I'm fortunate to live quite close to Ed, and I've got a couple of his antennas. They work well. Additionally, he's one of the most friendly, helpful, and welcoming people that you're ever likely to meet.
That is very cool! I've not had the pleasure in meeting him in person, but he sure did seem nice when we did this video. He has to be so much fun to take classes from too. ~73 KM6FAK~
I ordered a tri-band (TBJ-1) and had only a rudimentary idea how it works. After watching this, I now know I have no idea how it works. That there are people in this world like Edison Fong is the best kept secret, even among hams. I only use radio for casual use, but Ed has taken the deep thinking out of it.
I Purchased Ed's Triband antenna and finally had a buddy help me mount this on my roof. Using RG8x coax. It works great on all 3 bands and SWR is 1.1! Very unobtrusive and easy to mount. Thanks to Dr. Fong and his graduate students 73's, Chuck- N1NA
Ed custom made me an antenna for GMRS frequencies. I ordered it through ebay. You just send him a message telling him what you need and he will send it to you. We use it for the base station radio at the ranch. It's the best upgrade we have made to date.
I bought the DBJ-1 less than a month ago. After installation at only 21 feet high, I am hitting a repeater that is 104 miles from me at full scale. I had a problem with my SWR meter that was giving me false readings but a friend checked it out with his MFJ antenna analyzer and found my SWR to actually be 1.3:1 on 2 meters which is all I use anyway. I had contacted Dr. Fong at first to ask questions and he gave me his phone number to call him personally. He even called me back several days later to check up on my situation. I have never had any better customer support than this from anyone. I highly recommend this antenna to anyone not wanting to spend a fortune to get excellent results and support.
Wow! No kidding, that is some great customer service. Yeah, these little J-poles he makes work so good and they're fairly inconspicuous. Thanks for letting us know your experience. 73~KM6FAK
I live in a ground floor apartment in a valley and I hung my Ed Fong antenna vertically inside my apartment in front of the sliding glass door curtain rod. I can hit a repeater 20 miles away on a hill top that is Linked to a repeater group that lets me reach out as far as 160 miles away both 2m and 70cm. It opened up my whole world to ham radio. I'm using a HT/handheld radio 5 watts. Both 2m and 70cm, VHF/UHF
Been using Ed's antennas for the last several years in the wet Pacific Northwest in our up and down terrain, first the dual band, then the tri-band. They simply haul the freight; rain or shine, snow or sleet. I placed a bead of weak sealer where the end caps meet the tubing. Seems to keep the water on the outside and the caps are removable. The portable dual band j-pole does wonders with a 5W handheld for field deployment, though... not when directly under a bushy Douglas-fir, which especially soaks up 70cm. Been there done that. Bottom line, overall? Good stuff! Thanks Ed and crew!
My first radio, when I got my Tech+General in 2012, was a Baofeng UV-5R+. The volume potentiometer is scratchy today, but the radio still works. During its life it has run, in the battery charger, for more than 4 months continuously, receiving and transmitting, as an APRS digipeater (along with an old PC and TNC-X), so it probably has ~3000 hours of use in total. Sure, the front end isn't great, programming it manually is too painful (I always use CHIRP), and, based on a QST article years ago, I doubt that the Tx harmonics are in-spec. But it was a great way to get started at a low price point.
I am using your antenna in the attic right now ,I have it at a 45 degree angle to the coax, no choke in the coax , I really like this antenna . I am using plastic zip ties to hold it ,its so light I don't need no stinking clamps ,
Hi Tony, several members in our club are having great success using Ed Fong's J-Poles. Unfortunately you are not talking with Ed on this channel. We are a Radio Club in Vacaville CA and we had Ed as a presenter during a recent meeting. That's interesting that you have your antenna at a 45 degree angle. I would image you might get better performance out of it in a more vertical orientation.
I want one! Dr Fong went and spoke at a friend of mine club and gave them s great deal on a large order for the club members. I've heard nothing but good shit his antenna and speaking to him personally. I'm big into HF, but I'm getting a big for uhf vhf and I want this on my home, when I take the radio out of the car. It would be really cool if he'd design an antenna for the out cars.
