Right, both ends are the same length but that are not taped together. The core goes up, and the exposed braid goes down. Now the braid does go down along side the coax and it's taped to that. That is not the recommended arraignment but it works.
RG-58 is 50ohm. RG59 is 75. No tuning required on a half-wave antenna. If it is less than half wave, then yes. If you have a broken fibreglass.(not carbon) fishing rod, a hollow section of that is much better than PVC. I don't believe that running the screen parallel to the upper element is right though ! I have built a composite aeroplane, where the antenna consists of two strips of copper in-line in the vertical fin, with the cable connected in between them, core to the upper element, and the screen/return to the lower one. There is no positive or negative ! If you slip some close fitting copper tube or work the braid down over the cable for the lower (same length) element, you can make an effective dipole. A balun (ferrite bead) or two, close to the separation point makes a big difference too. If you do that on a dipole, it would need to be around the cable, not the folded back screen or copper tube. A tube for the upper element makes for slightly better performance at the upper and lower ends of the frequency band.
Great video for a beginner ham. This is not a marine frequency antenna you are making it's a 2 meter ham antenna. Also that Connector is a pl259 that fits into the so239 on the radio. On your boat the radio equipment should consist of fm and a ssb radios for local harbor and long distance communication you must understand the communication at sea will save lives so you must not cut any corners.Only highest quality coax such as the rg 214 flooded , this is silver dual shield stranded center conductor coax and only the best type N connectors should be used. You and your crews life will depend on quality communications. Love your videos please keep coming, thanks
I build my boat antenna following this man instructions: it works good!! Yes the connector is suppose to be assembled in a different way, but how shown in the video can work too. Thanks buddy!! Only suggestion I have to make: use a longer pvc pipe so the signal can reach a longer distance.
Wow I understood so much watching this video when you put the braid and the shield with the middle part and the weather channel stops and goes, one of those moments
It will not be as good as a high dollar antenna but it will likely do. And yes, you be able to hear the harbor traffic within at least 7 miles of you, maybe 20 on a good day. Post back and let us know how it works out for you.
The screen and braid of the Coax cable should go around and up the reducer. This makes a mechanical connection. Without this you may get a high resistance connection or worse capacitive action.
Hey buddy, good on ya teaching people stuff! Suggestions - solder the braid inside the plug, or else it will corrode up pretty quick and it will be hard to diagnose that fault. Any ol coax from the junkbox will be perfectly fine, and some of the 75ohm cabletv coax is actually a really high quality item! Try also to use flexible inner instead of solid, coz it will snap off inside the plug etc. Keep the vids coming! :)
It is nice that you show all steps to your viewers but you reduce the quality and range of that antenna by doing what you did with the braid. You should slowly push it back so it widens and roll it over the rest of the coax (in the direction of the connector end). Once it is rolled over just pull the braid so it tightens and secure it with some tape. I also fold back the aluminum foil over the braid since I get better results compared to the antenna I made without the foil (I cut it off).
Hi, thanks for this video! I made one and it works somuch better than the manufactured one I was using. It did cost me a little more though as the cable wasn't cheap. One question I have I don't know if you can help me with though. I'm using the antenna on land. Which is better? To use an antenna outside where it exposed or put it inside a roof space which is higher up but enclosed? Thanks
No sorry, it worked great. You must be an engineer. I learned long ago that most engineers are only good for getting that last 10% of performance and generating 90% of the information that just muddies the water for the rest of us. Check out our videos of Argonaut Jr and you will see it in action.
