Benny, this is a great trick I learned from Budd. The thread on the top of the painter's pole (and every broomstick you will find) is very coarse, but it will cross-thread with a 1/2 inch threaded PVC coupler. Wrapping the thread in a few turns of electrical tape helps provide a snug fit. I used a threaded-to-slip PVC coupler, then used a short section of PVC to connect the coupler to the PVC cross for the arms.
Thank you for this helpful video. When I got into HF about 3 years ago, I watched this. I was inspired and decided to use a trucker mirror mount at the top of a 12 foot painter pole with a pair of hamsticks. I cut off the top hook of a Shepherd's Hook and used a couple of pipe clamps to attach a 3 foot section of PVC pipe to the bottom portion to slide the painter pole into. It has held up in windy days up to 20 mph (I don't leave the antenna up in higher winds). Since then, I have made over 1,200 HF contacts with it and look forward to many more. Thanks, again!
There’s no permanent solution like a temporary solution! That sounds like a great bit of DIY, glad it’s working out for you. With the solar cycle you should get lots more out of it over the next couple years.
So glad I found your video. I was gifted a homebrew BP that Bud showed a friend of mine how to build. Exact same antenna, less the vertical. I'm looking forward to getting it on the air. Great demonstration.
Ordered my whips, look forward to the post with beam measurements. Thanks again, I met Budd a couple years ago at Hamvention. He is a great guy and a real ham, he has inspired and help many of us with his designs and products. I am sure you have made him proud with your success on this product and your SOTA work. 73
Great Job and nicely presented. It's also good to see the antenna actually working. A lot of UA-cam videos show the construction of various antennas, but not how they actually perform in practice.
I was super impressed with your project. Very creative. You not only kept the cost down but gave easy to follow instructions for a great protable antenna. The video was nicely down. Barry, KU3X
LameBMX Awesome! It wasn’t me, but someone on our team of ops remotely contesting from a big HF station in Maine. Keep on studying! HF is a blast and the solar cycle is on the upswing
@@Schrockwell already passed! That's an even further hit. 40m was hot but not much fun tonight. A couple nights ago got Cuban talk radio and radio romania international 2!
WF7BSR here -- thank you for sharing this information...GREAT video, and I found it just in time for next weekend's contest (ARRL's 2015 JUNE VHF contest). Thank's for taking the time to share your knowledge.
A really great job on the homebrew Buddipole. It appears to work just fine. I love homebrew antenna projects. Wishing you many great contacts.Dan WZ1P (BUG moderator)
EXCELLENT VIDEO!!! It's TRULY GREAT to see younger people interested in ham radio! I'm adapting portable rigs for auto and motorcycle and plan to use some of your ideas for that purpose. I'm currently using an MFJ mag mount on my truck with one hamstick (I use the 3 magnet type mount and it has never moved at all, even at 80 mph - in fact it's difficult to get off when I go thru the drive-thru car wash!!! I also use a small 2m Comet mag mount antenna - it has never moved eithe)r. I hope you keep up your interest in ham radio, it's a great life-time hobby! -Ray, near Durango W5AQZ (Icom 7300 with AH-4 tuner and 100 ft long wire; 40m dipole, Explorer vertical; Icom 2300h and Comet ant on a 20 foot mast; Yaesu 857d in truck).
THAT IS BAD ASS!. I love it Rockwell and a great note from Dave on the longer painter pole. I want to build one, but just don't have the time, but I have to say you did a great job on this. I love seeing guys build stuff and how creative using the power poles for the connections. AWESOME JOB!!! KB8QID
Wow, that was fast! The distance from the driven element to both the reflector and director is 34.5 in. The reflector is 116", the director 110", and the driven element is simply adjusted to its resonant length.
:) I haven't done a full rundown yet, but I'd say around $50-$70 after you run around and pick up the painter's pole ($25?), featherweight whips ($6 x 2), and random PVC, wire and hardware parts.
Consider getting some velcro straps to relieve tension with that balun! I like the painter pole and guy setup! And the application of the nuts in the 6 meter mod. Good Job! Young Hams Unite! N4PJA
Excellent. I'll be making a video of my next portable operation. And the next antenna creation. I'll be looking forward to your next video. Keep in touch if you need some ideas
jonnynocksville I don't truthfully know. My best guess: with the homemade balun, 100W, since the toroid is pretty small. With real balun you could get more power. Sans balun, if you used proper banana plugs for the coil, I bet the antenna itself could handle 1KW without any issue.
