I-Max 2000 Portable Antenna Project Completed

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  • Опубліковано 18 лип 2021
  • I finally got the time to sit down and design a portable version of the I-Max 2000 antenna that's compact and it can be used as an emergency antenna. I consider this to be a follow-up video to the previous antenna video I uploaded called The I-Max 2000 Antenna Exposed On Steroids. This project came out much better than I expected and I hope that those who are interested in this topic find this information to be useful. This build is free and opensource.
    Below is a link to the previous video on this topic and this new video is the follow-up and conclusion to this video link.
    • The I-Max-2000 antenna...
    Here is a link to the L/C meter mentioned and demonstrated in this video
    www.ebay.com/itm/154092569080

КОМЕНТАРІ • 105

  • @ericdee6802
    @ericdee6802 Рік тому +3

    I've made several antennas since you published this tutorial and have learned alot in regards to antenna theory and building practices.
    Not to long ago, I discovered an Italian based antenna manufacturer "Grazioli antennas" which doesn't ship to the United States as of yet. The have a base 5/8ths wave antenna called the "G-Max" which is a phenominal ground plane. This particular antenna is measured at 5/8's wavelength OVER a 1/4 wavelength. The interesting part of the G-Max is where the 5/8ths lambda terminates to the 1/4 wave lambda there is a 10 turn inductor that corrects the phase of the RF radiating pattern keeping the signal in phase from top to the bottom of the radiator. The total antenna height is 32 feet with 108' (1/4) wavelength ground radials, this antenna is a monster and through computerized RF testing is supposed to have the gain of a three element Yagi but having a 360° radiating pattern obviously and is rated at a true 5,000w.
    The Grazioli G-Max like I previously stated is only available in Europe and they just started to ship to England. The retail price of the antenna is €269.00.
    What Iam gathering through AM 11m bands and 10m these verticle radiators like the I'Max, A99 and others, manufactures are "Stacking" verticles,the A99 and Imax are 1/2 wave over 1/4 wave with a phase shifter tied into the system, the GrazioliG-Max is a stacked 5/8ths over a 1/4 wave with a phase shifting inductor where the 5/8 meets the 1/4 wave giving the verticle antenna a gain factor like beams and Yagis.
    This video you produced sort of in a way let the cat out of the commercial industries secret bag of tricks. For many decades, this information wasn't readily available to the public, atleast I've never seen anything published until the article you mentioned "The A99 exposed" came about.
    Your video is a fantastic tutorial which I've visited a dozen times over and always gained a little something from each viewing.
    ✌😏⚡⚡⚡⚡

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  9 місяців тому

      Hi I never seen this reply to this video and I just sat down and read it. Yeah what you pointed out about stacking verticals is exactly what they are doing. I was not expecting to find a loading capacitor in the mid section of this antenna and although I didn't mention stacking the antenna with the 1/4 wave that's when I started to figure out what they were doing and how this antenna could have a lower radiating which makes it great for DX'ing. I will look up the Grazioli G-Max because you now have caught my curiosity about this antenna. Take care, 73's

    • @CBPunisher1900
      @CBPunisher1900 Місяць тому

      @@flash001USA there was a antenna back in the day that did that called the ham international Big mac a dual 5/8 wave over a 1/4 wave both radiated a signal high db gain but the wind would mess them up cuz of the length of it . but the idea is great but very long antenna.

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  Місяць тому

      @@CBPunisher1900 that antenna sounds familiar to me. Yeah that's an old school antenna for sure

  • @randyguay7115
    @randyguay7115 2 місяці тому

    Both of these videos are great . Very informative. I do believe i will make 1 of these for the mobile when i am at the park .

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 місяці тому

      Thanks, I realize it's a long video to watch.

  • @brianr555
    @brianr555 3 роки тому +2

    Great video! Yes! It is informative! You did an excellent job, and i may have to duplicate your work. My radio puts out the standard 100W, so this antenna would be perfect for camping trips etc. I really like the internal cap idea! Looks like a fun project…thank you sir!

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  3 роки тому +2

      Sorry for the late reply. Your comment just showed up today for some reason or another. Thank you for the feedback. I just told someone else commenting here that this video along with the last video have been on my "to do list" for a while now.

