Simple 20m Ham Radio Dipole Antenna
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 มิ.ย. 2024
- If you are new to Amateur Radio and looking to put up a horizontal dipole antenna, this video is for you! We go step by step through the process of building this simple antenna and then put it up and show you that it does work, even from a really low 12 foot height!
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A few years ago when I started my journey with Amateur Radio, I read and watched a lot about antennas. I loved the idea of making my own, but I didn't have any HF/VHF radio experience (none whatsoever) and didn't know what to expect. Many articles and videos took a high-level approach to the topic, but there were very few that succinctly showed the basics.
In this video we create a very simple horizontal dipole antenna that, with no calibration, and no use of an antenna analyzer (other than the SWR meter built into the IC-7300), we were able to make contacts between 700-1000miles in just a few minutes. This video is not intended to be an all-encompassing build video, nor is it supposed to give the end-user an in-depth understanding of the physics or best practices.
A few notes for the technical minded: Having a balun is a good practice, but I didn't use one because, strictly speaking, it isn't necessary. Likewise, I didn't show it, however, when we tested for SWR, we turned down the power to 3 watts to prevent problems.
Thank you to my local friends and fellow operators at the Wattsburg Wireless Association and Radio Association of Erie for helping me to get started several years ago, and tolerating my endless questions ever since.
Cheap 20ga solid core wire - www.amazon.com/dp/B0017DGFSA
Better stranded wire - www.lowes.com/pd/Southwire-50...
Delta C Wire Dipole Insulator - www.amazon.com/dp/B00CUFI4OW
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I built several homebrew antennas after I got my ticket in 1995 and tried so hard to get my kids involved. They wanted nothing to do with it. Kudos to your son for being there for you!
My three musketeers are all so different from one to the next in terms of what they like about radio. Building, talking, experimenting, dxing, contesting... I'm finding that there isn't a one size fits all approach, but rather, that we just need to try everything. That works for me, and should help with producing some videos! :) My journey to ham radio was long and a bit circuitous, but eventually I got here. Maybe your kids will find their way to it someday as well. In the meantime, keep having fun and sharing - your latest video on antennas had some good stuff in there. 73 - AC3DS
I brought my 12 year old in to watch this video. He stayed for about 90 seconds. Hahaha. I'm going to keep trying though.
You are the one person ive found on here who clearly explained it all. I really appreciate you
You explained very well. Thanks.
I just got my general class license this morning so I was watching your video about dipole construction. I live about 35 miles east of Guthrie Center, Iowa. I was surprised to hear your contact end up being from Iowa, ha! Thanks for showing the video because this is all new to me as a long-time CB guy.
Great video with your son. What a great learning experience for him.
Very enjoyable video! Thanks for taking the time to make it.
Great job guys. That was awesome. Im new to all of this Ham radio stuff and I am trying to watch every video that I can and its always great to see ones like this. Great respect for the way you communicated with your contacts and building your own antenna was really cool too.
good job guy. So glad you are involving you son.
Great job and kudos to your son as well. Thank you for sharing!
Great to see a Father, Son project, Dad Jones and all. That kid is grow up fine👍.
Haha! Benjamin can delivery some pretty good dad jokes as well. He's learning from the best. Thanks for commenting. 73
Great job. Nice to see father and son working on a project. I'm a shortwave listener who used a dipole many years ago and brought in all kinds of stations. And my antenna wasn't as nice as yours, so you should have lots of fun.
Ur a really good dad 😊
We ended up making the antenna on Wed and made contacts to Panama and New Zealand on 40 meters. Also heard Denmark clear as a bell! Thanks again for the video. Now we are going to make a fan dipole with the same Alpha Delta to save on coax. We will use bamboo to separate the different wire bands!
Thanks for the video. I'm just getting started and planning to test in about 2 weeks. I appreciate your family putting this video together. Building the antenna looks fun. Can't wait to get my granddaughter to help out on that project here in NJ. 73
This is great. My dad tried to show me a special knot once and said he would only show me once. Wish I paid attention.