I am almost finished building my own system, just waiting for my elements to arrive from Buddipole. I bought one of their long 10ft telescopic whips for my vertical element. I had to use 18ga speaker wire instead of 20ga. I couldn't get the 20ga wire locally. I don't think it will change the tuning of the antenna much, if at all.
Yes, the coils are wrapped with a single wire. I use two-conductor speaker wire from Radio Shack, cut it to length, then pull the two insulators apart to make two separate coils of the same length. Google for "simple hf balun construction" to see how I made the balun. Visit my site at WW1X.com.
Great work, Rockwell -- but here's a tip from an old timer: If you will use the Sherlock (Painter's) pole from Home Depot that extends to 16 feet, you'll work a lot more DX. 16' is a 1/4 wave on 20 meters (which, of course you know). When a horizontal dipole is at least a 1/4 wave above ground level, the angle of radiation is lower meaning your signal will bounce farther along the F1 layer in the daytime and F2 at night. At 12' high, a lot of your signal is going nearly straight up -- better for working stations 400-500 miles away, but not so good for DX.
Good tip Dave, thanks. The model of painter's pole I used also had an 18' version with three sections, but I had deemed it too big and heavy to carry. I saw the Sherlock ones recently and they are more compact and indeed go higher. One concern would be proper guying and stability since it would be so high, especially on mountaintops where it is often windy, but I bet it could work out.
Rockwell Schrock Double guy first at 8 ft. and then around 12 ft. Just takes a little extra rope and should be relatively stable. See you on the bands -- 73 de AJ5F.
Adam Overman I'd definitely guy it twice. Around 8' and 16' unless your want to use a four-legged dipole for 20 bands. In that case, I'd guy it at 12' and let the four legs of the dipole be the guying at 23 feet.
Hi Rockwell, Nice informative video. Great job! On the crosspiece you use, I see you have a coupler between the crosspiece and the painter's pole. I can't see exactly what it is. Would you please describe it? Thanks and 73's Bill Ellis, WB9CAC
Please tell me your call sign again so I can look you up. Want to see the details for choke winding etc. The other sights only show the winding's made with speaker wire, and I would prefer to use coax. Thank you, great video.
+Leslie Honeywell My call is WW1X. For choke baluns using coax, search for the "ugly balun" - it's very simple to make, basically just RG-58 or similar wrapped around a large piece of PVC or 2-liter bottle.
Thanks for a great video of a hobby we share. Please keep making videos of your portable contacts with this setup, very interesting. It is one I will sure tell our new Hams to watch. 73 Jimmy, ARRL TC, WX9DX
I built this using 18ga wire instead of 20ga. I had fair performance on 10, 12, 15, 17, 20 and even 30 (rolled up another coil). I wanted to make a 40m, but have been unable to get the 2 attempts at coils I built to tune. Still working on it! Have not tried the 10m beam or the verticals, but did build them. Any hints for a 40m version?
I have not tried to make a true 40m coil - I believe you would need substantially longer whips, or a longer extension arm. In the field I once connected BOTH coils (20m coil + 15/17/12m coil) in series and got an SWR that my radio would tolerate to squeeze out a few local contacts. I would not recommend for prolonged operation that way, though! The Buddistick vertical instructions on W3FF's site have plans for a 40m coil in that configuration - maybe you could use that as a basis for experimenting.
Great info - inspired me to build one, with the horizontal dipole / vertical option. I downloaded the plans and am awaiting the featherlite whips. Just one question, with the right set of coils would this also work on 40 meters? I realize 80 might be a stretch. If it would work on 40 with the right coils, about how many turns of wire for the 40M coils? 73 DE KI6JPE
Great question. In a pinch in the field once time, I connected both coils in series and adjusted the whips to maybe 2:1 SWR - not ideal but I squeaked out a couple local Qs on groundwave. The W3FF directions for the Buddistick vertical has dimensions for a 40m coil, but also the Buddistick has a much longer whip, so it might not work as well.
@@Schrockwell Thanks for getting back to me. The bands it will cover should give me enough portable operating fun. Besides, I have a new IC7300 to break in :) Getting back into the hobby after some time away. Mt. Diablo is about 10 or so miles distant, so that is likely the first place I'll test out the antenna once it's complete. Maybe a couple weeks from now.
This is awesome.. I ordered parts right away, assembled the HF portions tonight, and am about to embark on the 6m beam option. Mind posting your measurements for the boom, director, and reflectors?
