Mid-May: Return Paths, Remote Switches, and the Trouble with Tuning the Wrong Thing
By mid-May, the ladders are back out, the grass is growing around the radials, and a suspicious number of operators are once again trying to solve system problems by adjusting the most visible part of the antenna.
That is usually when things get interesting. Not because RF changed, but because the season invites people back outside — where feedlines, return paths, radial fields, shack folklore, and “good enough” shortcuts all get tested by real installations instead of tidy diagrams.
So this issue is about exactly that: what the system is really doing, where the return current actually goes, and why a nice-looking shortcut often solves the wrong problem.
Why a Hybrid Radial System Makes Sense
A useful reminder that one radial system does not always have to do every job.
Hybrid thinking often fits the real world better than purism.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/why-a-hybrid-radial-system-makes-sense
Why End-Fed Antennas Often Seem More Forgiving About Choke Placement
The choke is not always doing the same job. Once you separate “stop current here” from “define the end of the return path,” the confusion starts to clear.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/why-end-fed-antennas-often-seems-more-forgiving-about-choke-placement
Counterpoise, Ground Plane, and Monopole Antennas
Useful terms, dangerous shortcuts. Because half the argument usually starts when people use the same word for different current paths.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/counterpoise-ground-plane-and-monopole-antennas
The Return Path Is Not the Other Hand
A good correction to one of ham radio’s most persistent metaphors: yes, every antenna system needs a return mechanism — no, it does not have to look like an equal second half.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/the-return-path-is-not-the-other-hand
Radials Have Two Jobs: Most Vertical Myths Start by Confusing Them
Once you separate the jobs radials actually do, a lot of vertical folklore becomes much easier to dismantle.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/radials-have-two-jobs-most-vertical-myths-start-by-confusing-them
Bias-T to Power and Control a Remote QRO RF Switch Can Be a Bad Idea
Convenient on paper, but at QRO every extra part in that path becomes part of the stress problem.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/bias-t-to-power-and-control-a-remote-qro-rf-switch-can-be-a-bad-idea
The “Second Counterpoise” at the Shack
A thoughtful look at a persistent bit of shack folklore: is it RF engineering, or just another comforting add-on wire?
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/the-second-counterpoise-at-the-shack
A 1.8:1 Is Good Enough — A Second Tuner Solves the Wrong Problem
Not every mismatch deserves another box. Sometimes the station is already close enough, and the real issue is elsewhere.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/a-1-8-1-is-good-enough-a-second-tuner-solves-the-wrong-problem
When Boat HF RFI Refuses to Behave: Jan’s Long Road to a Real Fix
A real-world case study in why serious RFI work is usually a process of elimination, not a one-evening miracle.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/when-boat-hf-rfi-refuses-to-behave-jan-s-long-road-to-a-real-fix
Michel Spelier Wins the World Again on 160 Meters
A welcome reminder that top-band success is built on steady station refinement, not mystical hardware headlines.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/michel-spelier-wins-the-world-again-on-160-meters
When Entertainment Outruns Engineering
Curiosity is useful. Confidently blending unrelated RF topics into one convenient story is less so.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/when-entertainment-outruns-engineering
Hans Schantz, UWB Thinking, and the Limits of Ham-Radio Framing
A timely reminder that deep antenna thinking does not always fit neatly inside familiar amateur-radio shorthand.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/hans-schantz-uwb-thinking-and-the-limits-of-ham-radio-framing
Please Stop Tuning Oaks
Because a tuner finding a match does not turn a living tree into a good antenna — and the tree did not ask for the experiment.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/please-stop-tuning-oaks
Conjugate Match Is Not the Same as a 50 Ω Match
One of those distinctions that sounds academic right up until it saves you from making the wrong conclusion about a real antenna system.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/conjugate-match-is-not-the-same-as-a-50-ohm-match
Conjugate Match Is Real. “Matched Everywhere” Usually Isn’t.
A careful cleanup of a long-running argument where terminology drift did as much damage as the RF itself.
🔗 https://shop.rf.guru/pages/conjugate-match-is-real-matched-everywhere-usually-isn-t
Prefer watching measurements and hearing the reasoning instead of inheriting another springtime myth?
Mark covers many of the same themes with calm explanations, practical demonstrations, and a healthy resistance to magical thinking.
🔗 Watch the featured videos from our collaboration
If this issue leaves you slightly more suspicious of neat metaphors, slightly less eager to add another tuner, and slightly more interested in what the return path is actually doing — good.
That is usually where useful RF progress starts.
73,
Joeri – ON6URE
Founder – RF.Guru
https://rf.guru/