VE2WLD [KN]	Hey KG2MM, it is VE2WLD. Good morning and thank you for your call Your signal is easily readable and comes strong here my station is located in Montreal my name is George how do you hear me? This message to KG2MM is from VE2WLD and I am waiting for a reply from him.
VE2WLD DE KG2MM [BT] FB GEORGE ES TNX FER RPRT RST 459 IN JACKSONVILLE, FL OP MIKE MIKE SO HW? [BK]	For VE2WLD from KG2MM. Good job, Georgi, I understood everything you have just sent. Thanks for your report. Your signal is readable and fairly strong in Jacksonville, Florida my name is Mike how do you hear me? Break
[BK] FB MIKE WX IS SUNNY 20 C RIG IS DISCOVERY TX-500 PWR 10W ANT VERTICAL HW? [BK]	Break Good job, Mike. I understood everything you have just sent. The weather is sunny, 20°C My radio is DISCOVERY TX-500 the power I am using is 10 watts the antenna is vertical how do you hear me? Break
[BK] MOSTLY OK POWER? WX STORM ES 60F RIG IS YAESU FT-891 PWR 1TTW ANT IS 4 BAND DIPOLE HW? [BK]	Break Mostly OK. Please repeat your power level again, I didn't hear it well. The weather is storm and 60°F My radio is YAESU FT-891 the power I use now is 100 watts my antenna is 4 band dipole how do you hear me? Break
[BK] PWR IS 10W 10W 10W TNX FER NICE QSO MIKE ES HPE CU AGN 73 KG2MM DE VE2WLD [SK]	Break The power is 10 watts Thanks for the nice contact Mike and I hope to see you again. Best regards This was the last message to KG2MM from VE2WLD
VE2WLD DE KG2MM R R TU ES CUL OM 73 VE2WLD DE KG2MM [SK]	To VE2WLD from KG2MM I was able to hear it this time. Thank you and see you again my friend. Cheers! This was the last message to VE2WLD from KG2MM
II	Bye !
II	Bye !

Sometimes, the exchange drags on and people chat about all kinds of stuff. It is called rag-chewing :)

In other cases, the message is fast and short - the participants only exchange their callsigns and signal reports. Mainly for contests when the goal is to make as many contacts as possible, but also when the conditions are not good and the quality of the signal makes it difficult to have a meaningful conversation.