Love these videos. Been licensed for many years and quiet for a good few years. Now back it's a good refresher for me and i am learning some new things Too.
I watched to the end where the music fades, I hit the like 'thumbs up', I wrote a comment and I said out loud, "well done sir". Hopefully TH-cam is listening to me. By the way, I called it the jacket (if there is one), shield, dielectric and the center conductor that is connected to my Yagi-Uda array. I had chemo today and woke up 12 hours later to see your face on the screen. Thanks for the smile. 73, Jim
I love your videos Cal. Your videos go hand in hand of understanding the basics. New Tech here, Have to be portable (always) looking at your new DX C. Expedition for an all in one band antenna. Keep up the good work. Can not wait to get my fist POTA activation. Hope to hear you soon. 73
These are brilliant for explaining items from the manuals- I have recently done my foundation and intermediate. Wish you had done these clips a few months back.... You are doing a brilliant job of attracting new people--- you sparked my interest late last year... Hope to speak to you on one of the Friday pile ups -(I don’t get my radio for a few more weeks so got to wait... Birthday present !)
I use EFHW 20m long sloper. Europe is too easy, USA is reachable. Fantastic antenna. Will do 80-40-20-17-10 on internal AMU. I also just bought a new 2024 DX expedition. I'm going to read the instructions tonight :)
Great video highlighting the various antenna types! - The 5/8 and loop are often overlooked - especially the 5/8 - Would a 5/8 dipole work, or are they mostly just vertically polarized?
Question. Would you be better off using a Balun to connect to a TV antenna to make a Yaghi antenna? I have a very large one I just took down and want to try.
How about Radom wire in differents higths with or with counterpoise what length are good for lets say 80M-10M and 160M - 10M and counterpoise length ?? Like your videos very much big FAN
There are websites giving the best "random" lengths to use which provide the best impedance match to a 9:1 across all bands. Have a search around. Alternatively, Walt, of Coastal Waves and Wires, just did a video which links to a good page which explains it all. Look up Coastal Waves and Wires (all in capitals!) if you've not come across Walt before.
There are people in the US doing "courses" like this and people are paying for it. I used a course like this very similar to the one you are doing for Foundations for my Extra license, and it costs me a couple hundred USD. It was like 10 2-hour videos over a couple of months, but Extra is quite a bit as you know. You're very good at video production, explain things well, and are highly personable. I recommend setting up your own video courses. Either on your own website or some curated site like Kajabi. Do the courses once, change them as regulations change, and then sit back and let people sign up, learn, and then get feedback about people getting their licenses.
Hello Lord Callum: Thank you for your expert opinions on the different types of antennas / dipoles. Your comments & opinions Re always welcomed. God Bless you & my best wishes to Wendy & your dogs. TMP, Unit 22 from N.J.
Good job! Nicely simplified for the newbie. Once they understand the basics then the questions come. Thats when the real learning begins. One question, where are the Bananas?
Hi callum love your work and im a regular viewer of all your vids 🎉i inspire to work up to what youve got its become my new dream life, Keep up the bloody fantastic work, your a true gent and a scholar
Love your videos. I been a ham for 40 years. I am an Electronics engineer by trade. I love the inspiration for an antenna that you made into one of the best benchmark antenna designs ever. And made a successful business of it to boot! But what I admire most is you giving back to the community with your expertise and experience in the hobby. From beginner stuff to advanced topics. An d you seem to have great fun doing it! Very educational and entertaining. You are an entertainer as well! Good work mate! All th best and Blessing gs! X
I think that you describe the principal behind a great antenna---The DX Commander, as build by discerning Hams! 73 Jim M7BXT (watched to the end, liked and already subscribed!!)
I’ve heard of them but don’t really like the idea of simple physics over lossy traps trombones gamma Ray matches and LC networks. I’ve yet to beat break or bend physics……
@@Paul-M0PMI Ah, well, now, I was considering something the other day, I made the comment on one of Tim, G5TM's videos. In the beginning there was Callum here and the DX Commander, using a fan quarter wave vertical with a ground plane. Also in the beginning was a T2LT "flowerpot" antenna, a half wave dipole oriented vertically, using the coax braid as the "other half" of the dipole. More practical for the higher bands, perhaps starting at 20m on a 10m pole. So. What I mused was building a T2LT antenna for 20m, on a 10m pole, but then adding in fan elements for 17m, 15m, 12m and 10m. This way you have a 10m pole, and you have a half wave fan dipole on everything from 20-10m without having to bring the feeder out at 90 degrees from the middle. How does that sound? Should I patent it? :-)
Thanks Callum, any explanation at all on how antenna's work is a winner. This is roughly my level so I appreciate it. Although, I do enjoy a bit of the mystery. Part of the magic is - I key up, I'm heard and I get a response. It's surely wizardry. Which takes me back to my childhood in the late 70s twirling a knob on one of those radio sets that everyone had listening to SW in the dark and not having a scooby doo who is talking, what they are saying or where they are from. 73 Cheers!