  • @wiggylab1957
    @wiggylab1957 3 роки тому +1

    Great video Mike, good work I'll take the spare

  • @MSams-kp4fm
    @MSams-kp4fm 2 роки тому +1

    Great video!
    Any video that teaches people how to do things is a good thing in my book.
    You made this easy to duplicate. If you said what gauge wire the coils were made of, I probably missed it. Great project.
    Maybe I'll hear you on the air some time.
    CLT area NC.

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому

      Thank you for your feedback. It was one of those videos that was on my "to do" list for a long time. I hope people try this for themselves.

  • @48pluto
    @48pluto 3 роки тому

    Nice video. Thanks for sharing.

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  3 роки тому +1

      You're welcome. This video and the last video have been on my "to do list" for a while now.

  • @bigsouthranchin
    @bigsouthranchin Рік тому

    Awesome build I’m probably going to have to try this build! I can see you throwing it up a 70’ pine tree in the woods and talking out of a mobile! Maybe a video idea for you! 73’s. From 818 cobra here in the Mag!

  • @americaswayout4489
    @americaswayout4489 2 роки тому

    With the very thorough knowledge you have, I am very surprised you are not a ham? Of course, you may just prefer 11-meter fun, something I would never give up, but also like several aspects of being a Ham. I would really like to see an SWR profile all the way from 14 megs to even 55 megs? Also if you wanted to part with that full power version one you didn't like, I would love to have it to play with different lengths? Cal at DX Commander has both a 40 foot and 60-foot pole and both would be a great choice to attach this to, to get the height and be light enough for one person to deal with. I have a roof mount that was made for holding larger 1.4-meter satellite dishes that I could use to hold with guys what would be the ideal CB antenna, a wire M2000.

  • @philipacovington
    @philipacovington 2 роки тому +1

    What is the purpose of the series capacitor 130 inches up? Great build by the way!

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому

      This has to do with the lobe or pattern of the antenna and if I'm not mistaken, it keeps the highest part radiating pattern closer to the center of the antenna which means that you technically have more signal going out to other stations rather than radiating off into space where it is wasted.

  • @ericdee6802
    @ericdee6802 2 роки тому

    After studying Dipole antennas and theory, i wonder how well of better that antenna would work if you had a counterpoise the same length as the radiator attached to the coax ground and left to hang below and attached to a tent spike of even better a copper ground rod?. Iam assuming your radiator is half a wavelength to the frequency 27/28mc?

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому

      The antenna might benefit from a counterpoise and they do sell a kit for the antenna but the reviews with people using the kits was they really didn't see much of a difference in performance. This is a 5/8 wave antenna.

  • @threeMetreJim
    @threeMetreJim 5 місяців тому

    This antenna very similar in design to a vertical I made for vhf pirate radio. It's equivalent to a tapped tuned circuit at the bottom, the lower part of the coil being shoved up inside the outer and wound the opposite direction, which I think is to cancel the transformer coupling, possibly. I would guess the antenna elements are high impedance with a large inductive reactance that is cancelled out by the series capacitors, but the capacitor half way up is a bit of a mystery, it's almost like a phase shift element you'd use for a co-linear at higher frequencies. It could also be that they needed twice the capacitance but decided to place one at the base and another further up the antenna to reduce the numver of different sized mechanical parts. The aluminium is used to change the inductance of the coil for tuning, in the same way as a slug tuned coil, but on the outside. Aluminium lowers the inductance. My vhf version used a variable capacitor, but was only suitable for low power due to high voltages at the top of the tuned circuit. Looks like the whole antenna may be 0.6 wavelength long at 27MHz; between 1/2 and 5/8 wave, which was similar to each element of my vhf co-linear, which due to it's length, looked like an ordinary CB antenna rather than something to do with vhf piracy going on.

