THE CONTRAPOLAR RADIO FREQUENCY SPECTRUM

by GUNNAR C. CARLSON JR. (AE4W)

The contrapolar radio frequency spectrum, first postulated in the February 1944 issue of QST, is now an exciting new operational possibility.

The contrapolar (frequencies below zero Megahertz) spectrum can now be generated due to the advent of polarized AC house current. You will notice that the male plugs on all your household appliances have one big prong and one small one. This is due to the new polarized AC, and with a few simple modifications to an older (tube type) ham rig you can generate RF in negahertz and change "frequency" to "seldomcy" in your ham radio lexicon.

The basic changes required are to rewire your power plugs by switching the wires on the big and small prongs of the transceiver's power plug. You will then need to rewire the driver tube so that the filament and plate are reversed. Now instead of dipping the plate current to load-up you must dip the filament current -- don't forget to rewire the meter circuit!

It turns out that negative (contrapolar) RF works very well with an omni directional yagi allowing a 10-12 negabel loss in all directions. This new yagi concept consists of a multi element array, whose driven element is fed thru the shield of the coax (center conductor is ground). The yagi is then spun at about 3500 RPM to achieve the appropriate loss in all directions.

Contrapolar RF will be exempted from the new ANSI RF radiation standards eventhough some environmentalists fear the effect on nearby flora and fauna if the yagi should stop spinning during a transmission at a seldomcy around 14 negahertz. They guess that a severe cooling could harm any living organism in the antenna's near field. It is possible that the antenna itself could ice up, even on a warm day.

The good news is that the contrapolar spectrum is not effected by the solar cycle -- so drag out that old boat anchor transceiver and be amoung the first to try this exciting new mode which should find great popularity with newer hams or hams holding one of the new "vanity" callsigns. There is plenty of room in the contrapolar spectrum for all the digital modes.