What a fantastic video. Totally appreciate you and your son (and camera controller wife, I’m guessing from her laugh when you made the ‘square knot’ joke.) I made a 1/4 wave vertical for 2M last week that works great locally… a di-pole is next on my list!!!
Many Blessings!
My hometown! I use the N3APP repeater in Erie via Echolink when I'm away from home. Great job! 73 gentleman!
This is a very nice video. Watching you work with your son on a hobby and project you both enjoy is very heartwarming indeed. The way the world is now makes family ties that you two exhibit all the more important. Keep up the good work.
Thank you very much! We are enjoying our family radio activities - camping, backpacking, antenna building... There is a lot to be said for doing things together. Stay tuned, more fun to come, and if you have any suggestions on good family radio builds, we would love to hear them. 73.
Great video. Straightforward explanation done by enthusiastic and intelligent people. And edited well to boot! What an underrated channel.
Much appreciated! Glad you enjoy - more to come soon.
Great that you are encouraging others to get building rather than buying. I make nearly all of my own antennas for HF,VHF & UHF from all kinds of bits and pieces, really satisfying to get a piece of wire up in the air and contacting others around the world. As an M6 I am restricted on power so resonance is very important when I go portable, I don't use a tuner. Many Thanks M6KVK
You are very right - it is very satisfying to see the DX come in after you have worked on a build. We have quite a few antenna builds planned for the near future now that the weather is starting to get decent again. Building is such a great way to learn more about the intricacies of the hobby. Stay tuned! AC3DS
I subbed at the dad joke :D The camera lady laughing in the background was the best thing ever!
We have the best camera crew around! Thanks for subscribing. More videos and bad/dad jokes coming soon. 73.
Love to see father / son activities.
Thank you! We love doing projects together.
Guys Thank you sooo much now i know where to hang and make mine because you explained the math on the length of wire to use thank you
Glad it was helpful! Build that antenna and let us know how it works out for you. 73!
This is a really great video. Thanks for sharing it! I recently made an 80 meter inverted V by using DX Engineering's 80 meter coils, but after assessing the resonant frequency and bandwidth, I discovered that the antenna was resonant on 20 meters as well. I also got the resonant frequency right in the middle of both bands by chance without adjusting any of the wire lengths. The bandwidth on 80 meters is not so great, so a tuner would be needed most of the time, but 20 meters had less than 1.5:1 SWR across the entire band.
It is always a good feeling when you realize that you now have those complimentary resonant frequencies in addition to the intended one. I feel your pain with the limited bandwidth on 80m. I have two antennas that each cover a small part of 80m and together I still seem to chase outside of my area. Good luck in your radio adventures and thank you for the feedback. 73s.
@@transmittinguntilrobotsrep1045 Hopefully the antenna tuner will help with 80 meters. Thanks and 73s.
I use those AlphaDelta centers all the time. Love them.
Agreed, they are solid and easy to use. Very reliable.
If your son doesn't have his ham license yet, you should both get on it! Let him gain some experience with VHF and UHF antennas and contacts etc and even so 10m SSB to motivate him to go for General! Nice video.
Hi Brian, Thank you for your comment. Our kids have their technician licenses, but are actually testing for the general on Saturday. They found that they didn't like the restrictions with the technician license, so that helped to motivate them to get their general.
Thank you, the both of you :)
Our pleasure! Thank you for writing - made his day, and mine too!
love to see father and son working together in a project 73s from Manila Philippines
Thanks - We had a great time doing this, and are currently working on a 2m yagi, 2m vertical, and a few others! 73s. AC3DS and KC3RPH
Thumbs up to you and your son and the YL on the camera! Nice video.... M3VRS UK
Thank you! We are glad you enjoyed it. We have been busy learning and doing a lot this summer, so many more videos are coming soon. AC3DS and KC3RPH
great job
This is a great video! Its difficult to find a straight forward lesson on youtube. Props!! Nice job with the tree climbing ! Ive got huge Heritage Live Oaks, but don't' have tree climbing skills, will have to hoist it up!
Great video! Really cool to see you and your son enjoying the hobby together.
Thank you - we are enjoying building together and seeing what we can make. Our latest build was a 2m 6 element yagi. That is a beast. Hopefully we'll make a video of that or another antenna sometime soon. 73!
