Here's an antenna to try when you've got nothing better to do. No claims for it at all, just that it works.
You'll need about 60-65 feet of wire (any kind), some string/cord/rope and at least a couple of trees, the taller the better.
Tie the cord to the end of a piece of wire about 45 feet long. Throw the cord over a tree limb something like 20 feet high (or the top of the tree). Pull the cord and wire up till the other end just dangles off the ground. Then throw the cord over another tree wo that that end of the wire is as high as you can get it. Tie it off.
Back at the end of the wire dangling off the ground pull it down till you can tie it to a stake just off the ground. That's the feed point of the antenna. Since this is just something to 'try', lay out the wire you have left on the ground with one end at the stake. This is the 'ground' connection. It doesn't have to be any particular shape, but don't coil it up in one spot.
Connect the center conductor of the feed line (coax) to the 'dangling' wire and the shield to the 'ground' wire. When you check the SWR it's going to be some fairly high value, but you can lower it by 'trimming' the end of the wire in the air. (Or, the easy way to do it would be to use a tuner if you have one.) How high the vertical part goes, how far and what angle the horizontal part is all determine what the SWR is. Changing any or all of those will change the SWR. When the SWR gets somewhere close to 1.5:1, quit.
The radiation pattern is sort of broadside to the horizontal part of the antenna, but it isn't very directional at all.
There you go, a cheap altrernative to an 'A99', or an Imax. You might be suprized at how well it works. It's called an inverted 'L' and with a tuner can be used on almost any band. The better the ground, the better the thing works. The length and height isn't critical, just whatever you have room for...
- 'Doc
</p>
You'll need about 60-65 feet of wire (any kind), some string/cord/rope and at least a couple of trees, the taller the better.
Tie the cord to the end of a piece of wire about 45 feet long. Throw the cord over a tree limb something like 20 feet high (or the top of the tree). Pull the cord and wire up till the other end just dangles off the ground. Then throw the cord over another tree wo that that end of the wire is as high as you can get it. Tie it off.
Back at the end of the wire dangling off the ground pull it down till you can tie it to a stake just off the ground. That's the feed point of the antenna. Since this is just something to 'try', lay out the wire you have left on the ground with one end at the stake. This is the 'ground' connection. It doesn't have to be any particular shape, but don't coil it up in one spot.
Connect the center conductor of the feed line (coax) to the 'dangling' wire and the shield to the 'ground' wire. When you check the SWR it's going to be some fairly high value, but you can lower it by 'trimming' the end of the wire in the air. (Or, the easy way to do it would be to use a tuner if you have one.) How high the vertical part goes, how far and what angle the horizontal part is all determine what the SWR is. Changing any or all of those will change the SWR. When the SWR gets somewhere close to 1.5:1, quit.
The radiation pattern is sort of broadside to the horizontal part of the antenna, but it isn't very directional at all.
There you go, a cheap altrernative to an 'A99', or an Imax. You might be suprized at how well it works. It's called an inverted 'L' and with a tuner can be used on almost any band. The better the ground, the better the thing works. The length and height isn't critical, just whatever you have room for...
- 'Doc
</p>