Diamond X50a / Shakespeare Super Big Stick

[WX2MIG]

Making a couple of changes to my antenna systems here....

First off I need to improve my VHF/UHF capabilities, all I have at the moment is an R2 Ringo that sits approx 15 feet above ground level, not the best antenna or at a very good height. I was given a couple of Radio Shack standard grade antenna masts that have seen better days. I spent a good part of the day sanding off the rust, two coats of primer, and a top coat of silver hammer finish Rustolium....
Yesterday I placed an order with HRO for a new Diamond X50A which will get mounted to the 20 feet of this newly painted antenna mast, the base of which will be elevated about 9 feet above ground when attached to the wall brackets on the front of my garage. This should put the base of the X50A approx 28 1/2 feet above ground, and that's a little higher than the original X50A I had mounted there 20 years ago, and a lot higher than the Ringo that is there now.

I was also given an old Shakespeare Super Big Stick that I had to clean up, and may need to gloss coat with some clear resin since it has seen a lot of UV damage over it's lifetime.
I'm thinking about mounting this one on the back of the garage, not looking to get it up real high, but high enough to clear the roof line.
Now I've been told that with an antenna tuner I should be able to tune this antenna up on 10, 12, 17, and even 20 meters......

I'm going to assume at this point in time that even if it does tune up to work on 20 meters, it probably won't be as good as the 20 meter inverted "V" dipole I have now.....or will it......?

20 meters isn't really my goal since I have the dipole, and I'll be happy if it covers 10 through 17, but if for some reason it turns out that it works 20 as well as my low earth inverted "V", then I just might scrap the dipole, and use this vertical.

Some time in the near future I'll order some 450 ohm ladder line, and revamp my 40 meter dipole. Will probably also get a 4:1 balun, run the ladder line down to the roof line, then over to the garage, tie it into the balun, and make my home run through the garage wall in 50 ohm coax. It is my hopes that this arrangement will allow this dipole to tune up on and give me some improved receive on 80 meters with less RF issues on transmit.....
If that works, then I can scrap the random wire......

 

[Robb]

Hi WX2MIG:

Is that fiberglass resin you are referring to - when you are talking about giving the Shakespear the 'clear coat'? Wouldn't just using a clear coat out of a spray can accomplish the same thing? Just curious. I just go a couple of A99's from an estate, but they are in nearly new condition., so I do need to do that yet. But I have a friend of mine who has a A99 that he needs to restore. How would you do it?

I tried out a Kenwood TS-120S that I got from the same estate sale on my IMAX 2000 on 10 thru 20 meters w/o a tuner. I was just listening. Then I flipped it 40 meters and got a contact with it. Amazing - It isn't really even supposed to work on 40 meters, but it received it quite well. Next time, I will have my antenna tuner on and see if it won't load on 40. Electrically and physically it shouldn't be able to do that. But it received the station - a good distance away w/o a problem. Maybe the A99 is the real 'mystery antenna' - lol!

 

[WX2MIG]

Hi WX2MIG:

Is that fiberglass resin you are referring to - when you are talking about giving the Shakespear the 'clear coat'? Wouldn't just using a clear coat out of a spray can accomplish the same thing? Just curious.

!

Rob,
Clear coat out of a spray can is going to be nothing more than a clear enamel, or urethane type product. I have clear sun cure surfboard resin on hand...... (obviously for surfboard repairs) ......this is an actual fiberglass resin that will not only seal the surface, but also seep into any cracks and help to strengthen the structure of the antenna. I just need to apply a thin coat inside my garage, carry it out into the sun light, and this stuff goes off in 3 minutes or less.

I've heard many good reports on those Solarcon A-99's, did the one's you got come with the ground radial kits....?

I've also heard that others have used the A-99, Marco 5/8 wave, Big Sticks, and a few other 11 meter verticals with great success on everything from 10 to 20 meters, although I never heard of anyone getting 40 meters out of them......anything is possible......

 

[Moleculo]

Is that shakespeare big stick the CB antenna, or is it the military version?

 

[WX2MIG]

Is that shakespeare big stick the CB antenna, or is it the military version?

To the best of my knowledge Mole, it's the commercial Super Big Stick CB antenna. The Shakespeare antenna I had years ago was just labeled "Big Stick", and this one is labeled "Super Big Stick"....

I don't really know what the difference between the two are, but I would assume there's some sort of improvement or design change in the "Super" Big Stick to warrant the addition of "Super" to the Big Stick name......

 

[Robb]

No; it didn't have the ground plane kits. I felt thankful enough just to get all of the gear I did for the price.