The brilliance of the internet is that every dummy is an "expert", so that if you want an expert opinion, you sample the internet and get a dummy opinion that you think is expert. Case and point, I started making a uhf jpole out of 12ga solid core romex, to slip inside a piece of thin-walled pvc, but didn't finish it because I became convinced by the "experts" that a copper pipe jpole will out perform the wire inside pvc. So I spent a day making (and ruining) and trying to get a decent swr on a copper pipe jpole (fire soldering an so-239 onto cooper pipe is a good way to ruin a connector). And here I've come full circle, back to the wire in pvc design, because it's much easier to solder, cut and tune, and here Dr. Ed says its a better resonator anyway!? Well, I had searched all over the internet trying to find out which jpole is better, the copper pipe, or the wire in pvc.... Can't find the answer... Because everyone is an "expert".
Will it affect the signal strength of these antennas much if I were to spray paint the PVC holding the J-Pole antenna to be black in order to blend in a bit more to the surrounding environment?
Ed is such a nice guy I actually called him on this subject and he called me back! Just don't lay multiple coats super thick however there is absolutely no problem in doing that.
I didn't test extensively, but the tri-band beat my Arrow J-pole on more than one distant repeater. In fact I'm now hitting some I never have been able to before. I have no comparison to Ed's UHF/VHF version. What did you go with?
Where can I get some of them? I am just getting started. Take my test in 3 days. I am sure of the first test not to sure about the 2nd test. But will be able to work the frequencies covered by the antennas in the next weeks.
edsantennas.weebly.com/ We use the DBJ-1 & TBJ-1 for Public Safety & Amateur use at fixed Base Station locations and temporary itinerant use in the field and find the performance of both to be excellent and an exceptional value -- the designs were even tweaked for peak performance on our primary VHF & UHF frequencies at no additional cost -- "73" - K3JFV
So, I'm fairly new to the Amateur side of radio. I have a general understanding of antenna theory, but I'm completely lost here. He put a J pole in a piece of PVC and bottom fed it? I'm more hands on, so maybe I should buy one and try to get a better understanding that way.
Yes you are correct. Often times Hams like to Homebrew a J-Pole with some copper water pipe, but it's not as clean looking as this. Here's Ed's website where you can read more about it: edsantennas.weebly.com/
Very interesting explanation of his product/s, but could have done without the heavy yawns and snores from the audience persons seated close to the microphone.
Hello, would this work well with my handheld Yaesu FT-70DR? I read below this should be for mobile base stations as HT is not strong enough. New to HAM, would like advise... kind regards
Yes it would work, but not very good. Most HT's are putting out only 5 watts and should just stick with an antenna that is screwed directly to the unit. All coax has loss, some more then others. So, connecting an additional antenna with coax will lower the amount of watts leaving your antenna. Also, this is a J-pole antenna with very little to no gain. This antenna works great attached to a mobile/base radio that does 25 watts or more and you just want to get into some local repeaters.
Tony Campbell Ouch that hurts. I know, the audio wasn’t captured in the best way. We been working very hard to improve it. Check out some of the newer videos and let me know what you think. Thanks for feed back.
Is there any benefit for using a copper pipe J pole to receive only on say 162.000 MHZ ? I just want to build and use it for a scanner on this one frequency. I am not transmitting but I do want to hear or receive the best I can. Thanks.
There is no benefit in using a copper pipe J-Pole to receive any frequencies. The design and size only comes into play when you will be transmitting on the antenna. When using an antenna to receive the two most important parts are the length and height of the antenna, which could be as simple as a long piece of wire.
So I guess you're saying antenna type doesn't matter as long as length is correct. but if I have it tuned perfectly resonating with an antenna analyzer to 162. MHZ, would it receive the frequency better than say if the resonate frequency was off by a few MHZ. or the ohms were off a bit? Or is receiving more forgiving in these factors? Also wouldn't the band width or electrical width between the two poles be a better receiver than a skinny little wire?
