NEW KJ6ER Thruster Antenna: 102 CW QSOs on My First POTA Test! | First Look and Full Activation

Links to specific QSOs below ⬇️ I apologize for the faulty audio! I built the ALL NEW KJ6ER Thruster Triangular Loop Antenna—and then took it straight into the field for a real-world POTA activation! Greg, KJ6ER, keeps coming up with some seriously interesting portable HF antennas, including the Performer, Challenger, and Marauder. Now there's the Thruster, a triangular full-wave loop designed for portable HF operation. In this video, I give you a quick look at the KJ6ER Thruster build, setup, and POTA field test, then put it on the air from: 📍 Lake Carl Blackwell Wildlife Management Area — US-10658 And the results? 102 CW QSOs! Even more interesting, I made some great DX contacts, including: 🇸🇪 Dan, SM6CNX — Sweden 🇲🇽 Alejandro, XE1EE — Mexico One thing that makes the Thruster particularly interesting is its bi-directional radiation pattern through the loop, with a null behind the balun. I didn't fully appreciate that when I first set it up—but once I got on the air, the results were impressive. The receive performance impressed me too. The plans provide wire measurements for 20m through 6m. I built mine for 20m, 17m, and 15m, although a small packing mistake meant I only had everything I needed to operate 20 meters during this activation. As it turned out, 20 meters was more than enough! 🔥 102 CW QSOs on the first field test. This isn't a laboratory antenna test. It's a real-world POTA field test. I take interesting antenna designs from other ham radio operators, put them to work in the field, and then add my own spin to see what happens. I'll definitely be using the KJ6ER Thruster again, with a few tweaks—so this probably isn't the last time you'll see it on the channel. Go to Greg's Antenna page at https://kj6er.net/ and download the instructions. Have fun and See you on the Air! ⏱️ TIMELINE 0:00:00 Introduction 0:00:50 Build 0:02:40 Setup in the field 0:02:55 Get on the air 0:07:45 KM4PA Paul NC 0:08:30 KG1A Thomas FL 0:09:30 KF9VV Jim WI 0:10:30 WN4E Chuck NC 0:11:20 KG4EXY John VA🏆 CENTURY CLUB MEMBER 0:12:30 W8WR Larry MI 0:14:50 KA9DCU Raymond WI 0:15:30 N9EDL Ed IN🏆 CENTURY CLUB MEMBER 0:16:30 K8RLE Ray MI 0:17:10 KQ4EFU David SC 0:18:05 N7CCD Michael WA🏆 CENTURY CLUB MEMBER 0:18:55 WA9VFD Kevin KY 0:19:55 AD2MM Vince NY 0:20:35 K9OSC Robert MN 0:21:20 KC5F Steve NC🏆 CENTURY CLUB MEMBER 0:21:55 W9GM Ken WI 0:22:50 K9VPL Marvin IN 0:23:30 NY4FD George FL 0:24:55 W8KJ Dewey OH 0:25:45 K9IS Steven WI🏆 CENTURY CLUB MEMBER 0:26:35 NE4TN Walt TN🏆 CENTURY CLUB MEMBER 0:28:20 WA7QCC Richard OR 0:29:05 KJ7DT Paul ID🏆 CENTURY CLUB MEMBER 0:29:45 K7QXG Bob OR 0:30:20 WC1D Rick MA 0:32:00 W8BW Carl VA 0:33:05 KD2WTH James NY 0:34:40 KK7FIM Brad ID 0:36:00 W4ZF Mark GA 0:36:40 KF4HAW David VT 0:37:45 WB9HDH James WI 0:40:00 KJ9X Gregg IN 0:41:00 K9JAB Thomas IN 0:43:35 W9GTA Patrick IN🏆 CENTURY CLUB MEMBER 0:44:20 KD3CA Donald PA 0:45:10 KG9HV John IN 0:46:10 K4ARQ John FL🏆 CENTURY CLUB MEMBER 0:51:05 KC4WQ John KY 0:54:40 NR5N Donald WV 0:56:45 AF9W Bob AZ 1:01:15 K4KDJ Virginia Tech Amateur Radio Assn VA 1:02:15 AI6I Jaden VA 1:03:10 KX9DX Rick IN 1:04:30 KQ4WJP Chaise NC 1:08:30 KK7VLU David AZ 1:10:30 WB8IZM Gregory MI 1:12:30 N4MAP Sam GA 1:15:05 N4OF Dave VA 1:16:25 KM4CU William FL 1:19:30 KU3J Jim PA 1:20:30 WI0S KC MN 1:22:00 WB4WNO Steven FL 1:23:20 N9RJR Eric MI 1:25:30 W8TOW Steven MI 1:28:10 XE1EE Alejandro MEXICO 1:30:35 AF3W Samuel FL 1:31:20 KI7QCF Forrest UT 1:32:25 KF9R Ed IN🏆 CENTURY CLUB MEMBER 1:33:20 KD7S Nancy UT 1:34:20 AK4YS Dale NC 1:35:20 WW8H Gary OH 1:37:00 NB8G Nathan OH 1:38:00 AL7T Doyle MN 1:38:50 W1MP Linda PA 1:39:45 NF2E Mark NC 1:40:40 K1NW Brian RI 1:45:00 KB3AAY Ronald MD 1:46:00 WN4AT Joey AL 1:49:10 VE4SI Tom MB 1:50:30 WB2MQQ Ronny NY🏆 CENTURY CLUB MEMBER 1:52:50 NA7C Ted UT🏆 CENTURY CLUB MEMBER 1:54:45 AE4JN Aull GA 1:57:30 KK7MMN Mike ID 1:58:40 W4IU James GA 2:00:00 KF8FCH Jacob MI 2:01:55 KE9EDC Jack IL 2:03:30 K4NMR Tom FL 2:05:30 W2GIW Ken NJ 2:07:55 KT6O Carl FL 2:10:20 N9SZ Steven NC 2:11:45 W9TNC Jack MI 2:13:10 NT0Y Jay MI 2:14:10 W2BPL Chris MA 2:17:00 VE4QP Ronald MB 2:17:45 N3DC William MD 2:18:20 N9GBB James WI 2:19:25 KN6UDK Bill ID 2:20:35 VA3UZ Allan ON🏆 CENTURY CLUB MEMBER 2:22:10 KN0BLE Joshua FL 2:24:00 W4LOO Paul WY 2:24:55 W0OR William MN 2:25:35 W4HG Wayne NC 2:27:25 W8BB Dennis MI 2:28:20 VE7JYD Brian BC 2:29:15 SM6CNX Dan SWEDEN 2:30:20 WA2PAY David FL 2:32:35 KJ7RPL Brent OR🏆 CENTURY CLUB MEMBER 2:34:00 AA8PI Ronald OH 2:34:50 WK4WC Lane PA 2:36:10 N1CC Mike UT 2:37:25 W8PI Paul MI 2:40:50 AD4TM Ralph FL 2:42:00 Wrap Up If you enjoy Parks on the Air activations, portable ham radio, CW/Morse code, antenna experiments and real-world field operating: 👍 Like the video 💬 Leave a comment 📤 Share it with another POTA operator 🛍️ EVERY POTA DAY MERCHANDISE Use code N5ILQ to save $3: https://randyn5ilq-shop.fourthwall.com/ 🎁 EVERY POTA DAY IS A GREAT DAY! 73, Randy – N5ILQ #POTA #HamRadio