Salty Walt’s Portable Antenna Sketchbook

Salty Walt’s Portable Antenna Sketchbook By Walt Leonard, K4OGO

15 Creative Antenna Designs for the Adventurous Ham

Join popular YouTuber Salty Walt, K4OGO, of the Coastal Waves & Wires channel, as he brings his beachside radio adventures to life in this unique and inspiring sketchbook. Featuring 15 hand-drawn portable antenna designs, this book is perfect for hams who love to experiment, explore, and operate in the great outdoors.

Each antenna sketch is reproduced directly from Walt’s personal design notebook and includes:

• Wire lengths and layout diagrams

• Practical feedpoint, Balun, and Unun options

• Tips for portable construction and field operation

From simple quarter- and half-wave verticals to creative builds like the Coastal 20 and an end-fed vertical made with a Slinky®, Walt’s designs are approachable, fun, and field-tested. You’ll also find just enough guidance on counterpoise wires and grounding to get on the air quickly and confidently.

More Than Antennas—It’s a Coastal Adventure Walt pairs each antenna with a favorite local eatery—from clam shacks in Nags Head to fish taco spots in Kauai—making this book as much about the journey as the gear. It’s not a technical manual—it’s a celebration of ham radio’s spirit of exploration.

As Walt puts it: “This isn’t the Mozart of antenna books, it’s the Jimmy Buffett.”

Featured Antennas Include:

• Quarter-wave and half-wave verticals

• The 17-Five vertical

• Random wire and end-fed designs

• The Coastal 20

• The Slinky® vertical

• Off-center-fed and 5/8-wave verticals

• Dipoles, loops, and more

Whether you're operating from the shore, the mountains, or your backyard, Salty Walt’s Portable Antenna Sketchbook is your guide to building, experimenting, and having fun with ham radio in the field.

Product Details:

• Binding: Softcover

• Pages:128

• Author: Walt Leonard, K4OGO

• Publisher: The American Radio Relay League, Inc.

• Copyright: 2025

• Language: English

• ISBN: 978-1-62595-222-6

• Book Dimensions: 8.5 x 11.0in.

• Shipping Weight: 0.90lbs.