Hey Walt, I'm really enjoying building some of your antennas and working them with the G-90. This antenna worked great, even today with the projected propagation of 'poor" I still made contacts on 10, 112, 17 and 20. I have only been using 3 radials since that is what I had for my wolf river coil. For this antenna I used the 7.2-meter crappie pole which is lighter and has less wind drag than my bigger 10-meter pole. Easy set-up worked great. Thanks again for the inspiration to tinker with wires. Now that I have the G90, and using the wire antennas, I just can't believe how much I can do with so little! Thanks again Walt! Mike
Hey Walt Love your videos! I'm a new ham here in Canada passed my Basic with Honors. I have a question about the radials for this 17 Five. How many is a good number 4 or 5? Does the length matter? Do they have to be 5m or can they be shorter? Thanks as always for helpful videos! 73 Chris VA3COJ
Walt, built a 17-5 with 20AG wire with dx commander using the LDG 4:1 unun and LDG 1:1 choke works great, may try 20-5 but 17-5 works great!! Thanks W8BLT
WOW HAMS BUILDING ANTENNAS AND WORKING DX ON TH-cam. NOT SELLING STUFF...LOL. GOOD WORK WALT I THINK I MIGHT BUILD ONE MY SELF. HOW ABOUT 80m VERTICAL?
With all due respect to N3LJS, I don't think he is the only one that has noted and appreciates your lack of pushing product. You just get out there and do it for yourself and just share the results with everyone else. I think your audience appreciates that when you start promoting pruduct a bias inevitably follows. Keep doing what you are doing Walt...its brilliant and well appreciated. Cheers ZL2VTH
I may try this! I picked up a 1kw 4:1 balun two weeks ago cheap at a Ct ham fest. I was experimenting this week with a 213 whip using a window screen counterpoise with very good swr readings 20 to 6m with and without radials.same swr readings both ways. Do you think this will work with the window screen? It may take me a week or more to set this up. To use my ldg Tuner,4:1 and my wolf river whip.
Thanks for the video! I picked up a 25foot mast so I'm looking to try this as an elevated vertical with one or two elevated radials. That would be a good, simple POTA antenna if it works. 73, Brian - W5DUI
Funny I just chatted with VY2FU Saturday night. 10 watts got me a59 report on PEI some 1600 km to the east. Having fun turning the power down and breaking the pile up he always has . VA3PLK
Serendipity Walt, I too randomly used a 17.5 ft vertical with a 9:1 transformer, still got it in the closet- gonna dig it out and I’ll try a 4:1 as well maybe do a SWR comparison. Keep the free thinking coming Walt. Barnie. 73 de M7PBX.
What effect would you expect a 49:1 unun to have on this wire length? Its the only transformer i have at the moment. New general here, learning a lot! Thanks.
Hi Rob, sorry I brushed over that so quick. The radials attach to the black (-) ground post on the unun. You can also attach them to the outer side of the coax connector at the antenna feed point, I’ve done that with a big alligator clip before. Bottom line is the center of the coax connects to the vertical driven element and the radials connect to the outer braid wire part of the coax.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love my verticals! I did a POTA just this morning and from beginning set up to first contact without even being spotted first it was 14 minutes. A half hour later I was on the way home with 18 contacts in the bag along with 3 new states. You just can't beat it. I've noticed similar things using KJ6ER's 1/2 wave for 15m (essentially a 49:1 into a 40 inch piece of wire feeding an MFJ whip fully out). I get about 1.5:1 on 20m phone (less on the CW/digital part), completely flat on 12m and 10 is around 1.3-1.4 until you get north of 29.000 hitting 1.8 or so at 29.600. While it doesn't seem to work quite as well as setting up the 1/4 wave and radials, it's perfectly useable and a good deal easier for band changes :) I run it that way quite a bit at home.
Thanks for the inspiration!! Have my 4:1 Unun ordered. Would you go with the 17-5 or the Rybakov? I have a 6m pole (ultra portable) and am thinking to wrap the wire around the pole to get to the extra length for the Rybakov but straight wire of the 17/5 may be better. Thoughts? K4TMO
@@WA2SVM I typically use 5 meter long radials but I hack and wack and don’t worry too much about the exact length. When they are on the ground exact resonate length isn’t important. 73, Walt
Hey Walt, I'm a new Ham, just got my Basic with Honors here in Canada! I really enjoy your helpful informative videos. Question about radials. Do they need to be 5m long or can they be shorter say 3m (10ft)? How many radials is best 3, 4,5? Thanks, Chris VA3COJ
They can be any length but try to get as many down as possible especially if you’re going with 3 meter long radials. I think you would probably be ok with 5 or 6 radials 3 meters long but add more if possible
KD4YDC Robert here... Walt I saw where Michael KB9VBR took a Muller clip and a solid piece of copper wire to extend his MFJ whip to give it that extra few inches for 17.5ft. I just got a Wolf River Coils 213" whip to go with my TIA 1000. Going to try your radials trick and see what results I get. Love your videos!
