Something to consider structurally, the solder removes any flexibility in the stranded copper wire. So make your solder connection away from a pivot point. That way it won't cause your wire to break over time with movement (wind etc.). 73's NG7I
Great video! One thing I would advise those doing this project; when making any wire antenna, I temporarily mount it on a pole in the yard before stringing it up high, this way you can trim or lengthen without climbing back up the tower.
Tip: I've been playing around with building antennas from scratch the last couple years and since we're already using "metric" for the wavelengths anyway, I decided to just DITCH the imperial tape measure for a metric one so I don't have to "convert" any measurements or deal with fractions or mess with converting 10ths of an inch to a fraction either. HOLY COW was that the BEST $8 I think I've ever spent on ham radio! Not only do you save the time it takes to convert measurements but it's also a HECK of a lot more precise, there's more increments "per inch" if you just use metric. Good video BTW, I keep debating whether or not to build one of these, but I'd need to make a "vertical" one for my quad band radio with 70cm/2m/6m/10m.
@@HardAxe yeah, HATE fractions. Hey how many feet in a mile? Ummm... 🤔dunno 3k something? Now how many many meters in a kilometer? 1000! [yeah, don't even have to be a Brit to figure that out...]
Thanks! I'm just trying to get up and running. My HF is sick, but it's out for some help, and a friend came over with his good stuff and we got a 20M wire up, but I think I'm going to add a 40M. This video is very detailed and shows me gauges, etc. I had the formula, but wasn't sure about the wire gauge, and the tie cable size. COOL! Thanks for a great video.
The fan dipole uses way more wire than a good OCDF- Off Center Fed Dipole. The standard configuration to start with is 90x45, and use a balun Design OCFD balun for the best results. That balun is marked as to which side the longe element goes to, so make sure you get the correct balun. I can work 2M .70CM, 6M, 10M, 12M, 17M, 18M, 20M, 40M, and a smart part of 80M on my OCFD using no tuner. If I use the Tuner, it helps on some bands that have a narrow window of use. In all cases, the antenna works really well. The fan dipole has a few things it can do due to the proximity of the elements to each other. The only bad thing that can happen is to generate harmonics.
I made one for 160m-75m (half wave) and it works great. I just added a Balun Designs 1:1 to the center and will be adding 60m. I did not bother with insulators and just strung the legs out at different angles from the tower. I also keep a "balun pully" on my Rohn 25's hazer for easy up and down of the dipole from the ground. You will always need a tuner for broadband operation of these dipoles. 73
Many thanks again, Larry, for your prompt and informative reply. I don't know whether you get to Asia-Pacific at all, but if and when you visit Hong Kong be sure to let me know. Happy to extend accommodation and hospitality. All the best, Peter
Larry this has been the most instructional and comprehensive video I have watched anywhere so far on the problem of getting a n antenna up and running. My problem still is the HOA I'm in I need a stealth hf ant. lol have a great day.
Patrick Kerr I have a M.F.J. loop. Only 3 a foot circle. A little to heavy to move in and out every day but some guy's do and some put it in there attic. Yahoo has a group for it you might check it out. It is a bit pricey.
leo sav I just got a mfj 1625- just have to figure out how to put it together and up. not many instructions with it. My next project is the Homemade Loop The MFJ one is really too expensive for me. lol
leo sav I made my own mag loop, in about that same size - I used the air variable tuner capacitor from an old Hallicrafters S-38 receiver, and it works well for listening - it could be used also for QRP transmitting, but I have not tried that yet. Basically a loop of LMR600 cable for the main loop, with a small loop of LMR400. It will tune 80 meters and all the way up past 20 meters. Just tune for maximum noise on the band you want to work. I am in an apartment and listen to 3913 KHz every night...
Easy to follow, detailed video. Great work. Planning to buy my first HT radio, an FT-450D, along with a G5RV. But now I may try to build this antenna, instead of buying G5. Roger, Trinidad & Tobago. 9Z3RM (TTO), KK4NAD (USA).
Lot of snow and cold in the winter and plenty of hot and humidity in the summer but I like summer the best, lot of changes in season here, one extreme to the other. Severe weather starts about April and goes through June for the most part with some tornadoes, hail and wind etc. I do have a few Uniden scanners as well as Radio Shack models from over the years.
I think I'll try building your fan dipole antenna. I guess it'll be much more fun than just building one with a never used ICOM MN-100 antenna matcher I've got stored for a long time. Thanks for your time and dedication. 73 from PY5WHO, Brazil.
Thank you for putting in all the effort to make this video. I'm learning and it's great to see someone build from scratch - I prefer that to buying off the shelf, just the DIY demon I'm possessed by I suppose
Give that a try, it should work ok, the swr might be a little tricky but if you have tuner, should be no problem. Won't be quite as good as up in the clear but at least it should get you on the air and making contacts. Might pick up a little more noise also and you might want to run lower power if you have RF problems. Another option might be a wire loop antenna as long as possible with an auto couple type tuner right in the attic connected directly to antenna.
I think I tied a knot at the very end of each leg of the dipoles at the last spacer but on the spacers that are not at the end I just used the hot glue, it held very secure and if it did come lose, I don't think the spacers will move around much anyhow. No problems with mine yet and it works just fine, I would think it would work better than a G5RV on the bands you cut if for since it is a full size dipole on those bands but I have not compared it to a G5RV I guess so can't say for sure.
Nice video, I enjoyed watching. I want to build a multi-band dipole for SWL and I found your video really helpful. It proves to me, no matter your level of experience with the right components anyone can build a nice antenna. Again Thanks for sharing. 73's brian
Bar-none the BEST lesson in the practicalities of antennas I have found yet...and I've been trying to understand how to use them for years. Brilliantly easy to understand, AND now I would actually be comfortable even building one. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Thanks, well the cost really depends on what you might have on hand but the most cost would be the coax cable depending on how much you needed to get to the shack and the wire for the antenna, but you don't really need anything special for wire, just something that will hold up over time. The PVC I used was very inexpensive, just a few dollars for all.
Hi there, WOW !! what a great video, for a keen listener but with fairly limited knowledge like myself, this was great stuff, I see you have a Realistic Pro-2006 too, I've had mine since new prob 20yrs ago and still I'd say one of the best for day to day listening. Another subscriber just clicked !!
Thanks, and yes, I have had my Pro-2006 probably for about the same amount of time and it is still working although the display is dim, normal problem with those, there is a place you can get new displays out there I have seen. 73 and thanks again for the post...Larry
Awesome video, awesome tower and antenna array! Nice house too! Laughs! Oh and the shack goes without saying, stay warm up there in the land of the lakes! Thanks 73 KR7SWG
When you speak of the center insolator - is it just a insolator or is it a balun? If so what kind 1:1? Will gave a go at this kind of project myself. Thanks for this video as a nice refencence ON3PHP, Marc
Since my antenna was so close to start with I just left it so I can't tell you from first hand experience on the fan type dipole but if I were to start, I would probably start with the longest leg and work down from there, since each one can effect the other, you may have to go back another time for fine tuning a little but I wouldn't think it would be much.
