homebrew antenna question

[PA629]

Speaking of Moxons............

Been toying with the idea of building one "just because I can", as RFO stated. I've never talked to anybody who has first-hand knowledge of their performance, just a lot of 2nd hand "facts" from the local "experts". Any of you guys here with way more experience than me have any suggestions, tips, ..........? Not looking to replace the quad or yagi I'm using now, but figure it might be good as a temporary antenna on a push-up pole while at Camp on weekends. Thoughts, anyone?

 

[rfoverlord]

i have one for 27 mhz. and one for 6mtrs. they are actually easy to build and nice and compact. i made mine from pvc pipe and 1/4" solid aluminun rod. there are numerous places on the web where you can find details. when i get up later i will look for a few or type in "cebik" and do a search, ham university should have some too.

 

[Dave_W6DPS]

I have one for 2 meters, and it performs very well. I used it for t-hunting, and found the deep null off the back helps a lot.

It is about 30 inches high, a bit over 10 inches front to back, and made from 12 gauge solid copper wire. I have a 6 foot PVC "mast" that I use as a walking stick, and the whole thing weighs about 3 pounds.

I keep another for 220 in my Jeep, for long range repeater work. I have worked repeaters 35 to 40 miles away with a DJ-280TH HT, with no problem. A 5/8 mobile antenna just didn't make it from the same areas. It is only about 20 inches long, and is easy to stuff under the back seat. The performance is comparable to a cubical quad, but in a much smaller antenna.

Construction is pretty easy, and tuning hasn't been needed on the ones I have built. I use a freeware program from www.ac6la.com to model them, and they have worked great!

I use PVC as the basic frame, 12 AWG solid wire, and polyflow tubing to keep the elements aligned at the ends.

Dave_W6DPS

 

[rfoverlord]

thanks dave for doing it for us.

 

[PA629]

Thanks Guys, that's the input I was looking for. Sounds like a vertical Moxon is the ticket for Camp. Figure I'll just point it back toward the "Big City" and be done with it. It's a sure bet it'll work better than the 1/4 wave GP that used to be there.