Great again Walt, you have to take a look at Spiderbeam, 7m or 10m mini. They make amazing poles and really stiff ones. And have also spare parts if needed
Spiderbeam poles are brilliant! I actually prefer the 7mini to the 10 as it's less whippy. The 12HD is amazing - but it's quite big and imposing in a residential environment.
I just got my technician license so I only have the minimal access on 10 meter. I've built a 10 meter dipole so far but wanted to try this. Does this do well on 10 meters? I like the idea of it being multi-band cause I want to be able to listen to the other bands. Or should I build a vertical that is specific to 10 meter only. Thanks for all your videos brotha!!
Nice video Walt! Nice to have a fairly compact setup for multiple bands and looks like a good plan with a telescopic whip, that a good number of folks probably own. 17-five!! 👍📻⚡Cheers buddy! Tom - WA7FLY
Walt, excellent video as always, I have a 3 foot pole that needs a vertical and that's it, lol! One question, how did you attach the counterpoise wires? I couldn't make that part out. Tks, Greg
Thanks Greg! I attach the counterpoise wires to the negative side of the unun. You can also clip them to the outer side of the coax connector at the feed point which will work just as well.
Very interesting. I enjoy to try making antennas. I will give this one a go. Thank you. Phil 🇬🇧saw the subsequent coastal 20. Going to try that as well👍😁🇬🇧
Hi, Walt. Great video. It is very ecouraging to see that kind of random wire type vertical in action. It looks like the length is not very chritical namely 18 ft is a well known length for random wire multiband antenna. It is normally feeded usung 9:1 unun but 4:1 seens to work, too. I have a not sk well working commercial random wire vertical which I most probably modify based on your design. 73! Mikko, OH2BJU
I’ve seen a quite similar vertical called a ‘Rybacov’ which used 27feet vertical but fed exactly the same,.. a 17.5ft vertical is near perfect length for 20m band so wouldn’t need the unun on that band. Operating that antenna on the sea coast would be a real Boomer for DX!. I can work VK/ZL from my QTH on the Irish Sea coast with just 10W usb & 1.4m loaded whip antenna. BTW can you give mire info in your power units for portable working. … 73 de G4FBC
Hi Ron, yes the RYBAKOV is a great vertical. I’ve actually built it several times and have some videos on it. I purchased the power units on Amazon, here’s the link: Adjustable Power Supply 3V~24V 5A 120W Adapter Universal AC/DC Adapter DC 3V 5V 6V 9V 12V 15V 18V 19V 20V 24V, 100V-240V AC to DC Converter with 5.5x2.1mm 14 Tips for LED Strip Light Laptop Speaker a.co/d/aUEsEEZ
Hi Walt, Nice Video's. recent viewing of your videos have inspired me to go get a X-6100 and now trying to settle on an antenna. Headed to North Myrtle beach in a month or so and want to do a bunch of DX'ing from the beach but there will likely be other beach goers that don't want to be tripping over radials. I also plan to use this set up in the future for Pota/Sota & emergency preparedness and field days. I don't think guy wires will work either. Any suggestion are appreciated. 73's - Phil K2OTA
Hi Phil, if you’re at the beach and by the saltwater you really only need one Counterpoise wire, that should help a bit. Instead of guy wires I use either a surf rod holder or beach umbrella mount in the ground to support the pole. These also work great in common dirt as I’m using them in the backyard in Poland. All the best and 73, Walt K4OGO
love your antenna videos, just watched a video by VK3YE, Super Cheap Single Pole Beam for 15m, an interesting antenna for you to try out, especially on the beach, al ve3gam ps wonder if you could change the length of the director for each band from 20 to 10?
Thanks Al! I saw that video, very interesting. I did something similar with two poles recently with a Delta Loop I turned sideways. Complete with the fishing line and rotating method Peter used.
Hi Walt, good video as usual :) Have you done any comparison with this antenna vs the Coastal 20? I built mine (the Red Clay 20😁) based on your Coastal, but used a 5.6m collapsible whip from ebay set to 17.5 feet and a 3/8 x 24 mirror mount mounted to a short fiberglass mast so I could isolate it and fed it through my 9:1 unun with a 3 foot tail on the "ground" side of the unun. It would be quite interesting to see if the Coastal can offer comparable performance, especially with no radials needed (well, almost none). Those of us who live on postage stamp lots love your vertical videos!
