Because of this video, I purchased both the Spiderbeam and HyEndFed 3 Band classic. Used today for the first time and the results were amazing. I like the fact that the antenna is resonant on 3 bands out of the box and, unlike my Buddipole, I can change bands without retuning. The mast takes about 15 minutes to set up and I strapped it to a wooden pole at a local park. Finland, Guatemala, France, Brazil and Guatemala with 100 watts, using a FT897D, were among my contacts. This was from a local park in NJ. Bye Bye Buddipole.
As a teenager, I use to park my VW van with my 109 antennae centered mounted and my old Radio Shack radio. We started the Rattle Snake Point Radio club and used to meet at the restaurant at the plaza in Milton. We had about 10 guys that lived in the Milton Area. I wished I had my license back then. (era 1970)
Sounds like fun, Don! I used to dream about owning a van with a 109" whip when I was a broke teen with a second hand Realistic Navaho 23 channel rig (mid 70's). Thank you for sharing your memories.
Tracy, really appreciate your videos. Your presentation style is one which makes one feel as though they have been a personal friend for many years. We appreciate our wonderful friends to the north.
Great video. I have the 12m pole and it is heavy if you have to carry it to your site. I mount mine before I put it up and tape the first few sections along with the wire. then use the clamps that come with it. I find that easier if you are on your own than walking it up and less strain on the pole.
Hi, Tracy. Based mostly on your videos I bought the Spiderbeam 18m (60ft) pole. I ran my endfed to the top as a vertical set up. I worked a station in Oklahoma from my QHT in Winnipeg on 5 watts and even at 2.5 watts I could work that station. I used my new icom ic-705 as it's my only and first ever HF radio. 2.5w over 1600km! The station was running 400w on a yagi, he turned off his amp and ran 40w and I could hear him, but not copy much. It was a great QSO. 73!
Nice! I've got a question for you...how far up the mast did you affix the high end of the endfed, and did the mast bend much once erected with the antenna connected? 73 from VE3TWM.
Hi. This was my first ever set up. I have two sections above the end of the antenna. . Next time I’ll take it to the very top and reply back here. 18m pole sire attracts attentions. I can see it a few blocks from my house! I made a contact in Nevada on 40m with 5w!
Can't wait to get my new rig set up for QRP camping, and i do a lot of camping. Just hope my provincial camp grounds take the flipping of the table as only a temporary mesure and not habit forming. Great video . 73 from VA2FN.
I have watched several of your videos in terms of the 817QRP setup. I have just bought a 871ND yesterday and as a fairly newly qualified amatuer I have been using youtube as a point of reference. I want to go QRP, backpacking and camping and your videos are very inspirational. Keep up the good work and be rest assured, I find them extremely educational. 73 M6KVK
Congratulations on getting your license, Gary! I hope you have as much fun with your 817 as I have with mine. It's great to hear that my videos have inspired you, thank you for letting me know. 73 from VE3TWM.
+Frank Fullum Congratulations on your new license, Frank! I hope your new antenna system is working well for you. Thank you for watching and for the compliment, I really appreciate it. 73 from VE3TWM.
Thanks for a great video about a great antenna! This video convinced me to buy the HyEndFed 40-20-10 (but in my case installed as a sloper, and for stationary use). I live in a city and have rather small lot, and this antenna is perfect with my 100 Watt Yaesu FT-450D. It all works very well for 40m, 20m and 10/11m.
Have two Jackite 31 footer's ! And to be honest, a little disappointed in how flexible they are ! My mistake thinking they would be more rigid, having to support flags in a wind, but instead find they struggle to hold up even 18 gauge wire, without bending ! Since, I have purchased Two 12 meter Spider Beam mast, and are hopeful they will stand straight, even if it means not extending them fully ? I think it is important to note that the Spider Beam masts, can be ordered with an eyelet, to aid in feeding a wire or such thru the top ! Too, Vibroplex is Spider Beams U.S. representative, and carries a set of clamps to keep the sections from collapsing down upon themselves, for those more permanent installations ! Hopefully this will help someone save time when ordering ! Unfortunately I didn't learn of the clamp's until already having purchased the masts ! And now waiting for them to arrive ! Thanks for your post ! '73 👍😉
Thanks so very much for taking the time to make & share this video. It was one of the vidz I watched more than once before getting my Spiderbeam 12m HD pole, so much more robust than a lot of others I've seen, horses for courses I dare say though. The SpiderBeam supports my 40m/80m inverted wire at approx 11m agl but I use it for /P ops also....considering buying another couple to support a loop maybe...a phased vertical system is atop my list however! Great buy, don't hesitate if you're contemplating a fibre glass telescopic pole.....they do 18m ones too HI
Boy, am I glad I came across your videos on HyEndFed antennas!? Just finished checking my new 10-20-40 HyEndFed configured as per this video on a MFJ 33-ft telescopic mast - not long enough to run the feed point all the way down, but it was the longest I could find at a local HamFest. I sloped the wire away from the mast about 8 ft. from a wooden deck, which is about 4 ft off the ground and tied it off at the railing, about 7 ft total off the ground. SWR in the 20 m band ranged from 1.5 at the top to 1.8 at the bottom of the General privileges section of the band and 10 m was about the same. This is the perfect solution for my needs, both at QTH and portable, ie. at Scout Camp. Thanks for putting these videos together. 73, N3VCK Vagel Keller
Thank you for leaving your comment, Vagel. I really appreciate hearing about your experience. Well done with your antenna. I expect you'll have a lot of success with it. 73 from Tracy VE3TWM.
