short top and bottom loaded vertical dipole again
I think I am on to something and I need to share it with everyone. It will do me no good to keep it to myself. I am of the view that I will be a better person if I can help someone in some small way to see the light at the end of their tunnel, and that has nothing to do with whether or not they can help me to see the light at the end of mine. Life and living is not about ME, but about YOU, and how I can help YOU to realize your full potential and maybe your destiny.
In relation to our hobby of ham radio, it did not take me 40-years to recognise that it is all about basic principles, and the application of those basic principles. Some of us try to get as far away from the basics as possible, but if the "sophistication" sought after is not rooted in proper basic principles, you are wasting your time and money. I am no big time engineer, but I have recognized that most of the ham transceivers of yesteryear were built to great specifications, and some still fetch a good price on eBay today.
I also recognized that, for some reason best known to the makers, most if not all transceivers always seem to have at least ONE critical circuit that was designed "out of whack" which caused the transceiver to function in such a way as to justify the price tag. The "wackiness" did not seem to migrate to the next model up. Of course hams did not skylark with their rigs and the "modifications" were quickly forthcoming. Most times it only called for a few component value changes.
Rigs are one thing and the antenna is really something else, but that too could be "wacky", but not that obvious to the user. All ham gear, rigs and antennas, work perfectly as long as you are not looking for the inherent imperfection. There are a few of us who set out from day one to look for the imperfections, because we know they are there, just out of sight. It should be practically impossible for those $200 an hour guys to screw up circuitry like that, but I was not their, and furthermore it is their design. Quid pro quo.
I believe that the majority of hams these days are using home brew antennas or no antenna at all. Antennas in some places are the greatest hassle for ham radio. Down here wire is readily available, but coax cable and aluminum tubing is not. Wire range from construction binding wire to #16, and larger for electrical installation. Wire is wire, and may not be critical at 100 watts. Only the affluent among us will be on kilowatt alley with "all-band" brand name antennas on 100-foot high towers.
This morning it came home to me that my simple vertical antenna was doing something that other antennas in my neighbourhood were not. I was hearing stations out of the USA RS59+10, when my neighbour was not. I should be surprised, but I am not, because that is how vertical antennas work. Many hams want to work the distant stations but do not wish to install an antenna that can guarantee that type of performance. Some hams know what antenna they need, but would feel more comfortable buying a ready made product then building it from scratch. How I wish we had a LOWE store done here.
If you have a LOWE store around the corner you have it made. 17.5-ft length of aluminum tubing and 93.2-ft of antenna wire will get you on 40-meters within the hour, and 32-ft of aluminum tubing and 182.3-ft of antenna wire will get you on 80-meters within the hour. This is called a top and bottom loaded vertical dipole antenna. The top hat for 40 meters is 46.6-ft and for 80-meters it is 91.2-ft and the bottom loading wire is the same length as the top hat. Feed this antenna through a solenoid balum and nobody on your block can touch you.
EI7BA has a great picture of his antenna on his website here. The antenna is quite similar but the antenna dimensions may be different. If you want to hear what your neighbour may not, especially when the band is not "wide open", this vertical dipole antenna may be your salvation. When you are through building and experimenting this antenna you can tell us all about it here.
In relation to our hobby of ham radio, it did not take me 40-years to recognise that it is all about basic principles, and the application of those basic principles. Some of us try to get as far away from the basics as possible, but if the "sophistication" sought after is not rooted in proper basic principles, you are wasting your time and money. I am no big time engineer, but I have recognized that most of the ham transceivers of yesteryear were built to great specifications, and some still fetch a good price on eBay today.
I also recognized that, for some reason best known to the makers, most if not all transceivers always seem to have at least ONE critical circuit that was designed "out of whack" which caused the transceiver to function in such a way as to justify the price tag. The "wackiness" did not seem to migrate to the next model up. Of course hams did not skylark with their rigs and the "modifications" were quickly forthcoming. Most times it only called for a few component value changes.
Rigs are one thing and the antenna is really something else, but that too could be "wacky", but not that obvious to the user. All ham gear, rigs and antennas, work perfectly as long as you are not looking for the inherent imperfection. There are a few of us who set out from day one to look for the imperfections, because we know they are there, just out of sight. It should be practically impossible for those $200 an hour guys to screw up circuitry like that, but I was not their, and furthermore it is their design. Quid pro quo.
I believe that the majority of hams these days are using home brew antennas or no antenna at all. Antennas in some places are the greatest hassle for ham radio. Down here wire is readily available, but coax cable and aluminum tubing is not. Wire range from construction binding wire to #16, and larger for electrical installation. Wire is wire, and may not be critical at 100 watts. Only the affluent among us will be on kilowatt alley with "all-band" brand name antennas on 100-foot high towers.
This morning it came home to me that my simple vertical antenna was doing something that other antennas in my neighbourhood were not. I was hearing stations out of the USA RS59+10, when my neighbour was not. I should be surprised, but I am not, because that is how vertical antennas work. Many hams want to work the distant stations but do not wish to install an antenna that can guarantee that type of performance. Some hams know what antenna they need, but would feel more comfortable buying a ready made product then building it from scratch. How I wish we had a LOWE store done here.
If you have a LOWE store around the corner you have it made. 17.5-ft length of aluminum tubing and 93.2-ft of antenna wire will get you on 40-meters within the hour, and 32-ft of aluminum tubing and 182.3-ft of antenna wire will get you on 80-meters within the hour. This is called a top and bottom loaded vertical dipole antenna. The top hat for 40 meters is 46.6-ft and for 80-meters it is 91.2-ft and the bottom loading wire is the same length as the top hat. Feed this antenna through a solenoid balum and nobody on your block can touch you.
EI7BA has a great picture of his antenna on his website here. The antenna is quite similar but the antenna dimensions may be different. If you want to hear what your neighbour may not, especially when the band is not "wide open", this vertical dipole antenna may be your salvation. When you are through building and experimenting this antenna you can tell us all about it here.
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