@@transmittinguntilrobotsrep1045 I am brand new to the hobby at the moment. Still studying for my technicians license. Thinking about buying a cheap Baofeng to start listening in on and building a dipole like you demonstrated in this video. Seems a decent way to get started.
@@ErikNonIdle You have a great game plan there. Starting with the Baofeng for listening to repeaters is nice for VHF/UHF if there are any in your area. To listen to HF, check out www.websdr.org/ and find one somewhat close to you for an approximation of what you may hear. Best wishes to you as you start this journey. 73!
@@transmittinguntilrobotsrep1045 Thanks for the recommendation! I'll definitely check that out. Cheers!
Lovely presentation and great to see your son too enjoying our sacred hobby - Ham Radio
73
New Delhi
Many thanks! He is having fun with his new HF privileges and looking forward to building more antennas. 73 AC3DS
Cool Video, great work guys!
Thanks so much! We had fun and are about to do some more builds.
Thanks for the excellent video. I'm going to order the parts and build one with my son also
Glad we could help! Thanks for watching and commenting. Have a great time with your son!
thanks for you video ... 7 3 XE2 DFP MONTERREY MEXICO
Strong work!
Thanks! That means a lot coming from you. I love your videos and appreciate all that you have brought to the community.
@@transmittinguntilrobotsrep1045 wow, thanks!
Very informative and heartwarming too. Asking your contact for permission to use the audio in your video sets a great example too for your son. He is going to do well. 73
Enjoyed the video. I just picked up a couple of those Alpha Delta kits, I feel like they will hold up better than other options. I will be using mine as an inverted V and it won't be as high but hopefully will make a few contacts. 73 de KJ5T
Great video
Thanks! We had fun and are glad that it has helped others. Happy radioing!
Great video! I hope to get my kids interested in the hobby someday, too. Question, it looked like in one shot the dipole ends were higher than the center. Would that have any adverse effects? I'm a new general looking to build my own antennas. Thanks!
5 thumbs up on that project!
Thanks! It landed up working well really well for only about 12' off the ground. We are about to start making some other antennas, so stay tuned and let us know what you think.
Alright! Erie, Pa represent!
:) It's okay to love Erie!
@@transmittinguntilrobotsrep1045 Some of my family live up there. Very nice area! Totally meant it as a positive. The “alright” was more of a cheer than a moan. - LOL
A nube question. First of all, a really great video together with your son! You said in the beginning that the contector had no contact with the poles. Do the poles, after the two wires has been screwed in, connection with the connector? Is the current fed through the connector in order to transmit through your antenna? I’m sorry if my question reveals lack of competence… I’m just eager to learn.❤️ Anyone in here is free to answer.
Good to see you making this project with your son. Have fun :) Greetings from Scotland, 73 MM7SDH
You are our first TH-cam DX to Scotland! Thank you for writing. We had a good time and this, along with Morse Code, has finally encouraged him to start studying for his test. He just finished studying 7 out of 10 sections, and will hopefully take the test soon. Well wishes from across the pond. 73 AC3DS
@@transmittinguntilrobotsrep1045 Thank's for your quick answer! So I send the best wishings for his exams - it's a great hobby and there's a lot to learn while having fun! Best wishes back to you, 73 MM7SDH
You can use that center for a fan multi band antenna of say forty and twenty meters . 73's from kn4kbh .
Indeed. Good recommendation! The fan dipole is a very simple extension of this and is great for maximizing infrastructure.
1 min in and i'm LMAO. I LOVE the game show "wrong answer" sound effect! LOL
Thank you! We have fun making these videos, so we are happy to hear that they are bringing joy to others as well.
interesting clip on your video how to make a dipole antenna. myself so in my youth (30 years ago) I broadcast on the 27 MHz band in Sweden. but then family and other things came in between. but now the interest has come to life again and is in the process of getting a certificate to have a radio. My question is, I have considered having a dipole antenna so I can listen and talk on the other bands. my thought is that I was going to set it up over a pond. and that pond is about 50*50 meters in diameter is there any advantage or disadvantage to put up a dipole over water??
