ZS6BKW Dipole Antenna The Build
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 เม.ย. 2020
- I pulled all the pertinent clips together to make one semi-cohesive video for you. It's working great and I couldn't be happier with it.
NOTE: The finished length of YOUR antenna MAY vary depending to YOUR topography, nearby structures, tower height, soil type and many other factors. Start long and trim to resonance.
The Dipole legs:
I started out with 15 meter (49.21 ft) legs and trimmed off 103 cm (40.55 in) for a finished length of 13.97 m (45.83 ft).
The Ladder Line:
I started with 12.5 meters (41 ft) to allow for connections and finished with about 12 meters (39.37 ft).
The RF choke is just 6 turns of the coax about 4" diameter.
All the connection points were secured with polyester line for strain relief.
I have under 2:1 SWRs on all of 40, 20 17 & 12 and the bottom 3rd of 10. And with a tuner I can work 80, 15 all of 10 and maybe 6 (haven't tried 6 yet).
April 2nd I made several QSOs in the semi-annual SARL 80 meter QSO Party and had a lot of fun working more SA stations.
I was searching for a multi-band dipole or maybe build a fan dipole when I stumbled upon this video by AE4VJ : • Say Goodbye to that G5...
I used this site to build the Ladder Line: www.qsl.net/co8tw/openline.htm
For more in depth info on building antennas, visit Dave Tadlock's YT channel.
Dipole and Inverted V Antenna Basics: • Dipole and Inverted V ... - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
Great job Tim. I use the small (pencil thick) PEX pipe and one black tie-wrap per separator to accomplish the same thing in building my ladder line. Just run the tie-wrap through the pipe creating a loop in the tube, capturing the wire on both sides of the tube and cinch it up. No drilling or notching required. Simple and very strong. Keep up the good videos Sir.
Baluns and antennas, there's no excuse not to build your own and learn every step. There's so many hams out there willing to pass on the knowledge and keep this hobby alive. The new gear is amazing sure but what amazes me even more is how the past radio guys did it without the internet and tech of today.
Fantastic station Tim 73 from kb2uew
Hello Tim, this is a wonderful video. Stay safe during the lockdown. All the best, 73 de Andreas, DO1BOP
This is amazing Tim, great job and wonderful to watch the process. KC1MPB
Thanks Dave! Can't wait to get back home and make the monthly meetings again.
This wire antenna you cant go wrong. Love it. 73's ZS1WE
I enjoyed it. Just couldn't get much DX out of Rustenburg with all those mountains. lol
Great video Tim! I will build mine, I hope catch you in my rig, 73s from TI2GBB - Greg from Costa Rica, central america!
I'm in Maine now using a EFHW wire. Maybe check into the 7.163 net (7163net.com) that meets daily from 4.00 - 12.30 UTC Hope to work you my friend.
When making the ladder line, if you drill the holes in a little farther from the end you can run the wire through the holes and won't need to use zip ties.
I got a little ahead of myself when I cut the spreaders so they were too short for that. The flip side is I didn't have to thread all those spreaders on to the wires.
A Drexel tool with end mill would have made cutting the notches in the pipe quicker and MUCH safer!
Drexel? or dremel? You're right, but I didn't have one and wasn't going to go buy one just for this project and I was only visiting family until they let my wife and I fly out again. Having a clamp to hold the piece made all the difference for me.
The ZS6BKW is one doublet I've looked at building, but I'm too lazy it seems. I have enough antennas, but I do like frequency agile antennas with decent efficiency.
👍🏼
I hear from a lot of people that South Africa is a very dangerous place especially in Johannesburg and the countryside.
Everywhere you go has its own dangers. Our family lives outside of town there so its quieter and we take necessary precautions as well. When in town, one keeps one's head up and on a swivel. In spite of all that, there is a certain majestic beauty in the landscape that makes it worth it.
What kind of pole did you use? I noticed that you also had support rings , did you make them. I am excited, when I get home I think I am going to try one. Why did you not haul the feed point to the top of the pole? Thanks for your time. If you answer me, you are a kind and thoughtful. N4KBM
Hi Tommy, thanks for the sub.