I would like to build an antenna that can get my signal out of the hole I am in. I live between 2 mountains. There are NO commercial radio stations here on AM or FM. Its nuts.
2.5:1 impedance transformers are used in some full wave loop setups, believe that is what chameleon is using in their newest skyloop. They are an amazingly powerful antenna if one has the space to install one. I am currently debating on using some of the big 100ft tall fir trees around my house to install a skyloop, apparently you can see gain lobes well over 12dB which is an insane amount of gain, basically like having an amplifier. A really good antenna is a must-have for all HAMs, more beneficial than an amplifier and way more cost-efficient, and they don't always have to be expensive items. I DIY all my own and have had amazing success on all of them, but my record is almost, 11000 miles into South Africa from Vancouver Island with my random wire end fed!
Didn't need to watch this, but I did. Didn't need to like it, but of course I did. Didn't need to subscribe, already had 😂. Great that you are giving to the hobby, Cal. 👌
Great, thanks. What's your apparent issue with EFLW antennas though? Particularly the random you mentioned, and ones like the Rybacov (so I've read and heard anyway, albeit that's a vertical I believe) can be multiband if one has an antenna tuner, so I figured they would be a good thing, especially for a relative beginner who maybe wants just one easy-to rig-antenna.
Oh really? Well, you live and learn! I assumed it to be fairly straightforward. Length of wire, 9:1 balun, end insulator. For me, either 59 or 72 ft based on charts I've seen. I shall let you know how my random goes when the weather finally relents enough for me to finish the job then. I've been thwarted for a week since I told you I was putting one up! Thanks for the cautionary note Callum. Best, Les
At the risk of looking like a complete buffoon... Does a run of coax going around corners with a bit coiled up loosely on the floor of an attic (for example) create problems? Is it a problem? Or should you cut the coax to be as short and as direct as possible? Im using rg213 to one chimney mounted vertical and rg8x to a roof apex mounted vertical... yes, im using 11Metres to play about with... 😉
A coil of coax can be useful in providing a choke. Look up "ugly balun". Going round corners, you just have to be careful of the bend radius and that you don't make the bend too sharp - that does two things, firstly it affects the impedance of the section in the band, secondly it can damage the coax. But then as Callum says, the longer the coax, the more loss you'll have.
I’d love to see you talk about a Marconi antenna where the center tap goes out the window and the braid is tied to ground. Not many really know about that one. I doubt it is very good but I’ve never seen any data on it. Love the show keep up the good work! Kd0wih from America
Well done Callum - Another bite sized lesson teaching technical stuff in plain English with pictures, removing a lot of the jargon that frightens many people away . Proving you don't have to be an academic to grasp the basics. Encouraging newcomers to have the confidence have a go and then getting the joy and satisfaction of not only making contact with others using their own kit, but actually understanding how and why it all works.....Brilliant!
Callum , I always learn something new from watching your videos. You explain thing so well. 73 Jim WA4TVN
Thank you so much!
Love these videos. Been licensed for many years and quiet for a good few years. Now back it's a good refresher for me and i am learning some new things Too.
Great to hear!
I watched to the end where the music fades, I hit the like 'thumbs up', I wrote a comment and I said out loud, "well done sir". Hopefully TH-cam is listening to me. By the way, I called it the jacket (if there is one), shield, dielectric and the center conductor that is connected to my Yagi-Uda array. I had chemo today and woke up 12 hours later to see your face on the screen. Thanks for the smile. 73, Jim
Awe Jim!! You are too kind fella. Not much of a wake up call, seeing me on the bloomin screen Jim! But hang in there old friend!! :)
Thanks Cal us noobs appreciate these quick videos that explain things in ways that are easy to understand
No problem 👍
Something nice. There, I said it 😀. I laughed out loud several times. Lighthearted yet informative.... again.
Awe.. Thank you!
Being new to ham, i really appreciate the teachings.
No worries!
I love your videos Cal. Your videos go hand in hand of understanding the basics. New Tech here, Have to be portable (always) looking at your new DX C. Expedition for an all in one band antenna. Keep up the good work. Can not wait to get my fist POTA activation. Hope to hear you soon. 73
I appreciate that!