Thanks, actually I am lucky, I have great neighbors and they don't mind my antennas at all, they know ham radio is a good thing for emergency coms so that is good. They are kind of fascinated by how it works it seems. So I am happy with that!
Just build one like this and sounds good now all I need to do is find out where I am getting this s7-9 noise time to make a beam and walk around the neighborhood. Thanks for the simple clear instructions. Maybe after I can get this noise out of the way I can actually get active on the radio. KF5PVM
You did a very good job describing und illustrating the construction of the antenna! I'm just still a bit unsure of how to tighten the radiators of the antenna at the center feed point of the antenna. I'm scared i won't manage to make the antenna strong enough to keep hanging.
Sounds like the noise is probably coming from some very local things in the house, you might see if you can pinpoint it to something to try to cut the noise down maybe, could be coming from computers or light dimmers or that kind of thing. Or maybe just a lot of things too, then it would be hard to get rid of. I use a pocket AM transistor radio and walk around the area to find the noise sources, tuned to no station.
Thank you Larry your very welcome, and thanks once more for having posted the video in the first place. I do have a question if i may, Would it be ok to make some kind of center feed point like you have but longer so that it is the depth of all the bands of dipoles. Then for me to have terminals for each band and run coax up the inside with branches of to each set of terminals for each band so that the dipoles do not all bunch up together at the feed point,
Great video - thanks for the insight on the choke - I am going to make one for 20, 10, (and should be able to tune up for 11 for recieve) and 6, as thats all I can throw up in my limited yard space. Sick of noisy verticals!
Larry, I just finished putting up my clone of your fan dipole (as an inverted V). I have the 40 meter band tuned sweet as can be. 1.2 at 7.2 mhz. At 7.1 it's 1.1, at 7.3 it's 1.3. I could probably trim an inch or 2 off....but I'm happy. I'll tune the 20 and 10 meter bands tomorrow when it's light out ( about 5 pm local here in Portland, Oregon...so it's getting dark). :-) Thanks for the video. 73 Phil K7JBL Edit: Spent the day tuning the antenna a bit more. Pretty satisfied so far, but the 10 meter band is giving me a fit. Not sure why but I'm not seeing much of anything happen (on the analyzer) @ 29 mhz.
Finally....tuning success. My 40,20 and 10 all have decently acceptable SWR's throughout their bands. 6 is usable with a tuner...but pretty touchy. :-)
Great to hear, and you don't have to cut off the end of the wire if you don't want to, you can just fold it back on itself. That is one way to do it so you don't cut off too much if you want to do it that way!
How critical is it that each length of wire is the exact measurement down to the inch? When cutting the sections is it better to have them a little longer or shorter? I would hate to build this and find out it did not work properly because the measurements were off by a little.
Thanks. Hey, that is a very good idea, that sure would work and would be cheap and easy I would say. Never gave that a thought at the time but thanks for posting that here, might help some others out! 73..Larry
New sub here. I am originally from northern Minnesota. I see you mentioned being from MN. Just passed my Tech & General rest this weekend. Now I have a license to learn. Haha. I am planning on building a fan dipole myself.
Congratulations on the new ticket! That is great to hear. The learning still goes on for me, never ends so glad you got started in the hobby. I am from southern MN, Albert Lea. 73 and have fun with radio.
@@RadioHamGuy hey there. I am just now getting putting my HF in the shack. I am going to do a fan dipole on inverted v and branch out to a vertical and loop maybe. What bands are best to setup for? Are you still using this? Oh we usually drive right through Albert Lea on our trips to northern Minnesota. This year we are staying put in Texas. I will miss my Minnesota family. Who knows when this pandemic is in our past maybe we could have a cup of coffee along I-35 one day. 73!
@@brentjohnson6654 Hi Brent, that is nice to hear you have family in MN and go by my town here on the way. Yes, hopefully next year will be a better year and we can get done with this stuff. I don't have this antenna up anymore, I am always switching things around but it did work very well, now I have another off center fed antenna up in place of that. Right now your best bet would be antennas for 20 and 40 meters but soon you will probably want something up for 10 and 15 as well as the sunspots get underway. 73 and good luck, sounds like you are getting set up well. Have fun with radio....Larry
@@RadioHamGuy thanks I am now looking at 3 bands 20,40, and maybe 17. I am also looking to put up a vertical like the DX commander to get better reach and more bands maybe. Yes hope to be done with the worst of this virus. Back to antennas, I get that you change things around. That is the appeal of this science hobby to me. Thanks for your response and hope to see you on the air soon. 73 de KI5HXM
@@brentjohnson6654 Sounds great and yes, I should have mentioned 17 meters also, that is a great band right now and should be for the coming years. I don't know why that band slipped my mind.
Thanks Larry, another good video. It will be interesting to see if the weather tries to twist it a bit. Also great shot of the bird's eye view up on top. 73 KD8SKG Carl
can you give the links of the supplies? I WANNA BUILD ONE. this looks pretty simple and useful, but i live in a two story house and cant get it on my roof. any suggestions
I'm building a fan dipole per your video. It's looking great so far, but how do you terminate a wire when it gets to the end of a spacer? It's hard to tell from the video. Did you tie the wire off? I'm using 10 AWG, so it's a bit hard to do that.
Great video thank you. Looking to put up a 6-80 if i can swing the length but otherwise this one might be just the thing fornthe yard. may i suggest an item list of parts somewhere in the text. Just found this video. I'm watching this on a ipad on silent mode so have to watch it again when i wont disrupt the meeting im attending. Having the parts lists would help.
+telhack693 Thanks for the comments and suggestions, I will keep that in mind for future videos if I can add a parts list or something, very good idea. 73...Larry
Is there a trick to tuning this? Start with the highest frequency or start at the lowest frequency? I am just getting started and can use all the help I can get!
Thanks! My ft-450d comes with an auto tuner but it can only handle 3:1 SWR and below. I am thinking of getting another external tuner in case the auto tuner cant handle it. I was looking at the wire loop anteannas with the auto couple type tuner's but assuming I was looking at the right thing, they were like over $400...
Great Video. You're the only one who has posted video on this subject. Thanks! I know it's been a while since you've posted this, but how did it work out? I'm not sure I understand how soldering them all at the same point does not sum the lengths of all the wires. Do you think I can construct this with UN-INSULATED wire and achieve similar results? Thanks for the help!
Thanks and yes, you can use un-insulated wire also, makes no difference other than the resonant length might change slightly. If you trim it up to resonance it will work just the same, and mine still works very well. It is a good antenna. They are all soldered at the same point since only the wire at the correct length will have the proper impedance match for the frequency you are on so on the other wires, the impedance will be very high and not recognized. I wish I could explain that better but have limited text length here but that is kind of how it works. You can find more by doing searches on fan dipole antennas.