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  5 місяців тому

      The older I-Max 2000 antennas that were built to resonate almost dead center of the 11 meter CB band were a really great CB antenna until they started tinkering with the design to cater to HAM radio users for the 10 Meter band. As to the loading and matching coils, from what I read online the inner coil that was wound in the opposite direction was done to cancel out some of the coupling and it was supposed to give the antenna a smoother and possibly a wider bandwidth. Originally I was under the impression that the series capacitor in the mid section of the antenna was to fool the antenna into being electrically shorter so they could accomplish two things: 1. Have a longer antenna which the original I-Max 2000 was a little over 24 feet in length but the main thing was to keep the radiating lobe lower in the antenna which would keep the signal closer to the ground vs being wasted into space. Now there is something I did learn about the mid section capacitor and that is if you remove it and re length the antenna to resonate at the same center frequency without the inline capacitor that the bandwidth goes much narrower. I did this test just to see how it would affect the antenna's characteristics and boy it did change things! Where the antenna had a very usable 2 Mhz bandwidth without any kind of antenna tuner to protect your equipment, it dropped down to less than a 1 Mhz bandwidth so the capacitor does play into how this antenna behaves. I'm no big antenna guru but I do know how to experiment and take notes and observe and that is exactly what I did while playing with this design because the first time I ever set up a I-Max 2000 over 20 years ago, I was blown away at the bandwidth of the antenna and I could not understand why other ground plane antennas on the market did not have this kind of bandwidth? I have ran quite a few ground plane antennas and all of them had a much narrower bandwidth than the original I-Max 2000 antenna I purchased.

    • @threeMetreJim
      @threeMetreJim 5 місяців тому

      @@flash001USA I just set one up today (an imax2000 type) and was intrigued by the tuning rings, so had to find out how they worked. It's an ingenious design, for sure. When I was messing with vhf, the antennas always seemed to behave much better with a ground plane, unfortunately at CB frequencies the groundplane becomes rather unwieldly. It's possible that their intent was to use the mast as the groundplane. For a 5/8 wave-ish antenna a usable bandwidth of 1MHz wouldn't be bad when you can tune it to the band centre. I used to get my information from the radio ham publications, and then adapt their antennas for different frequencies.
      Shame I'm from the UK, where CB is limited to just 4 watts of power 😞

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  5 місяців тому

      ​@@threeMetreJim I mentioned that they changed the design and people running CB were not happy with the design so if I'm not mistaken, they came out with a newer design that I think comes with 4 sections and you have a choice of having it being resonate in either the 10 Meter or the 11 Meter band depending if you use the extender section. Did you get the newer antenna? They show extending the top section but what I found was I got my antenna to work like the original build by adding a little bit of length BEFORE the mid section capacitor! Here is the link to their newest upgrade antenna. www.walcottradio.com/solarcon-max-optimzer-p-3632.html

    • @threeMetreJim
      @threeMetreJim 5 місяців тому

      @@flash001USA The one I just set up was second hand, wrapped completely in tape to stop the fibreglass from getting sun damaged, and was only three sections. It didn't look designed for cutting the length at all. Not mine though, I just helped a friend to set up.

  • @ericdee6802
    @ericdee6802 2 роки тому

    That's a fantastic antenna, The Antron 99 is nothing more than an End fed 1/2 wave dipole. Do you have any figures on the Gain?

  • @nandrews8412
    @nandrews8412 2 роки тому +1

    Did not mention the width of tuning ring. Don't know if it will effect tuning.

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому +1

      Man I sure didn't... Good catch! It's a bit over a quarter of an inch wide or better yet, around 3/8ths in width and yeah the width is important. If it's too narrow it will not give enough reactance and if it's too wide it will also make it difficult to tune. The issue I had was the original coil on the I-Max is surrounded with the plastic threaded sleeve which means the ring has a bit of a gap or space between the rings and the loading coil and this gave the I-Max a somewhat finer tuning effect where on this design the ring is right against the coil so a small movement makes larger changes but it still works out.

  • @billyjoejimbob75
    @billyjoejimbob75 Рік тому

    Still have the bottom section of my Imax. Decided to play with it. 19 1/2 and 22 1/2 feet with no cap. Works really good around 19mhz. Tried 4 1/2 feet just to see what would happen on VHF. 3:1 on 144mhz. Strangely enough, I did a wide sweep of that and noticed a dip in the 200s.