We welded 3 (6 meter) sections of steel pipe together (each section fit into the next) to make a 56 foot (17m) mast. The support rings (for the guy lines) are a length of chain wrapped around the mast and welded in place 2/3 of the way up.
I initially did haul it all the way up, but couldn't get the right angle between the antenna legs so I had to bring it down a bit for good SWRs.
Here's the tower build video.
th-cam.com/video/ahMNg8RYBkI/w-d-xo.html
73s
Tim Clark - K1NKX That pole is the envy of the Ham nation
Can bearly hear you
I tried to decode the morse coming in but what I got was '' P B X Y O M T D M N V E Z Y L''
Can anybody else correct me please? New to HAM and morse.
Considering the characters in the skit, I would think it was just random dits & dahs. 73
How did this antenna compare to say a myantennas efhw 10-80 with a 49:1?
Hard to say. The dipole is in So. Africa and I'm in Maine, incidentally, using a Nelson Antennas 10-80 EFHW at the rental while we build the house. I have a store bought ZS6 still in the box that I'd like to set up, but no place at the apartment for it.
sounds like a good antenna? but i want one for 80 and 160 more so 160 would this antenna work good for that? could i add to the total length.?
You should be able to work 80 with a tuner. Its a fun build or you can pick one up factory made for not much money. These guys go into more depth, give em a watch, if you haven't This is the video that settled me on the ZS6BKW. th-cam.com/video/MbXmAcf9MmI/w-d-xo.html
@@buckeye5704 yes but im wanting more of a 160mtr ant i have 2 up that i can go to 80. just trying to find a super simple 160mtr ant.
@@butterbean4195 Ok, gotcha. So this one isn't gonna work for you then. When I get the house built and put the shack together, I want to work on a 160 wire, but that's a bit further down the trail for now. Would love to see what you have up tho. My SA elmer has his 160 wire strung in trees on his small lot with the legs bent in all directions.
What is the height of this antenna? Thank you for this video..
Its about 90 feet total length. I have the one in this video about 40-45 feet up at the peak. th-cam.com/video/MbXmAcf9MmI/w-d-xo.html
Are you able to reach us here in Maine on 20 meters?
I have heard any DX strong enough to understand on 20 yet, but I'll keep spinning that dial. I listened to a west coast net on 7.144 the other day tho. That's where I worked Mozambique.
Should you not have used Zs/ k1nkx as a call sign?
Correct. I usually did, but must have forgot for the video. Whenever I didn't include "ZS" I would add it when anyone answered my CQ. Everyone was good with my method while I was there. No SA stations ever mentioned it and well, my Elmer is the local klub president and lives half a mile down the road.
I noticed that you didn't suffix your call sign with /ZS. How were others to know you were in ZS?
I was pre-announced by the local Klub Chairman (who also loaned all the gear to me) and transmitted that way on his recommendation.
how many watts can this dipole handle
I used 2.5 mm wire which is a little larger than 12 AWG.
Based on this info I found, full legal limit (1500 W in the USA) should be no problem.
www.quora.com/How-many-watts-can-a-12-gauge-wire-handle
Insulated for 600 volts, Number 12 AWG wire is rated 20 amps to 30 amps depending on the thermal capability of the insulation applied to the wire. If we assume THHN insulation with a temperature rating of 90 degrees C you have a 30 amp capacity.
Since watts is defined as Volts times Amps and we assume you will energize it to the maximum allowed voltage of 600 volts the simple answer is Watts = 600 X 30 = 18,000 watts.
Here's one I bought. The description says 2000 watts
www.amateurradiosupplies.com/product-p/11003.htm
I haven't hung this one yet, but wanting to. Probs next Spring.
@@buckeye5704 I have that one also. It ends up resonant below all 5 bands, but tuning it is no easy chore the way it is built.
@@ErnieStedman Yeah, the tuning part is the most work I did on the whole build. Several trips to both ends of the radiators to trim, then back to the meter, rinse and repeat. I probably did 4 or 5 cycles of that, but in the end it was worth the effort for this terrific performer. And hey I had maybe 50 usd and 4 or 5 hours in it and for me it was all part of the DIY adventure.
👍🏼