@@andrewmurschel2608You can get better fuel economy if you limit your speed to 150,000 furlongs per fortnight or less like we did for the oil shortage in the ‘70s.
When I was a Kid, and I’m far from being a kid, the USA was dedicated to switching to metric. All the talk was about how are car’s speedometers, mile markers, milk, would all change…. That is exactly the time when Coke changed to metric and we got the 2 liter bottle. I was taught the metric in grade school!!!. NASA uses the metric system. Chemistry, Pharmaceuticals, Medicine, Cars for the last 30 or more years all are in metric. Heck, our freedom creating and keeping military uses the metric system… It is time to embrace the metric system!!!!
I started buying metric tape measures 30 years ago. Trying to lay out evenly spaced holes into random length is much easier using a base 10 system then one with fractions. Trying to divide 256 3/8 inches (21 feet 4 3/8 inches) by 23 in my head requires a bottle of Tylenol. Dividing 6.512 Meters by 23 is so much easier. Want to switch to the next larger or smaller measuring increment in the metric system just move the decimal place one space to the right or left. Try doing that with imperial. Another point, the radio hobby is a electronics hobby. Everything in electronics is in metric. Tera, Giga, Mega....Micro, Nano, Pico... All metric prefixes. Everything I do in electronics all day, every day is measured in metric units. Microvolt, Gigahertz, kiloohm, picofarad, nanohenry, milliwatt.
This argument for metric makes no sense to me: how is dividing 6.512 by 23 any easier than dividing 256.375 by 23? The result of latter may be harder to find on your tape measure but this has nothing to do with metric or imperial. 6.512 is just a number, not more or less superior to any other number. Use what units make you happy and work for you.
@@smbrown Don't have to convert the fraction to decimal before doing the division. Then converting it back to a whole number and fraction afterwards to use a tape measure later since they are marked in fractions. Metric is base 10. Meters, centimeters, millimeters. Just a decimal place movement. 1 mile = 1,760 yards = 5,280 feet = 63,360 inches = I don't want to even think about fractious. What jackwagon in history thought up this stupid system anyway. I'll stick with metric. 1kM = 1000M = 100000cm = 1000000000mm = and just keep moving the decimal place for micro, nano, pico, femto, atto, zepto, yocto, ronto, etc.....
I live in a metric country. Although metric system was adopted for over 150 years, up to 30 or 40 years ago, engineering material still used imperial measurements. What did we do? Well, I have two sets of tools, my measurement tools can do both. You don't have to convert. You need half inch, pick an inches ruler. You need 5 meters of wire, use a metric tape measure! That easy Mike, you are absolutely right. You rant is my rant. You rule!
I bought a funky tape measure off eBay a while ago because it scratched two hobby itches of mine, ham radio and vintage military equipment. It’s a U.S. Army Signal Corps frequency tape measure from pre-1960, as it still uses the term “MC” (Mega Cycles) instead of MHz. It’s a 156-foot tape measure with a few odd features. One side is marked with frequencies like “7.0MC” or “7.0MHz,” meaning if you cut an antenna at that mark, it will be a ¼ wavelength antenna resonant at 7.0 MHz, or in the 40-meter band. If you flip the tape over, it’s marked in feet, but in decimal form instead of inches, so at the 7.0MHz mark, the reverse side shows 33.4 feet, or approximately 33 feet and 5 inches, for a ¼ wavelength antenna resonant at 7.0 MHz. Haha, it’s funny how much effort went into making the tape measure for antennas that didn’t use meters. Still, it’s a cool piece of military history.
Does it bother anyone else that most people who talk about the "imperial" system actually mean US Customary, which is different in some of its units than the British imperial system? Length units are the same, but liquid volume? Not only is the gallon completely different, the way it's subdivided is different, despite the smaller units having the same names. And let's not even get into US survey feet. Or troy weight.
Soapbox: When I was sailing at 15 knots in 28 fathoms of water with my English Father-in-law he asked me how many stones I weighed. After traveling 30 furlongs I asked "What?" Your channel your rules. I bought a 25 foot metric tape measure just for antenna building. My wife stole it to use for her sewing as her patterns are in metric.
