Sirio Balcony 27W CB Antenna

[Riverman]

Please try and restrain yourselves and limit the laughs and wise cracks.

Sirio Balcony 27 W 10m & CB Base Antenna, DNJ Radio

The vertical is 8.6 ft.
The radial is 3.7 ft.

I know this will be somewhat directional in the direction the radial is pointing. And I know a single radial doesn't provide much of a ground plane. And one only 3.7 ft. in length provides even less.

And the story on this appears to be difficulty in getting a good SWR, but am guessing that has something to do with these mostly being mounted on balconys and window sills since that's what it was designed for.

However, if one was to mount the antenna 15 ft. in the air away from any obstructions, and point it in the direction one mainly wants to listen and talk, what kind of performance do you think could be expected?

Thanks!

 

[Marconi]

Please try and restrain yourselves and limit the laughs and wise cracks.

Sirio Balcony 27 W 10m & CB Base Antenna, DNJ Radio

The vertical is 8.6 ft.
The radial is 3.7 ft.

I know this will be somewhat directional in the direction the radial is pointing. And I know a single radial doesn't provide much of a ground plane. And one only 3.7 ft. in length provides even less.

And the story on this appears to be difficulty in getting a good SWR, but am guessing that has something to do with these mostly being mounted on balconys and window sills since that's what it was designed for.

However, if one was to mount the antenna 15 ft. in the air away from any obstructions, and point it in the direction one mainly wants to listen and talk, what kind of performance do you think could be expected?

Thanks!

I don't know how much difference it will make with only one radial and it being a shortened helix coil, but according to my Eznec model and a real world experience I did some years ago...I did not see a big deficiency in performance. I didn't record anything in my notes about the signals, but I recall being surprised that the design performed pretty well, but I mounted mine on a 40' push-up pole.

Being on a balcony attached to a building that might be lower to the Earth, and not well into the clear...may make some difference that can be detected however.

I remember this design made a pretty good match too.

Good luck.

 

[Riverman]

Thanks for the info!

I have no idea why, but this antenna has always intrigued me. I might give one a try.

 

[hotrod]

this one doesnt impress me. but ive never tried it so i really dont know just my opinion
your homwmade 1/4 wave will most likely do better

 

[Riverman]

Yeah, it's hard to get real excited about it.

I don't have a homemade 1/4 wave. Have made both a GP and Dipole using 4' Firestiks. I can put up a 1/4 GP using a steel whip and two wire radials but not 3 or 4. They will have to attach to the eave with the mast and whip between them. I think I'd rather use a Wilson Trucker 2000 than a steel whip as it would be much easier to tune for SWR. With the Steel whip I'm pretty much left with adding a spring or cutting some off the top, right? And most of the threads I read say the Wilson 1000, 2000, or 5000 perform nearly as well as a steel whip but not quite.

So picture it: Wilson Trucker 2000 atop a 15' mast with two 103" 14 ga. wire radials at 45 degree angles going to the eave.

That ought to be better than the Balcony 27W shouldn't it?

 

[Robb]

Not impressed . . .
If you ever have the chance to use a really effective antenna (Vector 4000 or a beam) and then compare it to the balcony antenna you will understand the difference. It is one thing for an antenna to simply work and another to work well. IMO - you are far better off with that dipole you made and use - by a far cry.

 

[Riverman]

Not impressed . . .
If you ever have the chance to use a really effective antenna (Vector 4000 or a beam) and then compare it to the balcony antenna you will understand the difference. It is one thing for an antenna to simply work and another to work well. IMO - you are far better off with that dipole you made and use - by a far cry.

This be any better than my homemade dipole?

Wilson Trucker 2000 atop a 15' mast with two 103" 14 ga. wire radials at 45 degree angles going to the eave.

And yes, I can replace the Wilson Trucker 2000 with a steel whip, but just thought the Wilson would work nearly as well and be easier to tune for SWR.

I really can't do the regular full-sized antenna and just love experimenting and trying different antennas. Am in search of the best alternative to a full-sized antenna. Like a whole lot of people are.

