B
BOOTY MONSTER
Guest
ive got my money and ive made up my mind . i am going to build a better base antenna , not buy one . i can get the tubing i need for the verticle from Aluminum Tubing Type 6063 - 6 ft. as suggested by some folks here 
. i had a good discussion with marconi about it yesterday (thanks eddie) while he pointed out a few things i hadnt really considered or knew about , im still gonna do it . not at all suggesting he was saying i shouldnt , he was just sharing more of his experience so that if things dont go according to plan that i have a few ideas about how to compensate .
im basically gonna make the wizardo " Vertical Gain CB Antenna"
Tips and tricks on how to build your own CB Antennas.
the few changes are gonna be using 1 inch aluminium strip from lowes for the coil . its 1/8 thick/thin and 8 foot long . wizardo specifies 6 feet of wire . ill be using something with a much larger surface area so i may have to adjust the final length of that . im thinking to copy the shape in the pic with that length to just start with 6 ft 3 inches . the extra is two inches to play with to attach to the verticle and one for the foot of the bottom for ground element connection also . come out about 9 inches and carefully and neatly make a 17 1/4 inch circle . 72 inches - 2x9 = 54 . 54 /by 3.14 = 17.197---- inches . maybe add a 17 inch non metalic rod straped to the back of the mounting plate and securing the to the tuning ring on the sides for added stability .
the mounting plate will either be a 3 foot peice of recycled solid plastic lumber 5/4 board (not trex or a composite!) or the fiberglass handle from a shovel . the ground plane will essentially be the same , ill just use the ground element rig i currently have on my 1/4wgp .
yes i will be going to metal for mast , im still a little up in the air about grounding/isolating the antenna . im also thinking of a simple red-neck-engineered spring or rubberband and string way to check fully grounding to no grounding . certianly wont help if lightning hits , but if i like it better grounded ill just pull it down and hard wire it .
and speaking of that im undecided on the top . just a simple plastic cap stuck on it would be easiest . but im toying with some top hat ideas . nothing huge and no i dont expect louder modulation or a flatter DA . but for being less attractive to lightning strikes by having a larger surface area at the top . i could just cut the remaining 2 feet of 1 inch strips to 1 feet and installl at the top in a X shape , use a file to smooth any sharp corners/edges . ive also thought of piching up a cheap SS or alum ash tray/shallow bowle and attaching it upside down on the top . and then theres my favorite two bowles together to make a giant ball top , and of course draw a window on it like the jupiter 2 from lost in space . hehehehehe
and yep what ever tophat/bowle i add to the top will shorten the length some .
finally i could get buy with what i need from DX for just $42.80 delivered (6 foot sections) using 3/8 , 1/2 , 5/8 and 3/4 tubing .
i want it to be really strong if im gonna build it and its only a few bucks more . im thinking of 1 1/8 . 1 1/4 , 1 3/8 and 1 1/2 inch for about $21 more delivered . im thinking it should be really strong and stiff .
and here again , the larger diameter/ surface area wil affect the final perfect length . from what i understand there shouldnt be more than a inch or so of difference in lengths . there also seems to be little if any real world differences between a 5/8 and a .64 antenna on cb channels . the coil hopefully wont be affected much either by the different size of it from the wizardo spec . if i recall correctly the maco 5/8 coil is about the same size and the verticle is a bit short for a 5/8 . anyhow , im confident i can get it to tune low enough for my needs , 1.3 or less is acceptable IMO . but if i can hit that magic 1.1 ill try . .
anyhow , long post , sorry for that , but i appreciate yalls comments and suggestions . no doubt i have a plan , i think its a good one , what do yal think and suggest i try or do different .
thanks .
. i had a good discussion with marconi about it yesterday (thanks eddie) while he pointed out a few things i hadnt really considered or knew about , im still gonna do it . not at all suggesting he was saying i shouldnt , he was just sharing more of his experience so that if things dont go according to plan that i have a few ideas about how to compensate . im basically gonna make the wizardo " Vertical Gain CB Antenna"
Tips and tricks on how to build your own CB Antennas.
the few changes are gonna be using 1 inch aluminium strip from lowes for the coil . its 1/8 thick/thin and 8 foot long . wizardo specifies 6 feet of wire . ill be using something with a much larger surface area so i may have to adjust the final length of that . im thinking to copy the shape in the pic with that length to just start with 6 ft 3 inches . the extra is two inches to play with to attach to the verticle and one for the foot of the bottom for ground element connection also . come out about 9 inches and carefully and neatly make a 17 1/4 inch circle . 72 inches - 2x9 = 54 . 54 /by 3.14 = 17.197---- inches . maybe add a 17 inch non metalic rod straped to the back of the mounting plate and securing the to the tuning ring on the sides for added stability .
the mounting plate will either be a 3 foot peice of recycled solid plastic lumber 5/4 board (not trex or a composite!) or the fiberglass handle from a shovel . the ground plane will essentially be the same , ill just use the ground element rig i currently have on my 1/4wgp .
yes i will be going to metal for mast , im still a little up in the air about grounding/isolating the antenna . im also thinking of a simple red-neck-engineered spring or rubberband and string way to check fully grounding to no grounding . certianly wont help if lightning hits , but if i like it better grounded ill just pull it down and hard wire it .
and speaking of that im undecided on the top . just a simple plastic cap stuck on it would be easiest . but im toying with some top hat ideas . nothing huge and no i dont expect louder modulation or a flatter DA . but for being less attractive to lightning strikes by having a larger surface area at the top . i could just cut the remaining 2 feet of 1 inch strips to 1 feet and installl at the top in a X shape , use a file to smooth any sharp corners/edges . ive also thought of piching up a cheap SS or alum ash tray/shallow bowle and attaching it upside down on the top . and then theres my favorite two bowles together to make a giant ball top , and of course draw a window on it like the jupiter 2 from lost in space . hehehehehe
and yep what ever tophat/bowle i add to the top will shorten the length some .
finally i could get buy with what i need from DX for just $42.80 delivered (6 foot sections) using 3/8 , 1/2 , 5/8 and 3/4 tubing .
i want it to be really strong if im gonna build it and its only a few bucks more . im thinking of 1 1/8 . 1 1/4 , 1 3/8 and 1 1/2 inch for about $21 more delivered . im thinking it should be really strong and stiff .
and here again , the larger diameter/ surface area wil affect the final perfect length . from what i understand there shouldnt be more than a inch or so of difference in lengths . there also seems to be little if any real world differences between a 5/8 and a .64 antenna on cb channels . the coil hopefully wont be affected much either by the different size of it from the wizardo spec . if i recall correctly the maco 5/8 coil is about the same size and the verticle is a bit short for a 5/8 . anyhow , im confident i can get it to tune low enough for my needs , 1.3 or less is acceptable IMO . but if i can hit that magic 1.1 ill try .
.anyhow , long post , sorry for that , but i appreciate yalls comments and suggestions . no doubt i have a plan , i think its a good one , what do yal think and suggest i try or do different .
thanks .
