PDA

View Full Version : $10 20 meter dipole



KC2UGV
04-25-2010, 09:37 AM
So, after doing some playing this weekend, I've almost finished my 20 meter dipole, tuned for 14.07015.

Cost: About $10

1 SO-239 Chassis Connector - $3.49 at Rat Shack
1 Old pill bottle - $0 (Well, a $10 copay, this was for antibiotics, a real powerful one too)
1 Wal-Mart Speaker wire (75 ft) - $5(?)

What I ended up building is a, I think, linearly loaded dipole. The speaker wire was 2 leads, so I cut 16ft for each leg, and tied the leads off at both ends. In the center, one lead from each gets soldered to the SO-239, and the other leads got tied off to an insulator.

One difference? I never could get it tuned with both legs tied together at the end. So, the antenna's copper run looks like this



====================\/========================>
|
|
The ground leg's two leads are tied off at the end, but the hot side isn't. Making it effectivley, half the length of the ground leg.

So, my question is, why would it be able to tune fine with one leg being essentially half the length of the other?