Thanks tim great vids keep them coming. I have the same problem not enough garden space but am going to copy you ,and give it a go nothing to lose ..thanks again Tim 73 ,John m0asn
Interesting Tim.. I've just started using a doublet ..inverted v ..feedpoint at 50ft ..65ft each leg ...I was considering doing similar to you to get it to tune 160m ...maybe 100ft each leg ..but return legs would only be about 6 ft above ground level along the fence !!! ...worth a go !!
What's the maximum length of ladder line that you can use. I currently use just over 100ft of coax to reach my antenna in the middle of the garden to my second floor.
Welcome to the hobby! I'm very glad you enjoy my videos. It's a great hobby to get involved with and it's certainly addictive. Hope you enjoy the bands and thanks very much for watching and commenting. 73
Hi Tim, I would like to setup a doublet that would cover 40 to 6 meters. I can easily go up to 70 feet on each leg. What length would you recommend for the bands I want to operate?
One thing I've noticed when building wire antennas using window line or ladder line as a feeder. The length of the feed line can be extremely important. That's why one person can build a doublet and the tuner lets him/her use it on all bands and then someone else builds the exact same antenna and can't get it to tune up on 20 or 17 or what ever.... The ladder line acts as a matching section and its length is extremely important. I may have missed the info in your video so sorry if I'm asking something you've already covered. What is the exact length of your ladder line and what ladder line is it? What tuner are you using? Norm - W7CK
Hi Norm you make a great point. I use 30 feet of 450 ohm ladderline. This is fed to a 1:1 current Balun with a 3 ft piece of rg213 to an ldg atu. Then 30 feet of rg213 to the temporary shack. When I get it done the new permanent shack will allow for the ladderline to go straight to a balanced tuner (preferable set up). Only band I can’t tune to a flat swr is 15m... no big deal to me. 73 and thanks for watching and commenting
@@timg5tm941 Tim. Do a google search for IMAXGRAF. It is an interactive spreadsheet that based upon a known antenna length, it will show you how long the ladder line needs to be to be resonant on each band. Once you download it, plug in an antenna length of 93' and you will see that if you use 39-40' of ladder line, your antenna will be resonant on 40, 20, 17, 12 & 10m. This is the ZS6BKW. Its loads of fun and really useful when playing with wire antennas using this type of feed line.
Excellent, but you didn't hear poor Carl lol. I like the way it just goes everywhere. i hope the small post on the shed is plastic? Anyway, you have maybe improved it since you made this video? But it performs well, and who says it will not get into America, that is a whole different ball game!
Hi Tim thank you for the video, would you please tell me what the pole is for your centre support. It looks like it might be fiberglass. Also it looks like you don't have guide wires which would be nice. I've moved to Aberystwyth on west coast of Wales 60 metres above sea level and boy the south westerly's sure can blow. Thanks again . . . Andy
Hi Andy it is indeed fibreglass and I’ve epoxied the sections together. It’s survived 2 winters now. The pole itself rests inside a 4.5 ft long 55mm diameter pipe which is 1.5 feet into the ground. This, plus the natural guying provided by the inverted v means it’s pretty rock solid, having survived several 45mph plus storms down here on the south coast. Aberystwyth is a beautiful place ... you are lucky for sure. 73
Thanks Tim where did you get the mast and what is it called? I wish we only had 45mph winds, we can get almost double that and that's only at sea level. 73 . . . Andy
@@timg5tm941 Hi Tim sorry to bother you aging but I've been searching for the 10m windjammer, (with a reasonably wide top section like the top of yours,) and all I can find is one with a very thin top section with a loop. Watching the video again you say the top of the mast is about 8 metres above ground. Can I take it that you have simply dispensed with the top whippy section? Also I'm assuming that the sections jam up inside one another and the epoxy simply stops it collapsing back down inside itself? Thanks . . . Andy GW0JXM
Hi Andy yes I only used the bottom 8 and removed the top 2. The windjammer has the thickest top section of the 10m poles btw. Yes I remove all sections and then add epoxy to the top inside of the lower section before sliding up the next higher one. It sets within an hour. 73
Great. I've tested one of these with 19.2 metres either side and it worked brilliantly. However this length of 15.5m either side could save me 8 metres in total. I'll def be trying it.
The doublet is a good choice for multi band operation. If your focus is 80m for your net, try experimenting with a NVIS antenna which is very effective for inter G on 80 and 40m.
