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As I am still dabbling with digital modes on HAM radio, I decided to try and
step up my setup a bit, without costing too much money. Previously, when using
my antenna that is a Broad Band Terminated Dipole which is wrapped around the
roof line of my house, I was getting some good FT-8 reception from places like
Hawaii and Russia. That’s not bad from Alaska, but I wanted to do a little
more. I kept thinking that it might be my old TS-820s slowing me down, since it
has no CAT control (computer control of the transceiver), but I may have been
trying to justify buying a new radio. em; max-height: 1em;" />
So, I decided to use some of the parts/pieces that I had previously bought and
build a better antenna. I found a great design by AK6R that used a 9:1 balun
and 500 ohm resistor, which I also had. You can follow_the_link_to_the_design,
or read_more_of_his_bio_here. I did purchase a noise filter that he suggested
as well, and got right to work on the antenna.
First, I cut several pieces of pvc pipe to 16 1/2″ lengths, then drilled holes
in them 16″ apart so I could string the wires per the diagram. Essentially it
was two wires, each 90 feet long. Using the spacers, I made two rectangles of
45 feet that get put together in the middle with the balun and resistor.
Looking at it now, I realize that I could have made it with the balun on one
end and the resistor on the other, rather than them being both in the middle.
Theoretically it would have been electrically the same. I connected the two
rectangles to the balun on bottom, and the resistor on the top to make one
really big rectangle (now 90 foot long).
After I strung the wires and wired in the resistor and balun, I then used a
roll of kite string to hurl a few nuts and a bolt into a tree. With the nuts
and bolts tied to the end of the string, I could swing it around like some sort
of roman sling warrior and cast it up into the trees over branches. It took a
few tries, and I lost one set of nuts and bolts in a snagged branch, but
eventually I got it done.
With the kite string now over a branch and back down to the ground, I used it
to pull some 3/8″ rope over the branch and on one end attached a pulley. I
screwed a cleat to the tree as a tie down for the rope and then I could hoist
the pulley up and down from the branch about 25-30 feet up into the air. I then
Used more 3/8″ rope to suspend the antenna. In the end, it was about 30 feet
off the ground at the ends, and about 20 feet of the ground in the middle (due
to sag). The antenna is also about 90 feet long.
It took me several hours, from building the antenna to stringing it up in the
tree. All said and done, though, I got it done over the weekend while still
watching a sermon from church, going to an airshow, and playing some games with
the kids.
The final result was pretty good! Now I was receiving signals from not only
Hawaii and Russia, but all over Europe and down into the middle and lower parts
of Asia! The biggest thing I noticed was not just that I had so much more
contact with other countries, but also that the noise level had significantly
dropped. Before my waterfall was clouded with noise, but now it was almost
silent except for the actual signals that I was looking for!
It did teach me one important thing, though: It’s all about the antenna. If you
think you need a new radio, you probably don’t. You probably need a better
antenna, because it makes all the difference.
Linux – keep it simple.