A new book was written by a long-time Buddipole user who puts forth his ideas on maximizing the potential of the Buddipole antenna system in the field. (Paperback, 154 pages).

From the Foreword, One person who has been instrumental in adding to the knowledge pool of how to maximize the effectiveness of the Buddipole system is B. Scott Andersen, NE1RD. I got to know Scott on our first “100 pound DXpedition” to the Caribbean island of Montserrat in 2007. What impressed me most about him was his meticulous (some would say “ruthless”) preparation ethic. Our ragtag group of operators, who for the most part had never met in person, were soon passengers on the “NE1RD express planning train,” complete with weekly conference calls, equipment spreadsheets, band plans, and operating schedules. Scott aptly penned the motto for this first trip as “not rare, but well done,” and the discipline paid off with the benefits having carried through to our most recent trip to St. Lucia in February 2010.

Scott applies this same type of discipline to his selection of antennas, with an emphasis on increasing performance by increasing the physical size of the antenna, creating more efficient grounding systems, and other tips and tricks that operators at all skill levels will find useful. He removes a lot of the inevitable subjectivity that is so prevalent in many antenna discussion circles and backs up his findings with antenna modelling that confirms his theories. We’re lucky that he’s been willing to share his knowledge with us.