Thank you for your videos. I'm taking up the hobby again after 20+ years, planning on buying an FT-817ND as I'm into outdoor activites (esp. scouting). 73 de SM5SYO
Sounds exciting, Mikael! When you get your hands on that 817 and pair it up with a good antenna, you will be blown away by what you can do. Have fun with the scouts and plant the seeds for future ham radio operators. 73 from Tracy VE3TWM.
Will do! The local ham radio club are nextdoor to the scouts. I'm thinking JOTA next autumn. (To be fair, I expect they've alread participated, but I'm planning to be part of it.) :-)
Do not try using 1500W with this type of antenna, since coax will carry significant RF current back to radio.End fed antenna is not only high impedance (2400 ohm) it is also highly asymmetrical.Matching unit adjusts 2400 to 50 ohm, but you also need choke balun to common mode current.As usual , choke needs to be 10 times antenna impedance - meaning 24,000 ohm.I use coax choke resonant very close to operating frequency to get 30,000 ohm choking.Two chokes are required if you use vertical yagies and high power.73 VK3EGN
I have the 12m Spiderbeam and I use a Nelson efhw. I also use the pvc pipe w/guy ropes like you showed in a couple of your other videos. The 12m drops into the pvc pipe and I use an expansion test cap to transport it all self contained. Thanks for your videos, you keep giving me new ideas. 73s KZ5MLS
Tracey: Ordered my Spiderbeam today for my FT-817ND. Might pickup the HyEndFed later down the road but building my own endfed at this time. Was the 3 band classic chosen because of it length so it fit perfectly on the Spiderbeam? Did you every try a tuner with it on your FT-897 to stretch its legs on the bands that it was narrow on?
Hi Michael, you ar really going to like the Spiderbeam. Yes, the length of the 3 Band Classic was an ideal match for the Spiderbeam pole and that drove me to make this video. I never use a tuner with my 817. As you may have gathered, I believe in using resonant antennas and staying within their resonant range when using the 817. All in an effort to keep the finals healthy and the antenna efficiency high. Let me know how you make out with the homebrew endfed!
Tracey: Your absolutely right. After I had wrote my entry, that night I changed my plan a bit. I received the Spiderbeam it is outstanding! I've obtained and using a SOTABeams antenna now. It's a SOTABeams Band Hopper 2 dual band 20/40m that is a dipole and you connect two gator clips together to change from 20m to 40m. Very simple and effective. 1:1 on 20m and on 40m. This is the link: www.sotabeams.co.uk/two-band-portable-dipole-antenna-system/ If you watch the video its really informative on how fast these things go up and are operational. No Tuning! I'm not kidding the antenna goes up in 7-8 minutes easy and I installed it at 6m on my Spiderbeam. I've set it up as an inverted vee. I'll obtain a smaller pole for backpacking but for now mine works great. Another fun item that I found out through Cliff (QRP School) is the QRPguys.com EFHW Mini Tuner kit $25. You wind the two toroids and solder the parts together and you have an endfed QRP tuner that goes at the end of a wire and a counterpoise. The PC board even has the wire lengths to cut to printed on the board. Works good for QRP. Another Note: You know that wobbling knob on your FT-817? If you push on that knob you can traverse across the frequency faster too. Enjoy your videos Tracey. Keep up your excellent endeavors.
Great videos. Very informative. I'd like to know about building and Inverted V for 20 meters (others?) that is end fed. In essence it would be an easily deployble inverted V, fed from one leg of the V using the coax shield as one leg. Perhaps there's a re reason I can't find much about this but I'd appreciate you weighing in on the concept.
Hi Rick, thank you very much for the compliment, I truly appreciate it. I would like to preface what I am going to say with a large disclaimer: I am all for antenna experimentation, and I am definitely not an antenna engineer. Now with that out of the way, consider half of your antenna lying on the ground (i.e. the shield of the coax). I don't suppose it's likely to work as well as having the entire antenna up and in the air. That is what this new breed of end fed half waves do for you, get all of the radiating element up where it can do the most good. I am not discouraging you from trying, in fact I applaud the spirit of trying to build something effective. Have at it and learn something. I hope this has been of some value to you.
I think I may pick this up for field day. I looked them up and there's one with an eyelet for $15 more. Do you use the eyelet version or do you find it to be fine without use of an eyelet?
Hi Oscar, either way is fine. The straight up method will result in the lowest angle of radiation making the antenna omnidirectional and also better for DX. The sloper has a bit of gain in the direction of the slope and a null in the opposite direction.
