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how good would a 1/2 copper pipe work for....
- Thread starter Qaiphyx
- Start date
B
BOOTY MONSTER
Guest
itll work just fine , as long as you dont drive the vehicle when you use it . just a straight section of copper pipe would be around 9 feet tall and it would be heavy . even if you didnt hit anything when driving the windload and mass/weight of starting and stoping would cause a bend in the copper material .
for just sitting somewhere talking though it would be just fine . for about the same price as copper you could get aluminium tubing .
http://www.dxengineering.com/Sections.asp?DeptID=43&ID=136
for just sitting somewhere talking though it would be just fine . for about the same price as copper you could get aluminium tubing .
http://www.dxengineering.com/Sections.asp?DeptID=43&ID=136
Most guys just buy and use a 102 inch stainless-steel whip for a car.
Will flex like crazy; and never bend.
As BootyMon said - on a car - copper will eventually get bent up before long.
Copper is very soft - but a great conductor.
If you have 102 inch copper pipe, you can turn it into a base station antenna by wiring the center wire of a piece of coax to that upright pipe; and then hook up four pieces of copper wire that are 102 inches in length to the coax shield ninety degrees apart/perpendicular to the pipe. Don't allow the center conductor of the wire touch the shield wire - at all! If done right; that will turn that pipe into a 1/4 wave antenna!
Check your SWR reading after assembly and before operating. Adjust the wires at a downward angle to lower your SWR. Should work pretty decent if you can mount it on something sturdy and put it up 20 or 30 feet up.
Will flex like crazy; and never bend.
As BootyMon said - on a car - copper will eventually get bent up before long.
Copper is very soft - but a great conductor.
If you have 102 inch copper pipe, you can turn it into a base station antenna by wiring the center wire of a piece of coax to that upright pipe; and then hook up four pieces of copper wire that are 102 inches in length to the coax shield ninety degrees apart/perpendicular to the pipe. Don't allow the center conductor of the wire touch the shield wire - at all! If done right; that will turn that pipe into a 1/4 wave antenna!
Check your SWR reading after assembly and before operating. Adjust the wires at a downward angle to lower your SWR. Should work pretty decent if you can mount it on something sturdy and put it up 20 or 30 feet up.
Why does it have to be 9 feet tall? My current antenna, which fell off, is not 9 feet. I was thinking about mounting it on my back window of my truck.
I could buy really thick copper wire to, about 1/8 thick of just pure copper. Maybe I could just strap that across my back windshield? Would a set up like this work better than a normal car antenna, cause if thats not the case ill just bag the idea and buy an antenna lol.
I could buy really thick copper wire to, about 1/8 thick of just pure copper. Maybe I could just strap that across my back windshield? Would a set up like this work better than a normal car antenna, cause if thats not the case ill just bag the idea and buy an antenna lol.
Qaiphyx: The state of being chemically enhanced.
Cleaver Avatar...
The antenna - which we don't know what Brand or model it was - was a tuned length. Antennas transmit on tuned lengths of wire or metal. They have to be specific lengths or designs in order to work without doing damage to your radio. If you just put up any length of metal - it will receive OK - but if you transmit on it without jumping thru the right hoops - you will ruin your radio's ability to transmit. That is why it must be tuned with a SWR meter and be the proper length.
Not the answer you were looking for - huh?
But there it is...
Cleaver Avatar...
The antenna - which we don't know what Brand or model it was - was a tuned length. Antennas transmit on tuned lengths of wire or metal. They have to be specific lengths or designs in order to work without doing damage to your radio. If you just put up any length of metal - it will receive OK - but if you transmit on it without jumping thru the right hoops - you will ruin your radio's ability to transmit. That is why it must be tuned with a SWR meter and be the proper length.
Not the answer you were looking for - huh?
But there it is...
I was expecting something like that haha. So where do I start to figure out the length that I need? Also, say I get the copper wire and place it on my back window, can I just bend it so it does a back forth line, like a really extended S curvature and still consider that the length or does it have to be perfectly straight??
And thanks for the compliment. I made up the screen name a long time ago, I have an interest in supplements. haha.
And thanks for the compliment. I made up the screen name a long time ago, I have an interest in supplements. haha.
B
BOOTY MONSTER
Guest
if you want it shorter youll have to have a coil somewhere . youll what to have as much of the antenna as possible as high above the vehicle as possible for the best performance possible . you dont want to run 9 feet or wire (or what even length you need to tune properly) in a window rike a window defogging coil . the performance will suck !!
dont expect a copper rod to put our more signal or have better ears than a 108 inch whip . it dont work that way .
heres a 108 incher so a spring/spacer isnt necessary to bring a 102 up to the right length .
MFJ Enterprises Inc.
dont expect a copper rod to put our more signal or have better ears than a 108 inch whip . it dont work that way .
heres a 108 incher so a spring/spacer isnt necessary to bring a 102 up to the right length .
MFJ Enterprises Inc.
If you are new to all of the radio gizmoness; then buying a ready-made antenna will work out for you with less headaches. Like a Wilson 1000 magnet mount antenna. Modest priced anrenna that can do a whopping decent job. Even then - it will still need to be fine-tuned with an SWR meter and adjusted by someone that can work it.
SWR
SWR
Ahhhhh ok I see. Ya im only talking about AM/FM receiving antenna. Sorry about the confusion I didint think to specify that.
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