Subj : Re: Homebrew antenna questions To : alt.ham-radio.vhf-uhf From : nospam Date : Wed Sep 28 2005 14:21:31 From Newsgroup: alt.ham-radio.vhf-uhf On Tue, 27 Sep 2005 19:25:13 -0700, "Carl J. Hixon" wrote: >Question for the group. If I wanted to make a 2m or 6m j-pole out of >1/4-in or 1/16-in 304 or 326 SS tubing, how would the change in >material and diameter effect the design formulas that I find on the >web. They all seem to use 1/2-in Cu pipe. How should I expect such >an antenna to perform? The SS is not much an issue but the diameter change will require an overall dimensional change. The dimensions affected will be length of the radiators and stubs as well as the seperation for the stubs. I may add that 326ss of less than 1/4" diameter is not sufficiciently strong for the 2m section in medium wind and way too light for the 6m section. >Basically, I am looking for a base antenna that covers 2m & 6m and is >"semi-stealth". My wife won't complain too much if I can come up with >a skinny vertical without a lot of radials. I've been surfing and >surfing and just haven't found something that fits the bill. I don't >even think that I can get away with stacking j-poles... > >I like the idea of a vertical over a wire. I don't have a tuner. I'd >like to mount it off of the edge of my 2nd story roof on the fascia board. For 6m look at a horizontal loop same for 2m if your thinking of ssb. For FM work the antenna will need to be vertical a 1/4 wave for 2m is trivial and tiny. For 6m it's noticeable but not huge. > >I could also use a primer on what kind of feed line I should be >planning to use for a 2m/6m installation. I need to run between 50-60 >ft to get to the roof location. Since your considering at best dipole performance you cannot afford to loose any signal, Buryflex, 9914 or better is suggested as any cable loss detracts from the antenna system >Sounds a lot like I need to read a good antenna book... Thats a starting point. Maybe showing the wide a real antenna will help. Allison .