In this video, I did have the antenna oriented vertically, but due to the wire being longer than the mast I had to run the excess at the bottom away from the mast. One day I should try running the 3-band vertically from the top of my 50 foot DX-Wire mast.
Hello, thank you for the video, I enjoyed it. Based on this I just ordered HyEnd 3 band antenna to try it for my home base HF antenna. I have one question for you, since the Spiderbeam mast is 12m and antenna is 11.85m long (per manufacturer), in order to keep the end feed point about 1 meter above the ground, the antenna will need to be slightly sloped, correct? Unless I mount it on a tall tree high enough.
I have 8 of them and 4 of the aluminum. They have quite a bit of play in the interconnects, so stacking 8 of them gets a little scary without guy ropes even in a slight breeze. I used two aluminum poles at the bottom, clamped them to a cemented in fence post, and it still had more movement than I liked at the top. If it had been in the middle of an open field, I could have overlooked it for a temporary setup up, but I had it up near my house. It is also rather difficult to join them together and walk them up as the pole bends quite a bit even using the hinged stake base.
Correct...pull the antenna away from the pole well above the top of the fence so the metal in the fence does not interact with the antenna. Poor SWR will result if the antenna gets too close to the fence.
Hi Tracy, first of all thanks for the video. I ordered a HyEndFed 40/20/10 and waiting for it to arrive. I was under the impression it can't be used as e vertical. Did you manage to get a acceptable SWR operating the antenna as a vertical? Which would mean the endfed doesn't have to be under a certain angle to get a good SWR, am I correct? 73
I'm really sorry for the delay in response...either I missed this or TH-cam is having an issue in the reporting on comments (my vote). I had no issues with the SWR in the vertical orientation. The SWR was just as good vertical as a sloper. 73 from VE3TWM.
@@OutdoorsOnTheAir Thank you Tracy, not a problem at all. I have the HyEndFed installed vertical and SWR is absolutely fine on all 3 bands. No tuner needed. Hope to talk to you on the bands! 73 de PD9RD.
Inspired by your video I now have a 12m Spiderbeam and a HyEndFed 3 Band. Got it set up on the deck yesterday and it compared very favourably with my EFHW-80-10 during the ARRL CW Contest. Even on 80 with the HyEndFed I got CT9, RW and ON. Just wondering what you would recommend for clamping the sections. The Spiderbeam clamps get to be pretty expensive by the time they reach here. I thought I'd go to Canadian Tire get a set of hose clamps and line them somehow. Mike, VO1OK.
Hi Michael, thank you for watching and for your comments. Congratulations on your new gear! To ensure the sections do not collapse when deployed, try using hose clamps and cut pieces from a bicycle inner tube (or other rubber-like material) to put between the clamps and the mast. You want a material that will compress under pressure from the clamp and grab onto the pole. Just don't over tighten the clamps or you risk damaging the fiberglass pole. 73 from Tracy VE3TWM.
Thank you! There is no metal bracket attached to the matching unit. HyEndFed does sell some models that come with a metal bracket, but the antenna shown in this video is not one of those..
Tracy, I really enjoy your videos. I am considering a Hyenfed antenna for my postage-stamp sized yard, and I had a question for you. Will this transformer function as a single-band EFHW with the proper length wire, without the coils?
Great Video, is the HyEndFed 3 Band Classic antenna a 50watt or 100watt version? I could use the 50 watt for my FT817, but if I got the 100watt I could then also use it for an IC-7300?
Thank you! The one I have is the 100 watt version. I acquired that one so I could it use with a variety of rigs. The 100 watt version can definitely be used with the 7300.
Great video as usual Tracy. I was wondering does it matter what length of coax you use? What length of coax did you use and did you have to ground any equipment for RF feedback? I use an EARC end fed 30' long and it's ok, i'm strongly considering a HyEndFed. How does the HyEndFed handle 100 watts? Sorry for all the questions. Great video! 73, Noel W2MSA
Hi Noel, thank you very much! - Here's the lowdown...with the HyEndFed, the length of coax is not critical as it with some other brands/designs of endfed antennas. This is because the coax is not used as part of the antenna. - I never use a station ground, either at my home station or when operating portable. I've heard the arguments for and against and to me the against makes more sense that the for. - There are multiple HyEndFed models with varying power ratings. The one I used in this video is rated for a full 100 watts. 73 from Tracy VE3TWM.
Thanks for the great video, however I'm confused with the term vertical. Instead of the wire running all the way down the mast vertically it looks more like a slopper end fed?
Hello David, thank you for watching the video. I ran the wire straight down the pole until it came into close proximity of the metal picnic table legs. If the wire got too close to the legs, the antenna would detune. To avoid this, I pulled the wire away at an angle. If I had been using a support that had no metal, I could have run the wire straight down to the ground.
As far as I know, you have to order them from the Netherlands. I still consider them worth the money, though. The HyEndFeds perform well, plus they are easy to deploy and will last for years.
This video gives me hope! I'll check out both products at Hamvention in May! This would play well with an FT857D and its internal tuner, no? Keep making videos You're a natural. 73 KD8SGP Chris
+Chris Lassaline Thank you Chris! Since the antenna is rated for 100W it would work fine with the 857D. As far as I know there is no internal tuner on the 857D. You'll need a tuner to safely operate the rig on bands other than 10, 20 and 40 with the HyEndFed 3 band.