When receiving radio frequencies you don't need a resonate antenna, IE: a car radio, a scanner, and a short wave radio. If your going to transmit from a radio, then yes, you will need an antenna that is resonate for the frequencies you will be transmitting on. IE: Ham Radio, FRS and GMRS. If the transmitting antenna is not resonate it could damage your transmitting radio by power reflecting back into the radio. With all that said, I'm not an expert at building scanner antenna's. I'm sure there is best practices to help get the most performance from your scanner. This video is to help Ham Radio Operators better understand the J-Pole that Dr. Ed Fong has researched, built and now sells. His J-pole's are resonate in the 2 meter and 70 centimeter bands and another model that adds 220.
Chronic cough was very rude to share. He could have stepped away from the microphone. These days if you can find an Ed Fong they cost $50-$60. My N9TAX 2M/70CM Slim Jim 1.1SWR cost $30 shipped. Ed, thanks for sharing.
Ed Fong designs antennas that work. 24:40 Who is "Dr." Larry Cebik? Do you mean Le Roy Bruce (L.B.) Cebik, W4RNL, 1939-2008 who isn't a PhD as far as I can tell?
I'm not exactly sure. Dr. Fong was a guest speaker at one of our club meetings. I recorded it and put it here for others to enjoy. Here's his email, he has on his website: edsantennas@gmail.com
c.w. is a big part of the hobby too but so many don't want to take the time and learn it ,I quess its all what you want to spend your time on and what you are interested in ,but its a hobby to learn things ,just like any hobby you learn as you go ,
CW is a great mode and I'm slowly studying it too. But, I was so excited when I passed my General and I could come home and start transmitting phone on the HF bands.
RG174 has around 9dB of loss per 100 feet on 2 meters, which is a lot. Quick calculations in my head: A 50 watt transceiver on 100 ft of RG174 you will have less then 4 watts at the feed point to the antenna. So, your max length will depend on how much RF power you want at the antenna and how much power your transceiver/amp can push.
Lars Larsen The DBJ-1 250W Dual Band (2m&70cm) is available for $50, it’s a special order. Email if interested edsantennas@gmail.com. The copper cactus is a great antenna to build, but unfortunately they are rarely made with any gain.
maybe someone sent me a knock off , next time i will buy a meter and make my own ,meter cost 50 bucks maybe i get cheep one at ham fest that don't work
It is a lot of fun building antennas and very much a part of the hobby. Although the biggest take away I got from this presentation is that Ed Fong builds each antenna and tests them on his spectrum analyzer, which starts at several thousands dollars (plus the knowledge how to use it). So, I applaud Ed for testing every antenna he sells.
he must of not tested mine lol I get better results with my rubber duck mono pole ,but maybe I got a knock off my computer may have hacked and maybe somebody sent me a fake ?
I agree it is fun building atennas ,but I do see a lot of people with store bought antennas that say this in ther yard . I made a few antennas for 6meters and for h.f. that did ok ,but I need a better meter if I want to build my own ,see that's just the thing if you don't have good test equipment its all trial and error until you see good results ,good meters cost more than a good store bought antennas sometimes lol ,but its all fun !!! hope to work you on the bands one day !!! I'm on 3555 in the mourning ,and 40 during day ,7,110 kc thanks for reply
I forgot to say ,a lot of the fun of the hobby is c.w. too but so many don't want to take the time and learn it ,so I quess its allin what you prefer to spend your time on thanks agn
the radiation pattern of the 70cm part of this antenna is a total JOKE. no matter how low the swr is and how good it looks on the analyzer do not waste your time using this antenna on 440. I even attended Ed's demo in person and used one he made with his own hands. Ed's a great guy and all but DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME on 440 with this. make a dedicated single band for 70cm instead.
Thank you for your feedback. I've not looked into this but I know a lot of peopling running this antenna to simply get something on their house and work the local repeaters.
I used the roll up version on 440 with a bofeung ht while standing atop the lighthouse in cape may nj. Was having qsos through a repeater in Philadelphia 90 miles away on 5 watts. I would say they work well at uhf.
Using this on an handheld radio might not yield good results. Most HT's don't have enough watts to push through the lose in the average coax, most Ham are probably using.
I'm fortunate to live quite close to Ed, and I've got a couple of his antennas. They work well. Additionally, he's one of the most friendly, helpful, and welcoming people that you're ever likely to meet.