Curious have you tested via inverted V? Wonder it would work as IV about 20-25 ft up?
I'm building one this week
Sweet - how did it go? The design is simple, yet effective.
@@transmittinguntilrobotsrep1045 it works really well I used a old dipole center I had from when I was in the army and some speaker cable
I remember climbing trees like that when I was a kid. Now I use a lift, harness, ground spotter, and a hard hat. 😂🤣😂🤣
I'd be thrilled if he grew up to use some common sense and a hard hat! My biggest hope is that he doesn't discover free-climbing. :)
Hello
I think it doesn't matter which wire (side) goes to the hot spot of the connector and which goes to the shielding ?!
Can rg58 coax be used? Does it matter?
Like other people have said it is brilliant too see you and your son enjoying radio together. I would like to ask a general question. Why do Americans always work in feet and inches when building antennas . I am in the UK and use mainly imperial measurements for all my diy and so on but as soon as it comes to radio I find it so much easier to work in metric. This is a genuine question not a dig or sarcasm. My friends and I once started using imperial lengths for fun on the air "CQ six foot six inches .QSY down a quarter of an inch" We were trying to rename all the bands but it got to confusing on the 3 furlong band. Best wishes to you keep up the good work 73 De G7BWI
Best comment yet. That is quite amusing - I would have loved hearing you call CQ in that manner. I may have to appropriate that at some point with my kids.
As to why Americans work in feet and inches, I would assume that it is simple familiarity. If we go to the local hardware store, most everything is in Imperial, and so it is reinforced and creates familiarity. My kids and I work in metric when we are 3D printing, carving with a CNC, cutting vinyl, or really doing anything at a small scale. Again, I think it partly because many of the programs we use have metric options and so there can become both an intentionality and familiarity without difficulty. At a larger scale though, we tend to shift towards Imperial probably because anything large (Wood, pvc, metal, foam, etc..) is sold to us in Imperial lengths, and so it sticks. Under less than ideal circumstances, we learn both. In a truly ideal world, we'd use metric exclusively.
73, AC3DS
@@transmittinguntilrobotsrep1045 It gets funnier. I remember when the UK was slowly trying to change to metric my Father and I went to buy some lengths or timber for a project. My Dad asked for 4 6 foot lengths of 2x2 only to be told that they didn't sell 6 foot lengths it would have to be 2 meter lengths. Ok I will have 4 2 meter lengths please. OK said the assistant 4 lengths at 70pence a foot. You really couldn't make it up. Mind you we are still clinging on to imperial stuff quite a bit. My trip computer on a motorcycle will give me miles per litre But not Miles per gallon. I remember my mother getting upset as the car wouldn't go as far on litres of petrol as it would on gallons. But its all good fun in the end. Keep up the great work FDO
What's the best way to connect the ends to a tree.
I have a question. Has the FCC ruled on using HAM transmissions in TH-cam videos? I ask because you could have pecuniary gain from TH-cam videos. I know the FAA considers using drone footage in TH-cam video a professional use because of this, so I was wondering if the FCC has cleared it or not. Great video by the way.
Hi Brian - That is a great question. I’ve never read anywhere that the FCC has ruled on this, or even considered it, though it could certainly exist and I just haven’t found it. I would suspect that there would be some fundamental differences between the two applications, however I can see how this is a valid question worthy of an answer. I’ll consider this more and then reply again.
@@transmittinguntilrobotsrep1045 I understand the incidental instance like for teachers who use HAM to connect their class to the ISS, but some of these channels are 100% amateur radio and people are monetizing and making money from them. Seems kinda like pushing their luck to me. It would be one thing if it was, say, an RV travel channel and there was just an occasional episode where the communication on the air was incidental to the education (kind of like this episode of your channel), but the ones where it is a dedicated ham channel with them making contacts most or all of the broadcast seems like it would be clear cut. I guess the FCC just hasn't gotten around to dealing with it yet. How is it different than getting a bunch of people to pay an entrance fee to watch you making contacts. Hard to police and know where to draw the line.