I used a 1/2" PVC slip-to-threaded coupler. The slip end is attached to the PVC cross via a short length of PVC. The threaded side of the coupler is not the same thread as the top of the painter's pole - it is much smaller. However, if you wrap a few turns of electrical tape around the painter's pole, it will cross-thread and fit snugly.
I too enjoyed the video. What about a cable tye or some other method for attaching the balun so it's not swinging loosely in the air? By no means a criticism. Well done on your build and mods.
Enjoyed your video, inspired me to get it together, guess i have a decent junk box because i just produced all parts except the whips, so ive got a half finished project and a good excuse to place an order with Buddipole, Would you care to post details on your homebrew balun? Since you have tested and proven it with this setup I would like to see its design details. Thanks and keep up the great videos 73 W8FG
Hi Rockwell, what type of balun are you using, and ratio? I tried an LDG 1:1 current balun and that’s not working very well. I made a “dirty” coax connection by just stripping the shield back and connecting the braid to one side and center to the other and the match is very good. Want to use something between the coax and each leg that will function properly and keep things neat in appearance. For instance with the balun in the circuit I wound up with an SWR of 13:1 in the center of 20 meters. With the “dirty” connection it dropped to 2.1:1. I checked all my connections, so it seems to be the wrong balun. Any help will be greatly appreciated. 73’s KI6JPE
Direct to coax works fine - the whips will be different lengths to balance the currents. That’s how Budd designed it. You can find a link to the balun design at the bottom of the video description.
Honestly I just wrapped the wires around the threads of the whip and secure it with the nut. However, it is showing signs of wear. That connection point will probably be the first thing to fail. At some point I will replace it with a ring terminal, but I'm not really sure how that would fit since it's already a tight squeeze inside that CPVC.
Rockwell Schrock Hi Rockwell. I am a spankin' new Ham who just passed the general class test last Saturday! Woot! I am most interested in QRP. Yesterday I went to an "Old Timers" breakfast here in Redding, where Bud showed up! This was a very cool surprise for me as I was not even aware that he lived here until viewing your video etc. Long story short, he was sooooo very generous and invited me to his workshop where he mentored me through the process of home brewing my very own antenna! So here is the hot tip I learned about how to use the ring terminal to connect to the whip. ... You just hacksaw a little slot in the cpvc about an inch from the end, so you can slide the ring in there once you have the nut started squarely in the end. You do that by inserting the whip from the long end, thread into the nut and gently wack it in there until squarely jammed into the end. Then remove the whip and replace it with a 1/4 bolt on the short end and tap it down towards the slot you cut. You would of course slide the ring connector (with wire crimped on) in there first. You will know when to stop tapping when you feel contact with the ring. Shim the whip with electric tape and work it into the long end, with the 1/4 threads passing through the ring and into the nut. Tighten er' up and bingo! Results... When we hooked all this goodness to a Yaesu 857D we had a QSO with an guy in Argentina. What's that 5K miles? Heh. Anyway thanks for your fine video. I am well on my way here!
You actually CAN make a great 2m dipole with this setup, though I haven't shown it in the video. If you skip the extension arms and coils entirely, and just use the extendable whips, you can get it resonant on 2m (total half-wave dipole length is 1m, or ~3 feet, so 1.5 feet per arm). Generally you want to orient it vertically for local FM contacts, and horizontally for SSB and CW.
For small decks, a lot of people like to use small loop antennas like the AlexLoop. They are only a couple feet in diameter and can mount on a camera tripod.
Hi Seth, Impressive! It's a simple build with good results. For the balun, Google "Simple HF balun construction" or see the video description for a link. I used a R-61-037-300 ferrite rod with pattern (c) to create a 1:1 balun. I separated the turns with a piece of thin tubing, but any separator will do. I ordered the ferrite rod and magnet wire from Amidon. I used #6 hardware for the binding posts and a connector from Radio Shack, and is enclosed in 1 1/2" PVC.
I need some clarification; do you in fact, 'love s'mores', or is more like, you enjoy giving the _impression_ you like them...? (Remember, there'll be a test at the end of class...)
No, this is a good point. Letting the balun hang like that could lead to wire fatigue, and it sways in the wind. I've been using strips of Velcro to secure the balun and considered using a hook/eye setup to hang it.
John, the trick is to to use a 1/2" PVC slip-to-thread coupler, then attach the slip end to the tee with a short piece of PVC. The threads on the other end of the coupler are much smaller than than the "acme" threads on the painter's pole, but if you wrap the pole once or twice with electrical tape, they will cross-thread snugly.