  • @ericdee6802
    @ericdee6802 2 роки тому

    Awesome, fantastic video, very informative and list of simple materials.
    Thank you for sharing this Top secret build with us. I wonder if the good folks at "Solarcon" are chompin at the bit over this?
    I have a question. If i were to use enamaled magnet wire, would the turns be the same as the turns you used with shielded wire?.

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому +1

      Thanks for your feedback and to answer your wire question, the windings will be a bit different because the Q of the coils did shift a bit with the use of house wiring even though it's the exact same gauge. Just the thick insulator coat compared to the enamel wire does make a difference but with a inductance meter you can make simple changes for the corrections.

    • @ericdee6802
      @ericdee6802 2 роки тому

      @@flash001USA Excellent, thank you for your reply. I have a bunch of 12ga magnet wire, would that be a bit too heavy?, maybe 14ga would be more suitable?

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому

      @@ericdee6802 The 12 gauge wire should be fine to use. Maybe a bit stiffer to work with but still good to go.

  • @jetcyclezero8907
    @jetcyclezero8907 2 роки тому +1

    12/16/2021Thank you for your research I now know what is inside the middle section.So just last night 75 mph winds broke the fiber tube 2nd section is folded at 90deg and resting on limb.maybe with thick gloves I can temporarily repair it with fibercloth tape& resin.Waiting for daylight to assess.Still has a low standing wave with 200 watt carrier.But its polarized vertizontal or horiztical..?

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому +1

      I'm amazed you have a good SWR with it tilted sideways like that. Sounds like the tree branch may be part of the antenna now. Speaking of trees, I have a 50 foot push-up pole and it has held up for years even under high winds. The pole mast is guy wired off quite well and I've never seen it so much as budge even under high winds. I have seen damaging short burst winds here and so far, I've never had an antenna snap. I think with trees it may be different because they can swing in the wind and possibly whiplash an antenna into snapping if the tree and the antenna are caught in just the right gust of heavy wind where the push-up pole doesn't budge at all.

    • @jetcyclezero8907
      @jetcyclezero8907 2 роки тому +1

      @@flash001USA Udate ,Disassembled wire stiil connecet at all ends repaired with 6' pole pruner section,hoseclamp,lotts of x t silicone.

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому

      @@jetcyclezero8907 Nice! Nothing like saving money if you can do a repair and it holds up.

    • @jetcyclezero8907
      @jetcyclezero8907 2 роки тому

      @@flash001USA Thanks ,UA-cam is great.

  • @nhhbbyloggr5022
    @nhhbbyloggr5022 3 роки тому +2

    Mighty impressive. The king of tinkerers

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  3 роки тому +1

      In some circles also known as.... The king of duct tape, chicken wire and chewing gum!

    • @nhhbbyloggr5022
      @nhhbbyloggr5022 3 роки тому

      @@flash001USA Want to make another one ? I'd buy one from you.

  • @SoonDumpingAllGmailAccounts
    @SoonDumpingAllGmailAccounts 2 роки тому

    The MACO V58 is about 19' 10" of radiator from the top of the mounting base to the tip.

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому +1

      Yeah a little under 20 feet in length. I know on some of the specs they say 240 inches for the 11 meter band but if my memory is correct I would have sworn mine was just under 20 feet. I remember laying it next to the I-Max and how much longer the I-Max was compared to the MACO V5/8. The MACO ground plane antennas are great antennas when they're set up correctly. The I-Max has a wider bandwidth which was something that I liked about the antenna and why I used one until it met it's demise to a lightning strike at which point I literally couldn't find enough of it to make a tooth pick with.

    • @SoonDumpingAllGmailAccounts
      @SoonDumpingAllGmailAccounts 2 роки тому +1

      @@flash001USA Wow, lightning is spooky! I have a home-built 22' 2" 5/8 over 100' in a pine tree and whenever we get lightning through here I always remove the coax from my station and lift it above all grounding, hoping it won't become a lightning rod!

