The RADIO WORKS specializes in High Performance and special purpose antenna systems. The most famous antenna in the line is the CAROLINA WINDOM. This antenna is in use the world over by DX'ers and DX'peditions. In one Navassa DX'pedition, of the 33,000 QSOs made, more than 27,000 were accomplished with CAROLINA WINDOMS. The DX'pedition team also had a beam and verticals, but the CAROLINA WINDOM was the antenna they used. Its reputation for excellent performance is so good that it served as one of the antennas in setting two 40 meter "mile-per-watt" world records of nearly 4,000,000 miles-per-watt.
That's only the beginning of the story. Some people say that The RADIO WORKS' SuperLooptm is an even better DX antenna. They may be right. After putting the finishing touches on the new SuperLoop 80, I spent a little time in one of the DX contests and put 76 countries in the log in just 18 hours of nighttime operation. If it had been possible to take advantage of 20 and 15 meters during the daylight hours, who knows I may have made DXCC in one weekend right at the bottom of the sunspot cycle. Not bad for an easy to install wire antenna.
It is this kind of performance which sets the RADIO WORKS apart from other antenna makers. You don't get old, copycat, handbook designs. You get computer modeled, field-tested antennas that make a difference. Sure you will see antennas like the G5RV in our catalog, but even that antenna has been improved by computer modeling, construction with top quality, low-loss parts, and a current-balun interface between the ladder-line and coaxial cable.
We test dozens of antenna ideas on the computer using the latest NEC software available to us. If the antenna patterns look promising, then we build full-size models and test them on the air. We make comparisons between the test antenna, a standard CAROLINA WINDOM, and standard dipoles. Most antennas don't measure up and the concept is discarded. Some do so well that they redefine performance standards. Our VRD or Vertically Radiating Dipole is such an antenna. It's a single band power house. Put one up and you make an impression on the band. (The VRD is now built only on special order)
My antenna design philosophy is simple. Put as much wire in the air as possible and use every inch of that wire on all bands. Take advantage of every performance enhancement available (things like using part of the feedline as a vertical radiating element). I'm not overly concerned with a low SWR. I play the numbers. For example, an SWR of 4:1 on 20 meters is unimportant to antenna performance if good quality, low loss coax is used. The loss from such a SWR value is insignificant compared to the performance gains possible from a 2-wavelength horizontal radiator working in combination with a 3/8 wavelength vertical radiator. That's just what you have with a CAROLINA WINDOM operating on 20 meters. Is there any wonder why it works so well?
The RADIO WORKS is not just antennas. We make the best Current-type baluns available anywhere. In fact, we were part of the controversy that popularized current baluns about 18 years ago. At the time there was only one current balun on the market, the W2DU and its popularity was low. I had been using current-type baluns for years in the laboratory. They were the only type which was forgiving of mismatched loads and poor antenna balance. It was only natural to use one in the RADIO WORKS' premier product, the SuperLoop which was introduced in 1984. The following year we made a 1:1 and a 4:1 current balun available. The success was immediate. Astute hams realized the advantages of the current balun and would accept nothing less. It's the same today. Only, the word has spread and our product line is distributed directly in many countries.
I think our motto says it all: "The RADIO WORKS, Where Ham Radio is a Contact Sport!"
I hope you enjoy the RADIO WORKS Web site. If you have any suggestions, please drop me a line at my e-mail address: jim@radioworks.com.
73 and stay tuned,
Jim, W4THU