I made a 1:1 rod balun, using winding method C shown on this page: web.archive.org/web/20100218175310/users.catchnet.com.au/~rjandusimports/balun_winding.html
This is a very nice design. However, if the antenna was used this close to the ground on 20m, efficiency will be greatly reduced. The higher you could get it in the air the better. I would suggest one improvement as well, where the caribiners meet the pipe clamp, I would use brass or steel rings, commonly found at a farm supply store, instead of the zip ties. The zip ties will become brittle very quickly and fail. Still, a nice job overall here.
No, I do not have that option, nor do I think I will purchase it. In fact, the module has not yet been released yet. I have the FT-857 if I want to try 2m SSB, which is typically only during the VHF contests.
Getting "forbidden" error on Wayback Machine trying to view images of baluns with that particular link. Going farther back on WBM will show the images. However, a good alternate and live link is www.iw5edi.com/ham-radio/1942/simple-hf-baluns-for-5075-ohm-systems (seems to be identical to WBM). Actually, many web pages have copied the material. A search for "Simple HF Baluns for 50/75 ohm systems" will find several of them! :)
great video I just got a buddistick about two months ago but just on twice with it. Budd W3FF is a friend of mine and hopefully will be coming up to my house I live in Dunsmuir, CA Budd lives in Redding which is about 50 Miles. he may help me make a buddipole out of my buddistick with a few mods thanks 73's N1DHD/6
I adore your antenna & creativity in all aspects my only negative comment is that that radio shack coax is poor get some LMR240 down the road & watch the performance & reception improve
Benny, this is a great trick I learned from Budd. The thread on the top of the painter's pole (and every broomstick you will find) is very coarse, but it will cross-thread with a 1/2 inch threaded PVC coupler. Wrapping the thread in a few turns of electrical tape helps provide a snug fit. I used a threaded-to-slip PVC coupler, then used a short section of PVC to connect the coupler to the PVC cross for the arms.
Thank you for this helpful video. When I got into HF about 3 years ago, I watched this. I was inspired and decided to use a trucker mirror mount at the top of a 12 foot painter pole with a pair of hamsticks. I cut off the top hook of a Shepherd's Hook and used a couple of pipe clamps to attach a 3 foot section of PVC pipe to the bottom portion to slide the painter pole into. It has held up in windy days up to 20 mph (I don't leave the antenna up in higher winds). Since then, I have made over 1,200 HF contacts with it and look forward to many more. Thanks, again!
There’s no permanent solution like a temporary solution! That sounds like a great bit of DIY, glad it’s working out for you. With the solar cycle you should get lots more out of it over the next couple years.
So glad I found your video. I was gifted a homebrew BP that Bud showed a friend of mine how to build. Exact same antenna, less the vertical. I'm looking forward to getting it on the air. Great demonstration.
Ordered my whips, look forward to the post with beam measurements. Thanks again, I met Budd a couple years ago at Hamvention. He is a great guy and a real ham, he has inspired and help many of us with his designs and products. I am sure you have made him proud with your success on this product and your SOTA work. 73
Great Job and nicely presented. It's also good to see the antenna actually working. A lot of UA-cam videos show the construction of various antennas, but not how they actually perform in practice.
I was super impressed with your project. Very creative. You not only kept the cost down but gave easy to follow instructions for a great protable antenna. The video was nicely down.
Barry, KU3X
Fantastic video, even though it was made quite a while ago, I feel it is very instructional and well made. Can't wait to build one of these!
Barberton Ohio, heard your cw transmission a short while ago @21.002ish. Still learning and waiting on my general callsign. 5-30-2020 around 5:15 EDT
LameBMX Awesome! It wasn’t me, but someone on our team of ops remotely contesting from a big HF station in Maine. Keep on studying! HF is a blast and the solar cycle is on the upswing
@@Schrockwell already passed! That's an even further hit. 40m was hot but not much fun tonight. A couple nights ago got Cuban talk radio and radio romania international 2!
LameBMX Oh that’s great, congrats! Shortwave listening really piqued my interest in HF too - it’s crazy all the stuff you can hear on the bands.
WF7BSR here -- thank you for sharing this information...GREAT video, and I found it just in time for next weekend's contest (ARRL's 2015 JUNE VHF contest). Thank's for taking the time to share your knowledge.