 

[hotrod]

a sirio d27 dipole will be a decent performer even mount vertically. read cbradio magazine.com
review about it. without getting into $100 or more you,ll have a hard time beating
this one i believe.
a 102 whip WILL require at least 3 radials @ a 45 degree angle,perferbly 102 inches
in lenth. shorter will work but not as good.
i thought the dipole you made outta firesticks worked decent for ya considering its not fullsize
the gp you made IS a 1/4 wave probaly less being radatior and radials are shorter than normal

 

[Riverman]

a sirio d27 dipole will be a decent performer even mount vertically. read cbradio magazine.com
review about it. without getting into $100 or more you,ll have a hard time beating
this one i believe.
a 102 whip WILL require at least 3 radials @ a 45 degree angle,perferbly 102 inches
in lenth. shorter will work but not as good.
i thought the dipole you made outta firesticks worked decent for ya considering its not fullsize
the gp you made IS a 1/4 wave probaly less being radatior and radials are shorter than normal

The dipole seems to work better than the GP, but have noticed at times my output drops from around 4 watts to 2 watts with SWR the same. Am guessing some stray RF is to blame since this is usually accompanied by my eyelids twitching and my neck hair tingling. Guess I need a balun or choke. And rather than fool with that, I'd like to try something else.

I really want to try a Sirio Top One because I once had an AstroPlane and loved it. But with my 15' mast the bottom ring will only be a foot or two from my roof.

:headbang

 

[Marconi]

The dipole seems to work better than the GP, but have noticed at times my output drops from around 4 watts to 2 watts with SWR the same. Am guessing some stray RF is to blame since this is usually accompanied by my eyelids twitching and my neck hair tingling. Guess I need a balun or choke. And rather than fool with that, I'd like to try something else.

I really want to try a Sirio Top One because I once had an AstroPlane and loved it. But with my 15' mast the bottom ring will only be a foot or two from my roof.

:headbang

71, this sounds like a bad idea to me, but I've never tested this antenna as low as you suggest. I did have a bad experience one time mounting my Old Model Top One in the clear at less than 18' feet however. With my I-10K, which I had just taken down laying on two saw horses below the base of this Old Top One install, the antenna showed me a very bad match.

The match was fine when I moved the I-10k away from the area and that really surprised me.

Maybe if Homer gets his idea to build a New Top One working good...he might check out for sure how the antenna works when it is really close to the ground, or maybe close to the roof of his house...like 4' feet or less.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Riverman]

Thanks, Marconi. I thought I remembered you saying once that the Top One did very poorly unless high and clear.

Thank you, everyone, for your patience (which I know is wearing thin) and suggestions.

I can't have the setup I'd like (and used to have years ago). And am very close to selling everything and ending this frustration.

With my 15' mast, and a 30' steeply pitched roof, anything I put up is going to be completely blocked on one side.

That's the reason I was looking at the Balcony 27 antenna. I figured I could point the single radial away from the house and since the antenna is probably not doing much on the backside where there is no radial, maybe the house wouldn't be as big a problem.

Jim

 

[Riverman]

This is a little off topic but if I use 105" of insulated wire to make a GP radial, and use 2" of it to wrap around itself after going through the insulator, do I have a 103" radial or a 105" one?

 

[Riverman]

Whoa! Don't everyone answer at once.

I know on a dipole it doesn't really matter because the ends are going to be trimmed in tuning so whatever length you wind up with doesn't really matter.

However, I plan on using these for GP radials and prefer to do my turing via the vertical element and not these. Most of you at one time or another have recommended 102 -103" GP radials. That's why I'm asking. Exactly how are these measured?

Thanks!
Jim

 

[W5LZ]

The finished length would be what, in this case around 103", right? So, that's it's length. That's what worked in this one particular case. The next time you make one it may be slightly different in length (in either direction), there are a lot of factors that will influence the "right" length.
I find that things are easier for me to 'cut off' than to 'add to', so starting a bit long just is easier for me, your milage may vary.
- 'Doc

 

[Riverman]

The finished length would be what I'd think, in this case around 103", right?
- 'Doc

Yes. Shooting for that. Does the extra wire used for wrapping figure into that?