The individual elements don’t sum because they are not connected at the far ends, and they present a very high impedance to the RF energy coming through the coax feedline when the RF is not at an element’s resonant frequency. So when you’re transmitting at 7 MHz in the 40 meter band, the 40 meter element is resonant and thus appears as a low impedance, so that’s where the energy goes. The other elements appear as high impedances at 7 MHz, so it’s almost like they’re disconnected altogether. The RF energy takes the path of least resistance. You could say the different dipoles are self-selecting as the frequency changes. They’re tied together, shorted, at DC or low frequency AC like house current, but RF doesn’t behave the same way. It’s this phenomenon of “high impedance when out of resonance” that necessitates the various dipole lengths for different frequencies. You have to have a wire of resonant length for each frequency band. If this wasn’t the case, any old length of wire thrown in a tree would work efficiently for an antenna on all bands. In reality, if your “old length of wire” is very far wrong at all, its reluctance to take a transmitter’s output energy can cause that energy to find a destructive alternative path-arcing in final tubes, across capacitors, blowing transistors. Resonance is both fascinating and a nuisance at the same time. It’s a factor in reception, too. A resonant antenna will pull in more signals, but since reception is concerned with levels of microvolts, there are no fireworks!
Liked your tip on using a hot glue gun to keep the spacers in place. That's a great tip. I'll be using that one to build a 6/10/12/15/20/40/75 fan dipole. Do you have any tips on tuning the antenna? Start with the lowest/highest band first for example?
how is that a high standing wave ratio on received signal. a good thing. I have try to match 20 million ohm to 50 ohm coax. that is a huge mismatch. I think a 16 to 1 unbalanced to unbalanced impedance transformer. would help bring down the SWR and get less loss of signals.
I was wondering if you could make a tuned ground plane for a 1/4 wave 11 meter antenna you would be using your same materials you construct your other antennas but with the radial wires working as the ground plane instead of transmitting and the top cap I can screw on a 102 inch whip, have the pvc pipe be about 7 inches from n-connector lead to coax to the fastener for the whip antenna.. plan on mounting to a 20 foot galvanized pipe with U bolts and a bracket to the side of the house and running ground wire to a grounding rod and mounting the ground plane wires from this unit to the side of the house with zipties to a nail
A bit of advice from an old crumudgeon. You can't tie the 4 together at the feed point. They need to be 39 inches apart, one below another. That is true all the way out to the antenna ends (you have them too close together, adding capacitance, decoupling each other). Use as much ladder line as you can to the shack. Then make a 4 to 1 balun about 6 inches long and screw it to the radio (forget that RF in the shack nonsense if your not running high power). Then forget the tuner, also forget that dip meter, they don't work! Sweep it with a Scencore Z meter if you want the truth. Throw away the choke (RG58 looses 3 db per 100 feet) half your power is wasted before it gets to the antenna. Unless you don't mind some "hotdog" QRPer with a correct antenna kicking your butt with his 5 watts :) 73 AE4YW
This information from Mr Dickson is not correct. Everything the video author has said will work perfectly. Fiddle with the antenna until you are bored with it, then let the station tuner do its magic - I have a two element 80/40 FD and the tuner will put it on any HF band. The Fan Dipole is a great newbie antenna - easy and cheap to make, and a good opportunity to tune and adjust a homemade thing. Plain ol' cheap galvanised mild-steel fencing wire is fine to use as well - use the thin stuff, you can make a lot of antennas out of a very cheap roll of fencing wire. Buy a tube of thick construction adhesive, and mold it over electrical joins with wet fingers - much cheaper than coax seal. Use electric fence insulators - cheap! The most expensive part of any antenna should be the coax or the plug on the end. ;)
Steve Wright The information I gave was and is exactly correct :) The object is to get the antenna on resonance. If you use a tuner, your radio may be satisfied, but your signal will be very weak. With a tuner you can tune up a barbwire fence or a stepladder but that won't make it a good antenna! Such things as a G5RV will tune up, but they are poor antennas. My dummy load reads perfect SWR but is a very poor antenna. An antenna must be at frequency resonance to work at maximum. You must decide if your object is to satisfy a $20 SWR meter or to broadcast radio signals!
Did you cut the wire to exact length or a bit longer for when you rap it around itself off the isolator. That is the part I always get confused on in watching these videos. Cant the wire be longer as long as it is twisted around itself at the correct length
I think I will make one like this. I have a 60 foot tower and a nice sized yard and want to do 80 m, 40m, 30m, 17m, 15m, 12m, 10m. I hope that isn't asking for to much. But I have the time to work it out. I still need to take my test to get my license.
No updates other than it worked great for me for a long time and then I took it down to try some other experiments, but I did love the fan dipole antenna. Worked just fine for me for a few years until I needed room to try some other antennas.
+Bruce Wayne Most of the time the half wave seems to work about the best but all depends I guess, with a full wave you will start getting a lot of lobes off the antenna that will distort the pattern much more as far as I know, maybe someone else can comment more here on this topic...
Larry Great Video, Question about the spacers to keep wire apart and mentioned glue gun, what is the actual way of putting wire through spacers and having keep them from moving. Do you put glue in holes each side ,fill pvc pipe full of Glue and let harden ? thanks for video Rich KC2CZK
Great video, Larry!! That looks like the perfect thing for me! I do have one question about that antenna... What's a good height at which to have it? Is it one of those "the higher the better" things? I'm all about being backpack mobile. 73! KF5RHI, back to control!
I see 7in long and 16in space apart. But what is space between the wires on first set of instructors.. bc I make one going to try get 80m 40m 20m and add other as I try them out...
When making spacers, such as sm. pieces of PVC pipe, etc, is there any documentation anywhere that would give guidance to a homebrewer as to the minimum distance between the legs of the fan-dipole? How far should the wires for each band be separated from other bands? Thank you for your time and assistance. Raymond - WF7BSR
I really have not seen any specific information on the minimum distance but I know it is not very critical as long as you keep the wires at least an inch or two apart I would say from my experience. The farther apart they are the less interaction between them for tuning the antenna so that would make it a little easier to tune possibly but I wouldn't worry to much about it, maybe someone else can comment on that here also.
thank alot for the video david,, very well explained,, the only downside was, all those tins of SPAM made me hungry, spam spam spam thankyou man ;) good luck 73s
Nice job. I am thinking I would orient the dipole vertically for 6m, 2m and 70cm. I live in an part of the Santa Cruz mountains with plenty of challenges, so buying something new didn't make a lot of sense, plus I have plenty of stuff lying around I could use. Anyway, thanks! 73, KJ6BLP
Hey Larry old buddy, I could use some help from you… I’m going to be buying either an ICOM 7300 or a Yaesu FTDX 3000. I’ve never had a ham transceiver before nor an antenna… I need to find an inexpensive way to use my antenna in a multi band configuration without a tower. Can you give me any recommendations of multi band antennas that would work? Preferably an expensive vertical. I could sure use your help my friend as I’m trying to make sure my radio can pick up and use phone internationally
For a vertical, they are good for DX contacts as long as you use a ground radial system, I know a local ham who really loves his Zero 5 vertical, you might look that up on youtube here to see what they are, they have multiband or monoband antennas. If you are looking for something simple to hang in the air to a couple trees, a good way might be an off center fed dipole, that it what I use most of the time here and you can use them on several bands with just the built in antenna tuner in the radio. Most of the time it is close to resonance without the tuner on most bands. Both of those HF radios are a good choice, I have the FTDX 3000 and love it and I know others who have the 7300 and say that is also a great radio.
