astroplane?

[loosecannon]

Bob85,

i really liked the astroplane copy that i had up.
i had it at heights ranging from 20' to 54' to the tip of the antenna and it performs awesome at all heights.

the copy is kinda cheap, and needs improvements. (read below what i did with mine)
the tubing wasnt corrugated, but it was bought about 3-4 years ago.

i think its a great antenna for high winds, (with improvements), since it wraps around the mast.


"my top one is mounted on 40' of mast on the side of my house. the house is 15' at the peak and the mast goes from the ground up using an eve mount.
First thing was to finally upgrade the coax to the real deal. i bought 83' of LMR400 with PL-259's on each end. this coax is stiff!
.
next thing was to upgrade the TOP ONE. while it is a good antenna design; the actual engineering of the CTE TOP ONE leaves a bit to be desired. the hardware for example is made of subpar metal, and its a bit off sized. i drilled out all the holes in the antenna to 17/64" and bought 1/4x20x1" stainless steel hex bolts and nylock or "stop" nuts. these are nuts that have a nylon ring in them so they wont loosen up with vibration. the u bolts were replaced with 5/16" hardware and the holes enlarged to 21/64".

i put up a 10 foot mast and assembled the antenna on it. the ring will sway a lot in the wind so i believe that it needs some extra support. i used uv resistant rope to anchor the ring to the mast and keep the mast at the center of the ring. (it looks cool too!)"


well, thats what i did with mine anyway,
LC

 

[SmackDown]

Bob, I remember Marconi once asking if you had any thoughts about replacing the radiator with a 1/4 wave section (eliminating the capacitance hat). Even if you haven't experimented physically with the idea, have you any theories on that ? My "Top One" has a swr of 1.00:1 using 12' increments of polyethelene dialectic coax. (72' of RG-214) I basically used Avanti's instructions and as I mentioned earlier used UV resistant ties to support the hoop to the mast to prevent swaying.

 

[bob85]

smackdown,
the only thoughts i have on lengthening the radiator is what it states in the patent,
what would happen if you extended the 1/4electrical wave upper portion to 3/4wave physically shortened with a tophat as in the original
if they were available over here at the price you guys can get the top'one i would try one with support on the loop,

 

[bob85]

cannon if i had a top'one and liked it i would replace all the tubing with smoothe tubing from the local stockists and all stainless hardware

 

[loosecannon]

looks like you might have to build one!

not that complicated of a design. the top bracket looks to be the most difficult thing to make, and thats not even TOO difficult.

if you build it, they will come in...
LC