Hi there it's usually Mondays but we have postponed it until tomorrow this week owing to the poor conditions on HF. We will be on air from 20:00 BST around 3750 but we may be 10-15 kHz up or down from that possibly. Be good to hear you 73
Roy Dickinson you are right, having just watched a video of Louise Varney (G5RV) the open wire to the matcher was the original intention. The modern day G5RV is not exactly as he intended. I am a great fan of doublets, done right they are extremely effective.
Well done Tim a good down to earth video 👍🇬🇧👍🇬🇧👍
Thank you for watching! 73
Great Video Tim - thanks for the info :)
2E0XBT_ Sean thanks and thanks for the heads up about the first upload mate 73
Great work Tim, thats why i Love the doublet antenna. hope to bump into you on 80 mtrs.
Be good to hear you and work you. 73
Well done Tim! Thanks
Thanks Nick and thanks for watching! 73
Good work Tim, nice to see the unconventional left hens side didn't prove to be problematic, nice SWR on 80m too, 73s Jim M7HCK
Thanks Jim. Fingers crossed it keeps working! 73
Thanks tim great vids keep them coming. I have the same problem not enough garden space but am going to copy you ,and give it a go nothing to lose ..thanks again Tim 73 ,John m0asn
Go for it!
its working for you tim' thats all that matters welldone.
Cheers Martin 73
Nice job Tim, It certainly seems to have made an improvement on the previous antenna, Give it a full workout on 80 Tomorrow! 73, Tom.
Indeed I will and hope to hear your dulcet tones too 73
Interesting Tim.. I've just started using a doublet ..inverted v ..feedpoint at 50ft ..65ft each leg ...I was considering doing similar to you to get it to tune 160m ...maybe 100ft each leg ..but return legs would only be about 6 ft above ground level along the fence !!! ...worth a go !!
Yes go for it! Thanks for commenting 73
What's the maximum length of ladder line that you can use. I currently use just over 100ft of coax to reach my antenna in the middle of the garden to my second floor.
Depends - any length to get to your tuner or balun - then you might need to add on small sections if certain bands cant be tuned.
Thank you for this...and your other vids...they've given me hope. 73 de mw7gib (new ham)
Welcome to the hobby! I'm very glad you enjoy my videos. It's a great hobby to get involved with and it's certainly addictive. Hope you enjoy the bands and thanks very much for watching and commenting. 73
Thanks for QSO at 80m on 05.10.2019 at 22:30 UTC, 73 DO3JN!
My pleasure my friend! 73
Hi Tim, I would like to setup a doublet that would cover 40 to 6 meters. I can easily go up to 70 feet on each leg. What length would you recommend for the bands I want to operate?
Hi Brian 40 through 6 - Anything from 44 feet up (22 per leg) is fine.
One thing I've noticed when building wire antennas using window line or ladder line as a feeder. The length of the feed line can be extremely important. That's why one person can build a doublet and the tuner lets him/her use it on all bands and then someone else builds the exact same antenna and can't get it to tune up on 20 or 17 or what ever.... The ladder line acts as a matching section and its length is extremely important.
I may have missed the info in your video so sorry if I'm asking something you've already covered. What is the exact length of your ladder line and what ladder line is it? What tuner are you using?
Norm - W7CK
Hi Norm you make a great point. I use 30 feet of 450 ohm ladderline. This is fed to a 1:1 current Balun with a 3 ft piece of rg213 to an ldg atu. Then 30 feet of rg213 to the temporary shack. When I get it done the new permanent shack will allow for the ladderline to go straight to a balanced tuner (preferable set up). Only band I can’t tune to a flat swr is 15m... no big deal to me. 73 and thanks for watching and commenting
@@timg5tm941 Tim. Do a google search for IMAXGRAF. It is an interactive spreadsheet that based upon a known antenna length, it will show you how long the ladder line needs to be to be resonant on each band.
Once you download it, plug in an antenna length of 93' and you will see that if you use 39-40' of ladder line, your antenna will be resonant on 40, 20, 17, 12 & 10m. This is the ZS6BKW.
Its loads of fun and really useful when playing with wire antennas using this type of feed line.
What are the dimensions of the two legs and the ladder line? So I could have a go at making the antenna to get into G. Cheers M7SCR
Hi Stewart the doublet legs are each approx 50 feet long and the ladderline is about 31 feet long. Good luck! 73
@@timg5tm941 Thank you mate. Thank you.
Hi what balun and atu are you using?
