Projects

General

The purpose of this page is to provide some information about some of my ham radio projects. These writings are based on my personal experiences and are presented in a mostly chronological order. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, please let me know.

Antennas

Not long after getting my Technician license and my first radio, I discovered needed a better antenna. I was drawn to antennas because many could be constructed using readily available materials. It was also possible to experiment and learn without spending a great deal of money. Some of these experiments worked while others didn't work very well, either in construction or in application.

One of my favorite sayings about antennas is, "get something up and working". In my quest for a "dream" antenna, I nearly always had a working antenna. To me, it's fine to start with a simple, inexpensive antenna and work your way up.

Roll up J-Poles
My first attempts at building a more efficient antenna were constructed using 300 ohm flat antenna line. There were several plans for 2m roll up antennas available online. These designs looked simple enough and the raw materials were easy to find.

However, in my experience, this antenna not very easy to build due to several factors. The cable and wire are fairly small and proved difficult to cut and solder. Even though I followed the instructions closely, it seemed a difficult task to get these creations to tune properly.

Around this time, I met a ham via email. He sent me one of his antennas constructed using 450 ohm ladder line. This was a far better antenna. Simply, it is due in large part to the increased size of the ladder line and conductors. This antenna was a lot more sturdy and included a SO-239 connector for the feedline. However, in my experience, it was not always easy to find a place to suspend this type of antenna.

Wire J-Pole
Numerous online searches turned up many variations of wire J-Pole antennas. These designs typically used small gauge conductors, either enclosed or attached to the outside of common PVC pipe. While I never actually constructed this type of antenna, it may be a design worth considering. It should be noted that PVC deteriorates if exposed to the UV rays of sunlight. Gray electrical PVC is more resistant to UV. There are spray paints specifically designed for plastics and several coats of paint would enhance the durability of PVC.

Copper Cactus J-Pole
I found plans for this antenna in the The ARRL Handbook. I wanted an antenna that would withstand the elements and provide better transmission and reception. This antenna was not too difficult to construct and most of the parts were available at the local home center. This design worked reasonably well. The feedline was attached using thin copper pipe clamps. However, this method of attaching the feedline made tuning fairly difficult. Other designs I have seen incorporate different feed connections and may be easier to tune. I've also seen several portable versions of this antenna, including ones that use internal bungee cords to keep the parts together. One of the reasons I continued my search was because I wanted a dual-band 2m/70cm antenna. Finally, have you priced copper tubing lately?

Quarter Wave Ground Plane
I found several plans for a 1/4 wave vertical antennas fabricated using a SO-239 coax connector. I had a base from a damaged mobile antenna. So, I decided to use this base and commenced construction. Using small diameter welding rods, it was a fairly easy antenna build. This design proved far easier to tune than anything I had built so far. I actually used this project for some time as my primary base antenna for 2 meters. However, I still wanted a dual-band antenna. Yes, there are dual-band designs to be found. I did some tests on my antenna but never made the final conversion.

Aluminum J-Pole
Eventually, I found the web site for Arrow Antennas (http://www.arrowantennas.com) and actually purchased an OSJ 146/440 dual-band antenna. This same antenna is still on my roof and has worked flawlessly for several years. Not long after my purchase, I found instructions for building a similar antenna. The raw materials were available locally and the plans seemed fairly straightforward. After building several, I feel this is a great design and something that can be duplicated with satisfactory results. Tuning was not an issue as long as the instructions are carefully followed. Granted, it does take more skill and tools than many other homebrew antennas, but the results are worth the effort. I also found making a "portable" version didn't require much more effort or expense. For detailed information, please visit my Aluminum J-Pole page.

