Longer Term Assessment of the Nested Marconi Antenna

It is fair to say that I’ve been very happy with the performance of the Nested Marconi antenna to date, but I’ve not spent a great deal of time on bands other than 80m and 40m, where the nested Marconi performs really well. While the SWR is fine on all bands (except 160m), the performance has not really been explored by me.

Recently I tried it out on 20m, using the additional 10m/20m attachment and I found the performance much reduced compared to my ZS6BKW. 15m and 10m seem similarly reduced but I really need to do more on these bands to make a real assessment. .If you have a small yard, this is a great antenna but I’ve found it lacking on 20m. Today I made a coil for 160m (44mH) and it does allow me to tune it to 160m. I’m yet to test it out.

Here is my work to get it on 160m

Author: vk2kmi

ham radio operator ,sailplane pilot, flying instructor, trainer, ex small business owner, ex 4x4 tour guide, ex photojournalist, vintage tech geek and North Queensland girl, keen blogger, writer, photographer, training professional, trans-woman, Lean Management Professional, Inclusiveness and Diversity Activist, Photojournalist, Student of Indigenous Studies, Political Science & the Indigenous Australian language Pitjantjatjara. Now living in Sydney. View all posts by vk2kmi

Bio

G’day

I first became involved in HF radio at the age of 16 when I sat for my 3rd class certificate in radio telephony (coast guard). I then became active in the CB scene of the late 70’s. I built my own 4 element cubical quad and other antennas at that time.

In 1979 I first attempted to study for my novice amateur operators license- unfortunately life intervened and I never did complete it.

I later became involved in HF radio via my role as a remote area 4wd tour operator, which rekindled my interest.

I completed my foundation license in July 2008 and was on the air as an amateur radio operator at last. Since then I’ve completed standard call (VK4MDX) and finally Advanced (VK4KIM / VK2KMI).
Details of my equipment etc are available from the links below.

I, once again run a business specialising in remote area 4wd tag-along tours and driver training particularly 4WD, off-road, particularly for mining and exploration. I also conduct towing training, teaching people to tow vans and trailers for work and recreation.

I’m a keen competition glider pilot and GA pilot. My other interests are 4wding, soaring and photography, human rights, technology.