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Antenna Madness

Continuing on this 'antenna' thread. I moved my J-pole a bit today and now I'm making the Paxton repeater from Waltham with no trouble.
Had to get it up over the chimney.
 
I just got one of those Ed Fong antennas today.
It got returned because he was 15 cents short on the postage!
I'm going to Home Depot tomorrow to get the 3/4" schedule 200 PVC pipe.

I also got a 7 element 10 dbi gain Yagi for 900 for $25.
I'll use that as my hilltopping antenna.
 
Wet PVC Antenna Problems?

I have an Ed Fong PVC 2M J-pole on the roof. Friday I got a Yaesu YS-500 SWR meter and tested every antenna in sight...all good. I decided to re-check the J-pole after last night's blow. The SWR was 8!

Today I seem to have more time and energy than brains so I got on the roof and without disconnecting the feed-line I brought the J-pole indoors. Everything looked fine. I took off the top cap and it's dry inside. After lunch I put it on the meter. Guess what...SWR=1.2 [angry2]

I'm thinking I've got a loose connection somewhere...or...could it be that all the water on the outside of the PVC changes the match? Or, is it just the heavy rain in the air around it?

After I get tired of being warm and dry I'm going to set it outdoors and try it again. I'll let you how it goes.
 
matt said:
Did you seal the cable connection to the antenna? If water got in there it could cause that.
Click to expand...
Yup. I used that black-tar coax-seal that HRO sells.

C-pher said:
Did you have your radio set on a higher power and not change the meter to match??
Click to expand...
I screwed-up, but not there. I just didn't have the Pl-259 tight. All the wagging around last night loostened it up enough to go intermittene.

I didn't want to deal with that black-tar tape so badly that I was on the roof with a towl and a cell phone telling my son (KB1TRB) to check reflected power before and after I dried the pipe[rolleyes] [banghead] [laugh]
We need a "slaps forehead" smiley
 
C-pher, where did you find the 200psi PVC? Have been to 2 home depots and 1 Lowes up my way and all they seem to have is Sch 40.... According to Ed's directions it looks like I need 5' of SDR21 or PVC1120.....

C-pher said:
I didn't think to paint it...I'm not to worried about the neighbors seeing these on the roof. It's the 25 footer that I'm worried about. Here's mine mounted on the peak.

IMG00118.jpg


IMG00117.jpg
Click to expand...
 
Bob J said:
C-pher, where did you find the 200psi PVC? Have been to 2 home depots and 1 Lowes up my way and all they seem to have is Sch 40.... According to Ed's directions it looks like I need 5' of SDR21 or PVC1120.....
Click to expand...

Good question.
I've having the same problem finding that stuff myself.

BTW, Bob, I forgot you were a Ham when I met you at Mansfield on Saturday.
 
Bob J said:
Is this the Lowes in North Attleboro? If so, it's not too far from where I work in Foxboro......
Click to expand...

Yep, found it at both the Lowes in North Attleboro and the one in Plainville...which is closer to you in Foxboro. It was mixed in with the Sch 40...but they both had a TON of the stuff. You just had to dig in the pile. And I ened up cutting it about 5 feet 5 inches and it was just perfect...so I would suggest doing the same. The antenna is just a little longer than 5 feet. At least mine was...but it tuned up with almost no SWR at the National Calling Freq for 2m. I was about 1.5 to 1.75 toward the outsides...I just think that I need to re-mount it further away from the side of my house. It's touching the flashing....and I'm not reaching nearly as far as some of you guys are saying. But I've already posted about this antenna in this thread. So no need to repeat myself.
 
Excellent! Much appreciated!

Will swing by over lunch and pick some up.... Hopefully will have the antenna up this weekend....[smile]

C-pher said:
Yep, found it at both the Lowes in North Attleboro and the one in Plainville...which is closer to you in Foxboro. It was mixed in with the Sch 40...but they both had a TON of the stuff. You just had to dig in the pile. And I ened up cutting it about 5 feet 5 inches and it was just perfect...so I would suggest doing the same. The antenna is just a little longer than 5 feet. At least mine was...but it tuned up with almost no SWR at the National Calling Freq for 2m. I was about 1.5 to 1.75 toward the outsides...I just think that I need to re-mount it further away from the side of my house. It's touching the flashing....and I'm not reaching nearly as far as some of you guys are saying. But I've already posted about this antenna in this thread. So no need to repeat myself.
Click to expand...
 
Once I get the PVC pipe, I plan to build mine a bit different than the plans call for.
I'm going to use a "T" fitting and feed the coax in from the side and add another piece of PVC pipe to the bottom for mounting purposes.
 
C-pher said:
Yep, found it at both the Lowes in North Attleboro and the one in Plainville...which is closer to you in Foxboro. It was mixed in with the Sch 40...but they both had a TON of the stuff. You just had to dig in the pile. And I ened up cutting it about 5 feet 5 inches and it was just perfect...so I would suggest doing the same. The antenna is just a little longer than 5 feet. At least mine was...but it tuned up with almost no SWR at the National Calling Freq for 2m. I was about 1.5 to 1.75 toward the outsides...I just think that I need to re-mount it further away from the side of my house. It's touching the flashing....and I'm not reaching nearly as far as some of you guys are saying. But I've already posted about this antenna in this thread. So no need to repeat myself.
Click to expand...

I still haven't been able to find the SCH 200 pipe.
I even went to the Lowes in Plainville last Thursday and couldn't find it!
I've tried several Home Depots, Lowes and even a few plumbing supply houses and came up empty! Why is this stuff so hard to find?