  • @americaswayout4489
    @americaswayout4489 2 роки тому +1

    Don't know if you are aware of it, some Hams are also using this antenna on 10, 12, 15, and 17meters, but not 20 meters or 14 megs. IT would be especially helpful if you had a way to add something to the original factory version that could somehow get it to also be useable on 20 meters. Of course with yours having the actual element so easy to get to it if changing the element length could affect it? I am thinking or at least wondering iif two elements could be attached, separated some, and work like a FAN DIPOLE?, if so one of these on a fiberglass pole could really be useful.? I own one, but on 20 the SWR is about 10 to 1, and not useable even with a tuner? Changing the top whip seemed to do nothing, but starting with the element could be different. For years the A99 and M2000 have been bad-mouthed by some, but today with the growth in the use of EFHW or end-fed half-wave antennas that use transformers 49.1 to help match the higher impedance of end-fed antennas, the A99 and M2000 are getting more respect!

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому +1

      In the mid section there is series 10pF cap inline so adding to the top section won't have the desired effect. You are correct that adding to the bottom of the element may be the ticket.

    • @americaswayout4489
      @americaswayout4489 2 роки тому

      @@flash001USA I am a disabled older fellow and the truth is. my days of precisely building anything are pretty much past, but I would love to have the opened up version like you do and would try to add the 20 meters or even more if that element were still longer. I have been surprised that someone has not yet designed something like these two antennas for other bands. I think someone tried a 6-meter version but it disappeared. Maybe because the size is so much smaller a 6 meter and 4-meter version for the UK might find a market. I have some of the military fiberglass poles they used to hold camo-tents up and with some plastic pipe inside to make them stronger, a version of this antenna could be attached so It could be doable. Unlike CB a ground-mounted vertical can work DX very well, the height is more for ground wave, so mounting on the ground could be an option for DX. I do wonder what your homebrew might be SWR-wise down frequency, and if it would also work as-is on these other bands. Your Tornadobeing a 5/8 might well load on 20 meters as a 1/4 wave GP?

  • @jaceizzonn877
    @jaceizzonn877 2 роки тому

    I ran a simple test on my Imax to see if it *_required_* a counterpoise. I mounted it atop a 16 foot 2''x 4'' then wrapped the coax around the 2''x 4'' about 5-6 turns directly beneath the coax connector and it showed a 3:1 SWR.
    - I then added a 102'' whip just set on one of the U-bolts so it was basically at a drooping horizontal angle and read 1.3:1 SWR.
    I'm surprised your

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому +2

      These antennas really don't require a counterpoise if they are tuned correctly. This is what I hate about their newer revisions because although they do work in the 11 meter band they can give people issues with RF current issues
      caused by the antenna NOT operating in it's true sweet spot. Antennas are not my strong point so everything I learn is by hands-on tinkering. Changing gears for a moment I just ordered the Sirio 827 antenna. Right now I'm running the Sirio Tornado 27 and it's a decent antenna but it has an open coil design and I like the idea of a DC shorted loaded coil because it helps with static build up noise.

    • @SoonDumpingAllGmailAccounts
      @SoonDumpingAllGmailAccounts 2 роки тому

      @@flash001USA I have a number of 1970s Hy-gain Penetrators with their original hard-drawn aluminum matching networks intact which I may be listing online for sale.

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому +1

      @@SoonDumpingAllGmailAccounts Those antennas ruled when they first hit the market. Those are some great antennas as long as they are protected from water damage by sealing them before they are set up.

    • @SoonDumpingAllGmailAccounts
      @SoonDumpingAllGmailAccounts 2 роки тому

      @@flash001USA Yessir, in fact there are several mods which can be done to increase their durability & power handling - though they're known for lasting decades - even when installed at the coast.

    • @SoonDumpingAllGmailAccounts
      @SoonDumpingAllGmailAccounts 2 роки тому

      @@flash001USA If you install an Imax on something non-metallic and wrap a 5T x 4.5" or so diameter choke directly below the connector - you'll find out how much it really does require a counterpoise for a near 1:1 swr.

  • @SoonDumpingAllGmailAccounts
    @SoonDumpingAllGmailAccounts 2 роки тому

    I'm building one to handle 15KW and need to figure out how to build the center capacitor to handle that much power.

