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My First Attempt At A Mobile Antenna

HomerBB said:
Another attempt and on the mobile:

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4319.jpg
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Click to expand...

that looks a damn site better than any copper antenna Z-MAN ever built !!

hows the copper holding up to being driven around ? have you thought about eliminating the stinger and just running the copper tube up to the tuned point or a little past it and cutting it to length and soldering a cap on top ?

or have you already tried that and i missed it ?
 
Thanks, BM

I did do it with pipe all the way out, but never posted a photo of it like that. I figured that a different installation on a different part of the vehicle, or even on a different automobile would result in a different SWR curve. Also, I had that really nice chromed heavy stinger that I wanted to put on top of it. :)

I have driven with it on the roof only about 5 miles @ 50 MPH maximum speed. It is heavy and noisy, so I haven't done any more with it. I had a friend in mind when I did it. It may work well for him directly behind his pickup truck cab. I haven't checked how wide banded it is as I think he only runs 40 channels.

It seemed rigid enough so far, but time and higher speeds would tell more. I will check both it, and this one I threw together yesterday, out more today.

No testing done on this other than to temporarily mount it on the SUV and check SWR on CB band. More finessing it to be done, but it works.

4323.jpg
4322.jpg
 
All the others required a hard mount. This one can be mounted on a large magnet and driven at high speed, I think . . . or a mirror. It has the same wraps the Wilson 5k has, but not air core. I'll check it out some more in a little while.
 
since that pvc is invisible to rf i wouldn't think a air core has any real advantage ...... other than maybe some cooling for higher power . but your coil is external so any heat can dissipate freely to the air rather than be kept inside a little housing .
LOL . i just mentioned to someone in a PM earlier about using PVC for a coil former .
nice work as usual ;)
 
4319.jpg

SWR:
28.305 ----------- 1.8:1
27.855 ----------- 1.4:1
27.555 ---------- <1.2:1
27.405 ----------- 1.1:1
27.205 ----------- 1.1:1
26.965 ----------- 1.1:1
26.515 ----------- 1.3:1
26.065 ----------- 1.7:1
25.615 ----------- 2.2:1
 
All you need now is some weather proofing or shrink wrapp the coils and your done. Nice build. You should patent it Homer.... Aloha, James!!!

HomerBB said:
Thanks, BM

I did do it with pipe all the way out, but never posted a photo of it like that. I figured that a different installation on a different part of the vehicle, or even on a different automobile would result in a different SWR curve. Also, I had that really nice chromed heavy stinger that I wanted to put on top of it. :)

I have driven with it on the roof only about 5 miles @ 50 MPH maximum speed. It is heavy and noisy, so I haven't done any more with it. I had a friend in mind when I did it. It may work well for him directly behind his pickup truck cab. I haven't checked how wide banded it is as I think he only runs 40 channels.

It seemed rigid enough so far, but time and higher speeds would tell more. I will check both it, and this one I threw together yesterday, out more today.

No testing done on this other than to temporarily mount it on the SUV and check SWR on CB band. More finessing it to be done, but it works.

4323.jpg
4322.jpg
Click to expand...
 
Homer, was curious how the antennas have held up over time. I love reading up on projects like this since it gives me ideas to improve my own designs, as well as helps me know what to avoid. Thanks for all the shared info!
 
All these antennae in this thread are still around, and I sometimes put one or the other on the SUV and run them. Each has not been continuously used since then. Possibly the one I am currently using is the one I favor. With the current DX conditions I operate almost exclusively on SSB. I have mounted a 102"SS whip, a shorter fiberglass whip, a 4' top loaded FB stick, a bottom loaded open coil whip, and a couple of these on the forum alternately as I drive about, and to my personal satisfaction I can talk more skip on this one:

4443.jpg
4444.jpg


I am using a different stinger out the top than shown in the photo. In the photo it is the fourth from the left, except the black tubing has since been exchanged in favor of the chromed tubing.

Homer

0115.jpg
 
i know that this is an old thread. nice builds Homer. out of the four that you built, which one would you say is the best performer over all? looking at your swr chart...would that be the first one?
 

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