I must say if you want something to properly seal your coax connector and leaves it fairly clean when removed throw the coax seal away and get some electrical rubber splice tape. Electricians used it for decades! It seals just as good, lasts just as long and doesn't leave a huge mess when you remove it. Also it doesn't ooze like coax seal in the heat! The more heat the more this stuff bonds together! You can try it or experiment with it. Soft rubbery tape you stretch and it bonds to itself in each layer forming a complete encased connector or splice in a rubber like mold. When u need to remove it run a knife down one side of it, split it open and throw it away and your done! No gooey tar messy black .....stuff all over everything! =] DE WW5RM
Yes, that is a great point, thanks, the coax seal does end up being messy after a while, I know just what you mean. Very hard to clean off if you need to replace the connector at some point or save it. I have not tried that tape but sounds good to me.
RadioHamGuy oh yes its great! Lowes has it which is the cheapest but electrical supply do to. That's the only downside it is more expensive but well worth it! Not as easy to put on but any electrician knows how to splice and tape so it just takes a little practice stretching it while you layer it on. Plus start near the middle of the connector so you cover the start point, cover that side past the connector then back track back over the connector/splice out past it a reasonable distance then come back to the start point....roughly. Now most electricians I've seen then put regular black tape over that....um at least two layers but if you do that you will have black tape dangling below it if its in the heat and sun in a few months or less. I usually take a zip tie and go over the end or stop point of the rubber tape. Once some heat hits it the bonding begins and even if the zip tie or black tape come off its there! I mean a bonded, molded sealed unit! It takes a little practice and time to get it right but its well worth it when it comes time to remove the connector! =]
RadioHamGuy oh o live in Texas and never tried it in colder climates. I got my ticket in Kansas but never tried it up there. But on a cold day which for here is never below 10 normally but i never venture out to work on stuff below 25 or so. I always warm it up near the heater and keep it and a roll of black tape in my pocket. Plus don't store the rubber splice tape in the hot sun or a hot shop. It will get soft and difficult to work with.....lol Get you a roll tear off a piece and experiment with it. You see how it is, what its stretch limits are and such. It just takes a little time and experience to learn how to use it to form that perfect seal or bond. Let me know how it works for you. ww5rm@yahoo.com
ww5rm Yes, well it has sure been a cold year here in MN, I am ready for summer. I will get some of that this summer and try it out. I have been using some of the 3M electrical tape for things around the shack and that bonds well also but not like the kind you are talking about probably, just for general electrical use with the 3M tape. Thanks again for the good advice though.
This is what we used for sealing RG6 connectors in satellite dish installations. Works absolutely great, the only issue is, if it is raining, it won't stick until it is dry. But a zip tie will hold it in place.......www.mocap.com/silicone-tape.html
How much transmitting power was your rig pushing on the 80m Band? And regarding transmitting and receiving, what was furthest distance you hit up on a contact both simplex as well as via another repeater?
I am not sure of the longest distance but I have made many contacts with it to several other countries, not using repeaters however, this was direct on the HF bands.
Great video and thanks for the information. I am a general class who has finally decided to make my first antenna. It will definately be a dipole but I might just try to do a single band first. Question though, for you. I've always been told soldering makes great electrical connections but bad MECHANICAL connections. Does standard solder (the kind one would use for circuit boards) provide enough strenth to supoort the wait of the other components of the antenna and cable? Thanks for the help as well as the video,
Jonathan, solder makes a poor mechanical connection. That means if you DEPEND on the solder for the mechanical strength, you made a poor joint. The solution is to join the wires MECHANICALLY, and only THEN add the solder. Once the iron has a bit of molten solder on it, do not apply any more solder to the iron. Thoroughly twist the wires together , and THEN touch the iron to the bottom of the joint, and apply solder to the top of the joint. Remember to protect the soldered joint from the elements (shrink tubing, silicone sealant, self-sealing antenna tape - even electrical tape in a pinch). Good Luck! Bob, N3FM
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Something to consider structurally, the solder removes any flexibility in the stranded copper wire. So make your solder connection away from a pivot point. That way it won't cause your wire to break over time with movement (wind etc.). 73's NG7I
Great video! One thing I would advise those doing this project; when making any wire antenna, I temporarily mount it on a pole in the yard before stringing it up high, this way you can trim or lengthen without climbing back up the tower.
This video is 8 years old but is very informative. Thank You for making it.
Tip: I've been playing around with building antennas from scratch the last couple years and since we're already using "metric" for the wavelengths anyway, I decided to just DITCH the imperial tape measure for a metric one so I don't have to "convert" any measurements or deal with fractions or mess with converting 10ths of an inch to a fraction either. HOLY COW was that the BEST $8 I think I've ever spent on ham radio! Not only do you save the time it takes to convert measurements but it's also a HECK of a lot more precise, there's more increments "per inch" if you just use metric. Good video BTW, I keep debating whether or not to build one of these, but I'd need to make a "vertical" one for my quad band radio with 70cm/2m/6m/10m.
oh god, keep metric spreading! As a metric guy I hate any info in imperial... And most english sources are imperial :(
@@HardAxe yeah, HATE fractions. Hey how many feet in a mile? Ummm... 🤔dunno 3k something? Now how many many meters in a kilometer? 1000! [yeah, don't even have to be a Brit to figure that out...]
Thanks! I'm just trying to get up and running. My HF is sick, but it's out for some help, and a friend came over with his good stuff and we got a 20M wire up, but I think I'm going to add a 40M. This video is very detailed and shows me gauges, etc. I had the formula, but wasn't sure about the wire gauge, and the tie cable size. COOL! Thanks for a great video.
I know it's 5 years in the rear view mirror but antenna design doesn't change over time. Thanks, great video and inspiration to "roll my own".
The fan dipole uses way more wire than a good OCDF- Off Center Fed Dipole. The standard configuration to start with is 90x45, and use a balun Design OCFD balun for the best results. That balun is marked as to which side the longe element goes to, so make sure you get the correct balun. I can work 2M .70CM, 6M, 10M, 12M, 17M, 18M, 20M, 40M, and a smart part of 80M on my OCFD using no tuner. If I use the Tuner, it helps on some bands that have a narrow window of use. In all cases, the antenna works really well.