Hello WALT, I think you have a great little antenna there. I'm going to have to give it a try. I really like the antennas that you experiment with. I just got the spark plug antenna the 50 watt one. I haven't had a chance to try it yet. I want to set it up like you did. I'll let you know how it works out. 73 AE4OY William Peacock EM-81UF Blackshear, GA 🤓
Hey Walt, i gave this antenna a try today getting ready for portable work once it warms up, im using a homebuilt 4:1 and a choke after a 6ft patch lead which then goes into my radio. 17 and a half foot vertical and 12 radials between 2.5 and 3.5m long, this thing is a monster between 12 and 20, got my very first copy into VK from Ireland on 20m on it today, feeding it with about 25w. Only issue im having is i cant get a good tune on 10m, im using an mfj 901 manual tuner woth an old kenwood ts130 rig and no matter what i do it wont tune below 2:1 on the lower ssb portion around 28400, i get a good match further up near 28900 but its pretty deaf on 10m anyway, dont know mayne i done something wrong, ill experiment with wire lenghts. Im very impressed though, single wire and i can work really good dx on 4 bands, and it cost me less than 20 quid including toroids for the ununs!
That sounds like fun. It occurs to me that a way to employ the MFJ whip would be to add one of those rods such are used between the base and the coil on a Wolf River setup. I'll see if I can try it on a POTA. I've got the LDG Z-11Pro II, which should give me comparable tuner performance. Thanks and 73, Bill - KE1G
Hey Walt, Great channel, Thank you for I am learning a lot of your experiments as a novice HAM. My QTH has a constant QRM of S9+ dB. So mobile is the only way to go. I am a great fan of my home brew T2LT antenna's I have got them 10, 2 and 0,7, but looking for something short multi band the 17five looks like a good solution. So I build one from your example. Only difference I made to it are the radials. I first used the radials that i made for my home brew multi band vertical for 20 and 40 based on the Slidewinder design only longer. These radials are in bundels of 6 strands of 3 meter thin speaker wire. I use 3 of these bundels for a ground plain. Now I observe something strange. The more of these bundels I attach the higher the SWR of the 17five gets. Best configuration I found is No radials at all with the 4:1 LDG unun dangling 2,5 meters of the ground (on a 8 meter squidpool) With a SRW of 2,3 on 40 it has even a wider range then expected. According to the Rig Expert it would be tunable on all HAM band except for 160, 80 and 2 meter. This is what I would like to give back to you. It may lead to some ideas. Pitty your day in Poland are over would have loved to work you on this antenna. But how knows maybe trans Atlantic some day.
Thanks for the input and the information on your experimenting. Hope to catch you on the bands for that Trans Atlantic QSO! All the best and 73, Walt K4OGO
Those were some cool QSO’s. The best I’ve had was a DX contact to Guam and Italy from Southern California on a Chameleon LEFS EFHW antenna. Hope to get more DX contacts in the future. Keep the videos coming Walt!!!
Hi, Walt. Nice video man and some great contacts there. I'm looking at maybe getting a 1/4 end fed 60 meter single band vertical as an "all-in-one" type solution to cover 30, 20, 15, 10, and maybe 6 meters. It's just over 8 feet tall and has a coiled bottom half. The price is nice at 40 USD. What do you think? 73
Hmm... My math might be off. That'd provably be better for 60, 30, 15. The 160 one might be good for 80, 40, 20, 10, 5. 🤔 Maybe I'll just get a long poll and wrap some wire around it... 😅
I ended up getting both antennas to switch between to get up and going a bit easier. But yeah, I'll have to do some experimentation for more ideal setups when time permits. 73
Thank you! I loved the video! I’ve had my General license since 2010, even though I’ve been on HF several times, I just got my first HF Radio, the Icom 7300. I’m having horrible luck with a dipole and I’m hoping to try the Seven 5, thanks again, I can’t wait to try it! Hope to hear you on the waves! 73 - N9RMG
I’m sort of in the same boat. Got my General in 2020 and just got a 991a. The subject of antennas is daunting, and I may start with a design like this or similar.
Hi Walt, video is amazing as always but I have a question about shnitpowers. Do they drift with voltage ? I have one ( kind of knock off ) and my unit is going down like 0.9 V in 20 - 30 min until it gets hot and then it stabilizes. It is really annoying and I'm thinking about original shnits from amazon if they are constant with voltage from the very start. Thanks for video !
