I want to make my own CB truck antenna as the area I am in no longer has any CB stuff kicking around I am hoping for someone to show up with a firstick but thats iffy if they will. OK what I want to do is get 102" of hollow 1/4" or 3/4 aluminum pipe and put a bolt on the bottom ether weld or glue it in making sure it connects good with the pipe oh and silicone the top hole so it don't fill up with water so will this work at all I assume i can cut it down if need be a bit at a time to get a decent match? or am I totally out to lunch on this project?
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Can I make this and will it work as well as a 102" wipe
- Thread starter Survival Bill
- Start date
S'.Bill,
Would it work? Sure. Might have to 'prune' a bit depending on thickness but no reason why it wouldn't. I'd probably stay away from glue, doesn't assure a good contact. Any benifit from the 'extra' thickness? Not really, not electrically anyway...
- 'Doc
Would it work? Sure. Might have to 'prune' a bit depending on thickness but no reason why it wouldn't. I'd probably stay away from glue, doesn't assure a good contact. Any benifit from the 'extra' thickness? Not really, not electrically anyway...
- 'Doc
you might want to start with say around 108 inches. then prune down from there 
Make sure it is insulated from the body of the truck where it attaches to the mount.
great was hoping it would work, OK ill have it welded to the bolt then...
thanks for the tips...
yup using a commercially made mounting bracket so it will be insulated from the body better or I'm gonna complain...
another question too would copper pipe work or steel pipe like electrical conduit? just wondering if it may be cheaper than than going aluminum...
thanks for the tips...
yup using a commercially made mounting bracket so it will be insulated from the body better or I'm gonna complain...
another question too would copper pipe work or steel pipe like electrical conduit? just wondering if it may be cheaper than than going aluminum...
The one problem I would think there would be with copper or steel is the corrosion they develope easily.
S'.Bill,
Copper, steel, aluminum, iron, pewter, bronze, platinum, silver, gold, whatever as long as it's conductive. There's not enough difference in the conductivity of most metals to make any difference RF wise. Use whatever is convenient, cheap, that you have or can get, and pay attention to the mechanical aspects. As in which will stand up under use/abuse best. Can you paint it? Sure, as long as the paint isn't conductive, don't want any 'shorts'. Stand a 9 foot 2x4 up in the back of your truck, staple a wire antenna to it...?
- 'Doc
Copper, steel, aluminum, iron, pewter, bronze, platinum, silver, gold, whatever as long as it's conductive. There's not enough difference in the conductivity of most metals to make any difference RF wise. Use whatever is convenient, cheap, that you have or can get, and pay attention to the mechanical aspects. As in which will stand up under use/abuse best. Can you paint it? Sure, as long as the paint isn't conductive, don't want any 'shorts'. Stand a 9 foot 2x4 up in the back of your truck, staple a wire antenna to it...?
- 'Doc
Well actually now that you bring that up I was first thinking about using PVC pipe and putting the wire in that or even making it a proper dipole with the wire on the outside on opposite sides of the PVC you know it would probably survive a hit much better than the aluminum pipe so OK thanks for the conundrum now
N
nvcowboy25
Guest
hum
that gives me a idea for a base ant lol use 3m uderbody spray to keep it well protected lol have fun and lets us know how it truns out not making fun it is cool thought .
that gives me a idea for a base ant lol use 3m uderbody spray to keep it well protected lol have fun and lets us know how it truns out not making fun it is cool thought .
the dipole I wonder if I could just lay it on the roof racks horizontaly or does it need to be vertial to get any range out of it..
so that would be a folded dipole then that I want to make right!
so that would be a folded dipole then that I want to make right!
S'.Bill,
I think you might be dissapointed in the PVC pipe thingy. PVC tends to deteriorate in sun light, let alone being 'wobbly' and easy to bend.
I'm not sure I understand what you meant by the 'dipole'. If you were saying that the legs of the dipole would be on opposite sides of the same piece of pipe, then you would really be dissapointed! Also wouldn't have a dipole by any means, or an antenna that would be worth having. I hope I misunderstood that, wouldn't be the first time...
- 'Doc
PS - any horizontal antenna benifits from not being 'near' anything metalic (or near ~anything~ even if it isn't metalic). Same for verticals except for the 'other half' of the vertical, the "ground" or groundplane. There are all sorts of potential problems, but, 'playing' with antennas that don't work too well is an excelent way to learn...
I think you might be dissapointed in the PVC pipe thingy. PVC tends to deteriorate in sun light, let alone being 'wobbly' and easy to bend.
I'm not sure I understand what you meant by the 'dipole'. If you were saying that the legs of the dipole would be on opposite sides of the same piece of pipe, then you would really be dissapointed! Also wouldn't have a dipole by any means, or an antenna that would be worth having. I hope I misunderstood that, wouldn't be the first time...
- 'Doc
PS - any horizontal antenna benifits from not being 'near' anything metalic (or near ~anything~ even if it isn't metalic). Same for verticals except for the 'other half' of the vertical, the "ground" or groundplane. There are all sorts of potential problems, but, 'playing' with antennas that don't work too well is an excelent way to learn...
I understand that it would deteriate over time but that would be meny years down the road wouldent it?and easy to replace..
just was thinking that since it is more flexible than metal that it would take a few hits/bend on low bridges so to speek and would not have to worry as much if I hit something with power in it that is if I run the wire on the inside of the pvc...
yup you understood my dopole idea and what I wanted to do well it was just a thought thats why I put it out their for feedback...
I am just looking at cheep and fun project and so I can learn about making antennas and see if thay work....
just was thinking that since it is more flexible than metal that it would take a few hits/bend on low bridges so to speek and would not have to worry as much if I hit something with power in it that is if I run the wire on the inside of the pvc...
yup you understood my dopole idea and what I wanted to do well it was just a thought thats why I put it out their for feedback...
I am just looking at cheep and fun project and so I can learn about making antennas and see if thay work....
Bill I've used Pvc before for Mobil antennas, I never did a 102" because the antenna flexes around too much. The ones I built were base loaded, the center conductor was 14g solid wire inside of 3/8 cpvc and I filled the cpvc with silicone to make it rigid. The sunlight does degrade the pvc it gets brittle and cracks. Sounds like a good project ,good luck with it.
Jonbah
CDX-3030
Jonbah
CDX-3030
H
highroller
Guest
The best way to make it so you can bolt it down is to weld a solid piece of aluminum that has been drilled and tapped then you can put a bolt in it to the main shaft. Also you may want to weld a solid piece to the top with a hole thought the center the same diameter as a 102 whip then drill a hole or two on the sides for a set screw to lock the whip in place. I have one that was built like this and it works great the main shaft is around 85"-90" with the whip being out around 15-20 inches out.