Well, it will work nicely on two metres - which is what you cut yours to, not Marine band! 19 ½" is the right length for the lower frequency band the hams use. Too much wrong info in this topic too. The person who suggested rolling back the braid onto the outer sheath is creating a sleeve dipole, and that's probably the neatest. It has 0dB gain. It is a dipole. Dipoles have no gain - because gain is always measured by improvement over ..... a dipole. The simplest antenna that can be reliably created and made to work. The comments on the correct way to put on a PL-259 connector are right, with certain connectors. It's a dreadful RF connector really, just popular. If you can attach one so it's electrically sound, and has no bits of braid shorting out, they work. What lets them down often is the mechanical issues when the cables get wiggled and vibrated. RG-58, or at least proper RG-58 without the foil screen (used because it's cheap!) is ok for modest runs at VHF. If you want a base station antenna with longer cable lengths than say 30 feet, then spending money on thicker decent cable will preserve what the antenna collects, and deliver it to the radio. If the antenna has no gain, losing any down the cable is bad! Just cut it to the right length - about 17 ½"
Thank you, a nice idea for an antenna. Just wondering where did the 38-1/2" and 19-1/4" come from? It appears that would make your 1/4 wave dipole slightly outside the marine band. i.e. For Marine Ch-16, or 156.8 Mhz, size would be approx 37.64" and 18.82". Would be a bit shorter for both core and braid.
Ha. Also no idea. If you want to talk antenna's your're going to need to find another source. This is just a quick cheap VHF antenna that worked great for me.
@boatingisfunUK Wish I could help but I don't know anything about radios. In fact, that antenna is the first thing I ever did for a radio other than kick it when it was not working. As for the coast guard my experience has been that it's best to not talk to them. :)
Thanks for the video, I just got a marine radio from a buddy to add to my base station, i am going to build one of these so i can listen to the marine traffic on the Mississippi.
That should work OK for receiving, but as others have pointed out it is not very good for transmitting. An antenna not properly matched to the transceiver will limit it's range and may even blow out the transmitter stage. The length of RG58U should be cut at multiples of the desired transmitting wavelength. I would also use the type of RG58U coax with the copper braid, which can be soldered to the PL259 connector body. The antenna should be calibrated (adjusted length) for minimum "SWR".
thanks mate just that we had a guy come in the other day and he is using the same design and we had it On our SWR meter and the lowest the the reflected power we could get was 7 watts reflected cheers mate ...
The PVC pipe does not matter at all. You just can't change the length of the exposed wires without knowing what you are doing, and I do not know what I am doing. :)
I'm sure someone has mentioned it already, but your UHF connecter was installed incorrectly. For receiving it may not cause a problem but if you plan on transmitting it could cause issues. The braid of the coax should have been folded back over the reducer not folded over inside of it. JS
You did not mention flux, what you have there looks like plumbing flux, Your should with tHat size tip heat the connector tip and the copper wire at the same time, then apply solder with flux core,,, "electronic" type solder. Look up proper soldering techniques, military soldering instruction. Also the shield should be folded over the ferrule piece that screws in to insure contact or as others suggested solder it. What you have is foil shielded with drain, not braid. As some one else suggested, get the correct cable RG58U that is a braid. This will also give you much more wire for the ground side and terminate in the connector better. The 2 sides should be matched in length or the center length adjusted for frequency. the feed should come in at the split. But for emergency this will at least let you receive and possibly trans a short distance
The PL-259 is the male, the female UHF connector is a SO-239. Ironically, the "UHF" connector is less than ideal for UHF. The PL-259/SO239 is better suited for HF bands. Breast vidz. What was the VSWR like?
hey Doug.....getting my boat together and getting my GPS and VHF hooked up. I'm stumped do I need to tune my antenna on my radio like I would a CB? can I use any swr meter? antenna isn't tunable but of course coaxial cable length is what I'm concerned with. all I got from Shakespeare is keep it longer than 3'.
@submarineboat you made a dipole antenna! That is an antenna with both side the same length! Look it up on Google! BUT then you taped the two sides together to make it one wire! !! Why?
Ok here is to all you people I'm Donald heathcock I live in caruthersville Missouri I work on all cb radios and handhelds I also sell real antennas cheap and I work on antennas and make antennas and I made this one cuz I talk on marine radios and all other radios and I hooked this one up just like he showed and I reached 35 miles over land I operate over land on base radio for boat or house either one pluss I talk on my handhelds even tho your not really suppose to but everyone does..