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому +1

      I'm going to assume 15 KW PEP. I'm not sure what to tell you on the cap but you also have to take in consideration the coil rating too. I-Max claims the antenna will handle 5000 watts but they don't specify if it's PEP or a steady RMS
      rating. My personal opinion is it will easily handle a 1200 watts RMS and maybe up to 1500 watts RMS dead carrier
      but for how long it could take a steady dead key carrier would be a different story. I would feel safe saying it could handle 1200 watts FM or AM without melting the antenna but I'm just not buying their 5000 watt rating and even if that's the case it would have to be in short burst. I don't run any more than 100 watts up to maybe 150 watts dead carrier and that would be pushing it and even then, my peak power is only going to be 30 or 50 watts above that on AM so I could technically talk on a coat hanger and be safe from burning up coax or antennas.

    • @SoonDumpingAllGmailAccounts
      @SoonDumpingAllGmailAccounts 2 роки тому

      @@flash001USA Well I have the base taken care of, now I just need the spec for a high-power 10pf aluminum-tubing / fiberglass rod capacitor.

  • @PatAutrey
    @PatAutrey 2 роки тому

    The strap that wraps around the coil on the outside does the screw actually make contact with the metal in other words does it pierce the insulation of the coil? How do you know where to put that piece of aluminum strapping

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому +1

      No it is electrically insulated from the loading coil. The metal strap is basically a one loop closed coil that's capacitively coupled to the loading coil and by sliding it up and down it allows you to get the 50 ohm match at the resonate point of the antenna. According to IMax, the tuning rings allow you to shift the antenna's resonance point around a few channels and the tuning rings will give you SOME wiggle room in moving the resonate point a handful of channels around but what it really does is allow you to get as close as possible to 50 ohms to the true cut length of the antenna. This is why I was able to nail the antenna's bandwidth to the point that the upper and lower SWR points on the antenna were almost equal to each other on the video.

    • @PatAutrey
      @PatAutrey 2 роки тому

      @@flash001USA OK that makes sense thank you for explaining so are you in the US or overseas

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому +1

      @@PatAutrey In the US.. South Carolina

    • @PatAutrey
      @PatAutrey 2 роки тому

      @@flash001USA I am interested in starting a CB radio club anymore would appreciate any guidance and assistance that you would be willing to share

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому +1

      @@PatAutrey Most of the time these clubs start off organic with a handful of locals that chew the fat and start a local club then it starts a life of it's own especially during the skip conditions where they may get heard worldwide and if the group who started the radio club has someone cleaver who can organize an actual club complete with a club QSL card with a decent eye catching logo, they can be successful. These days we have the 21'st century of computers to make it easier because people can look up the radio clubs and this in turn grow the members. What I'm telling you is it's hit and miss.

  • @paulthompson1a
    @paulthompson1a 2 роки тому

    I have the old original version I use it on 10-11-12-15 & 17 meter bands have you any idea how this antenna is able to operate on all these bands

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому +2

      Yeah, you are operating on harmonic resonate points on the 15 to 17 meter bands. On those lower bands the antenna operates like a 1/2 wave if I'm not mistaken.

    • @americaswayout4489
      @americaswayout4489 2 роки тому

      @@flash001USA I am curious if you tried the SWR on your portable for 10-20 meters, or tried making it slightly longer so it MIGHT load 20 meters? A portable that worked on 20 also, even if a change of the entire wire above the coils would be helpful. I visualize a version the radiator or wire top could be simply changed out. A QRP version has a market if it would work, of course, some Hams resist the idea of using any CB modified antenna, even though
      in this case and the A99, both work up to 17 meters.

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому

      @@americaswayout4489 No I only scanned it on 11 meters but I wouldn't see an issue of re-tooling it to work in different bands.

  • @KG-jp6rx
    @KG-jp6rx 7 місяців тому

    wHAT GAUGE WIRE YOU USE FOR THE COILS?

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  7 місяців тому

      12 gauge solid copper wire which is the same gauge they use in the IMax 2000 antenna.

  • @ericdee6802
    @ericdee6802 2 роки тому

    Who makes that transiever?, ive never seen anything like it.