The meter bands do not match the assigned frequencies. Well, 30m is pretty close. So conversion from the 20m name to the 14.2MHz length takes work, may as well do it in feet. Then I do not need ANOTHER bit of kit and my smaller tape measures are fine. Then again, I have been doing imperialmetric conversions in my head since the 70's.
That's kind of my take on it - you are already looking to a calculator of some kind anyway, and computers are really good at doing the conversions for you. Metric tape would just be a unitasker, and a very poor one at that because most of us already have effective substitutes. I've got a set of Triple Square Bits I bought to work on a VW I once had - those bits are also unitaskers, but then you can't exactly substitute something else for a triple square bit
If you know the frequency then the math is easier with metric. There's shortcuts to make it easier in imperial units but equivalent shortcuts exist for metric so there's no advantage to using imperial other than you personally like it. Metric isn't perfect but it very very consistent and the reduced mental load leads to many fewer mistakes. The names of the bands are shorthanded so why would you make an antenna for a given frequency but use the name of the category as the target?
@@haxwithaxe First, velocity factor must be included. So the math load is the same. And if you use the real frequency instead of the label, then the advantage of metric goes away. Ideally, an antenna analyzer should be used, so precise measurements are not necessary.
The metric system is very useful and convenient in Breadmaking as all the ingredients can be described in a recipe where each item is expressed as a percentage of the weight of the flour. And when 200 grams of water weighs 200 milliliters, the wetness of the dough can be expressed as a percentage of the weight of the overall bread loaf. Also, I would much prefer weighing out all my ingredients, for ANY food preparation. So much easier than having to fiddle with all those measuring vessels. It’s so much more convenient and reproducible to weigh things out (in metric) for scaling the recipe too.
On one of my trips to Canada, I went to a store specifically to buy a metric tape measure for antenna building. It removes some of the problems of a calculation error.
I'm going to have remember that one the next walleye fishing trip I take to Ontario, "Honey, I'm going to run to the store for a new tape measure. Be right back!!" 😅😅😅
Both systems can work together. American here, moved to Chile where everything was metric. No problem, you get used to it. Then moved to UK. Guess what? Car speed is miles per hour. Weight can be kilograms or stone! People have no problem with inches or centimeters. I just watched a video from my favorite British ham in which he gave antenna lengths in feet, but said, “that’s __ for those that prefer metric, I learned in Imperial measurements, so that’s easier for me.” Use what you like, no need to get all high and mighty about your preference.
Mike, I worked for a German Company for 29 years, the blueprints for the items we built were in metric, it took a little getting use too but it got easier. I downloaded a woodworking project a few months ago and the plans were in both standard and metric, I found it easier to do it in metric than standard because metric was more rounded then trying to go with something like 5-55/64. yes we were brought up on standard and not metric, but once you get to using it then it comes natural.
I have been very similar thoughts ever since joining this hobby. I try to think in metric terms as much as possible when thinking about antennas and related things, precisely because that's what makes sense for relating antennas to the waves they're supposed to be catching!
Luis Figueiredo VE3FIG Hi Mike! Great point on measuring antennas, metric system only simplifies and makes the process of cutting antennas so much easier and leaves no room for error. Take this example, 2.5 meters is bluntly simple: 2 meter and 50 centimetres; 250 centimetres; 2500 millimetres. Easy enough, try to do the same with imperial : 16.47 feet ; 16 feet and 5.64 inches; 16 feet 5 inches 5/8. Some times people don’t realize , for example, that 1.5 feet is 1 foot and 6 inches but 1.4 IS NOT 1 foot and 4 inches but IS 1 foot and 3 inches. Thanks for the work on education of the ham radio community. 73 Luis
What a good video, the touch of acid of everyday reality seemed masterful to me, not so much the machine translation, but I sincerely congratulate you. 73's of YV2ESB.
Never thought to think about it!?! I think imperial most of the time. But, when learning Amateur Radio I just used metric for radio! I never found it to be a problem or big deal. Good points. Thanks for sharing.
When I started making HF antennas over 55 years ago , I used a very large surveyors tape. Therefore, I used the imperil system. Worked very well. Put up many end fed and dipole antennas that matched extremely well. I were or do it today, I would use a metric tape. Easier!
