Beach and Vacation Antenna Recommendations

[N4NOM]

Hello All,

I am taking a family vacation to the Florida panhandle in early July for one week. We are staying in a rental property. My hope is to work QRP from the beach and from the rental. I am looking for thoughts on effective small antennas and configurations that work well in beach settings. I cannot be invasive with the rental property so stealth and portability are considerations. Another factor is possible POTA activations at nearby parks. Any thoughts, suggestions, pitfalls, etc. from the group related to antenna and supports (ex. collapsible masts, counterpoise, etc) will be valued. Goal is to keep everything light weight and portable.

Thanks in advance.

[KN3A]

Good morning,

Sounds like a fun vacation! If you check out "Costal Waves And Wires" on YouTube, K4OGO does many beach activations. He also is QRP, so would be a great resource. If you can get a reasonably priced surf casting fishing pole holder that goes into the sand, that would work great for a pole that you can hang either an EFHW, dipole or random wire antenna from.

Hope to catch you from some POTA activations if you are able activate.

73 Scott
KN3A

[N4NOM]

Good morning,

Sounds like a fun vacation! If you check out "Costal Waves And Wires" on YouTube, K4OGO does many beach activations. He also is QRP, so would be a great resource. If you can get a reasonably priced surf casting fishing pole holder that goes into the sand, that would work great for a pole that you can hang either an EFHW, dipole or random wire antenna from.

Hope to catch you from some POTA activations if you are able activate.

73 Scott
KN3A

Thanks Scott! K4OGO looks like a great resource.

[KN3A]

Good morning,

Sounds like a fun vacation! If you check out "Costal Waves And Wires" on YouTube, K4OGO does many beach activations. He also is QRP, so would be a great resource. If you can get a reasonably priced surf casting fishing pole holder that goes into the sand, that would work great for a pole that you can hang either an EFHW, dipole or random wire antenna from.

Hope to catch you from some POTA activations if you are able activate.

73 Scott
KN3A

Thanks Scott! K4OGO looks like a great resource.

You are very welcome. I find his channel very interesting! He also likes putting the counterpoise wire right in the ocean.

[Djwilcox01]

Be careful on the beach. The sound of the surf can be loud. So bring ear covering noise cancelling headphones along just in case. I am hearing impaired with excellent hearing aids and find the beaches along St. Augustine to be quite loud at times. Louder than all the kids, dogs, radios, etc., also on the beach. My preferred headset is the Bose over the ears noise cancelling ones. I have used them for years. The newer ones allow you to turn off the nose cancelling part and just use the headset, something I find useful.

Dave K8WPE

[W8KBM]

Good morning.
I’m going to be vacationing in the PCB area at that time as well. I’ll be staying in a hotel/condo so I’m going to try my random wire Packtenna hanging from the balcony if it doesn’t bring anyone’s attention but if it does I’m also taking a Comet 350m “toy box” vertical and a magnetic base to attach to the railing. I’m not sure how well it’ll work but it’s worth a shot. I’ll also be running a counterpoise with it. Enjoy your vacation.
73’s
Brian
W8KBM

PS. Thanks for the YouTube recommendation Scott. I’ll check it out.

[N4NOM]

Be careful on the beach. The sound of the surf can be loud. So bring ear covering noise cancelling headphones along just in case. I am hearing impaired with excellent hearing aids and find the beaches along St. Augustine to be quite loud at times. Louder than all the kids, dogs, radios, etc., also on the beach. My preferred headset is the Bose over the ears noise cancelling ones. I have used them for years. The newer ones allow you to turn off the nose cancelling part and just use the headset, something I find useful.

Dave K8WPE

Thanks Dave. Great tip! I had not factored in the noise. We are staying at Miramar Beach.

73
N4NOM

[N4NOM]

Good morning.
I’m going to be vacationing in the PCB area at that time as well. I’ll be staying in a hotel/condo so I’m going to try my random wire Packtenna hanging from the balcony if it doesn’t bring anyone’s attention but if it does I’m also taking a Comet 350m “toy box” vertical and a magnetic base to attach to the railing. I’m not sure how well it’ll work but it’s worth a shot. I’ll also be running a counterpoise with it. Enjoy your vacation.
73’s
Brian
W8KBM

PS. Thanks for the YouTube recommendation Scott. I’ll check it out.

Thanks Brian. Another great tip and idea. I considered taking my Buddipole but now I am leaning towards just a single collapsible mast of some type.

[Ka9pScott]

Definitely think about a vertical if you can get within a few feet of salt water. A couple elevated radials with that and you’ll be amazed. I’ve run a Buddistick from lots of beaches and never been unhappy, but it can be a hassle making it safe for other people if you have radials strung out. A simple PVC tripod will stick in the wet sand well and tolerate the sand and salt, but you’ll want to rinse the spray off when done if ya can. Have fun! Scott Ka9p/zf2sc

[W0SK]

We vacationed in the same area in mid May. Also stayed in a condo, and used a Chameleon CHA F-Loop on the balcony. Made a number of 20 meter CW contacts at 10 watts. No radio on the beach, but if you want to do POTA activations, there are many good parks in the area. I activated 12 using the Chameleon MPAS Lite. Most are easy to find using the POTA directory and other info on the internet. All were safe, and park personnel were POTA friendly. Have a great vacation.