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому +1

      That is an old Eagle Tomahawk 10 meter radio that I purchased years ago. I recently did a complete RF alignment on it and it now has much less background noise since this video. I also upgraded all of the lights to LED lights and it gave the radio(s) a renewed look along with doing some mods to the microphone circuit adding a internal preamp circuit so that it works with a small condenser mic and also supplies the condenser mic element with power so that I'm not dealing with power mics and batteries that go dead. Overall I'm really pleased with this radio. Not only is the AM and the SSB modulation decent but the FM TX and RX is very clean too. I have two of these radios with one of them still brand new in the original box. When I did the RF alignment along with all of the mods on my main radio, I also did the same to the new radio in the box along with the LED upgrades too.

    • @ericdee6802
      @ericdee6802 2 роки тому

      @@flash001USA Thank you for the reply, and I apologize for the late reply. Interesting transiever, never seen one before.
      Your antenna project is absolutely phenominal, its a thrill to actually find someone here on the Tube that isnt playing the "smoke and mirrors, Wizzard of Oz" bullcrap which we all run into on this platform. By chance are you a Communications Engineer? My late Father was a Radar Engineer for Lockheed Aircraft in Ontario,Ca from 1954 to 1978 He also was involved with the birthing of the SR-71 and worked with Kelley Johnson on many other projects like the F-104 Starfighter, He was also an Amatuer Extra class Ham, his ham shack looked much like your bench.
      Lately ive been reading a bit about long wire antennas for 10 and 11mc, iam curious how your antenna will perform in a inverted "V" configuration?.

  • @PatAutrey
    @PatAutrey 2 роки тому

    |Amazing video - thanks! PLease explain the significance of your call sign "Unit 26" - I'm a ham operator and unfamiliar

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому

      You're probably already aware that there are many radio clubs all across the world and there are sites where you can register your assigned call-sign for whatever club you're in and you can even have a mixture of both ham and non-ham members in these clubs. I'm part of one of the older radio clubs "World-Radio Group" and my assigned call-sign is 2WR26. The #2 would be the country division that goes with my call-sign so if I'm DX'ing outside the country people can look me up in some of the directories. I've been 2WR26 for over 40 years. Whenever I talk local or if I'm talking skip inside the USA I keep the call-sign short and go by 26 or Unit-26 and I have a handle for the locals which would be "Flash" You would be amazed at just how many CB radio clubs there are out there. A lot of these people also hold their ham license too so they will register both their official and their non-official call-signs at some of these websites. Most of these are non-official clubs not recognized by any government agencies in any country but these clubs are plentiful and have massive members. I'm registered here at QRZ11.com but I need to update this as in yesterday. I also have my own personal radio website www.2wr26.com and I really need to update this one too because I was a much younger lad when I built this site and I no longer have black hair. Funny how those things happen. Anyhow here is a random webpage with a list of CB clubs or better yet, radio clubs and this will give you an idea of just what's out there and it's organized. cmdxgroup.tripod.com/fr-cb_groups.html

    • @PatAutrey
      @PatAutrey 2 роки тому +1

      Wow! I had no idea there were CB CLUBS - very cool! I’ve been drooling over the I Max 2000 antenna and just how powerful and wide banded it is - I want to experiment by homebrewing a 64% element and pull it to the top of a 10m pole

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому

      @@PatAutrey Yeah it's crazy because everyone tries to say that CB died after the 70's craze and it did taper off but it keeps making a comeback mainly because it's unlicensed and it still has a bit of the wild west aura about it so the popularity in CB goes in cycles and with Brandon in office this may very well become the new cellphone.