These are brilliant for explaining items from the manuals- I have recently done my foundation and intermediate. Wish you had done these clips a few months back.... You are doing a brilliant job of attracting new people--- you sparked my interest late last year... Hope to speak to you on one of the Friday pile ups -(I don’t get my radio for a few more weeks so got to wait... Birthday present !)
Glad you like them!
Well done Callum.
We should all do abit more to attract new people to the wonderful hobby.
Keep the videos coming they are very much appreciated....
Thanks 👍
Thanks so much, Callum. I think this is important information that most people don't realize that they really do need to know.
My pleasure!
Love your Tech videos Callum!! 👍👍👍
Thanks! 👍
Love my 80m skyloop. I feed it directly with commscope 75ohm catv cable and it works great. Thanks for another great video! 73 N2SCD
Beautiful!
Great job of explaining antennas...
I use EFHW 20m long sloper. Europe is too easy, USA is reachable. Fantastic antenna. Will do 80-40-20-17-10 on internal AMU.
I also just bought a new 2024 DX expedition. I'm going to read the instructions tonight :)
Nice 👍
Excellent Cal. But I'm still confused about the 4:1 baluns, and other #:1 baluns. How are the number of required turns worked out?
I have no idea really.. Mike is the Balun guru. Watch that video..?
Great content. Thanks Callum!
My pleasure!
one more step closer for me :) thankyou Cal!
Something nice. :)
Thanks Calum!
HAHA Excellent!
Thank you for explaining antennas
You are welcome!
Great explanation. Keep em comming🎉
Thank you! Will do!
Great video highlighting the various antenna types! - The 5/8 and loop are often overlooked - especially the 5/8 - Would a 5/8 dipole work, or are they mostly just vertically polarized?
Ah.. Mostly vertically polarised.
@@DXCommanderHQ - Would a 5/8 dipole "sharpen the beam" and have more gain? - Or would it just not tune?
Smiling!
A like and a comment plus watch to the end.... the whole 9 yards.
HAHA!
You also have to say, "Something nice"...
Question. Would you be better off using a Balun to connect to a TV antenna to make a Yaghi antenna? I have a very large one I just took down and want to try.
TV Antennas are "tuned" to a specific frequency. You probably need a quick look at this video: th-cam.com/video/pF6KppvYsVU/w-d-xo.html
Great work Callum. I work with a dummy load 😜😊
You and me both!
can you explain the coil of the 5/8 ? thank you!
Yes I can. I've added it to the list.
@@DXCommanderHQ i appreciate it, tu!
BRILLIANT! 😂👍💥
Oh wow. Thank you!
Great video, Thank you for spending the time and effort to product and publish them.
Larry NA0F
Thanks for watching!
How about Radom wire in differents higths with or with counterpoise what length are good for lets say 80M-10M and 160M - 10M and counterpoise length ?? Like your videos very much big FAN
Don't fully understand question. I don't know about random, only EFHW
There are websites giving the best "random" lengths to use which provide the best impedance match to a 9:1 across all bands. Have a search around. Alternatively, Walt, of Coastal Waves and Wires, just did a video which links to a good page which explains it all. Look up Coastal Waves and Wires (all in capitals!) if you've not come across Walt before.
@@DXCommanderHQ thats OK
You da best
Something nice! :)
Haha Thanks! Enjoy!
Lol the experts "UDA & yaggi"
Say something nice! OK, I did place un the comments what you wanted!
Haha.. Brilliant!
Nice
Thanks
2.63m is about 17 bananas
Good point!
"something nice" 73, VE3GUE
Brilliant. Thank you!
Antenna alchemy ⚗️ made simple 😉 💙
😀
Brilliant. Antennas have always seemed like black magic until you and a few others explained them well. 73s.
Loving this Series Callum, simple and concise. It’s got me thinking. Which sometimes is a good thing 😂
There are people in the US doing "courses" like this and people are paying for it. I used a course like this very similar to the one you are doing for Foundations for my Extra license, and it costs me a couple hundred USD. It was like 10 2-hour videos over a couple of months, but Extra is quite a bit as you know. You're very good at video production, explain things well, and are highly personable. I recommend setting up your own video courses. Either on your own website or some curated site like Kajabi. Do the courses once, change them as regulations change, and then sit back and let people sign up, learn, and then get feedback about people getting their licenses.
Doing this is actually part of my own hobby. If I turned it into a cash project, it would ruin it for me.
@@DXCommanderHQ Totally get it. Keep on keeping on, Cal.