That is very cool! I've not had the pleasure in meeting him in person, but he sure did seem nice when we did this video. He has to be so much fun to take classes from too. ~73 KM6FAK~
I ordered a tri-band (TBJ-1) and had only a rudimentary idea how it works. After watching this, I now know I have no idea how it works. That there are people in this world like Edison Fong is the best kept secret, even among hams. I only use radio for casual use, but Ed has taken the deep thinking out of it.
Bought his J-pole for 2m and 440. Should arrive any day now. Any time I can buy any equipment from Ed I will do it. He's the real deal!!!
Oh very cool! His stuff works good.
Thanks for posting. Great to hear from a person dedicated to make our lives simpler. Dr. Fong speaks with authority because of his knowledge.
Thanks for watching. Dr. Fong is great!
I Purchased Ed's Triband antenna and finally had a buddy help me mount this on my roof. Using RG8x coax. It works great on all 3 bands and SWR is 1.1! Very unobtrusive and easy to mount.
Thanks to Dr. Fong and his graduate students
73's, Chuck- N1NA
Charles Michaud That’s great to hear. Yes, they are dynamite antennas. Thanks! 73 Jason/ KM6FAK
I didn't see any links as to where to buy these?
Ed custom made me an antenna for GMRS frequencies. I ordered it through ebay. You just send him a message telling him what you need and he will send it to you. We use it for the base station radio at the ranch. It's the best upgrade we have made to date.
love my Ed Fong GMRS antenna...!
I bought the DBJ-1 less than a month ago. After installation at only 21 feet high, I am hitting a repeater that is 104 miles from me at full scale. I had a problem with my SWR meter that was giving me false readings but a friend checked it out with his MFJ antenna analyzer and found my SWR to actually be 1.3:1 on 2 meters which is all I use anyway. I had contacted Dr. Fong at first to ask questions and he gave me his phone number to call him personally. He even called me back several days later to check up on my situation. I have never had any better customer support than this from anyone. I highly recommend this antenna to anyone not wanting to spend a fortune to get excellent results and support.
Wow! No kidding, that is some great customer service. Yeah, these little J-poles he makes work so good and they're fairly inconspicuous. Thanks for letting us know your experience. 73~KM6FAK
I think this is one of the best TH-cam videos that I've ever seen!
Thank you! This was in the beginning and I didn't know how to get better audio. I should call him back up for a re-due.
Thank you for posting this!! Lots of great info in his presentation!
Thank you for stopping by and watching. We hope to interview him again. This time with better video and audio.
Thanks for sharing this video, some very useful information and DR. Fong explains things in a very easy to understand way.
I live in a ground floor apartment in a valley and I hung my Ed Fong antenna vertically inside my apartment in front of the sliding glass door curtain rod. I can hit a repeater 20 miles away on a hill top that is Linked to a repeater group that lets me reach out as far as 160 miles away both 2m and 70cm. It opened up my whole world to ham radio. I'm using a HT/handheld radio 5 watts. Both 2m and 70cm, VHF/UHF
Dr. Fong, thank you for sharing your knowledge so generously. 73 W6MGV
Glad to here it was helpful.
Been using Ed's antennas for the last several years in the wet Pacific Northwest in our up and down terrain, first the dual band, then the tri-band. They simply haul the freight; rain or shine, snow or sleet. I placed a bead of weak sealer where the end caps meet the tubing. Seems to keep the water on the outside and the caps are removable. The portable dual band j-pole does wonders with a 5W handheld for field deployment, though... not when directly under a bushy Douglas-fir, which especially soaks up 70cm. Been there done that. Bottom line, overall? Good stuff! Thanks Ed and crew!
Finally somebody says something good about a Jpole :-) Next I need a positive video on a Baoefang
My first radio, when I got my Tech+General in 2012, was a Baofeng UV-5R+. The volume potentiometer is scratchy today, but the radio still works. During its life it has run, in the battery charger, for more than 4 months continuously, receiving and transmitting, as an APRS digipeater (along with an old PC and TNC-X), so it probably has ~3000 hours of use in total. Sure, the front end isn't great, programming it manually is too painful (I always use CHIRP), and, based on a QST article years ago, I doubt that the Tx harmonics are in-spec. But it was a great way to get started at a low price point.