I’ve seen antenna plans that provide measurements in both imperial and metric. If using a tape measure with both, the wire can be measured in one and checked against the other. Salty Walt, (K4OGO), Coastal Waves & Wires, does this. I plan to with my 12 year old, to help him learn conversions.
Mike, I live in Pueto Rico and here is really crazy roads are marked in km but speed is in mph. gasoline is sold in liters and milk in gallons. and direccions (address) are given in mago trees and house colors lol 73 de KP4MI
I built an antenna by measuring a wire in inches and it didn't work. I started over and measured it out in meters and then it worked! But they were both the same length... weird. I guess HAM radio only works in metric.
just FYI, recording tape speed was (and still is ?) measured in IPS - Inches per Second. I'm pretty sure that was his reference. And yes, my tape measures have both Imperial and metric.
As a Canadian I think I’m highly qualified to speak on the Imperial vs. Metric debate (jk I’m not qualified to tie my own shoes). We use and are forced to use both systems on a daily basis and in science. And let me tell you it’s an absolute nightmare Im currently in college for Power Engineering, so we essentially play and work with steam (too long to fully explain lol). Inches of water column, pounds of steam, foot-pounds, pound-feet, inch-pounds, pound mass, pound force, BTU’s, BTU-Hours, it’s a disaster. Thermodynamics, linear motion, moments and torque, all that stuff is hell to do in imperial. Metric on the other hand? An absolute breeze. Newtons, meters, pascals, kilograms, joules, watts, everything just works together and math’s so nicely. I cannot fully explain how deplorable the imperial system is without getting my UA-cam account banned lol. Love the video tho and love you silly Americans. Keep doing you and don’t let anyone tell you different 😉😂
Literally 3 countries in the world use imperial. Thank you for pointing out how the metric system is superior, especially when it comes to ham radio. Thanks Mike!
Thank you for this video. I remember when I took my Technician exam, one of the questions asked something like, "Which dipole length is suitable for the 10-meter band?" The options were given in feet. My first thought was, "Why complicate a trivial question with unit conversions?" The imperial system has more units for distance and volume than the entire SI system, which only has seven base units. Favoring imperial feels like choosing a slide rule over a calculator.
They didn't want to ask a trivial question. They wanted to know if you knew how long a basic dipole was, (a 1/4 or 1/2 wave,) and could do the conversion from metric to feet, because in the real world you'd likely need to know how to do just that. It was a simple question that required a fair amount of knowledge to answer, the best kind of test question. In the amateur radio world, especially in the USA there are all sorts of ham radio projects from 50 years ago that appear in old ham magazines and ARRL handbooks that are still being built, (because electromagnetic theory doesn't change much in 50 years,) and conversions are necessary. I did all of my longwave radio antenna research in books written around 1910 to 1920 because that's when longwave antenna research was actually being done and written about, and I spent much of my time doing measurement conversions of 1 sort or another. The NIST library had all of the design information in those old books, and no one bothered to repeat it all in the next 90 years because it had all been thoroughly covered before then, and almost no one was designing new longwave antennas anymore because no one had a need for them. Everyone was writing software to help design Yagi-Udas for 10 meters on up, not 8 foot diameter top-hats or high Q loading coils with 35 pounds of copper on them for 175 kHz.
I've had a 100ft tape measure from HF for over a decade. We'll, I just looked at the otherside and discovered it also has metric. Much easier now to measure my long wires
Quick story: Australia iin the 60s had rocket development, at Woomera. Under name of ELDO (European Launch Development Organisation). Each country worked on their own rocket stage. First few rockets blew up at stage separation. Why? One stage was imperial, other was metric. Close, but with enough difference to be fatal. So EVERYTHING went metric, to eliminate error.
from Google 1866 In 1866, the U.S. Congress authorized the use of the metric system and almost a decade later America became one of 17 original signatory nations to the Treaty of the Meter. A more modern system was approved in 1960 and is commonly known as SI or the International System of Units.
I’m with you. I work on German cars and I only know metric tools and measurements. The one thing I’m still not giving up is the solid inch. I’d rather say “an inch” than to say I “25.4mm”
When I first came to Europe, I used a tape measure with "feet" as the size unit. Turns out it was based on some other king's foot. A foot on that tape was only 11 inches on an imperial tape measure.
