Has anyone tried a HamStick Dipole ???

[jonbah]

Has anyone tried a Hamstick dipole. I saw the mounts being sold on Ebay and was wondering about this.
How well do they work compared to a full 1/2 wave dipole.?
To save some space I was thinking about setting one up for 80 meters.

Jonbah
CDX-3030

 

[Sonwatcher]

That's what I use for my 6 meter. I have it mounted on a tripod and rotor.

 

[W5LZ]

Jonbah,
Do they work? Yes. Do they work as well as a full sized antenna? No. Are they worth doing? Just depends on how 'hard-up' you are for an antenna and/or antenna space.
The 'good' things about them are that they take up little space, and can be made directional. The not so good things are that they need to be at the same height as a full sized antenna to work even 'close' as well, and they have very narrow usable bandwidths (same as a single one used mobile).
There are a number of them being used all the time, with varying degrees of success/satisfaction. Should you use one? Beats me! Should you?
- 'Doc

 

[jonbah]

WOW!!! :?

 

[Sonwatcher]

hmm........ I was hard up for an antenna and needed something to work in the space I had.Guess I hit the low end of the food chain on that one . But I've got good news ! I saved a bunch of money on my car insurance !

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Just remember that the lower the band the lower the efficiency.While they may perform well on 6m they are not that great on 80m.I use a single one now and then when mobile on 80m and it has gotten me around the midwest and into Florida as well as into the U.K. on several occasions from here in Nova Scotia.Does it work? YES. Does it work well? It's better than nothing.Is it narrow band? Oh yeah,3770-3820 is all I get for a 2:1 SWR on a good day.

 

[jonbah]

Maybe if I feed them with ballanced feedline and use a tuner. I wonder if Hamstick has a good return policy :?: Then if they don't work I can give em back. Just like at Wal-Mart :twisted:

 

[Slim]

I like it Ron Gotta have a lil sense of humor eh? Great comeback.
Slim CDX285

 

[jonbah]

We'll I've read up on the Hamstick dipole, In brief they do work ok for the 17 meter band up to 6 meters actually the 10 & 6 meter version would resemble a extended zepp as long as both whips are insulated from the mast. For 75/80 meters their nothing like a full size 1/2 wave dipole. The only benifit is the phisical size, they have to be elevated the same as a 1/2 wave would, the band width is very small about 20kc (tuner) and the power output would have to be limited to 250 watts pep. Good field day or rover antenna but not for me. I have a G5RV dipole here but I'm going to build a 75 meter 1/2 wave dipole in its place so I can avoid using a tuner. Guess the next project will be 160 meters, I'm looking at a top loaded sloper just for something to get on the band.

Thanks
Jonbah

 

[VE3QJ]

Good information here, what brand of stick would you recommend?
Thanks for the info.

 

[northern35s]

Good information here, what brand of stick would you recommend?
Thanks for the info.

Any of the ham stick variants, we have about 5 different brand names here in the UK and they're all very similar. I have a few here that I bought second hand, I use them as blanks to make bug catcher style antennas

 

[w9cll]

Real Ham Sticks are no more but the MFJ ones work well

 

[VE3QJ]

Ok, i have some "pro-am" sticks but i would have a 2nd one for 20 and 40 meters.
Guess i should stick with matching brands, (no pun intended).
You have been very kind, thank you for helping me.
I think I'll look into a couple MFJ sticks.
Cheers.

 

[Riverman]

In looking at images of hamstick dipoles, I almost never see a choke or balun being used. Why is that?

 

[Slowmover]

In looking at images of hamstick dipoles, I almost never see a choke or balun being used. Why is that?

May not have known or considered. Maybe thought extraneous.

An FT240-31 toroid with (9) turns of RG-58 at the feed point is cheap & simple for an 11-Meter hamstick dipole built for “small space” restrictions. Cut noise any way you can.

The whole apparatus may/may not perform to an individuals satisfaction, so it’s hardly an added penalty compared to the total cost of the other components WITH labor. They may all wind up back in the PROJECT SPARES box. Recoup their cost another day.
.