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h.brew cubical quad,2,3 or 4 element w/pics
- Thread starter johnny9
- Start date
No no, I'd love to run the balanced or parallel (window) line TheDB is talking about. Extremely low loss at 200' and would feed a quad great, plus it's cheaper than coaxial cable. It just doesn't handle much power is all.
Here, play around with this calculator ..... LINK
As a general rule, 1dB is discernible to the human ear, 3dB is starting to make an "on-air" difference, and 6dB is an entire S unit on your radios meter.
So it's not impossible to do longer runs, and in some cases beneficial, but you'll have to step it up on the coax.
My tower sits up on a hill or "bank" that's level with the peak of my roof, so I gained 20-30' of height by placing it there ........ but I had to add almost 3x the coax compared to if I'd have anchored it to the side of the house.
As a general rule, 1dB is discernible to the human ear, 3dB is starting to make an "on-air" difference, and 6dB is an entire S unit on your radios meter.
So it's not impossible to do longer runs, and in some cases beneficial, but you'll have to step it up on the coax.
My tower sits up on a hill or "bank" that's level with the peak of my roof, so I gained 20-30' of height by placing it there ........ but I had to add almost 3x the coax compared to if I'd have anchored it to the side of the house.
That's actually a pretty good idea. I haven't dropped the antenna since I put it up 3 years ago, but I need to take it down sometime this summer for some maintenance anyway.
thanks 359! i wont be loosing much at 160-175ft with lmr400..i just have to make sure i get the copper shielded stuff.belden is nice but high dollar.
well first i made a blue connection block from a old cutting board and didnt like it so i looked around a bit.
came up with a old school "sk tools" screwdriver handle from the 70,s in great cond..i knew there was a reason i kept it since i was 10yrs old,ok i may be a hoarder
the screws in the pic will NOT be used,i will get stainless..
question is; is non magnetic ss as conductive as magnetic ss**Jump_im**
im glad i used the screwdriver handle as the fiberglass rod has a press fit in the hole i drilled and wont move after "glued and screwed" in place.
this is what it will look like when assembled. with the flag and all..maybe the flag will throw some WAVES my way.
well first i made a blue connection block from a old cutting board and didnt like it so i looked around a bit.
came up with a old school "sk tools" screwdriver handle from the 70,s in great cond..i knew there was a reason i kept it since i was 10yrs old,ok i may be a hoarder
the screws in the pic will NOT be used,i will get stainless..
question is; is non magnetic ss as conductive as magnetic ss**Jump_im**
im glad i used the screwdriver handle as the fiberglass rod has a press fit in the hole i drilled and wont move after "glued and screwed" in place.
this is what it will look like when assembled.
with the flag and all..maybe the flag will throw some WAVES my way.Attachments
got the driver and reflector strung up and soldered and left them loose till im gonna use them..
then got to to thinking maybe i should get them set perfect and then if they stretch any while sitting a while i can re adjust them.
question; if i get the adjustment a fraction too tight all the spreaders lean in a lil on one side..i seen pic of others do this but from what i read and understand the wire is supposed to be just tight enought to keep them in a straight line when there hangin in mid air..this correct?
there so light i think i will go ahead an do a director and have a 3 element
tv rotor should turn this easy since im cheap and poor
any suggestions about vertical versus horizontal..my father says i will hear things like never before on the flat side? i have the omnidirectional but cant talk far to locoals in my state so having a hard time deciding what i really want..vertical or horizontal..what yall thinkop:
then got to to thinking maybe i should get them set perfect and then if they stretch any while sitting a while i can re adjust them.
question; if i get the adjustment a fraction too tight all the spreaders lean in a lil on one side..i seen pic of others do this but from what i read and understand the wire is supposed to be just tight enought to keep them in a straight line when there hangin in mid air..this correct?
there so light i think i will go ahead an do a director and have a 3 element
tv rotor should turn this easy since im cheap and poor
any suggestions about vertical versus horizontal..my father says i will hear things like never before on the flat side? i have the omnidirectional but cant talk far to locoals in my state so having a hard time deciding what i really want..vertical or horizontal..what yall think
op:Attachments
if i get some pl259,s sometime this week im gonna hook 100ft of rg8 to it and see what it shows on the meter before making any matching system.
when i get the spreaders just a hair to tight it bows the f.glass rod, so i put a slight tention on it to see if it stretches and straightens its self out over a few days.
seems if they bow at all then the distance between them will be as far as 4-8 inches off if both elements were to bow just a little.if it dont stretch i will make the wire looser..this sound corect fellas?
when i get the spreaders just a hair to tight it bows the f.glass rod, so i put a slight tention on it to see if it stretches and straightens its self out over a few days.
seems if they bow at all then the distance between them will be as far as 4-8 inches off if both elements were to bow just a little.if it dont stretch i will make the wire looser..this sound corect fellas?