Most are unaware that there are a couple of different types of endfed antennas...those that require counterpoises and those that don't. The HyEndFeds do not require a counterpoise and are not designed to take advantage of one. You can add a counterpoise but doing so will not positively impact the performance of these antennas, so I do not use one. Simply put, an endfed that requires a counterpoise is either a dipole or an off-center fed dipole. The counterpoise is the missing portion of the antenna. Getting the counterpoise up off the ground will result in better radiation of the signal, but by deploying such a configuration you have moved away from what is considered an endfed antenna.
Hello, I am in3jrz Fabio. I would like to know if the 'HyEndFed Antenna Band 3 is impervious to rain? I would like the mount fixed to my house. I saw your movie on You Tube. Thank you. hello 73 in3jrz Fabio
Hello Fabio, thank you for your question. The HyEndFed 3 Band is impervious to rain, just make sure you weatherproof the coax connection. 73 from Tracy VE3TWM.
Nice video, qrp defiantly can be challenging. I'm thinking about getting one of the end fed antennas for a home base. Have you experimented with that? Thanks for the video. KD2LMR
Thank you, Dave! I am currently using the 3 band as my home antenna, having just substituted it for the 5 band I had up earlier. The 5 band worked well (I have another video showcasing that model). I'm looking forward to seeing how the 3 band works as a vertical compared to the inverted V configuration the 5 band was in.
Yes, those are two of the orientations the manufacturer recommends. I wanted to see how irt would work as a vertical for those with limited real estate.
@@OutdoorsOnTheAir Thanks mate... I owe those pieces of equipment you mention , and an FT-818ND. The space i have available is unrestricted only on hight. That is why i got the tallest available ( 20 meters ) SpiderBeam.
Because of this video, I purchased both the Spiderbeam and HyEndFed 3 Band classic. Used today for the first time and the results were amazing. I like the fact that the antenna is resonant on 3 bands out of the box and, unlike my Buddipole, I can change bands without retuning. The mast takes about 15 minutes to set up and I strapped it to a wooden pole at a local park. Finland, Guatemala, France, Brazil and Guatemala with 100 watts, using a FT897D, were among my contacts. This was from a local park in NJ. Bye Bye Buddipole.
Thank you for sharing your experience, Mark!
Graduated to the 60 footer. My club members are getting their own units. Hawaii today on CQ DX Contest.
Hi Mark, where are you located in NJ? I’m near Princeton, NJ and a member of W2ZQ. Thanks, Anthony, KD2NHG
As a teenager, I use to park my VW van with my 109 antennae centered mounted and my old Radio Shack radio. We started the Rattle Snake Point Radio club and used to meet at the restaurant at the plaza in Milton. We had about 10 guys that lived in the Milton Area. I wished I had my license back then. (era 1970)
Sounds like fun, Don! I used to dream about owning a van with a 109" whip when I was a broke teen with a second hand Realistic Navaho 23 channel rig (mid 70's). Thank you for sharing your memories.
Tracy, really appreciate your videos. Your presentation style is one which makes one feel as though they have been a personal friend for many years. We appreciate our wonderful friends to the north.
Thank you very much! I hope you know we have the same feelings for our southern neighbours.
Great video. I have the 12m pole and it is heavy if you have to carry it to your site. I mount mine before I put it up and tape the first few sections along with the wire. then use the clamps that come with it. I find that easier if you are on your own than walking it up and less strain on the pole.
Good tip, thank you for sharing.
great to find this video and happy you got your ft817 back, thanks for sharing.
HyEndFed are the most incredibly consistent commercial antennas. Incredible value.
I agree!
Hi, Tracy. Based mostly on your videos I bought the Spiderbeam 18m (60ft) pole. I ran my endfed to the top as a vertical set up. I worked a station in Oklahoma from my QHT in Winnipeg on 5 watts and even at 2.5 watts I could work that station. I used my new icom ic-705 as it's my only and first ever HF radio. 2.5w over 1600km! The station was running 400w on a yagi, he turned off his amp and ran 40w and I could hear him, but not copy much. It was a great QSO.
73!
Nice! I've got a question for you...how far up the mast did you affix the high end of the endfed, and did the mast bend much once erected with the antenna connected?
73 from VE3TWM.
Hi. This was my first ever set up. I have two sections above the end of the antenna. . Next time I’ll take it to the very top and reply back here. 18m pole sire attracts attentions. I can see it a few blocks from my house! I made a contact in Nevada on 40m with 5w!
Can't wait to get my new rig set up for QRP camping, and i do a lot of camping. Just hope my provincial camp grounds take the flipping of the table as only a temporary mesure and not habit forming. Great video . 73 from VA2FN.
Thank you for leaving a comment, Roland. Have fun with your QRP camping and good luck with the table flipping! 73 from Tracy VE3TWM.