Would this type of DIY antenna pick up marine signals from about 5 miles away? I live near the Port of Tyne (UK) and use a handheld scanner when nearby, but can't hear anything at my home, 5 miles away. thank you
Thanks for the video, I have a question for you. I bought a new VHF radio, and a new 1500mm Antenna. My reception is Excellent but when I am broadcasting to the port's radio (i.e. costguard) the coastguard says the transmission is LOUD but Distorted. What could be the cause of it? Grateful if you could advice me, as here in London (UK) no one is available to ask! Thanks.
Loudness isn't a problem, he has a volume control to deal with that. Distortion can be caused by many things but make sure you are talking across the mic. and not yelling into it directly.
What would be the outcome if I used rg-59? would it not work at all? is there a way to use rg-59 and change the ohms, by adding something else? all I have is rg-59..
Im going to build mine for free tonight. Total cost = $0.00 I have everything I need, from "junk" as people call it. just have to clear an area and get to work on it.
Barrie in Ottawa Canada hello; i'm in the process of rewiring my boat uhf marine radio and the internet tells me that RG59 and RG-6 is better than RG-58. please advise thanks
why wouldnt you have used REAL PVC caps rather than using the goop? a 10' stick of 1/2 PVC pipe is LESS than $2 a piece, 2 caps, ( instead of goop ) is less than $1, and i just paid $15 for 25' of rg-58 cable, and $3 for the pl-259 and the reducer. CHEAPER than a new one.
wrong...it is the soldered to braid style method that fails often, due to just three contact solder points, whereas the method used makes good contact over ALL the braid...if tight.
wrong, you have to solder the braid to the reducer to, and after mounting the reducer in the plug, the braight to the plug., but y would not go for this antenna as tx antenna, its to long, giving a very bad swr. .....
Soldering 101, never carry solder to the joint. Always solder the braid on a PL259. You need a small blowtorch to do it properly. The antenna created is a vertical dipole.
![How to Build the Best VHF RADIO [Capable Cruising Guides]](/img/n.gif)
Right, both ends are the same length but that are not taped together. The core goes up, and the exposed braid goes down. Now the braid does go down along side the coax and it's taped to that. That is not the recommended arraignment but it works.
The cable plug a PL-259. The mating socket is an SO-239... :)
RG-58 is 50ohm. RG59 is 75. No tuning required on a half-wave antenna. If it is less than half wave, then yes. If you have a broken fibreglass.(not carbon) fishing rod, a hollow section of that is much better than PVC. I don't believe that running the screen parallel to the upper element is right though ! I have built a composite aeroplane, where the antenna consists of two strips of copper in-line in the vertical fin, with the cable connected in between them, core to the upper element, and the screen/return to the lower one. There is no positive or negative !
If you slip some close fitting copper tube or work the braid down over the cable for the lower (same length) element, you can make an effective dipole. A balun (ferrite bead) or two, close to the separation point makes a big difference too. If you do that on a dipole, it would need to be around the cable, not the folded back screen or copper tube. A tube for the upper element makes for slightly better performance at the upper and lower ends of the frequency band.
Great video for a beginner ham. This is not a marine frequency antenna you are making it's a 2 meter ham antenna. Also that Connector is a pl259 that fits into the so239 on the radio. On your boat the radio equipment should consist of fm and a ssb radios for local harbor and long distance communication you must understand the communication at sea will save lives so you must not cut any corners.Only highest quality coax such as the rg 214 flooded , this is silver dual shield stranded center conductor coax and only the best type N connectors should be used. You and your crews life will depend on quality communications.
Love your videos please keep coming, thanks
I calculated what he proposed would be a 1/4 wave dipole matched for approx 153.25 Mhz & slightly outside the marine band
I build my boat antenna following this man instructions: it works good!! Yes the connector is suppose to be assembled in a different way, but how shown in the video can work too. Thanks buddy!! Only suggestion I have to make: use a longer pvc pipe so the signal can reach a longer distance.
Wow I understood so much watching this video when you put the braid and the shield with the middle part and the weather channel stops and goes, one of those moments
By sure you use 50 ohm rg58. And we used about 15m between the radio and the antenna. I don't know the maximum distance, but I suspect it's over 100m.