The fan dipole has a few things it can do due to the proximity of the elements to each other. The only bad thing that can happen is to generate harmonics.
I made one for 160m-75m (half wave) and it works great. I just added a Balun Designs 1:1 to the center and will be adding 60m. I did not bother with insulators and just strung the legs out at different angles from the tower. I also keep a "balun pully" on my Rohn 25's hazer for easy up and down of the dipole from the ground. You will always need a tuner for broadband operation of these dipoles. 73
Many thanks again, Larry, for your prompt and informative reply. I don't know whether you get to Asia-Pacific at all, but if and when you visit Hong Kong be sure to let me know. Happy to extend accommodation and hospitality. All the best, Peter
Thanks Peter, it sure would be fun to visit. Never know I guess, maybe someday but I sure appreciate the hospitality. 73
Great job. Nice editing, stays to the facts, useful!
Thank you very much Paul!
RadioHamGuy I have a Browning Golden Eagle for if you're interested or know somebody else interested I'm selling it for $300 please reply
I miss you
GREAT video! An incredibly BIG installation job for one man.
Larry this has been the most instructional and comprehensive video I have watched anywhere so far on the problem of getting a n antenna up and running. My problem still is the HOA I'm in I need a stealth hf ant. lol have a great day.
Patrick Kerr Thanks Patrick, appreciate that!
Patrick Kerr I have a M.F.J. loop. Only 3 a foot circle. A little to heavy to move in and out every day but some guy's do and some put it in there attic. Yahoo has a group for it you might check it out. It is a bit pricey.
leo sav I just got a mfj 1625- just have to figure out how to put it together and up. not many instructions with it. My next project is the Homemade Loop The MFJ one is really too expensive for me. lol
leo sav I made my own mag loop, in about that same size - I used the air variable tuner capacitor from an old Hallicrafters S-38 receiver, and it works well for listening - it could be used also for QRP transmitting, but I have not tried that yet. Basically a loop of LMR600 cable for the main loop, with a small loop of LMR400. It will tune 80 meters and all the way up past 20 meters. Just tune for maximum noise on the band you want to work. I am in an apartment and listen to 3913 KHz every night...
Paul Thompson Nice videos Larry - I watch all of them I can find - probably quite a few I haven't found yet.
Thanks for taking the time and making the effort to teach us novices.
Easy to follow, detailed video. Great work.
Planning to buy my first HT radio, an FT-450D, along with a G5RV.
But now I may try to build this antenna, instead of buying G5.
Roger, Trinidad & Tobago.
9Z3RM (TTO), KK4NAD (USA).
Lot of snow and cold in the winter and plenty of hot and humidity in the summer but I like summer the best, lot of changes in season here, one extreme to the other. Severe weather starts about April and goes through June for the most part with some tornadoes, hail and wind etc. I do have a few Uniden scanners as well as Radio Shack models from over the years.
I think I'll try building your fan dipole antenna. I guess it'll be much more fun than just building one with a never used ICOM MN-100 antenna matcher I've got stored for a long time. Thanks for your time and dedication. 73 from PY5WHO, Brazil.
Nice antenna setup, great video. I was impressed with your antenna setup...your shack looks great. Nice layout.
Awesome project👍planning on taking my ham licence exam soon. Very useful information for a novice like me all the best my good friend👍
Thanks and good luck on the exam, you will have a lot of fun with radio I am sure! 73
Thank you for putting in all the effort to make this video. I'm learning and it's great to see someone build from scratch - I prefer that to buying off the shelf, just the DIY demon I'm possessed by I suppose
thats quite a setup you have there. No HOA near you. lol.
I don't think I've seen that type in action before. Nice job!👍
Give that a try, it should work ok, the swr might be a little tricky but if you have tuner, should be no problem. Won't be quite as good as up in the clear but at least it should get you on the air and making contacts. Might pick up a little more noise also and you might want to run lower power if you have RF problems. Another option might be a wire loop antenna as long as possible with an auto couple type tuner right in the attic connected directly to antenna.
nice work!
all that equipment in the background makes me drool!
I think I tied a knot at the very end of each leg of the dipoles at the last spacer but on the spacers that are not at the end I just used the hot glue, it held very secure and if it did come lose, I don't think the spacers will move around much anyhow. No problems with mine yet and it works just fine, I would think it would work better than a G5RV on the bands you cut if for since it is a full size dipole on those bands but I have not compared it to a G5RV I guess so can't say for sure.
Nice video, I enjoyed watching. I want to build a multi-band dipole for SWL and I found your video really helpful. It proves to me, no matter your level of experience with the right components anyone can build a nice antenna. Again Thanks for sharing. 73's brian
Bar-none the BEST lesson in the practicalities of antennas I have found yet...and I've been trying to understand how to use them for years. Brilliantly easy to understand, AND now I would actually be comfortable even building one.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
This is the best antenna video I’ve seen ! He explains everything so simple ..
Thanks, well the cost really depends on what you might have on hand but the most cost would be the coax cable depending on how much you needed to get to the shack and the wire for the antenna, but you don't really need anything special for wire, just something that will hold up over time. The PVC I used was very inexpensive, just a few dollars for all.
Hi there, WOW !! what a great video, for a keen listener but with fairly limited knowledge like myself, this was great stuff, I see you have a Realistic Pro-2006 too, I've had mine since new prob 20yrs ago and still I'd say one of the best for day to day listening. Another subscriber just clicked !!
Thanks, and yes, I have had my Pro-2006 probably for about the same amount of time and it is still working although the display is dim, normal problem with those, there is a place you can get new displays out there I have seen. 73 and thanks again for the post...Larry
Very Helpful. You are a great teacher. Thank you so much.
Awesome video, awesome tower and antenna array! Nice house too! Laughs! Oh and the shack goes without saying, stay warm up there in the land of the lakes! Thanks 73 KR7SWG
Roger Thunderhands Gilbert Thanks a lot Roger, appreciate it very much! 73 and have fun with radio!...Larry
Yes, that works great, I have seen many done that way. Not a problem at all to do it that way.
I hear "Majah Rushie" playing in the background. Ditto-head greetings!
Yes, Ditto-head greetings to you!
When you speak of the center insolator - is it just a insolator or is it a balun?
If so what kind 1:1?
Will gave a go at this kind of project myself.
Thanks for this video as a nice refencence
ON3PHP, Marc
Merci pour votre description pleine de bons conseils
73's to France
Best regards
Since my antenna was so close to start with I just left it so I can't tell you from first hand experience on the fan type dipole but if I were to start, I would probably start with the longest leg and work down from there, since each one can effect the other, you may have to go back another time for fine tuning a little but I wouldn't think it would be much.
Thanks, actually I am lucky, I have great neighbors and they don't mind my antennas at all, they know ham radio is a good thing for emergency coms so that is good. They are kind of fascinated by how it works it seems. So I am happy with that!