A really great job on the homebrew Buddipole. It appears to work just fine. I love homebrew antenna projects. Wishing you many great contacts.Dan WZ1P (BUG moderator)
EXCELLENT VIDEO!!! It's TRULY GREAT to see younger people interested in ham radio! I'm adapting portable rigs for auto and motorcycle and plan to use some of your ideas for that purpose. I'm currently using an MFJ mag mount on my truck with one hamstick (I use the 3 magnet type mount and it has never moved at all, even at 80 mph - in fact it's difficult to get off when I go thru the drive-thru car wash!!! I also use a small 2m Comet mag mount antenna - it has never moved eithe)r. I hope you keep up your interest in ham radio, it's a great life-time hobby!
-Ray, near Durango W5AQZ (Icom 7300 with AH-4 tuner and 100 ft long wire; 40m dipole, Explorer vertical; Icom 2300h and Comet ant on a 20 foot mast; Yaesu 857d in truck).
This is exactly why I got interested in amateur radio, outstanding work A ⭐️
THAT IS BAD ASS!. I love it Rockwell and a great note from Dave on the longer painter pole. I want to build one, but just don't have the time, but I have to say you did a great job on this. I love seeing guys build stuff and how creative using the power poles for the connections. AWESOME JOB!!! KB8QID
I love homebrue stuff. One of the best things about this hobby is the experimentation. Keep up the great vids.
Wow, that was fast! The distance from the driven element to both the reflector and director is 34.5 in. The reflector is 116", the director 110", and the driven element is simply adjusted to its resonant length.
Awesome presentation, and I love your enthusiasm! You've inspired me to build a very similar setup! Keep up the great work!
Great video OM! :) Thanks for the support of the Ham Hobby!
73
Jimmy, ARRL TS, WX9DX
Will have a try also to build something like this - thanks for the video and the info
Great job with the antenna. I will definitely look into building one!
I think you should put the caribiners under the hose clamp for the guy ropes. I am concerned that the black zip ties may break.
dude that was awesome I was surprised at the performance that was great. thank you for sharing this with us. awesome job!!!!
:) I haven't done a full rundown yet, but I'd say around $50-$70 after you run around and pick up the painter's pole ($25?), featherweight whips ($6 x 2), and random PVC, wire and hardware parts.
Very nice build Rockwell!
Great presentation as well.
Thanks, KB1WMH
Consider getting some velcro straps to relieve tension with that balun! I like the painter pole and guy setup!
And the application of the nuts in the 6 meter mod. Good Job! Young Hams Unite!
N4PJA
Thanks Philip. I do use Velcro now. It makes the balun nice and secure and also reduces cable strain.
Excellent. I'll be making a video of my next portable operation. And the next antenna creation. I'll be looking forward to your next video. Keep in touch if you need some ideas
I like how adaptable this system is. What kind of power will it handle?
jonnynocksville I don't truthfully know. My best guess: with the homemade balun, 100W, since the toroid is pretty small. With real balun you could get more power. Sans balun, if you used proper banana plugs for the coil, I bet the antenna itself could handle 1KW without any issue.
I am almost finished building my own system, just waiting for my elements to arrive from Buddipole. I bought one of their long 10ft telescopic whips for my vertical element. I had to use 18ga speaker wire instead of 20ga. I couldn't get the 20ga wire locally. I don't think it will change the tuning of the antenna much, if at all.
What balun are you using?
Nice Work man❗👍 ❤
Yes, the coils are wrapped with a single wire. I use two-conductor speaker wire from Radio Shack, cut it to length, then pull the two insulators apart to make two separate coils of the same length. Google for "simple hf balun construction" to see how I made the balun. Visit my site at WW1X.com.
looks like what I need. Going to get my general in a couple weeks.
Great work, Rockwell -- but here's a tip from an old timer: If you will use the Sherlock (Painter's) pole from Home Depot that extends to 16 feet, you'll work a lot more DX. 16' is a 1/4 wave on 20 meters (which, of course you know). When a horizontal dipole is at least a 1/4 wave above ground level, the angle of radiation is lower meaning your signal will bounce farther along the F1 layer in the daytime and F2 at night. At 12' high, a lot of your signal is going nearly straight up -- better for working stations 400-500 miles away, but not so good for DX.
Good tip Dave, thanks. The model of painter's pole I used also had an 18' version with three sections, but I had deemed it too big and heavy to carry. I saw the Sherlock ones recently and they are more compact and indeed go higher. One concern would be proper guying and stability since it would be so high, especially on mountaintops where it is often windy, but I bet it could work out.
