• You can now help support WorldwideDX when you shop on Amazon at no additional cost to you! Simply follow this Shop on Amazon link first and a portion of any purchase is sent to WorldwideDX to help with site costs.
  • Click here to find out how to win free radios from Retevis!

Decided to build a coil loaded dipole...

Moleculo

Ham Radio Nerd
Apr 14, 2002
9,241
1,780
283
Some of you saw my thread about building up my portable station. Rather than buying an antenna, I decided to try and build a coil loaded dipole. The idea will be to make it resonant at 40/80m, fed with ladder line for easy tuning on the higher bands. I'm going to cheat by copying my Alpha Delta dx-cc (although without the fan elements) as close as I'm able, but I'm also going to try and use whatever materials I have laying around the garage and purchasing very little. Any advice or input would be welcomed. Photo documentation to follow...
 

I could tell you, but then I would have to kill you! (y)

I do tower and antenna work semi-professionally. If it is worth saving, I save it.

I have over 100 yagis, 25 rotors, 10 towers, coax, hardline, etc etc etc.

For everyone else, if you live in Southern CA and are working on a serious antenna project and need a 40' 3" diameter boom complete with boom to mast clamps and boom to element clamps, I've got them. I have HyGain, Mosely, KLM, M2, Force 12, Maco, and the list goes on! I have 1.5" booms, 2" booms, 2.5"booms, 3" booms......boom to mast clamps, boom to element clamps, tubing, insulators, etc etc etc.

I'm about ready to scrap out all the aluminum. My original plans were to convert these antennas to 11-meter beams for the locals. Then I realized that they want a $1000.00 antenna for $50.00 and the time was not worth it to me. In other words, I do all the modeling and testing, provide the materials, and then only be able to sell it for $100.00?! :headbang

My favorite project to date is converting the KLM KT-34A to 11-meters. This antenna uses two driven log elements and taps at the 200-ohm position. A simple 4:1 current balun matches it to 50 ohms and gives it all kinds of bandwidth. Robalo has done this conversion with good results. I spoke with the original designer of this antenna (Mike Stahl, the "M" in KLM and the owner of M2) and he said this antenna plays the best on 10-meters. It works well on 15 and 20 but the spacing in more conducive to 10-meters. Its a natural for a 11-meter conversion.

If I ever get off my butt, I'll finsih the paperwork to convert the Maco beams to direct feed which will allow you to throw away the gamma! I've been talking about it for years and need to make the time to finish. The way it is supposed to work is you buy a new antenna from Maco, download my instructions from CB Tricks for FREE, buy a couple of necessary parts from DX Engineering (or roll your own) and convert your own antenna. Its so easy, even a CBer can do it! Just follow the free instructions. It sure beats waiting for Jay and Steve to finish the Crusader Series!

(as a side note, while the converted Maco will also handle 10KW, it will never be mechanically equivelent to the Crusader. This is what you get when you start with substandard materials. Electrically, it will perform with any of the top of the line ham radio antennas! Except for M2 and Force 12, nobody else makes a quality 11-meter antenna.)

So the next time you have an antenna project and need some raw materials, let me know. I'll sell it for the same price as I would get for scrap. The coils are free however. I'll dig them out this weekend.
 
hi master chief

i've just done one more in my back yard, also looking for a 30/40 ft.-er light tower, something i can manage to put up and down easily because you know i work on different antennas. i dont know much about antennas but i always mess around with them





mc3004yl9.jpg


My favorite project to date is converting the KLM KT-34A to 11-meters. This antenna uses two driven log elements and taps at the 200-ohm position. A simple 4:1 current balun matches it to 50 ohms and gives it all kinds of bandwidth. Robalo has done this conversion with good results. I spoke with the original designer of this antenna (Mike Stahl, the "M" in KLM and the owner of M2) and he said this antenna plays the best on 10-meters. It works well on 15 and 20 but the spacing in more conducive to 10-meters. Its a natural for a 11-meter conversion.

1000844nu3.jpg
 
Last edited:
The original post was about 40m/80m.

Probably the smallest antenna for 40meters that has some effectiveness is the tak-tenna.
Not sure why they havent made an 80 meter version. Seems to me you could just double with wire length and add more support.
 
M.C.,
Gotta disagree with you about that 'Tak-Tenna' thing. It/they do work. Don't misunderstand, I'm not saying the work as well as a 'real live antenna'! But for their intended purpose, they ain't as bad as other 'miniature' antennas. They also have several disadvantages, wind loading being just one of them. They can be made for just about any freq/band you want. 'Size' can get to be a problem real quick though (both directions).
Amazing what can be 'made' to work sometimes...
- 'Doc
 
That poor poor KT34A. What an awesome tri-bander....maybe not the most optimal performer, but it is rugged as hell and will last forever.

I wish I'd found it first ;-) It would have a tri-bandy happy home now.
 

dxChat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.