Horizontal Antron 99 Redux

[ButtFuzz]

End-Fed 1/2 wave horizonal polarization.

Used this before, but had a little problem a few years back in an ice storm

Here's a couple of pics. It's mounted in/on one of the big "poop pipes" on the back of the house as I write, and I'm headed to go get some coax.

More pix later tonight, with whether it is still working or not.

Mount is made out of a simple mishmash of DirecTV antennae leftovers...

 

[W5LZ]

As a "make do" antenna, I don't see why it wouldn't make a pretty good one. Don't like what you hear? Blame it on the 'pipe' it's mounted on...
- 'Doc

 

[ButtFuzz]

Real Pics...

Here's what it looks like mounted and "in use":

Reminds me of an automatic fishing reel...

Here's a pan out, with the ButtCrax 2000 in the background:

The ButtCrax 2000 .64: Accept no substitute!

So there you go. vSWR under 2.0 from well below the FCC 40 to 28.5, allowing me to use it on the 10M phone band.

Next!

 

[fnkycoldmedina]

you do realize that merly putting an antenna in a horizontal position does not mean you are talking on the horizontal side?that antenna would still talk much farther and better in a vertical position.

 

[ButtFuzz]

you do realize that merly putting an antenna in a horizontal position does not mean you are talking on the horizontal side?that antenna would still talk much farther and better in a vertical position.

The object of the exercise is to make an NVIS antenna, which this does. And if you put the antenna in the horizontal position, it DOES change the "polarization" with respect to the plane of the earth and you are, indeed, talking on what you refer to as the horizontal side. There are just no reflectors or directors.

 

[ButtFuzz]

Next Project...

Droopy Dipole Action

 

[undertaker]

Cool as hell man!!!!!!

 

[Marconi]

As a "make do" antenna, I don't see why it wouldn't make a pretty good one. Don't like what you hear? Blame it on the 'pipe' it's mounted on...
- 'Doc

You're right 'Doc, plus the feed line is probably doing a real good job of messing up the desire pattern for either patterns. IMO, you probably aren't high enough for the antenna's horizontal pattern to develop very well and you aren't low enough to alter the natural pattern of the antenna to be much good for the NVIS response either.

It is great to see guys do things that are different, but like 'Doc has to asks---I will too,

ButtFuzz, what the heck is this thing doing for you, or do we need a freedom of information certificate to get a hint. Are the results important to your efforts here or did you just do this for fun or is just any old response good enough?

How say you? Talk to us, 'Doc & I don't bite, we ain't got no teeth.

 

[jazzsinger]

I just can't help wondering if its hanging over a pond with a bit of nylon,a hook and a big fat juicy worm dangling from it waiting on a bite.

 

[ButtFuzz]

What does it do?

...snip...

ButtFuzz, what the heck is this thing doing for you, or do we need a freedom of information certificate to get a hint. Are the results important to your efforts here or did you just do this for fun or is just any old response good enough?

How say you? Talk to us, 'Doc & I don't bite, we ain't got no teeth.

What does it do?

Well, not a lot. It is mostly used to bleed over my son's computer speakers. It is MOST efficient at doing that. I had an Antron 99 mounted horizontally at about 30 feet a few years back and that worked "OK". During an ice storm the thing got rather heavy and the whole apparatus came crashing to the ground. (Or alternatively, I refer to an antenna as being "Zero Height Above Average Terrain" ) The Antron, being a Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic thingy, had been in the sun several years before I re-purposed it as a silly horizontal end-fed dipole, and when it hit the ground it achieved the expected result: shattered/slivered into a few hundred pieces. But I digress...

This antenna (the one in the pictures) is not even an Antron/Solarcon, it is some shortened piece of junque that was given me a few months ago. It is about 12' long with adjustable tuning rings. I have it "shortened" with these rings, but the vSWR is about 1.7:1 at 27.405, with the "optimum" frequency far below that. Does it work? Yes! Am I going to keep it mounted? NO.

The main purpose of this was to get a makeshift mount on the roof and coax ran to mount my droopy dipole (somewhat like the "dipole with 102's" post somewhere on this board) when the MFJ-347 mount arrives later this week. I'm going to mount a droopy dipole on this mount on a 10' piece of mast, which will 'sorta' put it out in free space about 12 feet off the ground. It should work OK... we'll see. I like to experiment with these sorta things. And I've always got my ButtCrax 2000 permanently mounted which works just fine, thank you.

 

[secret squirrel]

Thank you a lot for your time. I have been putting off bying an IMAX 2000 to put horizonal in the attic. It would be at least 24 feet over the ground. I think I will pry the wallet open at give in a try. If it does not perform as expected I will still have an IMAX 2000 left over.

 

[loosecannon]

buttfuzz,

just as a lark, try pulling the coax straight out in the opposite direction the antenna is pointing.

if this antenna is like the antron, it uses the first 8-9 feet of the coax shield as part of the tuning of the antenna.

when antron says "half over a quarter wave mutual transductance tuned antenna", the quarter wave they are referring to is the first quarter wave of the coax shield.

just an idea,
nice experiment,
LC

 

[ButtFuzz]

Do it!

Thank you a lot for your time. I have been putting off bying an IMAX 2000 to put horizonal in the attic. It would be at least 24 feet over the ground. I think I will pry the wallet open at give in a try. If it does not perform as expected I will still have an IMAX 2000 left over.

Now that should work just fine... Your challenge with the ButtCrax 2000 is going to be the support system. The IMAX is "really wobbly" and definitely not made for mounting in the horizontal position. One way to do it is to purchase some various sized PVC pipe couplers and "hang" it from the rafters with monofilament. You'll need to support it with your "brackets" about every 4 feet, so head out to your handy-dandy hardware store and purchase 1/2 dozen or so of those plastic pipe couplings and a mini-spool of fishing line and you're ready for action.

I have mounted a Shakespeare Big Stick in an attic before using this method and it worked fine. The 2000 should work even better.

Be forewarned, you're definitely going to be working any toaster in the house...

Please keep in touch with this project, and Godspeed.

Rob

 

[ButtFuzz]

Will try it prior to Droopy Drawers Dipole

buttfuzz,

just as a lark, try pulling the coax straight out in the opposite direction the antenna is pointing.

if this antenna is like the antron, it uses the first 8-9 feet of the coax shield as part of the tuning of the antenna.

when antron says "half over a quarter wave mutual transductance tuned antenna", the quarter wave they are referring to is the first quarter wave of the coax shield.

just an idea,
nice experiment,
LC

Good idea!

I'll get to that tomorrow. Heading to ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz land now, with dreams of winning the 2009 WATT* award.


* Worked All Them Toasters