The SVHFS conducts an antenna competition at each year's conference, where homebrew antennas are judged for performance.

A short history about the our homebrew antenna competitions and the ubiquitous Backscratchers of 2003 & 2004...

It all started at our banquet in 2002, where we gave out backscratchers, a promotional item from Mouser Electronics (www.mouser.com). The idea came up to use the backscratcher as an antenna boom for 1296 MHz. Like any good idea, it caught on with nine designs submitted. Tom, W4VHH, won the 2003 competition getting 12.54dBi gain out of a 17” long backscratcher boom with 7 elements!!

The competition was a lot of fun with some good natured ribbing going on. Everyone seemed to have an idea of how to get the most gain out of such a short boom length. Rules were set up to keep things reasonable. The backscratcher couldn't just be the feed point for a EME dish. You could hear "Awww, shucks!" in the background when this was decided :-) Just remember, even if a backscratcher antenna didn't perform as well as we wanted, it could still scratch that itch!

Our 2004 Conference saw a repeat of RF mayhem at the antenna range with the return of backscratchers fitted out for 2304 MHz. The top design for 2004 was homebrewed by Ott, W4WSR with 14.9 dBd measured gain.

In 2006 we moved up to a larger Yardstick format for 432 MHz. The antennas measured up just fine and the winner KI4EHA with 12.35 dBd.

The current Printed Circuit Board and the older Backscratcher/Yardstick antenna contests are meant to add just a little pizzazz to an already excellent event. Get on in there and give it a try! Remember, everyone is encouraged to bring their regular homebrew antennas for gain testing at our antenna range. Certificates are awarded for the designs with the most gain at the banquet during the conference.