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What if I...
- Thread starter trees
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No the reading would be correct but it would be off the scale.
I've got a couple, and I'm curious to see what freq they resonate at...
And how much rewinding of the inductor will be required. Should be a lot fewer turns, which would result in lower loss. (Yes?)
I like the idea of heavy current on the first 2' and then top loading the antenna...or possibly loading at the 2/3 point and ending up with a pretty efficient 4' hybrid whip.
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I can't even begin to tell you what the results will be but have fun experimenting with it. Take notes and have method to your madness rather than madness to your method. LOL Too few people today are willing to just go do it and see what happens.
Copy that. Am curious to see if I can end up with a fairly rugged and highly efficient fiberglass whip
I like the skipshooter antennas, but I'm limited to about 4' overall length, they mount on the west coast mirror brackets on my Western Star... Feed point is a little over 8'...
2 ft antennas are a waste of time and money - IMO. All of the ones I've checked out with an an antenna analyzer showed a bandwidth less that a standard 40 channel radio will require. So, expect high a SWR at ch 1 and ch 40 when you get a usable SWR on ch 20.
Baaad juju . . .
Baaad juju . . .
Agreed. 2' no bueno. I'm hoping to make my own 4, maybe 4 1/2' using some aluminum pipe and a 2' antenna
Adding a couple feet to the base of a top loaded 11m 1/4 wave might work well on 12m.
I had a silly 18" Firestik and had fun removing 2 or 10 turns and drilling down into the top of the inner 3/8" fiberglass rod, then installing a 49" Larsen whip, the black one with the copper coating under the black powder coat, soldered the top of the coil to it to hold it in place and it worked surprisingly well.
Used it mostly for a semi-stealthy mobile antenna, or when I knew I'd be going off-road under low branches.
Ended up trading it off for an old Astatic Minuteman II hand mic.
I had a silly 18" Firestik and had fun removing 2 or 10 turns and drilling down into the top of the inner 3/8" fiberglass rod, then installing a 49" Larsen whip, the black one with the copper coating under the black powder coat, soldered the top of the coil to it to hold it in place and it worked surprisingly well.
Used it mostly for a semi-stealthy mobile antenna, or when I knew I'd be going off-road under low branches.
Ended up trading it off for an old Astatic Minuteman II hand mic.
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@trees: You mentioned a Western Star, so I will assume you to be a trucker. So am I.
This project seems interesting as something to do, and a learning experience, but I don't see any further benefit. I think that you would be better off with a standard 4' fiberglass whip, because that will be more flexible than the half aluminum, half fiberglass hybrid, that you propose.
Flexibility is a good thing. If you smack something with your proposed antenna, it's more likely to break, than an antenna that's all fiberglass.
Myself, while I really like the Firestiks, I'm done with fiberglass. Had to replace too many.
Well, that's not entirely true. I assembled a vertical dipole, and use a Wilson 1/4 wave whip as the bottom half, but it's protected by the mirror bracket.
In any case, your hybrid antenna seems like an awful lot of trouble, and after putting all that time and effort into getting it right, it's going to be a hell of a lot more frustrating if (and I think, WHEN) it breaks, as opposed to one that you just bought and installed in its originally manufactured condition.
Although, a spring in between the shaft and fiberglass.... Meh.... Still seems more trouble than it's worth, to me.
This project seems interesting as something to do, and a learning experience, but I don't see any further benefit. I think that you would be better off with a standard 4' fiberglass whip, because that will be more flexible than the half aluminum, half fiberglass hybrid, that you propose.
Flexibility is a good thing. If you smack something with your proposed antenna, it's more likely to break, than an antenna that's all fiberglass.
Myself, while I really like the Firestiks, I'm done with fiberglass. Had to replace too many.
Well, that's not entirely true. I assembled a vertical dipole, and use a Wilson 1/4 wave whip as the bottom half, but it's protected by the mirror bracket.
In any case, your hybrid antenna seems like an awful lot of trouble, and after putting all that time and effort into getting it right, it's going to be a hell of a lot more frustrating if (and I think, WHEN) it breaks, as opposed to one that you just bought and installed in its originally manufactured condition.
Although, a spring in between the shaft and fiberglass.... Meh.... Still seems more trouble than it's worth, to me.
Probably right.... I've been using some Wilson 2000s'. They were great, until it rained... Now they've got water inside them. The clear window on the coil body shows the moisture. When they were dry inside they matched up, now my swr is 3:1. Gonna try drilling out the bottom, see if I can dry em out, spay some silicon water dispersant in there, and then seal em up...
It occurs to me, if your antenna stud is 8' from the ground, you should be able to get away with a 6' antenna. Mounted, that would put the top of your antenna at 14'. As it would still smack low overpasses, and tree branches, I would avoid fiberglass, but center coil antennas with steel whips should be fine. Plus, the added height should increase your range a bit.
Another thought; you could move your mounting location to accommodate a 102" steel whip. I found some of those, at a Bosselmans out in Nebraska, for about $30/ea, give or take. (I80, X312)
Myself, my goal is to start purging anything from my system that was produced by DAS Companies. (Astatic, Wilson, K40, etc.) The primary purpose of DAS is to stock travel centers and c-stores, so I distrust any product that they make, when it comes to CB stuff. It just seems to me that their product quality is more likely to take a hit, just to appease the bean counters. Most everything that you find stocked in a Loves, Pilot, TA, etc., was made by DAS. Briefcases, CB accessories, cellphone accessories, shirts and pants. All DAS.
Another thought; you could move your mounting location to accommodate a 102" steel whip. I found some of those, at a Bosselmans out in Nebraska, for about $30/ea, give or take. (I80, X312)
Myself, my goal is to start purging anything from my system that was produced by DAS Companies. (Astatic, Wilson, K40, etc.) The primary purpose of DAS is to stock travel centers and c-stores, so I distrust any product that they make, when it comes to CB stuff. It just seems to me that their product quality is more likely to take a hit, just to appease the bean counters. Most everything that you find stocked in a Loves, Pilot, TA, etc., was made by DAS. Briefcases, CB accessories, cellphone accessories, shirts and pants. All DAS.
...hey, don't be afraid to bend the top 10"-20" of a Wilson trucker 2000/5000 back at a 90° angle, most of the energy is from the coil - up, so that has worked well for several drivers I know.