I have watched several of your videos in terms of the 817QRP setup. I have just bought a 871ND yesterday and as a fairly newly qualified amatuer I have been using youtube as a point of reference. I want to go QRP, backpacking and camping and your videos are very inspirational. Keep up the good work and be rest assured, I find them extremely educational. 73 M6KVK
Congratulations on getting your license, Gary! I hope you have as much fun with your 817 as I have with mine. It's great to hear that my videos have inspired you, thank you for letting me know. 73 from VE3TWM.
Another great video. I have the 31 foot Jackite, a selection I made based on your other videos. 73 de VE2KOI, Gatineau, QC. Licensed in December 2015!
+Frank Fullum Congratulations on your new license, Frank! I hope your new antenna system is working well for you. Thank you for watching and for the compliment, I really appreciate it. 73 from VE3TWM.
Thanks for a great video about a great antenna! This video convinced me to buy the HyEndFed 40-20-10 (but in my case installed as a sloper, and for stationary use). I live in a city and have rather small lot, and this antenna is perfect with my 100 Watt Yaesu FT-450D. It all works very well for 40m, 20m and 10/11m.
Hi Erik, thank you for sharing your experience.
Don't forget that vertical antennas are also omnidirectional with a very shallow take-off angle.
Have two Jackite 31 footer's !
And to be honest, a little disappointed in how flexible they are !
My mistake thinking they would be more rigid, having to support flags in a wind, but instead find they struggle to hold up even 18 gauge wire, without bending !
Since, I have purchased Two 12 meter Spider Beam mast, and are hopeful they will stand straight, even if it means not extending them fully ?
I think it is important to note that the Spider Beam masts, can be ordered with an eyelet, to aid in feeding a wire or such thru the top !
Too, Vibroplex is Spider Beams U.S. representative, and carries a set of clamps to keep the sections from collapsing down upon themselves, for those more permanent installations !
Hopefully this will help someone save time when ordering !
Unfortunately I didn't learn of the clamp's until already having purchased the masts !
And now waiting for them to arrive !
Thanks for your post !
'73
👍😉
Thanks so very much for taking the time to make & share this video.
It was one of the vidz I watched more than once before getting my Spiderbeam 12m HD pole, so much more robust than a lot of others I've seen, horses for courses I dare say though.
The SpiderBeam supports my 40m/80m inverted wire at approx 11m agl but I use it for /P ops also....considering buying another couple to support a loop maybe...a phased vertical system is atop my list however!
Great buy, don't hesitate if you're contemplating a fibre glass telescopic pole.....they do 18m ones too HI
Thank you for sharing your experience!
Boy, am I glad I came across your videos on HyEndFed antennas!? Just finished checking my new 10-20-40 HyEndFed configured as per this video on a MFJ 33-ft telescopic mast - not long enough to run the feed point all the way down, but it was the longest I could find at a local HamFest. I sloped the wire away from the mast about 8 ft. from a wooden deck, which is about 4 ft off the ground and tied it off at the railing, about 7 ft total off the ground. SWR in the 20 m band ranged from 1.5 at the top to 1.8 at the bottom of the General privileges section of the band and 10 m was about the same. This is the perfect solution for my needs, both at QTH and portable, ie. at Scout Camp. Thanks for putting these videos together. 73, N3VCK Vagel Keller
Thank you for leaving your comment, Vagel. I really appreciate hearing about your experience. Well done with your antenna. I expect you'll have a lot of success with it. 73 from Tracy VE3TWM.
Thank you for your videos. I'm taking up the hobby again after 20+ years, planning on buying an FT-817ND as I'm into outdoor activites (esp. scouting). 73 de SM5SYO
Sounds exciting, Mikael! When you get your hands on that 817 and pair it up with a good antenna, you will be blown away by what you can do. Have fun with the scouts and plant the seeds for future ham radio operators. 73 from Tracy VE3TWM.
Will do! The local ham radio club are nextdoor to the scouts. I'm thinking JOTA next autumn. (To be fair, I expect they've alread participated, but I'm planning to be part of it.) :-)
Do not try using 1500W with this type of antenna, since coax will carry significant RF current back to radio.End fed antenna is not only high impedance (2400 ohm) it is also highly asymmetrical.Matching unit adjusts 2400 to 50 ohm, but you also need choke balun to common mode current.As usual , choke needs to be 10 times antenna impedance - meaning 24,000 ohm.I use coax choke resonant very close to operating frequency to get 30,000 ohm choking.Two chokes are required if you use vertical yagies and high power.73 VK3EGN
Great video - thanks. I run a 5 band Hyend fed at home and a 4 band for portable operations. Can't recommend them enough.
+VK5STU You're welcome Stu, thank you for watching. Other folks reading this should check out VK5STU's channel, he's done some nice videos.
I have the 12m Spiderbeam and I use a Nelson efhw. I also use the pvc pipe w/guy ropes like you showed in a couple of your other videos. The 12m drops into the pvc pipe and I use an expansion test cap to transport it all self contained. Thanks for your videos, you keep giving me new ideas. 73s KZ5MLS
You're welcome, and thank you for your comment!