Just build one like this and sounds good now all I need to do is find out where I am getting this s7-9 noise time to make a beam and walk around the neighborhood. Thanks for the simple clear instructions. Maybe after I can get this noise out of the way I can actually get active on the radio.
KF5PVM
You did a very good job describing und illustrating the construction of the antenna! I'm just still a bit unsure of how to tighten the radiators of the antenna at the center feed point of the antenna. I'm scared i won't manage to make the antenna strong enough to keep hanging.
Sounds like the noise is probably coming from some very local things in the house, you might see if you can pinpoint it to something to try to cut the noise down maybe, could be coming from computers or light dimmers or that kind of thing. Or maybe just a lot of things too, then it would be hard to get rid of. I use a pocket AM transistor radio and walk around the area to find the noise sources, tuned to no station.
Thank you Larry your very welcome, and thanks once more for having posted the video in the first place. I do have a question if i may, Would it be ok to make some kind of center feed point like you have but longer so that it is the depth of all the bands of dipoles. Then for me to have terminals for each band and run coax up the inside with branches of to each set of terminals for each band so that the dipoles do not all bunch up together at the feed point,
Great video - thanks for the insight on the choke - I am going to make one for 20, 10, (and should be able to tune up for 11 for recieve) and 6, as thats all I can throw up in my limited yard space. Sick of noisy verticals!
Sounds great, thanks for the good tips. Yes, I have used the W2AU baluns also, good stuff.
Larry,
I just finished putting up my clone of your fan dipole (as an inverted V). I have the 40 meter band tuned sweet as can be. 1.2 at 7.2 mhz. At 7.1 it's 1.1, at 7.3 it's 1.3. I could probably trim an inch or 2 off....but I'm happy. I'll tune the 20 and 10 meter bands tomorrow when it's light out ( about 5 pm local here in Portland, Oregon...so it's getting dark). :-)
Thanks for the video.
73
Phil
K7JBL
Edit:
Spent the day tuning the antenna a bit more. Pretty satisfied so far, but the 10 meter band is giving me a fit. Not sure why but I'm not seeing much of anything happen (on the analyzer) @ 29 mhz.
Finally....tuning success. My 40,20 and 10 all have decently acceptable SWR's throughout their bands. 6 is usable with a tuner...but pretty touchy. :-)
Great to hear, and you don't have to cut off the end of the wire if you don't want to, you can just fold it back on itself. That is one way to do it so you don't cut off too much if you want to do it that way!
How critical is it that each length of wire is the exact measurement down to the inch? When cutting the sections is it better to have them a little longer or shorter? I would hate to build this and find out it did not work properly because the measurements were off by a little.
I do like your drawing of radial lengths but I find it more important to be able to read your writing. Good job.
very informative and helpful tutorial with great practical application. Thank you.
Thanks. Hey, that is a very good idea, that sure would work and would be cheap and easy I would say. Never gave that a thought at the time but thanks for posting that here, might help some others out! 73..Larry
Excellent and thorough discussion. Thanks!
Sounds great Bill, hope it works well for you and maybe work you on the air some day, 73..
New sub here. I am originally from northern Minnesota. I see you mentioned being from MN. Just passed my Tech & General rest this weekend. Now I have a license to learn. Haha. I am planning on building a fan dipole myself.
Congratulations on the new ticket! That is great to hear. The learning still goes on for me, never ends so glad you got started in the hobby. I am from southern MN, Albert Lea. 73 and have fun with radio.
@@RadioHamGuy hey there. I am just now getting putting my HF in the shack. I am going to do a fan dipole on inverted v and branch out to a vertical and loop maybe. What bands are best to setup for? Are you still using this? Oh we usually drive right through Albert Lea on our trips to northern Minnesota. This year we are staying put in Texas. I will miss my Minnesota family. Who knows when this pandemic is in our past maybe we could have a cup of coffee along I-35 one day. 73!
@@brentjohnson6654 Hi Brent, that is nice to hear you have family in MN and go by my town here on the way. Yes, hopefully next year will be a better year and we can get done with this stuff. I don't have this antenna up anymore, I am always switching things around but it did work very well, now I have another off center fed antenna up in place of that. Right now your best bet would be antennas for 20 and 40 meters but soon you will probably want something up for 10 and 15 as well as the sunspots get underway. 73 and good luck, sounds like you are getting set up well. Have fun with radio....Larry
@@RadioHamGuy thanks I am now looking at 3 bands 20,40, and maybe 17. I am also looking to put up a vertical like the DX commander to get better reach and more bands maybe. Yes hope to be done with the worst of this virus. Back to antennas, I get that you change things around. That is the appeal of this science hobby to me. Thanks for your response and hope to see you on the air soon. 73 de KI5HXM
@@brentjohnson6654 Sounds great and yes, I should have mentioned 17 meters also, that is a great band right now and should be for the coming years. I don't know why that band slipped my mind.
Awesome video, exactly what i needed. thank you
Very helpful. I think that I might like to try and build one . You took the fear and mystery out of such a project. Thank you for your help. N4KBM
Thanks Larry, another good video. It will be interesting to see if the weather tries to twist it a bit. Also great shot of the bird's eye view up on top.
73
KD8SKG
Carl
You are a specialist..very good
Just for clarification, I think you meant 'it is a full HALF wave on each band'.
A vertical would typically be a quarter wave.
73 es gud dx
Thanks, that is very good to hear!
enjoyed your video. you did a great job.😀🇺🇸
dude! that is one sick set up!
can you give the links of the supplies? I WANNA BUILD ONE. this looks pretty simple and useful, but i live in a two story house and cant get it on my roof. any suggestions
How would this antenna work with 450 ohm ladder line instead of co-ax?
I will leave that open for others to comment. I don't want to give any bad advice since I have not tried ladder line with this type antenna.
Was that Rush in the background in your garage?
Well done - Very clean build.
+Warren Allred Thanks Warren!
I'm building a fan dipole per your video. It's looking great so far, but how do you terminate a wire when it gets to the end of a spacer? It's hard to tell from the video. Did you tie the wire off? I'm using 10 AWG, so it's a bit hard to do that.
I'd just cut it a couple inches long and put a knot in it.
Great build! 2 questions, would non jacketed wire work? and do you think it would work in an attic? Thanks for sharing.
Mark KG5ERC
Great video. Is the dipole antenna used for local or distance?
thank you for the in depth video! nice job.
Great video thank you. Looking to put up a 6-80 if i can swing the length but otherwise this one might be just the thing fornthe yard. may i suggest an item list of parts somewhere in the text. Just found this video. I'm watching this on a ipad on silent mode so have to watch it again when i wont disrupt the meeting im attending. Having the parts lists would help.
+telhack693 Thanks for the comments and suggestions, I will keep that in mind for future videos if I can add a parts list or something, very good idea. 73...Larry
Is there a trick to tuning this? Start with the highest frequency or start at the lowest frequency? I am just getting started and can use all the help I can get!