Does the fibreglass resin cost a lot? Do you have to buy it by the gallon - or do they sell in smaller portions? Is it the kind that you have to mix the hardener in and throw away the brush afterwards? Will the urethane clear in a can break down rapidly from UV exposure? I'm trying to figure out my options.

My friends A99 is giving off a lot of fibreglass shreds, so I will have to act quickly if I am to keep it from being deep sixed...

 

[Slim]

How ironic guys. I was at an auction today and bought 2 "super big sticks"
for $1.00. Funny thing is,one is 18' 1/2" long while the other is 15' 11-1/2" long! I didn't realize they made 2 sizes in these? Now for the bad news;one is open/bad(the short one),but the other is about to become open/bad! If I shake it the SWR goes to infinty from a 1:2-1 and back and forth! Nothing big tho. As I see it I got 2 8' fiberglass antennas for $1.00.LOL!!! These were used but in the original cartons too. The model# for the longest one is 176-S
and the shortest one is 176-GBSU. I never heard of 2 of em like this!
Either way I came out alright except for pissing off the wife cause I went to the auction to begin with.LOL!!! She thought for sure I was gonna bring home some CB equipment. Like I need that!!! My CB stuff has been boxed up for about 3 years now since I've gone Amateur. Nobody here talks on 11-meter anymore,but I can't help myself,I just might be able to help some young person getting interested in "communications" via cheap equipment purchases sometime? So I keep going to these damn auctions anyhow.
Sorry I strayed from the main subject guys,been a long day!
Slim.

 

[WX2MIG]

No; it didn't have the ground plane kits. I felt thankful enough just to get all of the gear I did for the price.

Does the fibreglass resin cost a lot? Do you have to buy it by the gallon - or do they sell in smaller portions? Is it the kind that you have to mix the hardener in and throw away the brush afterwards? Will the urethane clear in a can break down rapidly from UV exposure? I'm trying to figure out my options.

My friends A99 is giving off a lot of fibreglass shreds, so I will have to act quickly if I am to keep it from being deep sixed...

Rob, urethane is nothing more than a clear coat paint that will not last very long when exposed to the elements. UV rays being it's biggest enemy, urethane will break down and peal off your antenna quickly compared to using fiberglass resin, and after all the antenna is made of fiberglass and polyester resin.
If the antenna is new or in good condition, a couple of healthy coats of Collinite's Insualtor wax goes a long way in preserving anything fiberglass, if the antenna is showing signs of UV damage, then a good cleaning followed by a light sanding, then a thin coat of clear polyester resin will extend the life of the fiberglass radom for many years.
What I use is a product called "Sun Cure" sanding resin. Resin comes in many forms but the two basic types are laminating resin, and finish resin that has wax in it to form a hard glossy tack free surface. Sanding resin has this wax ingedient that produces the hard glossy finish you want. Sanding resin comes in catylist mixing type, and sun cure which has a UV reactive hardner mixed in. Sun cure will come in a black plastic or metal can to keep it from firing off in sun light, you have to apply it in a dark artificially lit area, then take it out into the sun light to cure....and once in the sun it doesn't take long to fire off and cure.

Plug "sun cure resin" into a google search, it should direct you to many sources where you can buy it on line. I get it locally at surf shops, it comes in pints, quarts and gallons, you'll only need a pint and that should do several antennas. Use a throw away chip brush because you won't want to save it after dipping it into resin. Cover half of the antenna then take it outside to cure. Once the first half is cured lightly sand the spot you stopped at to insure adhession, and coat the other half up to and covering where you sanded, this gives you something to hold while carrying the antenna in and out of your application area to the sun light.

You can of course also use the catylist two part resin, as long as it is a clear finish product, don't use boat or marine grade resin as it has a lot of impurities in it that will give the antenna a funky dirty look to it. Table top resin does not have UV inhibitors in it and won't be much better than using urethane.
Clear surfboard resin is the best choice since it is a pure crystal clear product with UV inhinitors made for exposure to direct sun light.

It's not cheap with a pint running between 10 and 12 dollars, but a pint will go a long way, and as long as you get good fresh resin, and keep the lid on tight, it has a good shelf life.
If I was at my home computer I would post some links to where you could order some, but I don't have those links here at work.......

 

[WX2MIG]

The big brown truck dropped off my new Diamond X50A this afternoon, and I had it up in the air an hour later......

Big difference on both the IC-2200H, and the Uniden 440 radio. I found a whole bunch more programmed frequencies on the 440 radio that work since I'm now using a real antenna at a decent height.
On 2 meters I'm getting applicable increases in return signal strength from several distant repeaters, and I'm opening up a couple on the outer fringes that I couldn't hit with the Ringo only sitting about 18 to 20 feet off the ground....

Now I need to get either a two way coax switch, or better yet a duplexer so I can run both radios at once......