No April Fools — Just Resonance Myths, Safe Distances, and the Trouble with Absolutes
There is a very good reason we do not send the RF.Guru newsletter on April 1.
If we publish an article titled Resonance Isn’t Efficiency, half the internet thinks it is satire. If we publish a piece about lightning protection, someone assumes the joke is hidden in the grounding diagram. And if we dare say “best doesn’t exist,” at least three people will suspect we have finally gone fully philosophical.
So no — we do not mail on April Fools’ Day. Not because we lack material, but because amateur radio already produces enough accidental comedy on its own. The rest of the year, we simply document it.
Why “Best” Doesn’t Exist
Antenna discussions love winners, rankings, and universal answers.
Physics does not. This is the article for anyone still shopping for “the best” without first defining the problem.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/why-best-doesn-t-exist
Resonance Isn’t Efficiency
A familiar but necessary correction: a nice match or a pretty dip in reactance does not tell you how well the antenna radiates.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/resonance-isn-t-efficiency
Resonance, X = 0, and Radiation Resistance Are Different Things
Three concepts that keep getting flattened into one. This piece separates them cleanly and explains why that matters in real antenna work.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/resonance-x-0-and-radiation-resistance-are-different-things
Resonance Isn’t Your Radiation Pattern
Because an antenna can be resonant and still launch energy in exactly the wrong places.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/resonance-isn-t-your-radiation-pattern
Absolutes Stick, Nuance Dissolves
A short title that captures one of ham radio’s oldest problems: the simpler the claim, the further it often is from reality.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/absolutes-stick-nuance-dissolves
Delta Loop vs Dipole Directionality
Pattern talk is easy until height, shape, and installation start mattering.
This article compares the two in a way that actually survives contact with the real world.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/delta-loop-vs-dipole-directionality
Efficient End-Fed Half-Waves on 17 m, 15 m, 12 m, and 10 m
Shorter HF bands give the EFHW more room to behave — if the design and installation still respect physics.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/efficient-end-fed-half-waves-on-17-m-15-m-12-m-and-10-m
Low-Band EFHW Inverted-L
A practical low-band solution that works because of geometry, current distribution, and real-world tradeoffs — not because of miracle marketing.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/low-band-efhw-inverted-l
My TX Antenna Strategy from 160 m to 4 m
A broader station view: different bands want different solutions, and pretending otherwise is how compromise turns into confusion.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/my-tx-antenna-strategy-from-160-m-to-4-m
Raised Vertical Height for DX
Verticals are not just about radials and wishful thinking.
Height above ground changes current distribution and launch angle in ways that matter for real DX work.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/raised-vertical-height-for-dx
The EFHW8010 Is Not a Broadband Octave Antenna
One of those statements that sounds obvious once said out loud — yet still needs saying.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/the-efhw8010-is-not-a-broadband-octave-antenna
Gluing Different Ferrite Mixes into One Coax Choke
A good example of where clever-looking ideas need real RF context before becoming real RF solutions.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/gluing-different-ferrite-mixes-into-one-coax-choke
Why the One-Wire Spacing Rule for HF Window Line Is a Myth
Another neat rule of thumb that falls apart the moment you ask what assumptions it was built on.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/why-the-one-wire-spacing-rule-for-hf-window-line-is-a-myth
QRO RF Safe Distance Guide for Common HF Antennas — 500 W to 1.5 kW
A timely reminder that “it tunes” and “it is safe” are very different statements.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/qro-rf-safe-distance-guide-for-common-hf-antennas-500-w-1-5-kw
PE Safety and Antenna Bonding
Grounding discussions go wrong fast. This one keeps the safety side and the RF side in the right places.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/pe-safety-and-antenna-bonding
Lightning Protection for HF Antennas — Halfway Measures Are Not a System
A surge protector without a real bonding and grounding strategy is not a system. It is optimism with hardware.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/lightning-protection-for-hf-antennas-halfway-measures-are-not-a-system
Prefer to watch the measurements, hear the explanations, and skip the forum mythology?
Mark covers many of the same themes with calm clarity, practical demonstrations, and a refreshingly low tolerance for magical thinking.
🔗 Watch the featured videos from our collaboration
If this issue leaves you slightly less impressed by absolute claims, and slightly more interested in current paths, radiation patterns, and safety margins — good.
That is usually where the useful part of amateur radio begins.
73,
Joeri – ON6URE
Founder – RF.Guru
https://rf.guru/