Jazzemt
join:2009-02-12
Granite City, IL | reply to neonhomer
Re: Makeshift antennas (or... Use what you have) Look at the s9 verticals. I have the 43 footer and it works great. They have shorter ones that perform well also. |
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 n1zukmaking really tiny tech thingsPremium
join:2001-10-24
Malta
kudos:2 | reply to neonhomer
Every antenna is a compromise.
Look in every antenna book, and you see the idyllic picture of an antenna setup: Two perfectly placed 100' trees, with each having a lone, high branch to string the dipole. And the house (completely draw out of scale) smack between them, with coax/ladder line lazily draped into the spare bedroom window, where the station is located.
Been in quite a few shacks. Don't think I've ever seen this one.
Get the longest wire in the air, as high as you can. If it is crooked or sloped, so what? Dangling ends, zigzags, you do what you can, with what you got. Feed line should be quality (and short) when frequency goes above 28MHz. If folks can make contacts with a couple of watts and a carried in their backpack radio and antenna, when a band is open, you can work someone with almost anything. You might not outgun the big guns on contest weekends, but there still is a lot of people and places you can work.
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New to Forum Life? Click here and learn. |
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 neonhomerKK4BFNPremium
join:2004-01-27
Edgewater, FL
 ·RoadRunner Cable
| I'm thinking about stringing the G5RV up like I had planned. The only thing I am going to have a problem with is keeping the ladder line up and away from kids and family.
I might tie a string to it, and pull it up a little into my pecan tree, but I am wondering how the ladder line running horizontal for a few feet will work out... |
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feedline run |
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Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them. (Charlie Reese) |
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neonhomerKK4BFNPremium
join:2004-01-27
Edgewater, FL Reviews:
·RoadRunner Cable
| reply to neonhomer
Speaking of... I am getting ready to put my 20' push up pole up so I can try to get my G5RV in the air. (Had to use my Jeep and a unmovable object to pull the pole apart!)
Anyway, I figured, since the pole is going to be near my shack, I was going to build a 2m copper J-Pole to put on top of it.
Well, I have a problem. How do you attach a copper J-pole to a metal push-up pole? Something in me is saying that if I do that, it is going to not work.
For the record, the push up pole is going to be anchored to a 6x6 wood post that is anchored in the ground 4' in concrete. The pole will be WELL secured to the 6x6. I am also planning to put a small pulley at the top, so I can pull the G5RV to the top, or pull it down if needed.
I also have to figure out how I am going to ground the pole. Easiest way I can think is to use a ground rod and a ground strap from the rod to the pole.
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"F is for Fire that burns down the whole town...
U is for Uranium...... Bombs...
N is for NO SURVIVORS!!!!!" Sheldon Plankton
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 drjimPremium,MVM
join:2000-06-13
Long Beach, CA
kudos:3 | Make some insulating spacers or sleeves out of PVC pipe, and clamp it on with hose clamps.
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One man's Magic is another man's Engineering. |
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neonhomerKK4BFNPremium
join:2004-01-27
Edgewater, FL Reviews:
·RoadRunner Cable
| Didn't think about that... I've also read a little that everything below the "trombone" part of the antenna is DC neutral, and can be attached directly to the mast. Think PVC split in half should do it... Or I could shove a 1/2" dowel in the bottom, and clamp that to the mast.
I am wondering though how "attractive" my 20' pole w/ a copper J-pole on top is going to be to lightning? It will be about 10-13' taller than the house. There is a pecan tree nearby, and the power poles at the street.
Besides, I have a feeling as soon as the mast goes up, it will be coming down because of the restrictions I am under.
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"F is for Fire that burns down the whole town...
U is for Uranium...... Bombs...
N is for NO SURVIVORS!!!!!" Sheldon Plankton
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 W7PSKJust MePremium
join:2000-12-04
Everett, WA | said by neonhomer:Besides, I have a feeling as soon as the mast goes up, it will be coming down because of the restrictions I am under.
For 2 meters try this. Neighbors wont even know its there. I know of several that use this and while it isnt the best it works pretty good. At least it gets your signal out side. Its called the Ventenna and you slip it over one of your stack vents. They wont know the difference.
»www.ventenna.com/Ham-Pricing.html
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Rick Scott
Everett, Washington
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neonhomerKK4BFNPremium
join:2004-01-27
Edgewater, FL Reviews:
·RoadRunner Cable
| I've seen those...
Right now, I have a magnet mount antenna base (from a Wilson 1000 antenna) w/ a MFJ-1422B antenna on it. My back "lean to" (where my mower and other junk is stored) has a tin roof, so I have the magmount stuck on there. The coax has seen better days (the mount is around 10-15 years old.) I can get away with the 2m as it is now, because it is not visible from the front of the house.
What I can't figure out is that the MFJ antenna is a 1/2 wave antenna, and is up higher than my mobile, which is a OLD Larsen 1/4 wave magmount. The mobile, however, receives WAAAAY better than the MFJ. (The Larsen is a NMO mount.)
The only thing I can think of is the coax is bad on the mount. So instead of putting new coax in the mount, and since I am putting a 20' pole up, I was going to put the J-pole on top.
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"F is for Fire that burns down the whole town...
U is for Uranium...... Bombs...
N is for NO SURVIVORS!!!!!" Sheldon Plankton
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