@DXCommanderHQ Generous people like you are what have made this hobby what it is.
Hello Lord Callum: Thank you for your expert opinions on the different types of antennas / dipoles. Your comments & opinions Re always welcomed. God Bless you & my best wishes to Wendy & your dogs. TMP, Unit 22 from N.J.
You always have something pleasant to say! Thank you!
Good job! Nicely simplified for the newbie. Once they understand the basics then the questions come. Thats when the real learning begins. One question, where are the Bananas?
They've gone off!
Hi callum love your work and im a regular viewer of all your vids 🎉i inspire to work up to what youve got its become my new dream life,
Keep up the bloody fantastic work, your a true gent and a scholar
Awesome! Thank you!
@@DXCommanderHQ your very welcome mate
The experts will tell us said the antenna designer/manufacturer 😃😃😃
Well done Cal, I always have trouble simplifying things but you are great !!!
Thanks 👍
Love your videos. I been a ham for 40 years. I am an Electronics engineer by trade. I love the inspiration for an antenna that you made into one of the best benchmark antenna designs ever. And made a successful business of it to boot! But what I admire most is you giving back to the community with your expertise and experience in the hobby. From beginner stuff to advanced topics. An d you seem to have great fun doing it! Very educational and entertaining. You are an entertainer as well! Good work mate! All th best and Blessing gs!
X
Ooops. Hit return by mistake! Any way all the best!
Jess AE0CW
That is an extremely kind comment. Thank you.
"Something Nice"
Brilliant!
I wonder if you could build a fan dipole but in a vertical configuration 🤔M0PMI
I think that you describe the principal behind a great antenna---The DX Commander, as build by discerning Hams! 73 Jim M7BXT (watched to the end, liked and already subscribed!!)
I’ve heard of them but don’t really like the idea of simple physics over lossy traps trombones gamma Ray matches and LC networks. I’ve yet to beat break or bend physics……
I wonder if anyone's had that idea...?
Not sure but I’m going to give it a try M0PMI
@@Paul-M0PMI Ah, well, now, I was considering something the other day, I made the comment on one of Tim, G5TM's videos.
In the beginning there was Callum here and the DX Commander, using a fan quarter wave vertical with a ground plane.
Also in the beginning was a T2LT "flowerpot" antenna, a half wave dipole oriented vertically, using the coax braid as the "other half" of the dipole. More practical for the higher bands, perhaps starting at 20m on a 10m pole.
So. What I mused was building a T2LT antenna for 20m, on a 10m pole, but then adding in fan elements for 17m, 15m, 12m and 10m. This way you have a 10m pole, and you have a half wave fan dipole on everything from 20-10m without having to bring the feeder out at 90 degrees from the middle. How does that sound? Should I patent it? :-)
Love it, good refresher for me, it's been 50 years since my DX ING years.
As soon as I see a chimney with a round flu, in movies, I know it's "across the pond" ;)
Thanks Callum, any explanation at all on how antenna's work is a winner. This is roughly my level so I appreciate it.
Although, I do enjoy a bit of the mystery. Part of the magic is - I key up, I'm heard and I get a response. It's surely wizardry. Which takes me back to my childhood in the late 70s twirling a knob on one of those radio sets that everyone had listening to SW in the dark and not having a scooby doo who is talking, what they are saying or where they are from.
73 Cheers!
Lovely!
Excellent video, very clear! Thanks!
Great video, love the way you approach antennas, makes concepts clearer for me.
Awesome, thank you!
Another great video, Callum.
Good stuff, keep them coming 👌🏽 now, I'm 1 video smarter on antennas 😊 waaay cool 73
Tnx!
I would like to build an antenna that can get my signal out of the hole I am in. I live between 2 mountains. There are NO commercial radio stations here on AM or FM. Its nuts.
YOu need to calculate the precice angle between yourself and the top of the mountain.. If it's more than 10 degrees, you might struggle a bit.
This is great stuff for radio!!
Liked 👌 Watched 👌 Comment 👌 Learned something new 💯
Thanks for all you do! It's really appreciated!
Awesome, thank you!
Great stuff Callum.any explanation of radio related nuggets of knowledge help keep the grey going so thank you...
73 Jon M5DZH
Glad to help!