Thanks for your video Tracey, this is the setup, what i am using, and love it a lot. VY 73, PA1JPR
You're welcome, Jean-Pierre! 73 from VE3TWM.
Tracey:
Ordered my Spiderbeam today for my FT-817ND. Might pickup the HyEndFed later down the road but building my own endfed at this time.
Was the 3 band classic chosen because of it length so it fit perfectly on the Spiderbeam? Did you every try a tuner with it on your FT-897 to stretch its legs on the bands that it was narrow on?
Hi Michael, you ar really going to like the Spiderbeam. Yes, the length of the 3 Band Classic was an ideal match for the Spiderbeam pole and that drove me to make this video.
I never use a tuner with my 817. As you may have gathered, I believe in using resonant antennas and staying within their resonant range when using the 817. All in an effort to keep the finals healthy and the antenna efficiency high.
Let me know how you make out with the homebrew endfed!
Tracey:
Your absolutely right. After I had wrote my entry, that night I changed my plan a bit.
I received the Spiderbeam it is outstanding!
I've obtained and using a SOTABeams antenna now. It's a SOTABeams Band Hopper 2 dual band 20/40m that is a dipole and you connect two gator clips together to change from 20m to 40m. Very simple and effective. 1:1 on 20m and on 40m. This is the link: www.sotabeams.co.uk/two-band-portable-dipole-antenna-system/
If you watch the video its really informative on how fast these things go up and are operational. No Tuning!
I'm not kidding the antenna goes up in 7-8 minutes easy and I installed it at 6m on my Spiderbeam. I've set it up as an inverted vee.
I'll obtain a smaller pole for backpacking but for now mine works great.
Another fun item that I found out through Cliff (QRP School) is the QRPguys.com EFHW Mini Tuner kit $25. You wind the two toroids and solder the parts together and you have an endfed QRP tuner that goes at the end of a wire and a counterpoise. The PC board even has the wire lengths to cut to printed on the board. Works good for QRP.
Another Note: You know that wobbling knob on your FT-817? If you push on that knob you can traverse across the frequency faster too.
Enjoy your videos Tracey. Keep up your excellent endeavors.
Thank you for your comments, Michael!
Well done video. I enjoyed watching it. Great idea putting the picnic table on its side to attach the mast. Very creative.
Barry, KU3X
Thank you, Barry! All the credit for the genius move of upending the picnic table goes to Randy VE3OZR.
Great video, thanks for posting. I’ll have to look into that portable antenna .
Thank you! If you get one, you will enjoy it.
Great videos. Very informative.
I'd like to know about building and Inverted V for 20 meters (others?) that is end fed. In essence it would be an easily deployble inverted V, fed from one leg of the V using the coax shield as one leg. Perhaps there's a re reason I can't find much about this but I'd appreciate you weighing in on the concept.
Hi Rick, thank you very much for the compliment, I truly appreciate it. I would like to preface what I am going to say with a large disclaimer: I am all for antenna experimentation, and I am definitely not an antenna engineer.
Now with that out of the way, consider half of your antenna lying on the ground (i.e. the shield of the coax). I don't suppose it's likely to work as well as having the entire antenna up and in the air. That is what this new breed of end fed half waves do for you, get all of the radiating element up where it can do the most good.
I am not discouraging you from trying, in fact I applaud the spirit of trying to build something effective. Have at it and learn something. I hope this has been of some value to you.
Excellent video I like that spiderbeam pole I will have to get one.
73's Alan in the UK.
Thank you, Alan!
very good video I am going to get one of those spiderbeams.
73's Alan in the UK
Thank you, Alan! You are really going to enjoy the Spiderbeam pole. 73 from VE3TWM.
I think I may pick this up for field day. I looked them up and there's one with an eyelet for $15 more. Do you use the eyelet version or do you find it to be fine without use of an eyelet?
Hi Eddie, I've never missed having an eyelet.
Hi, Are these antennas made by HyEndFed supposed to be sloped or can they be put straight up vertically besides the fiberglass pole?Thanks,
Oscar
Hi Oscar, either way is fine. The straight up method will result in the lowest angle of radiation making the antenna omnidirectional and also better for DX. The sloper has a bit of gain in the direction of the slope and a null in the opposite direction.
If you had to do this again, would you place the antenna vertically for your HyEndFed? thx
In this video, I did have the antenna oriented vertically, but due to the wire being longer than the mast I had to run the excess at the bottom away from the mast. One day I should try running the 3-band vertically from the top of my 50 foot DX-Wire mast.
I didn’t catch the name and source of the fiberglass pole which you did not deploy. Thank you. Tommy. N4KMB.
Hi, Tommy. Jackite is the brand name of the other pole. Google them, they are quite popular and reasonably priced.
Hello, thank you for the video, I enjoyed it. Based on this I just ordered HyEnd 3 band antenna to try it for my home base HF antenna. I have one question for you, since the Spiderbeam mast is 12m and antenna is 11.85m long (per manufacturer), in order to keep the end feed point about 1 meter above the ground, the antenna will need to be slightly sloped, correct? Unless I mount it on a tall tree high enough.