I made a 20M Dipole Antenna. I will not be using this 20M dipole for any other frequencies other than the 20M that it was made for. Is a balun needed for this a 20M Dipole antenna? Again I will not be using this 20M dipole for any other frequencies other than the 20M that it was made for. I also have an isolator. Would I need both? Do they pretty much do the same job?
Hello both of you... question: suppose i want to receive the 6mhz band, so 468/6 = 78 feet, then my horizontal wire will be 39 feet each side, right? Ok, with that wire length , can I also receive all the frequencies over 6mhz? ....and no frequencies under? To simplify, my question is can I get any frequencies over the length accordingly to that formula 468/x freq? Thank you for answering :).
Great question: 468/6 = 78ft / 2 sides = 39ft per / side - Yes. This will make a resonant antenna at 6MHz, which is ideal for both transmitting and receiving. Tuning for transmitting is important. Tuning for receiving is not nearly as important because things won't break if your just receiving. Receiving frequencies above and below 6MHz on the above antenna is definitely possible. I just took an antenna that I manually tuned for 14MHz and was able to hear conversations on 3.5MHz and all the way up to 444MHz. The quality of the reception is definitely not as good as a tuned antenna, but it does work. I hope that helps.
@@transmittinguntilrobotsrep1045 Ok thanks , your answer defenitively helps 👍👍👍
What about a Balun ? M0"iiZ (But a nice video!)Just completed a 18mc inverted V. And the wind has just converted it into a ground plane!
I debated making a balun to go with it, however since it is technically not necessary, and because I wanted to keep this simple for the new operator, I opted to go straight resonance. Admittedly, I'm still uncomfortable with that decision. We get some strong winds here as well. Hopefully your inverted V can start flying again soon. 73, AC3DS
@@transmittinguntilrobotsrep1045 PLEASE dont take my comment as a criticism! I didnt put a Bslun on mine either! And I am being criticised about it! Your son is a good actor!
I think we may have interacted with some of the same people! ;) Balun or no, if it resonates on frequency, a good time will be had. My son is working on perfecting his acting skills - right now he is focused on acting like he cleans his room and is then surprised by the mess that mysteriously appears. Definitely a drama. “Ham” the soap opera may be in his future.
@@transmittinguntilrobotsrep1045 I am sure your son will catch the Gremlins responsible for the mess. Maybe he could construct a burglar alarm! Seriously, when I have resurrected my inverted "v", I intend to add a reflecter, on its east side, to enable me to put my 100W imto the USA. On my FT990. Not one menu on it! Built in 1993,and still beautiful. I was born in 1946 ,and Im not beautiful!
I'm curious where you got the premade dipole wire piece?
I tend to purchase most of my radio gear either from DX Engineering or Amazon. I think these pieces came from DX.
Not that I’m trying to rain on your parade, but wouldn’t that be at 66‘7“ and then cut that in half? 20 m is 20 m? If I’m not completely wrong, which wouldn’t surprise me it looks like that would be a great 10 m antenna.
Good question! You are correct that a full-wave 20m antenna would be around 67 feet. You are also correct that this antenna might work for 10m as well. In this video, we created a 1/2 wave 20m dipole (33'), which puts 1/4 on one side of the center insulator and the other 1/4 on the other side. Both full-wave and half-wave work for 20m just fine. If you do a google search for dipole calculator (I just did this to check my work), you'll get lots of good results that will show the 1/2 wave calculation. Thanks for the question and comment! www.westmountainradio.com/antenna_calculator.php
? Assume ALPHA DELTA DELTA-C has a built-in 1:1 balun?
😍
I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for the comment.
You should identify when made the contact. KD6GGU
Can't save to playlist make it not 4 kids
Your first qso was quiet because you were speaking 60 feet away from the mic!! Good job though.
:) I was going for 7MHz and hit the mark!
First electric fence wire is cheap because it is a poor conductor.
Second the SWR they saw could be very misleading. Due to the fence wire acting like a slight dummy load. I suspect that the radiated power was a lot lower than your pencil would suggest.
Third if the antenna was a lot longer I am sure they would have an issue with both receive and transmit.
It is nice that he included his son. I hope his son continues to do activities with his father. A good example for everyone.
FAIL!!!!