Hey Walt! Love your stuff, and something to consider is to make a "mini inverted L" by adding a piece of wire with an alligator clip to the 17' whip. I use a longer piece to a cheap pole to tune 40m. Hears better and gets out better than a coil at the base. Have fun in Poland.
Another great video, Walt!!! Hampton Roads was where I got my start and I’m sure we know a bunch of the same guys. Your videos helped get me into QRP (and the (tr)uSDX) and now the G90. Hopefully one day we’ll get to have a QSO. Until then, 73 for now. de K4RUE
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Hey Walt,
I'm really enjoying building some of your antennas and working them with the G-90. This antenna worked great, even today with the projected propagation of 'poor" I still made contacts on 10, 112, 17 and 20. I have only been using 3 radials since that is what I had for my wolf river coil. For this antenna I used the 7.2-meter crappie pole which is lighter and has less wind drag than my bigger 10-meter pole. Easy set-up worked great. Thanks again for the inspiration to tinker with wires. Now that I have the G90, and using the wire antennas, I just can't believe how much I can do with so little! Thanks again Walt!
Mike
"An American in Poland". Sounds like a great movie title.
Hahaha my first videos I did here way back I used "An American ham in Europe" in the titles.
@@COASTALWAVESWIRES "An American in Poland" needs to ride a Vespa scooter...
@@usernamemykel hahaha
No.....that's Gregory Peak's job!@@usernamemykel
Hey Walt Love your videos! I'm a new ham here in Canada passed my Basic with Honors. I have a question about the radials for this 17 Five. How many is a good number 4 or 5? Does the length matter? Do they have to be 5m or can they be shorter?
Thanks as always for helpful videos!
73
Chris
VA3COJ
Walt, built a 17-5 with 20AG wire with dx commander using the LDG 4:1 unun and LDG 1:1 choke works great, may try 20-5 but 17-5 works great!! Thanks W8BLT
Awesome! 73, Walt
WOW HAMS BUILDING ANTENNAS AND WORKING DX ON TH-cam. NOT SELLING STUFF...LOL. GOOD WORK WALT I THINK I MIGHT BUILD ONE MY SELF. HOW ABOUT 80m VERTICAL?
Thanks so much, this comment means a lot to me as I try hard not to be a review and unboxing guy. It's great that someone notices that. 73 de K4OGO
With all due respect to N3LJS, I don't think he is the only one that has noted and appreciates your lack of pushing product. You just get out there and do it for yourself and just share the results with everyone else. I think your audience appreciates that when you start promoting pruduct a bias inevitably follows. Keep doing what you are doing Walt...its brilliant and well appreciated. Cheers ZL2VTH
@@philhayward8696 thank you so much Phil!!!! These are my most appreciated comments
Hi Walt. Your videos are so informative, inspiring and enthusiastic! This is another great idea! 73, Mike, M0MTJ
Thank you so very much! 73, Walt
I may try this! I picked up a 1kw 4:1 balun two weeks ago cheap at a Ct ham fest. I was experimenting this week with a 213 whip using a window
screen counterpoise with very good
swr readings 20 to 6m with and without
radials.same swr readings both ways.
Do you think this will work with the window screen? It may take me a week or more to set this up. To use my ldg
Tuner,4:1 and my wolf river whip.
Yes, give it a try
Thanks for the video! I picked up a 25foot mast so I'm looking to try this as an elevated vertical with one or two elevated radials. That would be a good, simple POTA antenna if it works. 73, Brian - W5DUI
Definitely worth a try. Good luck!
73, Walt
Hahaha 5 and 7, and asks 5 times for your call??
This is effectively the same as the antenna you have at home apart from the counterpoise. Very similar length and 4:1 unun.
@@GordonHudson yes it is, very similar to a commercial HF-360
Hello, what locator as SP in Poland? Cheers SP8PB. Your movie about 29 vertical made me did it. I am going to test it on the weekend. 73!
Dzień dobry Pawel! I was in SP2. I worked in Słupsk. Good luck this weekend!
Funny I just chatted with VY2FU Saturday night. 10 watts got me a59 report on PEI some 1600 km to the east. Having fun turning the power down and breaking the pile up he always has . VA3PLK
That’s awesome!
Just replicated this design, hung it from my mast. 20W into St. Pete Russia from Midland VA. works great.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing
I've got a perfect mast for this length so I might need to try this one for SOTA.