    • @PatAutrey
      @PatAutrey 2 роки тому

      @@flash001USA I just love that for about 50 bucks you can get a starter CB radio - and have a means to communicate the initial buy in for HF Capability is at least $400 for a cheap HF rig Plus the time it takes to get two licenses technician and general. With your experience on CB if a person wanted to just have regional capability say within a 30 mile range what would you suggest to be the best CB antenna for that purpose? 11 m is really too high for typical NVIS propagation

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому

      @@PatAutrey For around $95 with shipping you can get a Sirio Tornado 27 5/8 ground-plane antenna and they work really well. Sirio also makes a better more robust antenna with a wider bandwidth that will run around $165 with shipping. Here is the link to their website. www.sirio.store/

  • @Brenda-jf2pe
    @Brenda-jf2pe 2 роки тому +1

    John Boy Utah Brenda's Hubbie ::::: I added a 102inch WILSON FIBERGLASS WHIP to the top and junked the original top piece !!!! IT TUNES UP ON 20meters now!!! GO FIGURE WOW I USE A TUNNER ,MFJ962B 1.5kw manual tuner works! KJ7TBR

  • @GaryLordsWayMinistry
    @GaryLordsWayMinistry Рік тому

    I would have used a pl239 plug end instead of the male end. That way the coax can plug into the female instead of having to use a union to join two male ends. I use a klein (MM400) for capacitance or I use my Proster BM4070 Capacitance and inductance meter. But that is so very true without the proper capacitance and inductance we are just shooting in the dark till we use the antenna analyzer.

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  Рік тому

      Agreed indeed... I didn't have a female end so this was my workaround.

  • @benjaminmeadows1380
    @benjaminmeadows1380 8 місяців тому

    I got old imax 2000 its 13 years old still work but got old 99 after 25 years still work then i still have my 3 element macos and then 1 dipole but can't use all at same time the best 1 hears good is dipole but not old

  • @Spikeam710
    @Spikeam710 2 роки тому +1

    Hey , Ill take one !!!! How much ????

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому

      I'm a man with many sticks in many fires and I'm tight for free time which is why I put the build out for anyone to knock it off. I was at your channel and saw the band stuff. Are you in the band? Do you play?

    • @Spikeam710
      @Spikeam710 2 роки тому

      @@flash001USA , I DID BUT IM STARTING A NEW BAND

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому +1

      @@Spikeam710 Too bad we aren't in the same state. I played and toured all through the early 80's and have always played until this virus crap hit. The last working band I played in we played out 6 nights a week and sometimes 7 nights. I did that for about 3 years and it was a great band that played anything and everything. I really miss playing out like that.

  • @jakemichael8586
    @jakemichael8586 2 роки тому

    jungle ground plane up 50ft will do as good as a 5/8! the 5/8 only has at best 3 dbi on 1/4 but add the matching loss it drops to 1 to 2 dbi! 73 \/

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому

      I don't have any doubt that the jungle ground plane performs well. It's the exact same thing as a M-400 or a star duster and those are great skip shooter antennas. I run one on top of the electronics shop.

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому

      This video was recently uploaded by someone and you may find it interesting. 73's Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year... ua-cam.com/video/fyHch-OegF0/v-deo.html

  • @kayakbassfishing473
    @kayakbassfishing473 2 роки тому

    Can you build this for me I will pay you. Thank you.

  • @IBDobby
    @IBDobby 2 роки тому

    Do you want to make another I pay your price?

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  2 роки тому

      As of now I'm covered with projects which was the reason that I wanted to make this how to video and share a detailed build for everyone to copy.

    • @IBDobby
      @IBDobby 2 роки тому

      Didn’t hurt to ask 😊

  • @RedeyeParker
    @RedeyeParker 6 місяців тому

    Disappointed in reception

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  6 місяців тому

      disappointed with the performance of the I-Max 2000?

  • @JasonCooper-em4gt
    @JasonCooper-em4gt 9 місяців тому

    😢lollipop

  • @BrandonisaCriminal
    @BrandonisaCriminal 7 місяців тому

    Hey flash can I buy one of these portable antennas from you ?

    • @flash001USA
      @flash001USA  7 місяців тому +1

      Thanks for asking but I just don't have the time to build these. This is why I have made the how to video so that anyone could do this themselves.

    • @BrandonisaCriminal
      @BrandonisaCriminal 7 місяців тому

      @@flash001USA Thank you. 👍 I’m asking because I’m disabled and can’t do anything easy to a healthy person. Thanks for getting back to me anyway. 😀 269 Southern Oregon RedHawk. 73’s