• You can now help support WorldwideDX when you shop on Amazon at no additional cost to you! Simply follow this Shop on Amazon link first and a portion of any purchase is sent to WorldwideDX to help with site costs.

How would a 11m beam work on 6m with a Antenna tuner?

hilifer

Member
Jul 5, 2009
3
0
11
57
:wub:Looking to buy a Yaesu FT-767GX with built In Antenna tuner with 6 meters.....Just wondering how a 11 meter beam would work...
 

11m beam 6 meters FT767

:wub:Looking to buy a Yaesu FT-767GX with built In Antenna tuner with 6 meters.....Just wondering how a 11 meter beam would work...


You may run into one problem the FT767 has seperate antenna connectors for HF/ 6m/2 m /440 depending if all modules are installed. The internal tuner only works on the HF antenna connector on 160-10 meters. You will have much improved results with a home brew 3 element beam that is resonant in the six meter band.

SD
 
Can it be done? I don't know about the tuner's capability so can't say for sure. Very definite maybe. Would it be worth doing, an 11 meter beam on 6 meters? It'd work, but it's probably not worth the effort. Try it and see what happens. Then come tell the rest of us.
- 'Doc
 
regencycb is correct, the ft767gx tuner only works on hf, it does not work on the 6/2/70 modules, you will need an external tuner,
11mtr beams don't work very well as a beam on 6mtrs with or without a tuner.
 
You would do better with a simple 1/4 wave groundplane on 6m than you would trying to use an 11m beam. Any directivity seen would be a result of extra losses in certain directions rather than gain in peak directions.
 
if its the type of beam the elements telescope on, then it might not be that hard to convert for 6m.thats taking into account you no longer wish to use it on 11m.

for 6m centred on 52mhz you would need to make the driven element about 8.98 feet (2.74m) total length.reflector would be around 9.44 feet (2.88m) and director would be around 8.54 feet (2.60m),if your tubing will telescope into those lengths you've cracked it.

after that the only thing you would have to worry about is spacing between the elements to give the right impedance,trial and error with an antenna analyser preferrably or a swr meter if its the only instrument you have would optomise the beam on the new frequency range.

as others have said though it may be more desireable or easer depending on the 11m beam design to build one from scratch and keep the 11m beam for 11m or 10m or build 1/4 wave gp which is simple and relatively small for that frequency range.

Infact if you made the radiating element of the 1/4 wave gp half the size of the above lengths for the beam driven element,4.49 feet or 1.37m you wouldn't be far out,add 3 or 4 ground wires of the same length at 45 degree downward sloping angle attached to the coax shield and you got yourself a very cheap and very effective 1/4 wave groundplane for 6m.

might be wise to add a little extra to the lengths to allow for tuning the antenna in its mounting location.
 
if its the type of beam the elements telescope on, then it might not be that hard to convert for 6m.thats taking into account you no longer wish to use it on 11m.

for 6m centred on 52mhz you would need to make the driven element about 8.98 feet (2.74m) total length.reflector would be around 9.44 feet (2.88m) and director would be around 8.54 feet (2.60m),if your tubing will telescope into those lengths you've cracked it.

after that the only thing you would have to worry about is spacing between the elements to give the right impedance,trial and error with an antenna analyser preferrably or a swr meter if its the only instrument you have would optomise the beam on the new frequency range.

as others have said though it may be more desireable or easer depending on the 11m beam design to build one from scratch and keep the 11m beam for 11m or 10m or build 1/4 wave gp which is simple and relatively small for that frequency range.

Infact if you made the radiating element of the 1/4 wave gp half the size of the above lengths for the beam driven element,4.49 feet or 1.37m you wouldn't be far out,add 3 or 4 ground wires of the same length at 45 degree downward sloping angle attached to the coax shield and you got yourself a very cheap and very effective 1/4 wave groundplane for 6m.

might be wise to add a little extra to the lengths to allow for tuning the antenna in its mounting location.

yes i know a ham that did this very thing also think he may cut the boom also?not sure
youd definately need a anylizer if ya got one it would be worth a try if ya have a little free time on your hands.
 
In one case it was asked if an 11m antenna could be made to work on 6m with a tuner. The short answer is yes. The tuner will force the antenna to accept power from the transmitter and the antenna will radiate but how well it will radiate is another question. Again in short, the result will not be great but it will be better than nothing at all.

In the other case it was suggested that perhaps the 11m antenna be resized for 6m. In this case the antenna is no longer an 11m antenna and in fact has become a 6m antenna and will work well as long as care is taken to use the proper dimensions. Years ago I salvaged my old Wilson Shooting Star and used the aluminum to make a six element yagi for 6m. It works great,better than the comparable from Cushcraft. In this case I am NOT using an 11m antenna on 6m but rather CONVERTED an 11m antenna into a 6m antenna.
 

dxChat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.