It seems to be a great length Jeff
Don’t really get chokes. Is the 1:1 needed when you have the 4:1 at the feed point ?
No it's not needed, it just helps prevent RF from travelling up the coax when you are transmitting.
Serendipity Walt, I too randomly used a 17.5 ft vertical with a 9:1 transformer, still got it in the closet- gonna dig it out and I’ll try a 4:1 as well maybe do a SWR comparison. Keep the free thinking coming Walt.
Barnie. 73 de M7PBX.
Thanks so much Barnie! That's what it's all about
What effect would you expect a 49:1 unun to have on this wire length? Its the only transformer i have at the moment. New general here, learning a lot! Thanks.
I'm curious how or where the radials are attached. I'm new to antenna building so it didn't seem clear from the demonstration.
Hi Rob, sorry I brushed over that so quick. The radials attach to the black (-) ground post on the unun. You can also attach them to the outer side of the coax connector at the antenna feed point, I’ve done that with a big alligator clip before. Bottom line is the center of the coax connects to the vertical driven element and the radials connect to the outer braid wire part of the coax.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love my verticals! I did a POTA just this morning and from beginning set up to first contact without even being spotted first it was 14 minutes. A half hour later I was on the way home with 18 contacts in the bag along with 3 new states. You just can't beat it.
I've noticed similar things using KJ6ER's 1/2 wave for 15m (essentially a 49:1 into a 40 inch piece of wire feeding an MFJ whip fully out). I get about 1.5:1 on 20m phone (less on the CW/digital part), completely flat on 12m and 10 is around 1.3-1.4 until you get north of 29.000 hitting 1.8 or so at 29.600. While it doesn't seem to work quite as well as setting up the 1/4 wave and radials, it's perfectly useable and a good deal easier for band changes :) I run it that way quite a bit at home.
Roger that!
Thanks for the inspiration!! Have my 4:1 Unun ordered. Would you go with the 17-5 or the Rybakov? I have a 6m pole (ultra portable) and am thinking to wrap the wire around the pole to get to the extra length for the Rybakov but straight wire of the 17/5 may be better. Thoughts? K4TMO
Hi Walt, just curious what length ground radials you used. 73, WA2SVM.
@@WA2SVM I typically use 5 meter long radials but I hack and wack and don’t worry too much about the exact length. When they are on the ground exact resonate length isn’t important. 73, Walt
@@COASTALWAVESWIRES Many thanks! I plan to try both the 17.5" & 29' verticals. Happy DX!
Walt, well i guess you proved the point i was seeking! It does work pretty good inland!
Yes Europe to North America from a backyard! 73, Walt
Hey Walt, I'm a new Ham, just got my Basic with Honors here in Canada! I really enjoy your helpful informative videos. Question about radials. Do they need to be 5m long or can they be shorter say 3m (10ft)? How many radials is best 3, 4,5?
Thanks,
Chris
VA3COJ
They can be any length but try to get as many down as possible especially if you’re going with 3 meter long radials. I think you would probably be ok with 5 or 6 radials 3 meters long but add more if possible
This is a very common question and I think you have inspired me to finally do a video on this topic. 73, Walt
@COASTALWAVESWIRES Thanks so much Walt! Well I'm glad a noob like me has given you inspiration lol 😆 😄
73
Chris VA3COJ
KD4YDC Robert here... Walt I saw where Michael KB9VBR took a Muller clip and a solid piece of copper wire to extend his MFJ whip to give it that extra few inches for 17.5ft. I just got a Wolf River Coils 213" whip to go with my TIA 1000. Going to try your radials trick and see what results I get. Love your videos!
Thanks for that info Robert, that’s a great idea. And thanks for the kind words! 73
Great again Walt, you have to take a look at Spiderbeam, 7m or 10m mini. They make amazing poles and really stiff ones. And have also spare parts if needed
Thanks Robin, I will check them out
Absolutely right on the Spiderbeam. Great poles and great for POTA (maybe just a bit bulky for hiking).
Spiderbeam poles are brilliant! I actually prefer the 7mini to the 10 as it's less whippy. The 12HD is amazing - but it's quite big and imposing in a residential environment.
My best SWR was 2.8 at 20 m. Other bands were over four. Added extra counterpoise, no improvement! :(
Thank you Walt! Always love your videos!!
Thank you Greg!!!
That's the sunniest I've seen Poland so far, Walt. Grab some sunblock. Thanks for another great video.
Thanks Warren! The weather is really nice here!