Rockwell Schrock Double guy first at 8 ft. and then around 12 ft. Just takes a little extra rope and should be relatively stable. See you on the bands -- 73 de AJ5F.
Dave Mitchell I just picked up a 23 foot pole do you think it would be a good idea to guy it at all 3 stages or just twice?
Adam Overman I'd definitely guy it twice. Around 8' and 16' unless your want to use a four-legged dipole for 20 bands. In that case, I'd guy it at 12' and let the four legs of the dipole be the guying at 23 feet.
Dave Mitchell I'll prolly be using an off center fed dipole at first (eventually I'll get around to building the whole buddy pole setup)
I wish more Ham videos were like this as opposed to stealth advertisements.
Hi Rockwell,
Nice informative video. Great job! On the crosspiece you use, I see you have a coupler between the crosspiece and the painter's pole. I can't see exactly what it is. Would you please describe it?
Thanks and 73's
Bill Ellis, WB9CAC
Please tell me your call sign again so I can look you up. Want to see the details for choke winding etc. The other sights only show the winding's made with speaker wire, and I would prefer to use coax. Thank you, great video.
+Leslie Honeywell My call is WW1X. For choke baluns using coax, search for the "ugly balun" - it's very simple to make, basically just RG-58 or similar wrapped around a large piece of PVC or 2-liter bottle.
Thanks for a great video of a hobby we share. Please keep making videos of your portable contacts with this setup, very interesting. It is one I will sure tell our new Hams to watch.
73 Jimmy, ARRL TC, WX9DX
I built this using 18ga wire instead of 20ga. I had fair performance on 10, 12, 15, 17, 20 and even 30 (rolled up another coil). I wanted to make a 40m, but have been unable to get the 2 attempts at coils I built to tune. Still working on it! Have not tried the 10m beam or the verticals, but did build them. Any hints for a 40m version?
I have not tried to make a true 40m coil - I believe you would need substantially longer whips, or a longer extension arm. In the field I once connected BOTH coils (20m coil + 15/17/12m coil) in series and got an SWR that my radio would tolerate to squeeze out a few local contacts. I would not recommend for prolonged operation that way, though! The Buddistick vertical instructions on W3FF's site have plans for a 40m coil in that configuration - maybe you could use that as a basis for experimenting.
Great info - inspired me to build one, with the horizontal dipole / vertical option. I downloaded the plans and am awaiting the featherlite whips. Just one question, with the right set of coils would this also work on 40 meters? I realize 80 might be a stretch. If it would work on 40 with the right coils, about how many turns of wire for the 40M coils? 73 DE KI6JPE
Great question. In a pinch in the field once time, I connected both coils in series and adjusted the whips to maybe 2:1 SWR - not ideal but I squeaked out a couple local Qs on groundwave. The W3FF directions for the Buddistick vertical has dimensions for a 40m coil, but also the Buddistick has a much longer whip, so it might not work as well.
@@Schrockwell Thanks for getting back to me. The bands it will cover should give me enough portable operating fun. Besides, I have a new IC7300 to break in :) Getting back into the hobby after some time away. Mt. Diablo is about 10 or so miles distant, so that is likely the first place I'll test out the antenna once it's complete. Maybe a couple weeks from now.
This is awesome.. I ordered parts right away, assembled the HF portions tonight, and am about to embark on the 6m beam option. Mind posting your measurements for the boom, director, and reflectors?
But, how do you feel about smores?
Did you even WATCH the video? :)
How to make vertikal antena...for 40m band...
Great job! Hadn't thought about a painter's pole as a portable mast. What's with "I love stores"?
I'm working on building one of these. What kind of adapter did you use to connect the painters pole to the PVC Junction?
I used a 1/2" PVC slip-to-threaded coupler. The slip end is attached to the PVC cross via a short length of PVC. The threaded side of the coupler is not the same thread as the top of the painter's pole - it is much smaller. However, if you wrap a few turns of electrical tape around the painter's pole, it will cross-thread and fit snugly.
Great build and great video! Happy DX!
Very Good work i will have to work on it, i have an old10 foot pole that i used when i was window cleaner,
I know it's a long time ago, but good Video. 🙂
It HAS been a while… yikes. Anyway, thank you!
I too enjoyed the video. What about a cable tye or some other method for attaching the balun so it's not swinging loosely in the air? By no means a criticism. Well done on your build and mods.
Nice job!! I'm saving this one in my favs list. Thanks!