You've got it. Sloper or as a horizontal up high and in the clear will yield the best results.
Your thoughts on those stackable military 48 inch fiberglass camo net poles to 32 feet height.
I have 8 of them and 4 of the aluminum. They have quite a bit of play in the interconnects, so stacking 8 of them gets a little scary without guy ropes even in a slight breeze. I used two aluminum poles at the bottom, clamped them to a cemented in fence post, and it still had more movement than I liked at the top. If it had been in the middle of an open field, I could have overlooked it for a temporary setup up, but I had it up near my house. It is also rather difficult to join them together and walk them up as the pole bends quite a bit even using the hinged stake base.
How would you affix this exact Spiderbeam portable setup to a chain link fence if I didn't want to guy it? Thanks!
Bungee cords or hose clamps. If using hose clamps, use something to protect the pole from cracking (e.g. pipe insulation) and don't overtighten.
Thanks! I assume the fence must not be in contact with the antenna itself.
Correct...pull the antenna away from the pole well above the top of the fence so the metal in the fence does not interact with the antenna. Poor SWR will result if the antenna gets too close to the fence.
Thanks again for your help - I really enjoy your videos.
Hi Tracy, first of all thanks for the video. I ordered a HyEndFed 40/20/10 and waiting for it to arrive. I was under the impression it can't be used as e vertical. Did you manage to get a acceptable SWR operating the antenna as a vertical? Which would mean the endfed doesn't have to be under a certain angle to get a good SWR, am I correct? 73
I'm really sorry for the delay in response...either I missed this or TH-cam is having an issue in the reporting on comments (my vote). I had no issues with the SWR in the vertical orientation. The SWR was just as good vertical as a sloper. 73 from VE3TWM.
@@OutdoorsOnTheAir Thank you Tracy, not a problem at all. I have the HyEndFed installed vertical and SWR is absolutely fine on all 3 bands. No tuner needed. Hope to talk to you on the bands! 73 de PD9RD.
Inspired by your video I now have a 12m Spiderbeam and a HyEndFed 3 Band. Got it set up on the deck yesterday and it compared very favourably with my EFHW-80-10 during the ARRL CW Contest. Even on 80 with the HyEndFed I got CT9, RW and ON. Just wondering what you would recommend for clamping the sections. The Spiderbeam clamps get to be pretty expensive by the time they reach here. I thought I'd go to Canadian Tire get a set of hose clamps and line them somehow. Mike, VO1OK.
Hi Michael, thank you for watching and for your comments. Congratulations on your new gear!
To ensure the sections do not collapse when deployed, try using hose clamps and cut pieces from a bicycle inner tube (or other rubber-like material) to put between the clamps and the mast. You want a material that will compress under pressure from the clamp and grab onto the pole. Just don't over tighten the clamps or you risk damaging the fiberglass pole.
73 from Tracy VE3TWM.
Hi, Would a MFJ 1910 pole work or is the Spiderbeam preferable...better quality?
I have not seen the MFJ pole, but the Spiderbeam is top quality. Given my past experience with MFJ products, it's the Spiderbeam all the way.
Enjoyed the video and subscribed. How do you have the matching unit attached to the metal bracket?
Thank you! There is no metal bracket attached to the matching unit. HyEndFed does sell some models that come with a metal bracket, but the antenna shown in this video is not one of those..
Tracy,
I really enjoy your videos. I am considering a Hyenfed antenna for my postage-stamp sized yard, and I had a question for you. Will this transformer function as a single-band EFHW with the proper length wire, without the coils?
It should. Send an email to Ron at HyEnd Company. He's really helpful.
thanks for the info...really appreciate it
+Jonathan Steiner You're welcome, and thank you for watching!
Gday Tracy, Thanks for all your great vlog’s and all the hard work you put into each new report. Have a lovely weekend Mate 73 Richard vk2ual
Thank you, Richard! 73 from Tracy VE3TWM.
Great Video, is the HyEndFed 3 Band Classic antenna a 50watt or 100watt version? I could use the 50 watt for my FT817, but if I got the 100watt I could then also use it for an IC-7300?
Thank you! The one I have is the 100 watt version. I acquired that one so I could it use with a variety of rigs. The 100 watt version can definitely be used with the 7300.
Great video-thankyou and 73s from,william.N.Ireland.
+William Jordan Thank you William!
Great video as usual Tracy. I was wondering does it matter what length of coax you use? What length of coax did you use and did you have to ground any equipment for RF feedback? I use an EARC end fed 30' long and it's ok, i'm strongly considering a HyEndFed. How does the HyEndFed handle 100 watts? Sorry for all the questions. Great video! 73, Noel W2MSA
Hi Noel, thank you very much!
- Here's the lowdown...with the HyEndFed, the length of coax is not critical as it with some other brands/designs of endfed antennas. This is because the coax is not used as part of the antenna.
- I never use a station ground, either at my home station or when operating portable. I've heard the arguments for and against and to me the against makes more sense that the for.
- There are multiple HyEndFed models with varying power ratings. The one I used in this video is rated for a full 100 watts.
73 from Tracy VE3TWM.