Head_Explode.gif
 
You might want to try a piece of schedule-40 and see how bad the SWR is. I can't imagine that bit of extra dielectric makes that much difference.
 
cockpitbob said:
You might want to try a piece of schedule-40 and see how bad the SWR is. I can't imagine that bit of extra dielectric makes that much difference.
Click to expand...

It's a huge thickness difference between the two.

I don't know why it's so hard to find. I didn't have to look hard at all...I did have to dig through the pile, but it was there at both locations.
 
The plumbing supply house suggested trying an irrigation contractor.
He said the thinwall stuff is popular for underground sprinklers systems.
 
I say eff the schedule 40 or 200 or whatever the heck it is. This stuff is giving me a headache. How much does this pvc tubing cost anyway?

$39.00 OSJ - Model OSJ 146/440 Dual Band J-Pole [rofl]
 
I finally found the 200 psi PVC pipe I needed to assemble this antenna.
It's also known as SDR-21. This info would have been helpful if supplied with the instructions.

I built mine slightly different than the instructions called for because I don't like using offset brackets and mast sections that are parallel to the antenna element.
I crimped a loop connector on the top end of the wire, over the insulation (pic #1), so it wouldn't become part of the antenna electrically. I used this loop to attach a rubber band. The rubber band is connected to a hook I screwed into the inside of the pipe cap. (pic #2) This keeps the wire straight and fully extended inside the pipe. (pic #3)
At the bottom of the pipe I installed "T" connector so the PL-259 exits from the side, not the bottom. (pic #4) This allows for more installation options. I added a short piece of pipe to the bottom end of the "T" which can be stuck into the ground or dropped into another piece of mast. (pic #5) It also fits nicely into the satellite dish support arm on the top of my camper.

#1
EFA_1.jpg

#2
EFA_2.jpg

#3
EFA_3.jpg

#4
EFA_4.jpg

#5
EFA_5.jpg
 
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I just moved and my shack is still in boxes. Here's what I'm using now. It is one of Ed Fong's shirt pocket roll-up J-poles hanging from a push-pin above my window. My local repeater is S3 with the rubber duck and S8 with the J-pole.
DSC06052.jpg
 
Nice job!

I just picked up a cushcraft 2m/70cm 10 element beam. That should be fun to play with. My tower project is just about all planned out and I figured I needed a vhf/uhf beam for the top of the mast.

Zappa said:
I finally found the 200 psi PVC pipe I needed to assemble this antenna.
It's also known as SDR-21. This info would have been helpful if supplied with the instructions.

I built mine slightly different than the instructions called for because I don't like using offset brackets and mast sections that are parallel to the antenna element.
I crimped a loop connector on the top end of the wire, over the insulation (pic #1), so it wouldn't become part of the antenna electrically. I used this loop to attach a rubber band. The rubber band is connected to a hook I screwed into the inside of the pipe cap. (pic #2) This keeps the wire straight and fully extended inside the pipe. (pic #3)
At the bottom of the pipe I installed "T" connector so the PL-259 exits from the side, not the bottom. (pic #4) This allows for more installation options. I added a short piece of pipe to the bottom end of the "T" which can be stuck into the ground or dropped into another piece of mast. (pic #5) It also fits nicely into the satellite dish support arm on the top of my camper.
Click to expand...
 
HF Antenna & Tuner Advice

It's time to take the HF plunge. So far all I've done is 2M/440 and haven't had time to hang around Elmers much. Massive newb here.

I picked up a used FT-857D, so I can do all bands. I want to go simple and discrete, which means a wire antenna. My roof peak is 33' up and I've got tall trees. With what little I know I'm thinking either a G5RV and manual tuner, or just go for Yaesu's FC-40 automatic random length tuner that will also allow me to go mobile with a whip.

The shack will be in the basement on the "antenna side of the house", so the G5RV's 30' of ladder line could go straight up the side of the house with almost no coax for losses.

On the other hand, the no-brains tuning of the auto-tuner and 1 long wire up to a tree will be the simplest installation. And if I go mobile all I have to buy is a cheap 108" whip (I think).

For DX, is there a big difference between the G5RV and a long random wire?

Opinions and advice pleaaassssseeeeee.
 
cockpitbob said:
For DX, is there a big difference between the G5RV and a long random wire?

Opinions and advice pleaaassssseeeeee.
Click to expand...

Nope, both poor performers in my humble opinion. If you want DX just put up an inverted V on 20m and some type of lazy dipole for 80m and enjoy yourself, no tuner needed. Always use an antenna tuned for the band you wish to operate. Any antenna that requires a tuner is a compromise. Now before I get flamed there are exceptions, some great antennas are fed with open wire and use a tuner but these are not simple antennas for a beginner. Stick with simple resonant dipoles until you get a feel for constructing antennas then you can experiment until your hearts content.
 
I'm a newb too but for the record I've been having some great luck with a 204' g5rv. I think my QTH is in an advantageous position so that might account for some of my success but the g5rv is working wonders for me. I can play on any band from 160m up to 10m. Once my tower is up and running it will be interesting to compare it to a gain antenna. It's a quick and easy way to get on the air. The install is easy. Although I have an internal tuner in my radio I purchased an LDG tuner which does a much better job. Now that I'm running an amp the external tuner is a must. PM me if you want more info.

ETA I realize that it's not the optimal antenna but particularly as a new operator it makes it easy to work the various bands.
 
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