It will not be as good as a high dollar antenna but it will likely do. And yes, you be able to hear the harbor traffic within at least 7 miles of you, maybe 20 on a good day. Post back and let us know how it works out for you.
So enlighten us on the proper method.
The screen and braid of the Coax cable should go around and up the reducer. This makes a mechanical connection. Without this you may get a high resistance connection or worse capacitive action.
That's what were looking for. Thanks for the feedback Cory.
The connector on the back of the radio is a SO-239 Connector. The connector on the coax is called a PL-259.
Hey buddy, good on ya teaching people stuff! Suggestions - solder the braid inside the plug, or else it will corrode up pretty quick and it will be hard to diagnose that fault. Any ol coax from the junkbox will be perfectly fine, and some of the 75ohm cabletv coax is actually a really high quality item! Try also to use flexible inner instead of solid, coz it will snap off inside the plug etc. Keep the vids coming! :)
For transmitting you need 50 ohm co-ax
Good for you! I wondered who would ever not have a pieces of PVC pipe stashed away in the rafters or under the house. :)
Right, and no, we have not tested it for range. I doubt it breaks any records. :)
Just curious. Isn't the Coax center conductor supposed to be stranded for Marine radios, instead of the solid center conductor? :)
It is nice that you show all steps to your viewers but you reduce the quality and range of that antenna by doing what you did with the braid. You should slowly push it back so it widens and roll it over the rest of the coax (in the direction of the connector end). Once it is rolled over just pull the braid so it tightens and secure it with some tape. I also fold back the aluminum foil over the braid since I get better results compared to the antenna I made without the foil (I cut it off).
Thanks. Glade it worked for you too.
Enjoyed that a lot.Always great to see husband and wife teams.
Hi, thanks for this video! I made one and it works somuch better than the manufactured one I was using. It did cost me a little more though as the cable wasn't cheap.
One question I have I don't know if you can help me with though. I'm using the antenna on land. Which is better? To use an antenna outside where it exposed or put it inside a roof space which is higher up but enclosed? Thanks
recommend height as normal priority, roof will block a small amt of signal (depends on roof material ie metal roof could hurt the signal a lot)
No sorry, it worked great. You must be an engineer. I learned long ago that most engineers are only good for getting that last 10% of performance and generating 90% of the information that just muddies the water for the rest of us. Check out our videos of Argonaut Jr and you will see it in action.
Well, it will work nicely on two metres - which is what you cut yours to, not Marine band! 19 ½" is the right length for the lower frequency band the hams use. Too much wrong info in this topic too. The person who suggested rolling back the braid onto the outer sheath is creating a sleeve dipole, and that's probably the neatest. It has 0dB gain. It is a dipole. Dipoles have no gain - because gain is always measured by improvement over ..... a dipole. The simplest antenna that can be reliably created and made to work. The comments on the correct way to put on a PL-259 connector are right, with certain connectors. It's a dreadful RF connector really, just popular. If you can attach one so it's electrically sound, and has no bits of braid shorting out, they work. What lets them down often is the mechanical issues when the cables get wiggled and vibrated. RG-58, or at least proper RG-58 without the foil screen (used because it's cheap!) is ok for modest runs at VHF. If you want a base station antenna with longer cable lengths than say 30 feet, then spending money on thicker decent cable will preserve what the antenna collects, and deliver it to the radio. If the antenna has no gain, losing any down the cable is bad! Just cut it to the right length - about 17 ½"
Thank you, a nice idea for an antenna. Just wondering where did the 38-1/2" and 19-1/4" come from? It appears that would make your 1/4 wave dipole slightly outside the marine band. i.e. For Marine Ch-16, or 156.8 Mhz, size would be approx 37.64" and 18.82". Would be a bit shorter for both core and braid.
Oh, that was a long time ago. I pulled the numbers from a web page somewhere.
Ha. Also no idea. If you want to talk antenna's your're going to need to find another source. This is just a quick cheap VHF antenna that worked great for me.