Thanks for the great video, however I'm confused with the term vertical. Instead of the wire running all the way down the mast vertically it looks more like a slopper end fed?
Hello David, thank you for watching the video. I ran the wire straight down the pole until it came into close proximity of the metal picnic table legs. If the wire got too close to the legs, the antenna would detune. To avoid this, I pulled the wire away at an angle. If I had been using a support that had no metal, I could have run the wire straight down to the ground.
what kind of mic u use? is it better than original mic?
I used the original FT-817 mic and the Yaesu 817-compatible DTMF mic when I had my 817.
Nicely done video with good detail.
Thank you!
is there a USA seller of the 3 band classic or am i doomed to pay 30$ shipping from Holland?
As far as I know, you have to order them from the Netherlands. I still consider them worth the money, though. The HyEndFeds perform well, plus they are easy to deploy and will last for years.
Outdoors On The Air ok thanks. with the Spiderbeam on the way and now this next HyEndFed order this video had got around 250$ out of me 😫
I truly believe you will enjoy that combination. Let me know how it works out for you.
This video gives me hope! I'll check out both products at Hamvention in May!
This would play well with an FT857D and its internal tuner, no?
Keep making videos You're a natural.
73 KD8SGP Chris
+Chris Lassaline Thank you Chris! Since the antenna is rated for 100W it would work fine with the 857D. As far as I know there is no internal tuner on the 857D. You'll need a tuner to safely operate the rig on bands other than 10, 20 and 40 with the HyEndFed 3 band.
Thanks for this video. It may be the answer I need for my location. 73
+Joe McEarchern You're welcome Joe!
wouldnt most end feds benefit adding a groundplain counterpoise wire? And what would you do with it? laid on ground or back up as high as possible?
Most are unaware that there are a couple of different types of endfed antennas...those that require counterpoises and those that don't. The HyEndFeds do not require a counterpoise and are not designed to take advantage of one. You can add a counterpoise but doing so will not positively impact the performance of these antennas, so I do not use one.
Simply put, an endfed that requires a counterpoise is either a dipole or an off-center fed dipole. The counterpoise is the missing portion of the antenna. Getting the counterpoise up off the ground will result in better radiation of the signal, but by deploying such a configuration you have moved away from what is considered an endfed antenna.
Very handy antenna. Nice Vid.
Thank you, Allan!
Hello, I am in3jrz Fabio. I would like to know if the 'HyEndFed Antenna Band 3 is impervious to rain? I would like the mount fixed to my house. I saw your movie on You Tube. Thank you. hello 73 in3jrz Fabio
Hello Fabio, thank you for your question. The HyEndFed 3 Band is impervious to rain, just make sure you weatherproof the coax connection. 73 from Tracy VE3TWM.
Nice video, qrp defiantly can be challenging. I'm thinking about getting one of the end fed antennas for a home base. Have you experimented with that? Thanks for the video.
KD2LMR
Thank you, Dave! I am currently using the 3 band as my home antenna, having just substituted it for the 5 band I had up earlier. The 5 band worked well (I have another video showcasing that model). I'm looking forward to seeing how the 3 band works as a vertical compared to the inverted V configuration the 5 band was in.
hey boss where can you buy those polls and hyendfed antenna in Canada?
Sadly, I am not aware of a Canadian reseller of these products.
@@OutdoorsOnTheAir well thanks for the reply 73s va3kil
greatvideo tracy and 2rd one iv
seen
Thank you!
GREAT video, Tim's cup and MEC shirts!!! VA4EEF.
Thank you! Real Canadian here 🇨🇦😂
Thanks, nice video.
Thank you for letting me know!
0.5 mile contact? Not sure how that was happening.
Ground wave.
This antenna is supposed to be horizontal or a slopper...
Yes, those are two of the orientations the manufacturer recommends. I wanted to see how irt would work as a vertical for those with limited real estate.
@@OutdoorsOnTheAir Thanks mate... I owe those pieces of equipment you mention , and an FT-818ND. The space i have available is unrestricted only on hight. That is why i got the tallest available ( 20 meters ) SpiderBeam.
Thank you.👍
You're welcome!
Thanks for posting
+UPGardenr You're welcome! Thank you for watching.
I need this Antenna!!!
This seems so much stiffer than the DX Commander I have.
The Spiderbeam mast is a beast.
@@OutdoorsOnTheAir thank you. Your proper Canadian accent has convinced me that this is the truth. I will buy one now. Thank you, Sir.
I’ve watched this again!👍☘️EI3KY.
Thank you!
Good video--thanks.
You're welcome, thank you for watching.
good job 73s kF5AXY
Thank you! 73 from VE3TWM.
i like your end feed antenna videos. 73 KI5KGT
Gracias! 73 from VE3TWM.
I may have to spend money on a 12m. It's your fault!
Lay it on me, I have broad shoulders 😀
He repeated his call sign 5 time and get 59 report lol.
That's contesting for you.
@@OutdoorsOnTheAir My point is if the other side asked for your call sign 5 times, then it's definitely no 59!
:)
✨😻⚡️
:)