Attachments
Go horizontal if you are interested in dx, vertical if you want to talk to the locals.Locally cross polarization results in 3 s points or so of signal loss. Space between the loops is more critical than how tight the wire is. The spacing changes the tuning of the ant ,impedance front to back and gain, if that helps.You will need the matching section of 75 ohm cable on a two element quad ,maybe not if you go 3.
thanks fellas..i have some rg6 75 ohm coax but it has aluminum braid..can this work in a pinch to test it out or do i have to have copper braid?
i just made a 2 meter antenna for my scanner and it works sweet..a lil 20 and 1/2 inch quad element made from 5/32 solid copper..i also used 20ft of beldin 75 ohm alum braid coax and soldered it to the copper element..
well,i ran the braid thru a tiny hole i drilled and filled both sides with solder.
will this work the same on the quad? or is copper braid mandatory? thanks for the help
i think im gonna stick with the idea of horizontal and use my astroplane for local and get it up higher than it i now..
i just made a 2 meter antenna for my scanner and it works sweet..a lil 20 and 1/2 inch quad element made from 5/32 solid copper..i also used 20ft of beldin 75 ohm alum braid coax and soldered it to the copper element..
well,i ran the braid thru a tiny hole i drilled and filled both sides with solder.
will this work the same on the quad? or is copper braid mandatory? thanks for the help
i think im gonna stick with the idea of horizontal and use my astroplane for local and get it up higher than it i now..
UPDATE; hooked up some alum braided rg11 18awg conducter today at the 7ft 8 and 1/2 inch length that was recomended to me.
soldered and entrapped the alum braid after crimping it and seems to be solid,then eyelets on the rg8 150 ft i was given thats pretty old but may be ok..
these results were with the drivin element wire not tightened and adjusted properly..its close but needs another 1/8th inch tention on each spreader bar.
i realized this after i was done testing lol..
keep in mind the antenna was made using channel 40 for my freq on the antenna calculator.
all testing on am with a diawa cn-801 meter and the radio meter.
swr ch 40- 1.2 on meter and dead flat on radio meter.
ch 20- 1.5 on meter,,1.2 on radio meter
ch 1- 1.7 on meter,,2.0 on radio meter
i think i trust my diawa meter most as it reads the watts exactly like rci says my radio has in the manual.
on ch 27.5050 swr is dead flat
on ch 27.7050 swr is 1.2
when i talked thru the antenna on ch 37lsb the swr meter went to 1.2 so i think the swr,s are pretty good..
did i mention the antenna is in diamond shape with the element at the bottom tip"horizontal" and only 3 inches off the ground
with the drive element aimed se thru millions of acres of thick trees also.
when i un hooked the 33ft astroplane and hooked up the qaud the only difference i heard was the "quite" i still heard the sb on ch 6 very well even aimed south east and on the ground.
still could here texas and cali desert on 38lsb with aimed se and on the ground????
im gonna asume this is a very good thing
soldered and entrapped the alum braid after crimping it and seems to be solid,then eyelets on the rg8 150 ft i was given thats pretty old but may be ok..
these results were with the drivin element wire not tightened and adjusted properly..its close but needs another 1/8th inch tention on each spreader bar.
i realized this after i was done testing lol..
keep in mind the antenna was made using channel 40 for my freq on the antenna calculator.
all testing on am with a diawa cn-801 meter and the radio meter.
swr ch 40- 1.2 on meter and dead flat on radio meter.
ch 20- 1.5 on meter,,1.2 on radio meter
ch 1- 1.7 on meter,,2.0 on radio meter
i think i trust my diawa meter most as it reads the watts exactly like rci says my radio has in the manual.
on ch 27.5050 swr is dead flat
on ch 27.7050 swr is 1.2
when i talked thru the antenna on ch 37lsb the swr meter went to 1.2 so i think the swr,s are pretty good..
did i mention the antenna is in diamond shape with the element at the bottom tip"horizontal" and only 3 inches off the ground
with the drive element aimed se thru millions of acres of thick trees also.
when i un hooked the 33ft astroplane and hooked up the qaud the only difference i heard was the "quite" i still heard the sb on ch 6 very well even aimed south east and on the ground.
still could here texas and cali desert on 38lsb with aimed se and on the ground????
im gonna asume this is a very good thing
got 40 ft of rg11 u from dxengineering.com and got it made up and installed today..7ft 8-1/2 inches long
got the 2 x 1/8 aluminum boom mounted up and clamped down,drilled weep holes in all the tubes and got soaked when the water came out in my face from the rain and couple days ago.but they will never freeze and spit open.
drilled set screws in all the spreaders so they cant move even if the adjusting clamps broke.
spread between elements adjusted to exactly 5 ft 4=1/2 inches.
set it up for now at 13ft to the center beam from the ground and 6 ft off the ground to the bottom tip of the feed line..and aimed it out west.
gonna slay me some BIG BASS in the am early and will be testing it when im home tomorrow afternoon..and it can only be better than before so im happy happy happy<More audio>
got the 2 x 1/8 aluminum boom mounted up and clamped down,drilled weep holes in all the tubes and got soaked when the water came out in my face from the rain and couple days ago.but they will never freeze and spit open.
drilled set screws in all the spreaders so they cant move even if the adjusting clamps broke.
spread between elements adjusted to exactly 5 ft 4=1/2 inches.
set it up for now at 13ft to the center beam from the ground and 6 ft off the ground to the bottom tip of the feed line..and aimed it out west.
gonna slay me some BIG BASS in the am early and will be testing it when im home tomorrow afternoon..and it can only be better than before so im happy happy happy<More audio>