Thanks! My ft-450d comes with an auto tuner but it can only handle 3:1 SWR and below. I am thinking of getting another external tuner in case the auto tuner cant handle it. I was looking at the wire loop anteannas with the auto couple type tuner's but assuming I was looking at the right thing, they were like over $400...
Hand radio supply is it's been out of business for some time am I getting that old. Thanks for the video
Yes I we lost a good one there, I used to order from them a lot.
Great Video. You're the only one who has posted video on this subject. Thanks! I know it's been a while since you've posted this, but how did it work out? I'm not sure I understand how soldering them all at the same point does not sum the lengths of all the wires. Do you think I can construct this with UN-INSULATED wire and achieve similar results? Thanks for the help!
Thanks and yes, you can use un-insulated wire also, makes no difference other than the resonant length might change slightly. If you trim it up to resonance it will work just the same, and mine still works very well. It is a good antenna. They are all soldered at the same point since only the wire at the correct length will have the proper impedance match for the frequency you are on so on the other wires, the impedance will be very high and not recognized. I wish I could explain that better but have limited text length here but that is kind of how it works. You can find more by doing searches on fan dipole antennas.
The individual elements don’t sum because they are not connected at the far ends, and they present a very high impedance to the RF energy coming through the coax feedline when the RF is not at an element’s resonant frequency. So when you’re transmitting at 7 MHz in the 40 meter band, the 40 meter element is resonant and thus appears as a low impedance, so that’s where the energy goes. The other elements appear as high impedances at 7 MHz, so it’s almost like they’re disconnected altogether. The RF energy takes the path of least resistance. You could say the different dipoles are self-selecting as the frequency changes. They’re tied together, shorted, at DC or low frequency AC like house current, but RF doesn’t behave the same way.
It’s this phenomenon of “high impedance when out of resonance” that necessitates the various dipole lengths for different frequencies. You have to have a wire of resonant length for each frequency band. If this wasn’t the case, any old length of wire thrown in a tree would work efficiently for an antenna on all bands. In reality, if your “old length of wire” is very far wrong at all, its reluctance to take a transmitter’s output energy can cause that energy to find a destructive alternative path-arcing in final tubes, across capacitors, blowing transistors. Resonance is both fascinating and a nuisance at the same time.
It’s a factor in reception, too. A resonant antenna will pull in more signals, but since reception is concerned with levels of microvolts, there are no fireworks!
Great video and a very interesting antenna project, thanks for sharing
Liked your tip on using a hot glue gun to keep the spacers in place. That's a great tip. I'll be using that one to build a 6/10/12/15/20/40/75 fan dipole. Do you have any tips on tuning the antenna? Start with the lowest/highest band first for example?
very good. construction (40-20-15-10-6) or (40-20-10-6) ? I don't see 15 meters.
I want to build a similar antenna.
73 by PP8FA.
how is that a high standing wave ratio on received signal. a good thing. I have try to match 20 million ohm to 50 ohm coax. that is a huge mismatch. I think a 16 to 1 unbalanced to unbalanced impedance transformer. would help bring down the SWR and get less loss of signals.
I was wondering if you could make a tuned ground plane for a 1/4 wave 11 meter antenna you would be using your same materials you construct your other antennas but with the radial wires working as the ground plane instead of transmitting and the top cap I can screw on a 102 inch whip, have the pvc pipe be about 7 inches from n-connector lead to coax to the fastener for the whip antenna.. plan on mounting to a 20 foot galvanized pipe with U bolts and a bracket to the side of the house and running ground wire to a grounding rod and mounting the ground plane wires from this unit to the side of the house with zipties to a nail
Yes the same materials would work fine, sounds like what you are thinking should work well.
A bit of advice from an old crumudgeon. You can't tie the 4 together at the feed point. They need to be 39 inches apart, one below another. That is true all the way out to the antenna ends (you have them too close together, adding capacitance, decoupling each other). Use as much ladder line as you can to the shack. Then make a 4 to 1 balun about 6 inches long and screw it to the radio (forget that RF in the shack nonsense if your not running high power). Then forget the tuner, also forget that dip meter, they don't work! Sweep it with a Scencore Z meter if you want the truth. Throw away the choke (RG58 looses 3 db per 100 feet) half your power is wasted before it gets to the antenna. Unless you don't mind some "hotdog" QRPer with a correct antenna kicking your butt with his 5 watts :) 73 AE4YW
This information from Mr Dickson is not correct. Everything the video author has said will work perfectly. Fiddle with the antenna until you are bored with it, then let the station tuner do its magic - I have a two element 80/40 FD and the tuner will put it on any HF band. The Fan Dipole is a great newbie antenna - easy and cheap to make, and a good opportunity to tune and adjust a homemade thing. Plain ol' cheap galvanised mild-steel fencing wire is fine to use as well - use the thin stuff, you can make a lot of antennas out of a very cheap roll of fencing wire. Buy a tube of thick construction adhesive, and mold it over electrical joins with wet fingers - much cheaper than coax seal. Use electric fence insulators - cheap! The most expensive part of any antenna should be the coax or the plug on the end. ;)
Steve Wright The information I gave was and is exactly correct :) The object is to get the antenna on resonance. If you use a tuner, your radio may be satisfied, but your signal will be very weak. With a tuner you can tune up a barbwire fence or a stepladder but that won't make it a good antenna! Such things as a G5RV will tune up, but they are poor antennas. My dummy load reads perfect SWR but is a very poor antenna. An antenna must be at frequency resonance to work at maximum. You must decide if your object is to satisfy a $20 SWR meter or to broadcast radio signals!
Did you cut the wire to exact length or a bit longer for when you rap it around itself off the isolator. That is the part I always get confused on in watching these videos. Cant the wire be longer as long as it is twisted around itself at the correct length
Yes, best to cut a little longer and it can just be folded back on itself to be adjusted, that works very well for me.
I think I will make one like this. I have a 60 foot tower and a nice sized yard and want to do 80 m, 40m, 30m, 17m, 15m, 12m, 10m. I hope that isn't asking for to much. But I have the time to work it out. I still need to take my test to get my license.
Any updates on the multi band dipole?
No updates other than it worked great for me for a long time and then I took it down to try some other experiments, but I did love the fan dipole antenna. Worked just fine for me for a few years until I needed room to try some other antennas.
Very good multi dipole antenna. It's working nice. Vy de 73 OV1AV, Denmark
+Asger Vind Kristensen Glad to hear that Asger! 73
Nice job. Enjoyable and informative.
Excellent video. Well done and thank you!
Thanks Jake, glad you enjoyed the video!
Thanks for posting the video. Nice setup you have.
Very helpful !
If one has the space, is a full wavelength antenna better than a half wave?
+Bruce Wayne Most of the time the half wave seems to work about the best but all depends I guess, with a full wave you will start getting a lot of lobes off the antenna that will distort the pattern much more as far as I know, maybe someone else can comment more here on this topic...