Martin Loveridge it's a LDG 1:1 current Balun and an LDG Z11 pro2 auto tuner. Thanks for watching 73
Excellent, but you didn't hear poor Carl lol. I like the way it just goes everywhere. i hope the small post on the shed is plastic?
Anyway, you have maybe improved it since you made this video? But it performs well, and who says it will not get into America, that is a whole different ball game!
Yes all plastic lol. I’m putting a new version up soon
Hi Tim thank you for the video, would you please tell me what the pole is for your centre support. It looks like it might be fiberglass. Also it looks like you don't have guide wires which would be nice. I've moved to Aberystwyth on west coast of Wales 60 metres above sea level and boy the south westerly's sure can blow.
Thanks again . . . Andy
Hi Andy it is indeed fibreglass and I’ve epoxied the sections together. It’s survived 2 winters now. The pole itself rests inside a 4.5 ft long 55mm diameter pipe which is 1.5 feet into the ground. This, plus the natural guying provided by the inverted v means it’s pretty rock solid, having survived several 45mph plus storms down here on the south coast. Aberystwyth is a beautiful place ... you are lucky for sure. 73
Thanks Tim where did you get the mast and what is it called?
I wish we only had 45mph winds, we can get almost double that and that's only at sea level.
73 . . . Andy
It’s a windjammer 10m fibreglass pole from eBay. About 30 pounds sterling. 73
@@timg5tm941 Hi Tim sorry to bother you aging but I've been searching for the 10m windjammer, (with a reasonably wide top section like the top of yours,) and all I can find is one with a very thin top section with a loop. Watching the video again you say the top of the mast is about 8 metres above ground. Can I take it that you have simply dispensed with the top whippy section? Also I'm assuming that the sections jam up inside one another and the epoxy simply stops it collapsing back down inside itself? Thanks . . . Andy GW0JXM
Hi Andy yes I only used the bottom 8 and removed the top 2. The windjammer has the thickest top section of the 10m poles btw. Yes I remove all sections and then add epoxy to the top inside of the lower section before sliding up the next higher one. It sets within an hour. 73
Look into the ultimax 40:80 double bazooka. Same size really quiet and very effective.
Thanks - does it work on bands other than 40 or 80?
The_Radio_Op 2E0TWG-Tim unfortunately not. A cobweb is a great antenna for your garden as well. I was amazed how well they perform mate.
Jay w4zxt totally agree on the cobweb. Once the solar cycle shifts back upwards I'm going to invest in one.
Great. I've tested one of these with 19.2 metres either side and it worked brilliantly. However this length of 15.5m either side could save me 8 metres in total. I'll def be trying it.
Go for it! 73
The doublet is a good choice for multi band operation. If your focus is 80m for your net, try experimenting with a NVIS antenna which is very effective for inter G on 80 and 40m.
Thank you, food for thought 73
@@timg5tm941 You're welcome. 73 es gud DX de GW4MTE.
Yeah looking at it now different angles but same sort of snaking and yeah it does work regards 73 KD2RVW
Thanks Mike 73
What is your net Tim and freq.
Hi there it's usually Mondays but we have postponed it until tomorrow this week owing to the poor conditions on HF. We will be on air from 20:00 BST around 3750 but we may be 10-15 kHz up or down from that possibly. Be good to hear you 73
Hi Tim and thanks you for getting back to me.
Is your net focused on any particular interest?
nickjaxe no it's an opportunity to work other stations throughout the UK all welcome 👍👍
@@timg5tm941 Ok I will have a listen for you tomorrow Tim...Nick 2E0LPL also with a creative doublet.
nickjaxe brilliant! Look forward to it and thanks for subscribing it's really appreciated 73
Great video. Art K2ADC
Art Dodd thank you Art - much appreciated 73
Your 1:1 balun will not like working at high SWR, which will be the case with 3/8 wavelength.
Almost like my set-up. 73 VA2SOB-Claude
Hope it works well for you Claude. 73
Sounds like what I am doing
You made A g5rv!
Not quite.... no coax!
Roy Dickinson you are right, having just watched a video of Louise Varney (G5RV) the open wire to the matcher was the original intention. The modern day G5RV is not exactly as he intended. I am a great fan of doublets, done right they are extremely effective.
Ideally, ladder line should not be run close and parallel to metal, such as guttering and downpipes.
I agree. Luckily there’s no metal near my ladderline .. plastic and wood.
i gave you a thumbs up but my qso not there. lol
Martin 2E0ERY very good to hear you and work you though! Found it and to hold pen mic and phone to record. Need a tripod! 73