Enjoyed your video, inspired me to get it together, guess i have a decent junk box because i just produced all parts except the whips, so ive got a half finished project and a good excuse to place an order with Buddipole, Would you care to post details on your homebrew balun? Since you have tested and proven it with this setup I would like to see its design details. Thanks and keep up the great videos 73 W8FG
Hi Rockwell, what type of balun are you using, and ratio? I tried an LDG 1:1 current balun and that’s not working very well. I made a “dirty” coax connection by just stripping the shield back and connecting the braid to one side and center to the other and the match is very good. Want to use something between the coax and each leg that will function properly and keep things neat in appearance.
For instance with the balun in the circuit I wound up with an SWR of 13:1 in the center of 20 meters. With the “dirty” connection it dropped to 2.1:1.
I checked all my connections, so it seems to be the wrong balun. Any help will be greatly appreciated. 73’s KI6JPE
Direct to coax works fine - the whips will be different lengths to balance the currents. That’s how Budd designed it. You can find a link to the balun design at the bottom of the video description.
@@Schrockwell Thank you. I’ll check out your balun design. I’m assuming it’s a 1:1 current balun?
@@Shasari Yessir! I believe I used a rod ferrite for this one.
@@Schrockwell Thanks again! The LDG I have is a 1:1 around a toroid, but that shouldn’t make a difference I’d wager. 73’s KI6JPE
Nice Antenna ,are the coils wrapped with a single wire ? and hows the balun made and whats your web site Thanks
This young man probably went on to build modules for the international space station.
Agreed!
How to you attach your wires to the bolt that you screw the flex whips into?
Honestly I just wrapped the wires around the threads of the whip and secure it with the nut. However, it is showing signs of wear. That connection point will probably be the first thing to fail. At some point I will replace it with a ring terminal, but I'm not really sure how that would fit since it's already a tight squeeze inside that CPVC.
Rockwell Schrock Hi Rockwell. I am a spankin' new Ham who just passed the general class test last Saturday! Woot! I am most interested in QRP. Yesterday I went to an "Old Timers" breakfast here in Redding, where Bud showed up! This was a very cool surprise for me as I was not even aware that he lived here until viewing your video etc. Long story short, he was sooooo very generous and invited me to his workshop where he mentored me through the process of home brewing my very own antenna! So here is the hot tip I learned about how to use the ring terminal to connect to the whip. ... You just hacksaw a little slot in the cpvc about an inch from the end, so you can slide the ring in there once you have the nut started squarely in the end. You do that by inserting the whip from the long end, thread into the nut and gently wack it in there until squarely jammed into the end. Then remove the whip and replace it with a 1/4 bolt on the short end and tap it down towards the slot you cut. You would of course slide the ring connector (with wire crimped on) in there first. You will know when to stop tapping when you feel contact with the ring. Shim the whip with electric tape and work it into the long end, with the 1/4 threads passing through the ring and into the nut. Tighten er' up and bingo!
Results... When we hooked all this goodness to a Yaesu 857D we had a QSO with an guy in Argentina. What's that 5K miles? Heh. Anyway thanks for your fine video. I am well on my way here!
I'm pretty new to the hobby and was wondering if there could be a 2m configuration to this? I really enjoyed the video.
You actually CAN make a great 2m dipole with this setup, though I haven't shown it in the video. If you skip the extension arms and coils entirely, and just use the extendable whips, you can get it resonant on 2m (total half-wave dipole length is 1m, or ~3 feet, so 1.5 feet per arm). Generally you want to orient it vertically for local FM contacts, and horizontally for SSB and CW.
That makes sense. I'm definitely going to try this setup. Thanks for the info.
Awesome video! Thanks a lot. By the way, do you have any ideas for SW listening antennas? ... I just have a very little balcony to do "the magic"!
For small decks, a lot of people like to use small loop antennas like the AlexLoop. They are only a couple feet in diameter and can mount on a camera tripod.
Excellent job!!!
Very nice video. Thank you.
Looks good. What fitting did you use, that threaded on to the painters pole. Its kind of a course thread?
Impressive build.
Hi Seth,
Impressive! It's a simple build with good results.
For the balun, Google "Simple HF balun construction" or see the video description for a link.
I used a R-61-037-300 ferrite rod with pattern (c) to create a 1:1 balun. I separated the turns with a piece of thin tubing, but any separator will do. I ordered the ferrite rod and magnet wire from Amidon. I used #6 hardware for the binding posts and a connector from Radio Shack, and is enclosed in 1 1/2" PVC.
Great video excellent.