@boatingisfunUK Wish I could help but I don't know anything about radios. In fact, that antenna is the first thing I ever did for a radio other than kick it when it was not working. As for the coast guard my experience has been that it's best to not talk to them. :)
Thanks for the video, I just got a marine radio from a buddy to add to my base station, i am going to build one of these so i can listen to the marine traffic on the Mississippi.
You must work for Radio Shack. I spent less than $10. I also enjoy building things and apparently living dangerously.
That should work OK for receiving, but as others have pointed out it is not very good for transmitting. An antenna not properly matched to the transceiver will limit it's range and may even blow out the transmitter stage. The length of RG58U should be cut at multiples of the desired transmitting wavelength. I would also use the type of RG58U coax with the copper braid, which can be soldered to the PL259 connector body. The antenna should be calibrated (adjusted length) for minimum "SWR".
Thank you very much for this video! I'm gonna try this as soon as possible to replace my small antenna on my old radio scanner.
There ya go! What he said. Thanks Steve.
Sorry. I have no idea. I just followed some plans I found. I sure it would work, the real question would be how well it would work.
thanks mate just that we had a guy come in the other day and he is using the same design and we had it On our SWR meter and the lowest the the reflected power we could get was 7 watts reflected cheers mate ...
I wanted the wire glued to the end of the pipe. Did you just pinch the wire caps?
The PVC pipe does not matter at all. You just can't change the length of the exposed wires without knowing what you are doing, and I do not know what I am doing. :)
I built this and it worked about better than my handheld's antenna.
I'm sure someone has mentioned it already, but your UHF connecter was installed incorrectly. For receiving it may not cause a problem but if you plan on transmitting it could cause issues. The braid of the coax should have been folded back over the reducer not folded over inside of it. JS
Sorry, no idea. We only used to the talk a short distance from a submarine to shore.
I using flower pot antenna. Great antenna
You did not mention flux, what you have there looks like plumbing flux, Your should with tHat size tip heat the connector tip and the copper wire at the same time, then apply solder with flux core,,, "electronic" type solder. Look up proper soldering techniques, military soldering instruction. Also the shield should be folded over the ferrule piece that screws in to insure contact or as others suggested solder it. What you have is foil shielded with drain, not braid. As some one else suggested, get the correct cable RG58U that is a braid. This will also give you much more wire for the ground side and terminate in the connector better. The 2 sides should be matched in length or the center length adjusted for frequency. the feed should come in at the split. But for emergency this will at least let you receive and possibly trans a short distance
The antena work in reception and transmition or just reception
Nice little video. Just made HDTV antenna from another video ... works great. VHF is next. Thx.
Great job whats the gain of the antenna
Sorry. No idea
@smokinghull "Vertical Bazooka", Thanks. 20% of the time 80% of the stuff I try works.
The PL-259 is the male, the female UHF connector is a SO-239. Ironically, the "UHF" connector is less than ideal for UHF. The PL-259/SO239 is better suited for HF bands. Breast vidz. What was the VSWR like?
Dear Seeker im italian. Great idea, but how many meter or inch for rg58 u cable using it total from top of antenna and pl 259.
Thks . fabio
hey Doug.....getting my boat together and getting my GPS and VHF hooked up. I'm stumped do I need to tune my antenna on my radio like I would a CB? can I use any swr meter? antenna isn't tunable but of course coaxial cable length is what I'm concerned with. all I got from Shakespeare is keep it longer than 3'.
Hell if I know. But you can post your question to the SV Seeker group and someone there will. facebook.com/groups/svseeker/
@smasci We're already drawing up plans for Zombie Apocalypse clean up machines. :)
8 years later, kung flu. SV Seeker, I love your videos.
@JWalkind3 Thank you, and good luck.