I am using your antenna in the attic right now ,I have it at a 45 degree angle to the coax, no choke in the coax , I really like this antenna . I am using plastic zip ties to hold it ,its so light I don't need no stinking clamps ,
Hi Tony, several members in our club are having great success using Ed Fong's J-Poles. Unfortunately you are not talking with Ed on this channel. We are a Radio Club in Vacaville CA and we had Ed as a presenter during a recent meeting. That's interesting that you have your antenna at a 45 degree angle. I would image you might get better performance out of it in a more vertical orientation.
Remember that Plastic ties can break from cold and heat. Hose Clamps don't have the issue
Ed mailed 2 antennas yesterday!!!!
I have one, and it works... I need to raise it higher...
Made a 10m j-pole back in 2010 worked great.
never understood how it's able to work with a shorted leads at the buttom until now.
thank you.
I have his antenna, works great. I got 30 miles of range on my 8w baofeng with it over the Bay
I made a copper J Pole 27 years ago and it was the best 2mtr antenna I ever made and I experimented with quite a few. Even made one with a ladderline.
Excellent talk, very entertaining, many thanks!!
Glad you enjoyed it! I wish I could of captioned it with better quality.
Do these antennae have an adjustment mechanism for tuning ? If not then that's a huge flaw
These antennas work great!
Yes they do
I want one! Dr Fong went and spoke at a friend of mine club and gave them s great deal on a large order for the club members. I've heard nothing but good shit his antenna and speaking to him personally. I'm big into HF, but I'm getting a big for uhf vhf and I want this on my home, when I take the radio out of the car. It would be really cool if he'd design an antenna for the out cars.
How critical is the spacing between elements in a basic J-pole antenna. And what is the effect if the spacing deviates from formula?
I know this was put on the air in 2018, but does the copper J-Pole work so good because of the mass of radiating mass of copper?
The brilliance of the internet is that every dummy is an "expert", so that if you want an expert opinion, you sample the internet and get a dummy opinion that you think is expert. Case and point, I started making a uhf jpole out of 12ga solid core romex, to slip inside a piece of thin-walled pvc, but didn't finish it because I became convinced by the "experts" that a copper pipe jpole will out perform the wire inside pvc. So I spent a day making (and ruining) and trying to get a decent swr on a copper pipe jpole (fire soldering an so-239 onto cooper pipe is a good way to ruin a connector). And here I've come full circle, back to the wire in pvc design, because it's much easier to solder, cut and tune, and here Dr. Ed says its a better resonator anyway!?
Well, I had searched all over the internet trying to find out which jpole is better, the copper pipe, or the wire in pvc.... Can't find the answer... Because everyone is an "expert".
Will it affect the signal strength of these antennas much if I were to spray paint the PVC holding the J-Pole antenna to be black in order to blend in a bit more to the surrounding environment?
Ed is such a nice guy I actually called him on this subject and he called me back! Just don't lay multiple coats super thick however there is absolutely no problem in doing that.
How does his dual band and triband antennas compare? Is the triband just as good on 2m/70cm as the dual band?
I didn't test extensively, but the tri-band beat my Arrow J-pole on more than one distant repeater. In fact I'm now hitting some I never have been able to before. I have no comparison to Ed's UHF/VHF version. What did you go with?
my wife cant find it lol, in the attic ,
That is awesome! I'm at my limit of outside antennas with my wife. Our attic has been on my mind lately.
Where can I get some of them? I am just getting started. Take my test in 3 days. I am sure of the first test not to sure about the 2nd test. But will be able to work the frequencies covered by the antennas in the next weeks.
edsantennas.weebly.com/ We use the DBJ-1 & TBJ-1 for Public Safety & Amateur use at fixed Base Station locations and temporary itinerant use in the field and find the performance of both to be excellent and an exceptional value -- the designs were even tweaked for peak performance on our primary VHF & UHF frequencies at no additional cost -- "73" - K3JFV
ThankYou!
You're welcome!
This was the 1st antenna I got after getting my tech ticket. They work but no gain to it. I used it on 2m 70cm.
