Dorky and Spewie try different antennas for DX contacts.
My first ham radio antenna was an “inverted V” wire dipole in the backyard when I attended high school in Walnut Creek, California back in 1978. I made many contacts on Morse code despite my beginner skill level. Portable wire antennas aren’t much fun for me to set up due to them getting tangled, but they are cheap, fit easily into a backpack, and can provide excellent signal quality when deployed correctly. Unlike the frustrated AI-generated ham operator in a desert somewhere without any supporting trees or other structures.
Some enthusiasts suggest bringing a collapsable pole to hold up one end of the wire. I say if you’re going to that much trouble for an antenna, you might as well put a telescoping whip vertical onto a collapsible tripod. But hey, knock yourself out “tossing a rope over a tree limb.” What could go wrong?
The tripod mounted vertical needs ground radial counterpoise wires for the best performance, but they can lay flat on the ground like the fellow’s failed wire antenna in the desert scene above.
3 Rules-Radials for ground mounted vertical antennas. (simplehamradioantennas.com)
See my product links for portable antennas and related gear described here at Grid Free Radio.