Using saltwater as an antenna
That white tube hanging from the aspen
tree is an ILA (Ionic Liquid Antenna). It is simply a 10-foot length of
PVC tubing, capped at both ends, and filled with supersaturated
saltwater. At the bottom is a stainless steel bolt glued into the
end cap that acts as a probe into the liquid. It was my first of several
saltwater antennas I have built and tested.
My intention that evening was to just
test it with the MFJ analyzer and a manual tuner to see if I could even
tune it. As you can see, my only ground is a 10" tent stake. I found a
good match on 17 meters, so I ran inside and grabbed the FT-817 radio
and fired it up. Not only did it hear very well, but I was able to work
coast-to-coast from Georgia to California with five watts!
The idea for using saltwater as a radiating antenna is credited to David Hatch, N9ZRT, and I first heard about it from his antenna-related Yahoo group called Live-Wire.
The idea for using saltwater as a radiating antenna is credited to David Hatch, N9ZRT, and I first heard about it from his antenna-related Yahoo group called Live-Wire.