I just got my technician license so I only have the minimal access on 10 meter. I've built a 10 meter dipole so far but wanted to try this. Does this do well on 10 meters? I like the idea of it being multi-band cause I want to be able to listen to the other bands. Or should I build a vertical that is specific to 10 meter only. Thanks for all your videos brotha!!
How many radials and how long ?
My radials on this were 17 feet (5 meters) long. I think I put 7 down on this one. I typically put 4 or 5 down.
Nice work Walt! Happy Memorial Day from the US! 73!
Thanks! 73 from Poland!
Nice video Walt! Nice to have a fairly compact setup for multiple bands and looks like a good plan with a telescopic whip, that a good number of folks probably own. 17-five!! 👍📻⚡Cheers buddy! Tom - WA7FLY
Thanks so much Tom! Cheers my friend!
Sounds great. Thanks, Walt 😁🙂
Thank you my friend!
👍👍
Walt, excellent video as always, I have a 3 foot pole that needs a vertical and that's it, lol! One question, how did you attach the counterpoise wires? I couldn't make that part out. Tks, Greg
Thanks Greg! I attach the counterpoise wires to the negative side of the unun. You can also clip them to the outer side of the coax connector at the feed point which will work just as well.
Very interesting. I enjoy to try making antennas. I will give this one a go. Thank you. Phil 🇬🇧saw the subsequent coastal 20. Going to try that as well👍😁🇬🇧
Thanks Phil! 73 Walt
Thanks Walt enjoy your videos and info…73s
Thanks so much! 73
Hi, Walt. Great video. It is very ecouraging to see that kind of random wire type vertical in action. It looks like the length is not very chritical namely 18 ft is a well known length for random wire multiband antenna. It is normally feeded usung 9:1 unun but 4:1 seens to work, too. I have a not sk well working commercial random wire vertical which I most probably modify based on your design.
73! Mikko, OH2BJU
Thanks! Good luck with the antenna! 73, Walt K4OGO
I’ve seen a quite similar vertical called a ‘Rybacov’ which used 27feet vertical but fed exactly the same,.. a 17.5ft vertical is near perfect length for 20m band so wouldn’t need the unun on that band. Operating that antenna on the sea coast would be a real Boomer for DX!. I can work VK/ZL from my QTH on the Irish Sea coast with just 10W usb & 1.4m loaded whip antenna.
BTW can you give mire info in your power units for portable working. … 73 de G4FBC
Hi Ron, yes the RYBAKOV is a great vertical. I’ve actually built it several times and have some videos on it. I purchased the power units on Amazon, here’s the link: Adjustable Power Supply 3V~24V 5A 120W Adapter Universal AC/DC Adapter DC 3V 5V 6V 9V 12V 15V 18V 19V 20V 24V, 100V-240V AC to DC Converter with 5.5x2.1mm 14 Tips for LED Strip Light Laptop Speaker a.co/d/aUEsEEZ
Hi Walt, Nice Video's. recent viewing of your videos have inspired me to go get a X-6100 and now trying to settle on an antenna. Headed to North Myrtle beach in a month or so and want to do a bunch of DX'ing from the beach but there will likely be other beach goers that don't want to be tripping over radials. I also plan to use this set up in the future for Pota/Sota & emergency preparedness and field days. I don't think guy wires will work either. Any suggestion are appreciated.
73's - Phil K2OTA
Hi Phil, if you’re at the beach and by the saltwater you really only need one Counterpoise wire, that should help a bit. Instead of guy wires I use either a surf rod holder or beach umbrella mount in the ground to support the pole. These also work great in common dirt as I’m using them in the backyard in Poland. All the best and 73, Walt K4OGO
Love your vid’s. How long is that coax running from the yard all the way upstairs?
Thanks! I believe it is 50 feet long.
love your antenna videos, just watched a video by VK3YE, Super Cheap Single Pole Beam for 15m, an interesting antenna for you to try out, especially on the beach, al ve3gam ps wonder if you could change the length of the director for each band from 20 to 10?
Thanks Al! I saw that video, very interesting. I did something similar with two poles recently with a Delta Loop I turned sideways. Complete with the fishing line and rotating method Peter used.
Evidently I missed building the vertical antenna, all I saw was the front of your radio.
Pay attention to the beginning of the video next time
Hi Walt, good video as usual :)
Have you done any comparison with this antenna vs the Coastal 20?
I built mine (the Red Clay 20😁) based on your Coastal, but used a 5.6m collapsible whip from ebay set to 17.5 feet and a 3/8 x 24 mirror mount mounted to a short fiberglass mast so I could isolate it and fed it through my 9:1 unun with a 3 foot tail on the "ground" side of the unun.