Three Element Portable 2m Yagi
Some weeks prior to a scheduled camping trip, I wanted to see about building a yagi antenna for 2 meters. Someone directed me to the Davis County Amateur Radio Club web site. Click here for the link to the plans. This antenna requires a bit more skill to build, but it is a nice little package. Actually, one of the most difficult parts of the construction was to drill holes so the elements lined up in the same plane. I ruined several sections of CPVC before I got it right. One other possible improvement would be to use a "T" connector near the center of the boom so that the antenna was more balanced when erected. The fabrication of the matching section can be somewhat challenging as well.

Wire Dipoles
I have built a number of dipole antennas, the first right after I received my General license. It was a simple 40 meter dipole fed with 8X coax. It worked well, but I wanted something that would allow me to get on other bands. So, I experimented with a 20/40 meter configuration. The antenna was still fed with a single coax line, but it had four elements... two for 20 meters and two for 40 meters. Eventually, I abandoned this design. I removed the 20 meter wires and extended the length of the remaining elements to work for 80 meters and fed the antenna with 450 ohm ladder line. I also purchased an antenna tuner (SGC Model SG-239 autotuner) for use with this antenna. Due to the size of my property, I couldn't extend the elements in a straight line. Rather than just letting the ends hang down, I decided to suspend the ends on two separate supports. In my case, I have two trees in the front yard, and used two poles in the back yard. So, if you were to be able to look down on my home from above, you'd see the dipole resembles a "Z" in shape. This antenna is still very functional and I use it mainly for the lower bands, 30/40/80 meters. A great source of information on antennas and antenna modeling can be found on L. B. Cebik's (W4RNL - SK) web site. On the Cebik site, you can find more details on the Zig-Zag Dipole-Doublet**. Perhaps you will even find another antenna design that will serve your needs.

**Since Cebik's passing, his web site now requires a free user account. A direct link to the Zig-Zag Dipole-Doublet will no longer work even after login. Please search for "zig-zag dipole-doublet" in order to find this page.

Hexbeam
My introduction to this antenna was quite by chance. One evening, I turned on my mobile radio and heard some hams talking about antennas on one of the local repeaters. It just so happened that one of them was Ed Campbell, NX7TT, from Rigby, Idaho. He was passing through the Salt Lake City area. I listened for a while and then joined the conversation. I was intrigued by the fact that Ed's antenna was a five band (10 to 20 meters) that didn't require a tuner. That very night, I went on the Internet to search out some further information.

To me, this was a very interesting design for several reasons. First, it was something that could be built as a homebrew antenna. Second, it had a small footprint. Third, it was, by comparison, very lightweight. After further investigation, I decided to build one. I have found this antenna has severed me well and I have really enjoyed using it. I'll provide further information on a separate Hexbeam page.

Other Projects

CW Key
By now, it should be very apparent that I like building things. So, when Wes Voss, KE7FBY, told me about the Black Widow kit, I had to check it out. The key is designed and produced by Jerry Haigwood, W5JH. I feel the key works very well and is a great value for the money. However, in all fairness, it's the only key I've really used, so it's a bit hard to make any comparisons.

If you decide to construct one of these keys, you'll find most of the time will be spent sanding and/or polishing the parts. The key could be simply put together "as is" and would be functional. I sanded and polished mine to a high gloss. This did take a number of hours.

CW Keyer
I found a small keyer kit, the PicoKeyer, that is fun to put together and serves as a great first project or for anyone who enjoys kit building. It is small enough to fit in an "Altoids" tin and can run on a single wafer battery. It is packed with many features for such a tiny device. More information can be found at HamGadgets. Dale Botkin, N0XAS, has a number of other "gadgets" on his site.

Current and Future Projects

TSB (Triple Ratio Balun)
I'm currently working on a TRB for my Buddipole antenna. The assembly is mostly completed. If the device passes the initial tests, I'll probably enclose it in a small section of PVC tubing. I hope to use this device on the upcoming 7QP contest.

Hexbeam Conversion
Not long after I converted my original hexbeam to use MaxGain fiberglass spreaders, a new design for a broader band version was in the works. So, my hexbeam will be coming down again for the modifications. More details will be on my hexbeam page.