I hear you. It is a compromise, but it's very low visibility to unknown folks.
I put up a 2 meter ground plane. But I changed to a j-pole and added about 25 miles to the range. KG7IRJ Ohio
I see on your copper J example they tied the centre conductor to the short side. Why?
Hi Ed. This is not my J-pole. I just captured the presentation. Here is a link to Dr. Ed Fong's contact page: edsantennas.weebly.com/contact.html
@@HamRadioTV Thx
So, I'm fairly new to the Amateur side of radio. I have a general understanding of antenna theory, but I'm completely lost here. He put a J pole in a piece of PVC and bottom fed it? I'm more hands on, so maybe I should buy one and try to get a better understanding that way.
Yes you are correct. Often times Hams like to Homebrew a J-Pole with some copper water pipe, but it's not as clean looking as this. Here's Ed's website where you can read more about it: edsantennas.weebly.com/
The CONNECTER is on the bottom of the PVC, making it appear to be end fed, but the ACTUAL feedpoint is up from the bottom about 9 or 10 inches.
@@TheBigMamao ,
Nice this video
Thank You! We have plans to improve our quality in future presentations.
Very interesting explanation of his product/s, but could have done without the heavy yawns and snores from the audience persons seated close to the microphone.
Thank you. Yes, this was when I was just figuring out how to produce and good quality video.
Hello, would this work well with my handheld Yaesu FT-70DR? I read below this should be for mobile base stations as HT is not strong enough. New to HAM, would like advise... kind regards
Yes it would work, but not very good. Most HT's are putting out only 5 watts and should just stick with an antenna that is screwed directly to the unit. All coax has loss, some more then others. So, connecting an additional antenna with coax will lower the amount of watts leaving your antenna. Also, this is a J-pole antenna with very little to no gain. This antenna works great attached to a mobile/base radio that does 25 watts or more and you just want to get into some local repeaters.
would love more info on the tri band
Contact Ed using his website to get more info: edsantennas.weebly.com/
How many lungs were coughed up during this video?
Tony Campbell Ouch that hurts. I know, the audio wasn’t captured in the best way. We been working very hard to improve it. Check out some of the newer videos and let me know what you think. Thanks for feed back.
Is there any benefit for using a copper pipe J pole to receive only on say 162.000 MHZ ? I just want to build and use it for a scanner on this one frequency. I am not transmitting but I do want to hear or receive the best I can. Thanks.
There is no benefit in using a copper pipe J-Pole to receive any frequencies. The design and size only comes into play when you will be transmitting on the antenna. When using an antenna to receive the two most important parts are the length and height of the antenna, which could be as simple as a long piece of wire.
So I guess you're saying antenna type doesn't matter as long as length is correct. but if I have it tuned perfectly resonating with an antenna analyzer to 162. MHZ, would it receive the frequency better than say if the resonate frequency was off by a few MHZ. or the ohms were off a bit? Or is receiving more forgiving in these factors? Also wouldn't the band width or electrical width between the two poles be a better receiver than a skinny little wire?
When receiving radio frequencies you don't need a resonate antenna, IE: a car radio, a scanner, and a short wave radio. If your going to transmit from a radio, then yes, you will need an antenna that is resonate for the frequencies you will be transmitting on. IE: Ham Radio, FRS and GMRS. If the transmitting antenna is not resonate it could damage your transmitting radio by power reflecting back into the radio.
With all that said, I'm not an expert at building scanner antenna's. I'm sure there is best practices to help get the most performance from your scanner.
This video is to help Ham Radio Operators better understand the J-Pole that Dr. Ed Fong has researched, built and now sells. His J-pole's are resonate in the 2 meter and 70 centimeter bands and another model that adds 220.
Can I still buy the base station version of the j-pole?
You will want to contact Ed for this question. This was a talk he did for my club. His website: edsantennas.weebly.com/
Chronic cough was very rude to share. He could have stepped away from the microphone. These days if you can find an Ed Fong they cost $50-$60. My N9TAX 2M/70CM Slim Jim 1.1SWR cost $30 shipped. Ed, thanks for sharing.
Ed Fong designs antennas that work.