Larry, thanks for the idea... Used your tips to make mine. Hope to work you on the air fan to fan!!! 73s and keep the videos coming!!! Bill N2NDF
Larry Great Video, Question about the spacers to keep wire apart and mentioned glue gun, what is the actual way of putting wire through spacers and having keep them from moving. Do you put glue in holes each side ,fill pvc pipe full of Glue and let harden ?
thanks for video
Rich
KC2CZK
Great video, Larry!! That looks like the perfect thing for me! I do have one question about that antenna... What's a good height at which to have it? Is it one of those "the higher the better" things? I'm all about being backpack mobile.
73! KF5RHI, back to control!
thank you for a great video !!! much appreciated. great work !!
I see 7in long and 16in space apart. But what is space between the wires on first set of instructors.. bc I make one going to try get 80m 40m 20m and add other as I try them out...
When making spacers, such as sm. pieces of PVC pipe, etc, is there any documentation anywhere that would give guidance to a homebrewer as to the minimum distance between the legs of the fan-dipole? How far should the wires for each band be separated from other bands?
Thank you for your time and assistance.
Raymond - WF7BSR
I really have not seen any specific information on the minimum distance but I know it is not very critical as long as you keep the wires at least an inch or two apart I would say from my experience. The farther apart they are the less interaction between them for tuning the antenna so that would make it a little easier to tune possibly but I wouldn't worry to much about it, maybe someone else can comment on that here also.
Thank you!
Thanks for the video, great stuff. Lots of good info. 73's
thank alot for the video david,, very well explained,, the only downside was, all those tins of SPAM made me hungry, spam spam spam thankyou man ;) good luck 73s
Nice job. I am thinking I would orient the dipole vertically for 6m, 2m and 70cm. I live in an part of the Santa Cruz mountains with plenty of challenges, so buying something new didn't make a lot of sense, plus I have plenty of stuff lying around I could use. Anyway, thanks! 73, KJ6BLP
Hey Larry old buddy, I could use some help from you… I’m going to be buying either an ICOM 7300 or a Yaesu FTDX 3000. I’ve never had a ham transceiver before nor an antenna… I need to find an inexpensive way to use my antenna in a multi band configuration without a tower. Can you give me any recommendations of multi band antennas that would work? Preferably an expensive vertical. I could sure use your help my friend as I’m trying to make sure my radio can pick up and use phone internationally
For a vertical, they are good for DX contacts as long as you use a ground radial system, I know a local ham who really loves his Zero 5 vertical, you might look that up on youtube here to see what they are, they have multiband or monoband antennas. If you are looking for something simple to hang in the air to a couple trees, a good way might be an off center fed dipole, that it what I use most of the time here and you can use them on several bands with just the built in antenna tuner in the radio. Most of the time it is close to resonance without the tuner on most bands. Both of those HF radios are a good choice, I have the FTDX 3000 and love it and I know others who have the 7300 and say that is also a great radio.
good work , you got me worried up on that tower
Thanks for a great video!
I must say if you want something to properly seal your coax connector and leaves it fairly clean when removed throw the coax seal away and get some electrical rubber splice tape. Electricians used it for decades! It seals just as good, lasts just as long and doesn't leave a huge mess when you remove it. Also it doesn't ooze like coax seal in the heat! The more heat the more this stuff bonds together! You can try it or experiment with it. Soft rubbery tape you stretch and it bonds to itself in each layer forming a complete encased connector or splice in a rubber like mold. When u need to remove it run a knife down one side of it, split it open and throw it away and your done! No gooey tar messy black .....stuff all over everything! =]
DE WW5RM
Yes, that is a great point, thanks, the coax seal does end up being messy after a while, I know just what you mean. Very hard to clean off if you need to replace the connector at some point or save it. I have not tried that tape but sounds good to me.
RadioHamGuy oh yes its great! Lowes has it which is the cheapest but electrical supply do to. That's the only downside it is more expensive but well worth it! Not as easy to put on but any electrician knows how to splice and tape so it just takes a little practice stretching it while you layer it on. Plus start near the middle of the connector so you cover the start point, cover that side past the connector then back track back over the connector/splice out past it a reasonable distance then come back to the start point....roughly. Now most electricians I've seen then put regular black tape over that....um at least two layers but if you do that you will have black tape dangling below it if its in the heat and sun in a few months or less. I usually take a zip tie and go over the end or stop point of the rubber tape. Once some heat hits it the bonding begins and even if the zip tie or black tape come off its there! I mean a bonded, molded sealed unit! It takes a little practice and time to get it right but its well worth it when it comes time to remove the connector! =]
RadioHamGuy oh o live in Texas and never tried it in colder climates. I got my ticket in Kansas but never tried it up there. But on a cold day which for here is never below 10 normally but i never venture out to work on stuff below 25 or so. I always warm it up near the heater and keep it and a roll of black tape in my pocket. Plus don't store the rubber splice tape in the hot sun or a hot shop. It will get soft and difficult to work with.....lol
Get you a roll tear off a piece and experiment with it. You see how it is, what its stretch limits are and such. It just takes a little time and experience to learn how to use it to form that perfect seal or bond. Let me know how it works for you. ww5rm@yahoo.com
ww5rm Yes, well it has sure been a cold year here in MN, I am ready for summer. I will get some of that this summer and try it out. I have been using some of the 3M electrical tape for things around the shack and that bonds well also but not like the kind you are talking about probably, just for general electrical use with the 3M tape. Thanks again for the good advice though.
This is what we used for sealing RG6 connectors in satellite dish installations. Works absolutely great, the only issue is, if it is raining, it won't stick until it is dry. But a zip tie will hold it in place.......www.mocap.com/silicone-tape.html
How much transmitting power was your rig pushing on the 80m Band? And regarding transmitting and receiving, what was furthest distance you hit up on a contact both simplex as well as via another repeater?
I am not sure of the longest distance but I have made many contacts with it to several other countries, not using repeaters however, this was direct on the HF bands.
Hello, very educational video with good explanations. Thanks for the video..
Great video and thanks for the information. I am a general class who has finally decided to make my first antenna. It will definately be a dipole but I might just try to do a single band first. Question though, for you. I've always been told soldering makes great electrical connections but bad MECHANICAL connections. Does standard solder (the kind one would use for circuit boards) provide enough strenth to supoort the wait of the other components of the antenna and cable? Thanks for the help as well as the video,
Jonathan, solder makes a poor mechanical connection. That means if you DEPEND on the solder for the mechanical strength, you made a poor joint. The solution is to join the wires MECHANICALLY, and only THEN add the solder. Once the iron has a bit of molten solder on it, do not apply any more solder to the iron. Thoroughly twist the wires together , and THEN touch the iron to the bottom of the joint, and apply solder to the top of the joint. Remember to protect the soldered joint from the elements (shrink tubing, silicone sealant, self-sealing antenna tape - even electrical tape in a pinch). Good Luck! Bob, N3FM
Thanks Bob, good advice and technique. Much appreciated.