B
BOOTY MONSTER
Guest
"1. what made you decide to do the coil thing instead of the tuning ring like the maco V5/8 has?
did you find the coil has less loss?"
A.
i don't have another antenna to compare or say that a ring or coil tuning system has more or less loss when compared to each other . from what i read it seems that the loss is detectable by instruments , but a human ear would be hard pressed to notice any difference . i originally went with the maco tuning ring because it looked simple and easy and i couldn't really think of a way to make a heavy duty coil like i wanted . i was in Home Depot or Lowes and noticed how stiff copper tubing is and thought it would work . my bro-in-law is in HVAC so i asked if he had 6 ft of leftover smaller diameter copper tubing and he gave me probally half of a new roll , LOL . i thought it would look pretty cool and would be very stiff . it also is a smaller looking tuning method . my landlord didnt like the four full 113 1/2 inch 1/4 wave ground elements spreading out across the house (thats why i cut/changed them into eight 1/8 wave ground elements) so i thought loosing the ring contributed to reducing its footprint in the sky . it also give me the chance to play with a different tuning method
.
maybe next time i move i can change the eight 1/8ths to eight 1/4 wl ground elements both horz and sloped
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"2. it looks as though this antenna will be insulated from its support structure due to the nature of the materials used.
is this true?"
A.
yes it will , but its simply a matter of letting the mast slide up to the bottom of the plate to have the mast become part of the antenna , or using earth ground . its two pieces of 5/4 (1 inch) solid plastic decking 4 ft long . its VERY strong , VERY stiff and WILL NOT ROTT . one piece would have been strong enough i think , but i like to over build stuff ...........
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"3. will you be using a choke balun at the feedpoint?"
A.
yes i will be using a air core coax choke at the feedpoint .
did you find the coil has less loss?"
A.
i don't have another antenna to compare or say that a ring or coil tuning system has more or less loss when compared to each other . from what i read it seems that the loss is detectable by instruments , but a human ear would be hard pressed to notice any difference . i originally went with the maco tuning ring because it looked simple and easy and i couldn't really think of a way to make a heavy duty coil like i wanted . i was in Home Depot or Lowes and noticed how stiff copper tubing is and thought it would work . my bro-in-law is in HVAC so i asked if he had 6 ft of leftover smaller diameter copper tubing and he gave me probally half of a new roll , LOL . i thought it would look pretty cool and would be very stiff . it also is a smaller looking tuning method . my landlord didnt like the four full 113 1/2 inch 1/4 wave ground elements spreading out across the house (thats why i cut/changed them into eight 1/8 wave ground elements) so i thought loosing the ring contributed to reducing its footprint in the sky . it also give me the chance to play with a different tuning method
.maybe next time i move i can change the eight 1/8ths to eight 1/4 wl ground elements both horz and sloped
***********************
"2. it looks as though this antenna will be insulated from its support structure due to the nature of the materials used.
is this true?"
A.
yes it will , but its simply a matter of letting the mast slide up to the bottom of the plate to have the mast become part of the antenna , or using earth ground . its two pieces of 5/4 (1 inch) solid plastic decking 4 ft long . its VERY strong , VERY stiff and WILL NOT ROTT . one piece would have been strong enough i think , but i like to over build stuff ...........
***********************
"3. will you be using a choke balun at the feedpoint?"
A.
yes i will be using a air core coax choke at the feedpoint .
