Will this make any difference?

[will85w4]

I thought I would throw this up there just because...

I found a length of thin metal that looks to be similar material as a whip so I threw it up on the antenna mast just to see what it does, if anything at all...it runs E & W...I heard this may create a directional type situation...

The bottom picture is the clothesline pole that my antenna mast is secured to, so I found some pretty solid steel metal rods and just fed them through the holes that were already in place just to see if they made any difference either...These run N & S

 

[will85w4]

Just another shot of the antenna + mast

 

[packrat]

Nope. Wont do anything more than give birds a place to land.
Sorry.

 

[will85w4]

How could I make a homemade ground plane for this setup?

 

[packrat]

I don't personally believe that it would make any difference, but here is how I would do it if it were me. Take what you have for guy wires, cut off 100" or so, and make that 100" of each one out of wire, attached to the metal mounting section of your antenna with hose clamps. Using some form of insulating material between the wire and ropes, ( egg insulators, pcv, poly cutting board material, etc...) reattach the rope to the end of the three wires, and continue these to the original anchor points you used before. Quick, simple, cheap.
You would be better served by putting the effort into raising the antenna and moving it FAR AWAY from the power and phone lines it is near now.

PR

 

[will85w4]

I don't personally believe that it would make any difference, but here is how I would do it if it were me. Take what you have for guy wires, cut off 100" or so, and make that 100" of each one out of wire, attached to the metal mounting section of your antenna with hose clamps. Using some form of insulating material between the wire and ropes, ( egg insulators, pcv, poly cutting board material, etc...) reattach the rope to the end of the three wires, and continue these to the original anchor points you used before. Quick, simple, cheap.
You would be better served by putting the effort into raising the antenna and moving it FAR AWAY from the power and phone lines it is near now.

PR

Well I don't know if it makes any difference or not, but we don't actually have a landline telephone hooked up (only cell phones). I have thought about getting a taller antenna mast, but there is not any other location that will work for the antenna (besides roof, which won't work because wife doesn't want an antenna on the roof). I am at about 43-44 feet tall now at the top of my antenna, so I have room to go higher. I am not around an airport so FCC guidelines (from what I have read) states that it can be 60 feet max off the ground, correct?

I am going to be getting a shortwave radio pretty soon as well, so I will need to figure out an antenna setup for that too.

 

[Carl]

last things first i guess.

love the 102 mounted on the window, i have mine mounted on a

chain link​

fence. i use that if i want to listen to skip, or ill switch to a horizontal dipole and make the skip

disappear​

.

the shortwave antenna is easy, take a wire and run it around the yard. the longer the better. you wont be transmitting so a

certain​

length is not critical. if you really wanna get

drative​

attach it to your mast for your antenna. might not work so sweet when the

cb​

is transmitting but

regardless​

the

cb​

will knock the

received​

when ever so its a moot point.

the radials you added wont do anything really. it might change the takeoff angle slightly but not enough to mention.

you could go higher than 60 feet as long as you

dont​

piss off your

neighbors​

, run without a limiter, or run obnoxious amounts of power with the antenna that low. i guess if you really wanted to be a stickler for the rules

[FONT=times, times roman]{C} If your antenna is installed at a fixed location (whether receiving, transmitting or both) it must comply with EITHER one of the following:
[1] The highest point must not be more than 20 feet (6.10 meters) higher than the highest point of the building or tree on which it is mounted;
or
[2] The highest point must not be more than 60 feet (18.3 meters) above the ground. [/FONT]

 

[packrat]

You can use your cb antenna as a sw receive antenna too, but don't use it for cb at the same time! And for the antenna location, you are in the dessert! Dig a hole somewhere away from everything, and bury a new pipe in concrete to mount your mast to. Set it up with guys just like you have now. If you make it a bit larger ID than the mast pipe, it is real easy to set up. Just drop your mast inside and set up the guys.

 

[mackmobile43]

How could I make a homemade ground plane for this setup?

Here's one idea and yes it will help but you may need to wind a choke in the feed line at where the coax connects to the antenna to defeat the coax being used as the ground plane.

 

[BOOTY MONSTER]

How could I make a homemade ground plane for this setup?

http://www.worldwidedx.com/cb-antennas/35651-cheap-easy-ground-plane.html