I just laid to rest my hound of 15yrs, his sister passed away last year. I didn't miss either of them till they both are gone.
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Home Homebrew 1/4 Wave 10 Meter Ground Plane
- Thread starter Riverman
- Start date
Another version.
Old shock-cord whip cut to 98.5” atop a small aluminum tripod from Wolf River Coils (12” legs) with three 98.5” wire radials lying on the ground pointed east. No coil, no matching device, no balun, no nothing. SWR is 1.1 across the band.
Contacts include England, Wales, Brazil and all over the US with 50 watts.
Old shock-cord whip cut to 98.5” atop a small aluminum tripod from Wolf River Coils (12” legs) with three 98.5” wire radials lying on the ground pointed east. No coil, no matching device, no balun, no nothing. SWR is 1.1 across the band.
Contacts include England, Wales, Brazil and all over the US with 50 watts.
Riverman,
That setup looks great to me, but I live in a forest full of tall trees. I live on a corner and the side street runs somewhat straight for close to a mile both ways.
I have often noticed my antennas seemed to favor these two directions, both-ways Northwest and Southeast, in the clearing over the street. Thus, I figure the trees might have some effects on my signals.
I sometimes wish I was in-the-clear all around like you.
73's
Marconi
The pic doesn’t show my house 15’ west of the antenna. That’s why the radials are pointed east. Still, I have houses in that direction blocking me too. No alleys here, houses are bunched together. Luckily, it seems to be pretty omni-directional. I hear and make contacts in ALL directions.
Well, now, Riverman, every good CBer knows with all that power you were shooting right over all those locals with that signal. . .Made the decision to convert the antenna solely to 11 meters and dig my magnetic loop out of the closet for 10-40. I haven't conversed with the local CB'ers here in over a year. When our dog Scoot died, I lost interest in radio and such for a long while. After bouncing around between hobbies, I eventually settled back into Ham radio.
Not sure what's going on here. With this antenna, the local CB'ers are all hearing me better than ever, including when I was using an Antron-99 @ 15'. AND, I am receiving all of them better. We all gained 1-2 S units.
What makes this really interesting is I previously was using a Uniden 980 and RM KL203 and a now am only using a President Richard @11 watts.We are all scratching our heads.
Radio is definitely a box of chocolates.
There you go, Mike.
SWR changed very slightly. Had to lengthen the radial a inch or so. Readings are now back to 1.1 on Channels 1 and 40, and 1.0 on 20.
Stuck with single radial though. Pointed at the locals I talk to.
Last edited:
BJ radionut
Supporting Member and 6m addict
A couple of more years of therapy and I'll be putting something up in the air with some size to it.Riv: Thinks good antennas are UGLY! Thus, his set-up
Latest version.
CB antenna using a 10 meter hamstick. With the stinger all the way up, it covers the 11 meter band. Am using a single 103” wire radial along the ground.
SWR:
1.35 on 1 and 40.
1.25 on 20.
Higher than usual since the ground is so wet. Have had LOTS of rain recently. SWR drops when the ground dries out.
No balun. No choke. No problem.
CB antenna using a 10 meter hamstick. With the stinger all the way up, it covers the 11 meter band. Am using a single 103” wire radial along the ground.
SWR:
1.35 on 1 and 40.
1.25 on 20.
Higher than usual since the ground is so wet. Have had LOTS of rain recently. SWR drops when the ground dries out.
No balun. No choke. No problem.
Last edited:
@Riverman
With 1 radial your radiation pattern is favoring that direction.
Also, without choking your feed-point, your coax shield is acting like another radial/counterpoise.
Last point, since your angle between your radiator and your counterpoise(s) is less than 135 degrees, your feed-point impedance is probably only 40 Ohms, hence the 1.25 SWR.
For those reasons, that's why the traditional GP antenna has at least 3 counterpoise radials, bent down to about 135 degrees:
And unless you have perfect 1:1 SWR everywhere you use the antenna, you should choke your feed-point.
With 1 radial your radiation pattern is favoring that direction.
Also, without choking your feed-point, your coax shield is acting like another radial/counterpoise.
Last point, since your angle between your radiator and your counterpoise(s) is less than 135 degrees, your feed-point impedance is probably only 40 Ohms, hence the 1.25 SWR.
For those reasons, that's why the traditional GP antenna has at least 3 counterpoise radials, bent down to about 135 degrees:
And unless you have perfect 1:1 SWR everywhere you use the antenna, you should choke your feed-point.
Preaching to the choir, Harry.
Amateur Extra here.
All the antenna basics aside, I just have fun fiddling with goofball antennas.
It’s been my experience that antennas like this so close to the ground are pretty much omni-directional. With this simple, stealthy booger I can talk to all the guys, shoot skip and have a ball.
Setup: 1972 Royce 619, inexpensive ProComm power mic and an KL203.
Amateur Extra here.
All the antenna basics aside, I just have fun fiddling with goofball antennas.
It’s been my experience that antennas like this so close to the ground are pretty much omni-directional. With this simple, stealthy booger I can talk to all the guys, shoot skip and have a ball.
Setup: 1972 Royce 619, inexpensive ProComm power mic and an KL203.
Yep, just as I figured. Once the ground dried out, with a slight adjustment to the stinger length, I was able to get the following SWR:
1.1 on both 1 and 40.
Flat on 20.
No one will be able to tell the difference, but fiddling with it is half the fun.
Moved the antenna to a height of about 13’ so it would be less affected by the wet or dry soil.
Although the title of this thread says 10 Meter Ground Plane, and I am using a 10 meter hamstick, this is an 11 meter antenna. Again, with the stinger pulled almost all the way out, it covers the CB band as long as the radial is the correct length.
When mounted just inches above the ground, the wire was 103”. Once I moved it to the eave of the house, I had to lengthen it to about 105” for SWR purposes.
Big fan of these simple one-radial antennas. At relatively low heights, they are not as nearly directional as one might think.
Although the title of this thread says 10 Meter Ground Plane, and I am using a 10 meter hamstick, this is an 11 meter antenna. Again, with the stinger pulled almost all the way out, it covers the CB band as long as the radial is the correct length.
When mounted just inches above the ground, the wire was 103”. Once I moved it to the eave of the house, I had to lengthen it to about 105” for SWR purposes.
Big fan of these simple one-radial antennas. At relatively low heights, they are not as nearly directional as one might think.
