BOOTY 4

[BOOTY MONSTER]

thanks homer . i still have to cut the excess bolts off and do some filing here and there . but it's coming along .
i put on the 4th basket element and put on the gamma to show how it looks together .

the tape on the gamma strap is just to hold the rod about 5 3/8 inches out from the center vertical to show about where it will go . the strap needs to be cut to length , but ill do that after the whole basket and lower 9 ft section is together so i can see how it's positioned with the basket elements .

that's all for today . its hot !! im gonna cool down , get cleaned up and go out for the night . ill finish it monday , supposed to be cooler .

 

[HomerBB]

Not bad, Booty. I couldn't have done it better myself.

 

[BOOTY MONSTER]

YouTube - ‪DAAAMMMMMMMMMMMN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!‬‏

that means a lot coming from you

thanks

 

[BOOTY MONSTER]

 

[HomerBB]

nice

 

[BOOTY MONSTER]

thanks .

radial length is 108 inches . i can adjust them from 6 ft to 10 ft .
basket is 30 inches in diameter , circumference is 94.5 inches .

the lower tube extends 4.5 ft above the bottom bracket .
the second tube will go to 4.5 or 5 ft .

it's kind of a pain to get the holes to line up and slightly angled on the X .
visually the look pretty good . 2 look about perfect . one looks about a 1/4 inch out and the 4th one looks about a 1/4 inch out also . hopefully thats close enough .

ill trim the X and the bolts tomorrow and put the gamma on too . a little short of .82 x wavelength seems to be the common sweet spot for these . so ill start with the vertical at 29 ft .

time to go see my bud

 

[BOOTY MONSTER]

everything but the vertical .... taking a break from the heat , but ill be back in a few with that too .

the outside edge of the gamma rod is about 5 3/8 inches from the side of the vertical .

BRB

 

[BOOTY MONSTER]

she's finished

here's a close up of the gamma arrm bracket . its two pieces to provide more surface area (and less gap for corrosion/debris) contact around the actual rod .

and here's 3 pics of the total 30 ft length including the extra ft under the main lower bracket .

not me in the pic , just one of my buds .

put my astatic 700 meter on it real quick and got a quick and dirty 1.6 or 35 and did a quick check with 2 locals . just sitting literally on the ground it made a good contact with a guy in the city that my other 5/8's just barely made through the static . even though its much taller , its a whole heck of a lot lighter than my 5/8s with the big plate and mounting boards

so its done and it works :w00t:

thanks to all that contributed their knowledge , support and patience with me through this project :

 

[HomerBB]

Get it on a pole of some sort and work it out for us.
great to know it works.

 

[Superidgit]

WEEEEEEEEEE!!!! GREAT JOB MAN!!!
Damn I wanna see it up in the air!!

I am very happy for you!

 

[NorthStar]

Where can I order one from?

 

[Superidgit]

Where can I order one from?

Hmmm..... I aint suggesting anything here but.... If ya look in Booty's backyard you might find one pretty darn cheap if no one see you.

 

[Robb]

Looks great Booty.
How high up are you going to put it? A local guy has an original Sigma IV, I helped him work on it. Best antenna out there; so I know you will like yours. He has his on a 20 ft push-up pole and works very well there too.

Q: If you were to clip off the excess fiberboard sticking out - would that save 1/2 pound off of the antenna's overall weight?

 

[Marconi]

Hey BM, hope I'm not rushing you here, but its been a couple of weeks now. Have you got your Vector model raised up yet? Can you tell us how it performs and matches with it raised up higher than 1' foot?

 

[BOOTY MONSTER]

Where can I order one from?

id consider making and selling the brackets ......... but i don't wanna be crucified if i try to make a buck off the hobby like bulldog is experiencing . :bdh:

Hmmm..... I aint suggesting anything here but.... If ya look in Booty's backyard you might find one pretty darn cheap if no one see you.

yep ...... and it comes with some free lead too .

Looks great Booty.
How high up are you going to put it? A local guy has an original Sigma IV, I helped him work on it. Best antenna out there; so I know you will like yours. He has his on a 20 ft push-up pole and works very well there too.

Q: If you were to clip off the excess fiberboard sticking out - would that save 1/2 pound off of the antenna's overall weight?

probably closer to a pound , solid plastic lumber is heavy .

Hey BM, hope I'm not rushing you here, but its been a couple of weeks now. Have you got your Vector model raised up yet? Can you tell us how it performs and matches with it raised up higher than 1' foot?

its still on the ground , its doing better than either of the 5/8's did here though and they were about 6 ft to the feed-point . im trying to get together a 20 ft mast setup that i can raise and lower myself to tinker with and make tuning easier . i can hear a surprising amount of the same people other folks near me hear considering my feedpoint is about 12 inches off the ground , and i expect that going 19 ft higher will only make my ears better than they are now .