Will have a try also to build something like this for my Fauna & Flora activities. 73's Nic ON5MA
This is a great video. Thanks for the ideas. BTW, the link to the balun no longer seems to work. Thanks again!
David, thanks for the info. I updated the link to point to an archived version of the balun page.
I need some clarification; do you in fact, 'love s'mores', or is more like, you enjoy giving the _impression_ you like them...?
(Remember, there'll be a test at the end of class...)
This is an older video.. love it. Did you say you were in Santa Rosa? I JUST moved away from SR to Idaho. Looks like you are now in CT
Yup! I was working at Agilent/Keysight for a couple years.
Dude, you are hamstick stud. 73!
EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT! Great job dude narrating and videoing. Enjoy and 73!
Good job! Where did you get the tee shirt?
what split are you doing with your elkcraft?
the site to the dimensions for the hex beam is not working (404) do you have another source?
Fixed the link - thanks!
No, this is a good point. Letting the balun hang like that could lead to wire fatigue, and it sways in the wind. I've been using strips of Velcro to secure the balun and considered using a hook/eye setup to hang it.
Great video.
I am considering making one for a camping trip next month.
What did you use to attach the painters pole to the 'Tee'?
73's
KF6EFG
John, the trick is to to use a 1/2" PVC slip-to-thread coupler, then attach the slip end to the tee with a short piece of PVC. The threads on the other end of the coupler are much smaller than than the "acme" threads on the painter's pole, but if you wrap the pole once or twice with electrical tape, they will cross-thread snugly.
Great project, but with all that space there you could put easily whatever cable dipole you want.
Great video. Think I will try to build one. Jealous of your KX3 btw!
Come back to UA-cam land! Your content is great 👍
Need a little bit more info on the coils and the over all lengths.
Nice work and continue experimenting. 73 Emil
Do you have the 2 meter option on that kx3?
Did you use a 1:1 or a 4:1 balun for your set-up?
Ray Stetler A 1:1 balun. When resonant, impedance of the feedpoint should be close to 50Ω.
Thanks!
Cool video. So you make these? It looks like once you get familiar with how to set it its easy and fast to set up.
what kind of balum did you make? KK6SHL
I made a 1:1 rod balun, using winding method C shown on this page: web.archive.org/web/20100218175310/users.catchnet.com.au/~rjandusimports/balun_winding.html
This is a very nice design. However, if the antenna was used this close to the ground on 20m, efficiency will be greatly reduced. The higher you could get it in the air the better. I would suggest one improvement as well, where the caribiners meet the pipe clamp, I would use brass or steel rings, commonly found at a farm supply store, instead of the zip ties. The zip ties will become brittle very quickly and fail. Still, a nice job overall here.
No, I do not have that option, nor do I think I will purchase it. In fact, the module has not yet been released yet. I have the FT-857 if I want to try 2m SSB, which is typically only during the VHF contests.
This video, and your shirt, are awesome. Thought about doing this myself. Do you have an estimate of cost?
Very impressive. You talked me into it.
How did you make the balun?
I can't post links in comments, but the link is at the bottom of the video description.
Very nicely done !
Great video !!!! I will be building me one of these
nice video .. i'm planning to have same type antenna for my regular use. Thanks
Getting "forbidden" error on Wayback Machine trying to view images of baluns with that particular link. Going farther back on WBM will show the images. However, a good alternate and live link is www.iw5edi.com/ham-radio/1942/simple-hf-baluns-for-5075-ohm-systems (seems to be identical to WBM). Actually, many web pages have copied the material. A search for "Simple HF Baluns for 50/75 ohm systems" will find several of them! :)
I love Smores?
great video I just got a buddistick about two months ago but just on twice with it. Budd W3FF is a friend of mine and hopefully will be coming up to my house I live in Dunsmuir, CA Budd lives in Redding which is about 50 Miles. he may help me make a buddipole out of my buddistick with a few mods thanks 73's N1DHD/6
So very nice video
Regards from Santiago Chile
CE3-PPY
Well done
Outstanding, thanks so much for posting this up for us.
Marty
KK4PIQ
Your shirt says, “ I love smores” right?
Very nice antenna.
nice video friend it is very helpful
nice job and video!
I adore your antenna & creativity in all aspects
my only negative comment is that that radio shack coax is poor
get some LMR240 down the road & watch the performance & reception improve
good job
nice job guy
Narrowband audio?
good job and nice rig kx3 is nice
Very nice video OM :) 73 de Stefano M7PWR