It would be quite interesting to see if the Coastal can offer comparable performance, especially with no radials needed (well, almost none).
Those of us who live on postage stamp lots love your vertical videos!
Thanks Mike, this antenna is basically the Coastal 20 with a groundplane. The Red Clay 20, I like that!!! Thanks for watching my videos!
Hello WALT, I think you have a great little antenna there. I'm going to have to give it a try. I really like the antennas that you experiment with. I just got the spark plug antenna the 50 watt one. I haven't had a chance to try it yet. I want to set it up like you did. I'll let you know how it works out. 73 AE4OY William Peacock EM-81UF Blackshear, GA 🤓
Thanks William! Let me know how it works out!
What is UnUn?
nice results with the vertical.. just wait till you get on the beach with it. fun fun.. thx for sharing. k0klb
Thanks Kevin! Yeah this will be a beast on the beach.
Hey Walt, i gave this antenna a try today getting ready for portable work once it warms up, im using a homebuilt 4:1 and a choke after a 6ft patch lead which then goes into my radio. 17 and a half foot vertical and 12 radials between 2.5 and 3.5m long, this thing is a monster between 12 and 20, got my very first copy into VK from Ireland on 20m on it today, feeding it with about 25w. Only issue im having is i cant get a good tune on 10m, im using an mfj 901 manual tuner woth an old kenwood ts130 rig and no matter what i do it wont tune below 2:1 on the lower ssb portion around 28400, i get a good match further up near 28900 but its pretty deaf on 10m anyway, dont know mayne i done something wrong, ill experiment with wire lenghts. Im very impressed though, single wire and i can work really good dx on 4 bands, and it cost me less than 20 quid including toroids for the ununs!
That’s awesome! Thanks for sharing. Keep experimenting, I hope 10 comes through for you. 73, Walt
Neet long distant Ham call no charges, exciting to hear. I’m just a listener in Montreal
Thanks for watching! I started as a listener for many years. Be careful, the bug might bite you to get your license!
That sounds like fun. It occurs to me that a way to employ the MFJ whip would be to add one of those rods such are used between the base and the coil on a Wolf River setup. I'll see if I can try it on a POTA. I've got the LDG Z-11Pro II, which should give me comparable tuner performance.
Thanks and 73, Bill - KE1G
Hi Bill, I plan on doing that with my whip to get that little extra length. Thanks for the comment! 73, Walt K4OGO
You have a great Antenna i learned alot
Thanks for watchig!
Hey Walt, Great channel, Thank you for I am learning a lot of your experiments as a novice HAM. My QTH has a constant QRM of S9+ dB. So mobile is the only way to go. I am a great fan of my home brew T2LT antenna's I have got them 10, 2 and 0,7, but looking for something short multi band the 17five looks like a good solution. So I build one from your example. Only difference I made to it are the radials. I first used the radials that i made for my home brew multi band vertical for 20 and 40 based on the Slidewinder design only longer. These radials are in bundels of 6 strands of 3 meter thin speaker wire. I use 3 of these bundels for a ground plain. Now I observe something strange. The more of these bundels I attach the higher the SWR of the 17five gets. Best configuration I found is No radials at all with the 4:1 LDG unun dangling 2,5 meters of the ground (on a 8 meter squidpool) With a SRW of 2,3 on 40 it has even a wider range then expected. According to the Rig Expert it would be tunable on all HAM band except for 160, 80 and 2 meter. This is what I would like to give back to you. It may lead to some ideas. Pitty your day in Poland are over would have loved to work you on this antenna. But how knows maybe trans Atlantic some day.
Thanks for the input and the information on your experimenting. Hope to catch you on the bands for that Trans Atlantic QSO! All the best and 73, Walt K4OGO
I was feeling like the entire video might be trying to confirm that first QSO.
Made you work for that one.
That’s the trouble with this long call sign
Thanks Walt, great inspiration. I'm trying to cut back on equipment and power down to 5 watts. Hope catch you on band 73
Thanks Alan! Hope to catch you soon!
Those were some cool QSO’s. The best I’ve had was a DX contact to Guam and Italy from Southern California on a Chameleon LEFS EFHW antenna. Hope to get more DX contacts in the future. Keep the videos coming Walt!!!
Thanks Ammed! Best of DX to you my friend!
This is really interesting, I'm gonna have to try this seems like it might make nice compact pota antenna
Thanks for watching!
Another winner! Great stuff Walt!
Thank you so much! 73
I don’t know much about antennas but I like the simplicity of a vertical antenna
Me too!
Great one Walt thanks for sharing brother
Thanks so much Andy!