@submarineboat you made a dipole antenna! That is an antenna with both side the same length! Look it up on Google! BUT then you taped the two sides together to make it one wire! !! Why?
thats cool i got a 1 meter 10cm pvc pipe a 15mm and some coax cable will try and let you know how i went
Ok here is to all you people I'm Donald heathcock I live in caruthersville Missouri I work on all cb radios and handhelds I also sell real antennas cheap and I work on antennas and make antennas and I made this one cuz I talk on marine radios and all other radios and I hooked this one up just like he showed and I reached 35 miles over land I operate over land on base radio for boat or house either one pluss I talk on my handhelds even tho your not really suppose to but everyone does..
Hi there it be interesting on learning to build a uhf antenna with simular stuff. How would i be able to do it?
Thanks for the tips.
Would this type of DIY antenna pick up marine signals from about 5 miles away?
I live near the Port of Tyne (UK) and use a handheld scanner when nearby, but can't hear anything at my home, 5 miles away.
thank you
Yes, it should work fine at 5 miles, especially if you have line of sight to the port.
@@FiveRustyNails Thanks, I'll give it a try
Thanks for the video, I have a question for you. I bought a new VHF radio, and a new 1500mm Antenna. My reception is Excellent but when I am broadcasting to the port's radio (i.e. costguard) the coastguard says the transmission is LOUD but Distorted. What could be the cause of it? Grateful if you could advice me, as here in London (UK) no one is available to ask! Thanks.
Loudness isn't a problem, he has a volume control to deal with that. Distortion can be caused by many things but make sure you are talking across the mic. and not yelling into it directly.
What would be the outcome if I used rg-59? would it not work at all? is there a way to use rg-59 and change the ohms, by adding something else? all I have is rg-59..
good job ol chap
Would it matter if the pvc pipe is shorter if i built one of these?
Im going to build mine for free tonight. Total cost = $0.00 I have everything I need, from "junk" as people call it. just have to clear an area and get to work on it.
Barrie in Ottawa Canada hello; i'm in the process of rewiring my boat uhf marine radio and the internet tells me that RG59 and RG-6 is better than RG-58. please advise thanks
Sorry, I don't know.
LOL, I like those 99 cent serrated "Harbor Freight" scissors you got there.
hi mate how are you wat was the SWR like on the antenna ????
Great video, really interesting
How many decibels in the antenna?
Can I use this antenna for AIS traffic?
How far inland would this work
What would the dimensions be for 448.750 mhz?
im gonna build one now... thank you!
Thanks, Philip!
why wouldnt you have used REAL PVC caps rather than using the goop?
a 10' stick of 1/2 PVC pipe is LESS than $2 a piece, 2 caps, ( instead of goop ) is less than $1, and i just paid $15 for 25' of rg-58 cable, and $3 for the pl-259 and the reducer. CHEAPER than a new one.
Sorry. I have no idea.
@Mr314snowman Cool. See marinetraffic-dot-com and you can track the boats.
Sucks when you do it wrong and it works anyway. :)
Good job boy !!
Made mine just like yours but did not work
Try again. I rarely get it on the first try. : )
Copy that Uncle Dougger, thanks for the correction.
nice
Need to solder the shield or what he calls braiding as well. that pl259 if it works at all won't work for long. very unprofessional install
wrong...it is the soldered to braid style method that fails often, due to just three contact solder points, whereas the method used makes good contact over ALL the braid...if tight.
wrong, you have to solder the braid to the reducer to, and after mounting the reducer in the plug, the braight to the plug., but y would not go for this antenna as tx antenna, its to long, giving a very bad swr.
.....
Soldering 101, never carry solder to the joint. Always solder the braid on a PL259. You need a small blowtorch to do it properly. The antenna created is a vertical dipole.
Thats an SO239 .
You used the worst coax possible! That foil coax is horrible BUT what the heck it works!!!
It will not work probably !... A dipole antenna must have each sides diffentes according to the frenquency. PU5HLU.
UHF Union High Frequency
@henriqueumeoka
I did what? Speak English. :)
i can not acess your website (argonautjr.com) ...
This should work: svseeker.com/argonaut_jr_2010.htm
SV Seeker thanks !
Thanks for your prompt reply, now i got access... let me surf in... Regards