Historical conclusion: The Rybakov antenna is credited to Enrico, IV3SBE. Its recoverable technical core is clear; the exact origin of the name and the reported 2003 first publication still require primary evidence.
The Recovered Design
A surviving mirror of IV3SBE’s “Rybakov 806 Multiband Antenna” page documents a 7.6-metre radiator for operation from 7 MHz upward, a bifilar transformer, an antenna tuner when SWR exceeds 2:1 and a fibreglass fishing-pole support. It also suggests radiators between 8.6 and 12 metres for improved 3.5 MHz opportunity.
This establishes the historical design family: a portable non-resonant vertical, broadband impedance transformation, deliberate RF return path and tuner where required.
The Naming Question
Many later articles say that “Rybakov” means fisherman and that “806” means 80 through 6 metres. A competing public statement attributed to IV3SBE says that Rybakov was a family surname and that the antenna first appeared in the Italian Radio Rivista in 2003.
The workshop does not choose the more colourful story simply because it has been repeated. It labels the naming origin and “806” interpretation as unresolved until the reported magazine issue or direct inventor evidence is preserved.
Controlled Timeline
| Period | Development | Evidence class |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Reported publication in Radio Rivista | Attributed inventor account; primary issue pending |
| 2005–2006 | IV3SBE design page preserved by web archives | Recovered historical source |
| 2009 onward | Builders document 7.6 m, 4:1, tuner and radial implementations | Secondary corroboration |
| Later variants | 4.9 m lightweight and longer lower-band implementations circulate | Documented variant history |
| More than ten years ago | Chameleon independently develops the MPAS portable broadband architecture | Owner history; exact date pending internal archive |
| 2024 | MPAS Lite guide records SS17, HYBRID and counterpoise methods | Controlled product-manual evidence |
| 2026 | Chameleon opens the controlled Rybakov engineering programme | Versioned project record |
Canonical Design and Variants
- Canonical reference: approximately 7.6 m vertical, commonly published 4:1 feed, deliberate return system and tuner.
- Historical variants: approximately 4.9 m and 8.6–12 m radiators.
- MPAS-derived variants: nominal 5:1 HYBRID-MINI or HYBRID-MICRO, SS17 or SS25 and a documented counterpoise.
- Direct-match variants: URT1/URT1-MB automatic feed and the radiator-matched 40 m branches—SS17 + M-COIL or SS25 + M25-COIL—without the fixed transformer.
The Rybakov Chameleon Had Already Built
The MPAS family independently converged on the same practical architecture: portable vertical radiator, broadband unbalanced matching, deliberate counterpoise, choked feed line and tuner where required. This is an engineering-lineage story, not a claim that Chameleon invented the historical antenna.
The exact public chronology will be added only after dated manuals, drawings, photographs, catalogues, invoices, first-sale records and participant testimony are indexed.
Primary Reading
Revision: Published customer handbook, 7 August 2026. Historical uncertainties are intentional and will be corrected through versioned evidence, not silent rewriting.