24:40 Who is "Dr." Larry Cebik? Do you mean Le Roy Bruce (L.B.) Cebik, W4RNL, 1939-2008 who isn't a PhD as far as I can tell?
I'm not exactly sure. Dr. Fong was a guest speaker at one of our club meetings. I recorded it and put it here for others to enjoy. Here's his email, he has on his website: edsantennas@gmail.com
c.w. is a big part of the hobby too but so many don't want to take the time and learn it ,I quess its all what you want to spend your time on and what you are interested in ,but its a hobby to learn things ,just like any hobby you learn as you go ,
CW is a great mode and I'm slowly studying it too. But, I was so excited when I passed my General and I could come home and start transmitting phone on the HF bands.
I've heard of people putting messages in a bottle, but I wonder if anyone does smoke signals as a hobby.
flagpole, lol its a copper cactus !
Yup, I just took down my copper cactus after years of use. It was a great, first project.
Is there a length max with RG174a?
RG174 has around 9dB of loss per 100 feet on 2 meters, which is a lot. Quick calculations in my head: A 50 watt transceiver on 100 ft of RG174 you will have less then 4 watts at the feed point to the antenna. So, your max length will depend on how much RF power you want at the antenna and how much power your transceiver/amp can push.
How to tune it's uhf?
From what I understand his antennas are not tunable. I would shoot him an email.
Laughing about the cost of copper in 2024 😅
19:30 You are not an engineer!
Thanks for watching.
I really wanted to get your antenna, but the copper pipe design can handle hundreds of watts. Yours can't.
Lars Larsen The DBJ-1 250W Dual Band (2m&70cm) is available for $50, it’s a special order. Email if interested edsantennas@gmail.com. The copper cactus is a great antenna to build, but unfortunately they are rarely made with any gain.
I live in a hole, so I actually don't want gain.
Audio is terrible
maybe someone sent me a knock off , next time i will buy a meter and make my own ,meter cost 50 bucks maybe i get cheep one at ham fest that don't work
It is a lot of fun building antennas and very much a part of the hobby. Although the biggest take away I got from this presentation is that Ed Fong builds each antenna and tests them on his spectrum analyzer, which starts at several thousands dollars (plus the knowledge how to use it). So, I applaud Ed for testing every antenna he sells.
he must of not tested mine lol I get better results with my rubber duck mono pole ,but maybe I got a knock off my computer may have hacked and maybe somebody sent me a fake ?
I agree it is fun building atennas ,but I do see a lot of people with store bought antennas that say this in ther yard . I made a few antennas for 6meters and for h.f. that did ok ,but I need a better meter if I want to build my own ,see that's just the thing if you don't have good test equipment its all trial and error until you see good results ,good meters cost more than a good store bought antennas sometimes lol ,but its all fun !!! hope to work you on the bands one day !!! I'm on 3555 in the mourning ,and 40 during day ,7,110 kc thanks for reply
I forgot to say ,a lot of the fun of the hobby is c.w. too but so many don't want to take the time and learn it ,so I quess its allin what you prefer to spend your time on thanks agn
the radiation pattern of the 70cm part of this antenna is a total JOKE. no matter how low the swr is and how good it looks on the analyzer do not waste your time using this antenna on 440. I even attended Ed's demo in person and used one he made with his own hands. Ed's a great guy and all but DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME on 440 with this. make a dedicated single band for 70cm instead.
Thank you for your feedback. I've not looked into this but I know a lot of peopling running this antenna to simply get something on their house and work the local repeaters.
I used the roll up version on 440 with a bofeung ht while standing atop the lighthouse in cape may nj. Was having qsos through a repeater in Philadelphia 90 miles away on 5 watts. I would say they work well at uhf.
Terrible audio terrible
laptop audio always sucks and that's what this sounds like. yes it is horrid.
trying so hard to understand this dude. enunciate please
This was one of my early videos and we did not do a good job capturing the audio.
Auto captioning is the way to "hear" this audio. Turn the audio way way down, the intelligibility is crap. Great info, but just poorly packaged.
no really it don't work very good ,I like my rubber ducky better
Using this on an handheld radio might not yield good results. Most HT's don't have enough watts to push through the lose in the average coax, most Ham are probably using.