2.5:1 impedance transformers are used in some full wave loop setups, believe that is what chameleon is using in their newest skyloop. They are an amazingly powerful antenna if one has the space to install one. I am currently debating on using some of the big 100ft tall fir trees around my house to install a skyloop, apparently you can see gain lobes well over 12dB which is an insane amount of gain, basically like having an amplifier. A really good antenna is a must-have for all HAMs, more beneficial than an amplifier and way more cost-efficient, and they don't always have to be expensive items. I DIY all my own and have had amazing success on all of them, but my record is almost, 11000 miles into South Africa from Vancouver Island with my random wire end fed!
Yes..! Check out my video I made about our original "mega-loop".
Didn't need to watch this, but I did. Didn't need to like it, but of course I did. Didn't need to subscribe, already had 😂. Great that you are giving to the hobby, Cal. 👌
Legend!
I love the drawings and your jolly charactor, keep up the great videos.
Thank you so much 😀
👍👍👍👍👍👍🫶👍👍👍👍👍👍
Excellent video, I wish I had this one when I was trying to learn. Enjoy your radio! :)
Thanks!
Fab video and I must admit love the use of coils. What I need is advice on how to get best performance in a restricted space such as a flat.
Aparetments..?? Oh my.. Mag Loop? DIpole hanging off the balcony?
Appreciate the content Callum
Ah Thank you!
Nice easy to understand
Glad to hear that!
Great, thanks. What's your apparent issue with EFLW antennas though? Particularly the random you mentioned, and ones like the Rybacov (so I've read and heard anyway, albeit that's a vertical I believe) can be multiband if one has an antenna tuner, so I figured they would be a good thing, especially for a relative beginner who maybe wants just one easy-to rig-antenna.
As a "home-brew" antenna, it's complex to make for a total newbie.. Sure you can buy anything.
Oh really? Well, you live and learn! I assumed it to be fairly straightforward. Length of wire, 9:1 balun, end insulator. For me, either 59 or 72 ft based on charts I've seen. I shall let you know how my random goes when the weather finally relents enough for me to finish the job then. I've been thwarted for a week since I told you I was putting one up! Thanks for the cautionary note Callum. Best, Les
Callum, what is a antenna?? 🤣
It's a magnetic banana!
Very good info well done
Thank you!
learned a lot from you
Thanks!
Thank you.
You're welcome!
Good job Sir
Thanks Billy!!
At the risk of looking like a complete buffoon...
Does a run of coax going around corners with a bit coiled up loosely on the floor of an attic (for example) create problems?
Is it a problem? Or should you cut the coax to be as short and as direct as possible?
Im using rg213 to one chimney mounted vertical and rg8x to a roof apex mounted vertical... yes, im using 11Metres to play about with... 😉
11Metres as in 27 Mhz
Just more loss.
A coil of coax can be useful in providing a choke. Look up "ugly balun". Going round corners, you just have to be careful of the bend radius and that you don't make the bend too sharp - that does two things, firstly it affects the impedance of the section in the band, secondly it can damage the coax. But then as Callum says, the longer the coax, the more loss you'll have.
Nice.....
Lovely!
Great recap Callum after taking my class B in the 90s.
Callum, I really enjoy your videos. Thank you for this series. And thanks for the welcome the other day.
Any time! PS _ Thanks!
I’d love to see you talk about a Marconi antenna where the center tap goes out the window and the braid is tied to ground. Not many really know about that one. I doubt it is very good but I’ve never seen any data on it. Love the show keep up the good work! Kd0wih from America
Great suggestion!
Great Stuff. Just the basics for those getting started. You have a knack for putting out great stuff that anyone can understand. Thanks.
I appreciate that!
I feel as though I already understand most of these lessons but I love watching them anyway. Keeps me sharp.
haha Im the same. I know them all but just like listening to Callum talk things through.
Excellent informative vid as always Cal, clear concice and to the point
Much appreciated!
Yagi-Uda
‘The experts’
Cal you’re so flattering 😅
That's it!
Well done Callum - Another bite sized lesson teaching technical stuff in plain English with pictures, removing a lot of the jargon that frightens many people away . Proving you don't have to be an academic to grasp the basics. Encouraging newcomers to have the confidence have a go and then getting the joy and satisfaction of not only making contact with others using their own kit, but actually understanding how and why it all works.....Brilliant!
Hey thanks!
Always enjoy your content.
1/4 WAVELENGTH OF 75 OHM COAX TO 50 OHM IS A GOOD CHEAP WAY TO MATCH A FULL WAVE LOOP KI4YTV
Vertical loop, yes.
Does that make it single banded though? Will a 4:1 or whatever provide a good match across other bands than the fundamental?
@@paulsengupta971 it will if you use coax. Ladder line is the way to go
“Something nice!”
Haha. Diamond!
I see what you did there!
Beat me to it!