AF6BV
07-04-2007, 09:17 PM
OK, last Friday after work I lashed together a stupid antenna.
One: 12 foot MFJ telescoping whip antenna
One: plastic tomato stake
One: wire coil on PVC
Two: alligator clips soldered to wire
One: length of counterpoise wire
One: SO239 connector
One: 3/8" nut
One: length of nylon rope
One: automatic antenna tuner
Soldered coil to SO239 on one end, coiled around whip antenna base firmly on the other and tightened with 3/8" nut
Lashed the telescoping antenna to the tomato stake with nylon rope. Attached about 40 feet of counterpoise wire to SO239 ground and spead out
Drove plastic stake into ground, extended whip fully, and attached MFJ-259 antenna analyzer to base.
Adjusted alligator clip to bypass enough of the coil to resonate at 14.200 Mhz (or wherever)
Attached coax, ran to antenna tuner in shack and transceiver.
The whole thing was up in about an hour. It looks stupid, and doesn't work great. Given the inferior ground system, and my low expectations on this antenna, I was just trying to get a reading for whether this kind of ground-mounted vertical could be worth considering before building something complex.
I guess it's like going to the last couple "Star Wars" movies. As long as you go in with very low expectations, you might be pleasantly surprised ;)
That was the case here. A/B ing with the G5RV, the G5RV was nearly always better, BUT in most cases the difference was at most maybe 3-4 dB. Which is to say maybe it would be a decent vacation or backpack antenna option that requires no vertical supports.
A halfwave vertical version is running through my head right now, on the theory that ground losses are probably the majority of the loss at 20 meters and up.
The best part is I can show the rope-lashing part and I'm not the only one to derive amusement from the jury-rigged hunk of junk ;)
One: 12 foot MFJ telescoping whip antenna
One: plastic tomato stake
One: wire coil on PVC
Two: alligator clips soldered to wire
One: length of counterpoise wire
One: SO239 connector
One: 3/8" nut
One: length of nylon rope
One: automatic antenna tuner
Soldered coil to SO239 on one end, coiled around whip antenna base firmly on the other and tightened with 3/8" nut
Lashed the telescoping antenna to the tomato stake with nylon rope. Attached about 40 feet of counterpoise wire to SO239 ground and spead out
Drove plastic stake into ground, extended whip fully, and attached MFJ-259 antenna analyzer to base.
Adjusted alligator clip to bypass enough of the coil to resonate at 14.200 Mhz (or wherever)
Attached coax, ran to antenna tuner in shack and transceiver.
The whole thing was up in about an hour. It looks stupid, and doesn't work great. Given the inferior ground system, and my low expectations on this antenna, I was just trying to get a reading for whether this kind of ground-mounted vertical could be worth considering before building something complex.
I guess it's like going to the last couple "Star Wars" movies. As long as you go in with very low expectations, you might be pleasantly surprised ;)
That was the case here. A/B ing with the G5RV, the G5RV was nearly always better, BUT in most cases the difference was at most maybe 3-4 dB. Which is to say maybe it would be a decent vacation or backpack antenna option that requires no vertical supports.
A halfwave vertical version is running through my head right now, on the theory that ground losses are probably the majority of the loss at 20 meters and up.
The best part is I can show the rope-lashing part and I'm not the only one to derive amusement from the jury-rigged hunk of junk ;)