Keep up the experiments! The 4:1 has surprised me and it seems to be a good way to go for the shorter random wire lengths.
Thanks Mike, I think it’s money for that 17.5 foot length. 73 my friend!
Hi, Walt. Nice video man and some great contacts there. I'm looking at maybe getting a 1/4 end fed 60 meter single band vertical as an "all-in-one" type solution to cover 30, 20, 15, 10, and maybe 6 meters. It's just over 8 feet tall and has a coiled bottom half. The price is nice at 40 USD. What do you think? 73
Hmm... My math might be off. That'd provably be better for 60, 30, 15. The 160 one might be good for 80, 40, 20, 10, 5. 🤔 Maybe I'll just get a long poll and wrap some wire around it... 😅
Or do like I do, just experiment with some different lengths until you find what you like LOL. 73, Walt
I ended up getting both antennas to switch between to get up and going a bit easier. But yeah, I'll have to do some experimentation for more ideal setups when time permits. 73
Thank you! I loved the video! I’ve had my General license since 2010, even though I’ve been on HF several times, I just got my first HF Radio, the Icom 7300. I’m having horrible luck with a dipole and I’m hoping to try the Seven 5, thanks again, I can’t wait to try it! Hope to hear you on the waves! 73 - N9RMG
Looking forward to catching you on the air! 73, Walt K4OGO
I’m sort of in the same boat. Got my General in 2020 and just got a 991a. The subject of antennas is daunting, and I may start with a design like this or similar.
Another good one!
Thanks Tim!
Consider wires cut for 5/8 wave.
5/8 is the absolute bast for a mono band antenna. Great takeoff angle.
Hi Walt, video is amazing as always but I have a question about shnitpowers. Do they drift with voltage ? I have one ( kind of knock off ) and my unit is going down like 0.9 V in 20 - 30 min until it gets hot and then it stabilizes. It is really annoying and I'm thinking about original shnits from amazon if they are constant with voltage from the very start. Thanks for video !
Thank you! I haven't had that issue with mine, they stay very stable.
@@COASTALWAVESWIRES So mine is definitely knock off. Thank you for answer !
Great build! Now considering how a phased array would perform?
73 good sir!
I’ve got one planned for the beach this summer!
@@COASTALWAVESWIRES Sounds like it will be a real signal screamer!
Very similar to the MPAS mini system.
Interesting, I’ll check it out
That is one totally complicated, How do you E.V.E.R. keep up with it all.
Haha It’s really not that complicated, just a measured wire in the air with a unun under it
@@COASTALWAVESWIRES I know, I was just teasing you.
@@patriot9455 hahaha
You surprised a guy from Canada this "SP stroke..."😂😉 Another great simple antenna, tnx Walt for the video👍
🇺🇸💪🇵🇱
Marcin SP7SZC
Haha yes I did Marcin! Thanks my friend!
Took me a bit to catch on to the the call. Cheer's Dave VY2FU
@@Zoomerstaken thanks Dave!!!
@@Zoomerstaken That's right mate😁😉 73 Dave!👋
🇨🇦💪🇵🇱 Marcin SP7SZC
6m may be more of a function of the frequency response for the baluns/ununs involved.
Maybe but I’m pretty sure the band hasn’t been open here in Northern Poland
Hey Walt! Love your stuff, and something to consider is to make a "mini inverted L" by adding a piece of wire with an alligator clip to the 17' whip. I use a longer piece to a cheap pole to tune 40m. Hears better and gets out better than a coil at the base. Have fun in Poland.
Thanks! Great idea, thanks for sharing
@@COASTALWAVESWIRES The wire I use is 20'6" long using the WRC whip.
4:1, 9:1, 1:1, as far as your bal/uns, did you have to switch between bands? Or was there one that worked them all?
The 4:1 worked them all.
@@COASTALWAVESWIRES GLORIOUS!!! I'm going to build me one of these magical things!!!
Nice build. Receivers (when they work) are so satisfying. It truly is black magic! 73 de VK2AOE.
Thanks! Yes they are. 73 de K4OGO
Another great video, Walt!!! Hampton Roads was where I got my start and I’m sure we know a bunch of the same guys. Your videos helped get me into QRP (and the (tr)uSDX) and now the G90. Hopefully one day we’ll get to have a QSO. Until then, 73 for now. de K4RUE
Thanks Barry! I'm sure we know a lot of the same guys. I'm looking forward to that QSO.
Great!!! Thanks!!!
Thanks for watching!!!
@@COASTALWAVESWIRES 👍