I have a KFC restaurant branded ruler that was part of some initiative they did promoting learning. It’s in inches which is fine but each inch contains markings for 5 “quarters”.
I have been a ham since '97. In all these years I have honestly never thought of using the metric system for antennas! I am a diesel mechanic by trade and use metric daily, it is far easier! Great video and great point! I will for sure be measuring my antenna builds in metric from now on!
It's interesting that while the bands are expressed in metric lengths, we still have formulas that are part of the exams for ham radio licenses that deal with feet as well (468/frequency = length in feet for half-wave antenna). Maybe there needs to be a push from the top down to get everything converted to metric in the literature and testing.
I grew up in the era that the US was 'supposed to' to metric. It is what I learned in grade school, so I was always comfortable with it. When I took my Ham exams back in the 80's, I did all the antenna wavelength calcs in metric and then converted my answers to the numbers in feet. PIA! It would be sooooo much simpler to just do it in metric all the way through.
All the measuring tapes I own have both Imperial and metric markings. I can't remember the last time I saw one in a store that didn't. I wonder where the guy is getting his tapes?
Preach it! Says, the ham, PhD, and science teacher. Keep traditions such as football and such. Forget memorizing conversations best made by a machine. Just use and smile. 73, Bill.
As a teacher, "the foundation of all sciences is metric". This contributes to the struggles of our students as well as burdens our economy with lost time doing conversions. Wish we would change to metric.
But... but... they sell speaker wire and coax by the foot and I have a chart with all the bands middle freq half and quarter wavelengths converted to feet and inches.. why?? because 'murica.. LOL
When I make wire antennas I use in ft. Most of the web sites that I get the lengths from are in ft. If I need to convert, I google ft to mm and calculator appears. I have no idea why it is such a big deal. As for tools, today I have more metric because everything comes from China.
I've got one of those, it's in imperial and metric. I think it's 100 feet, so about 33 meters? I have a tendency to be a monster when building antennas and might start with the initial cut being imperial. But when I go to adjust it, I do the calculations in centimeters. I honestly wish the US would have adopted the metric system (and it was supposed to have swapped in the very late 1700s/early 1800s but the ship with the reference materials was lost). It's just easier to deal with. I have a hard time finding metric 7-10m tape measures locally though (I prefer to be able to pick something up if I can, rather than wait for it to be shipped), so I end up with 20-30 ft ones for framing and such. But the big caveat for me, having spent 32 years using imperial, don't really have a reference for a distance/length in metric, which is frustrating. Like ok 3 ft is about a meter (I know it's like 39.something inches or whatever). I just wish my brain would think in everything length wise in metric. Especially when building something out of wood or metal and needing to find a half measurement of something. Trying to get a precise measurement of half of something when it's 13 11/16" and my tape measure is only marked int 1/16", sucks.
By the way, Canada went metric in 1979. Yet we are still "bilingual" ((bi-measurement???). Canadians say they drive to work at 80 kms/hr on a day when the temperature is 25 degrees (Celsius). But at the gym they will dead lift 100 kilos and say to their buddy that they weigh 220 pounds and that they are 6 foot 2. They will pour a glass of milk from a one liter carton of milk, but they'll go to the pub for a pint. They'll tee off and drive the ball 250 yards, but they'll walk 100 meters towards the 19th hole for wings and beer. America can also join the weirdness.
Ive been converting all my radio measurements to metric. I got that imperial/metric tape from harbor freight about a year ago. When i need 12meters for my remote tuner i just measure 12meters and done.
No rage here….you pointed out many things, being 100 percent correct AND by watching another one of your videos I am buying something (useful). Thank you for taking my money (again)
What is the formula for calculating the wire length of a half wave dipole for 14.05 mhz in meters? I'm serious, I don't even know... I'm not against metric at all ... but I remember 468. (shrug)
300/14.05=21.35 meters. Now that we've calculated the full wavelength, we need to divide 21.35/2 = 10.67m to get the half wave length. Then because we have two legs of the dipole we need to divide 10.67/2=5.33 meters per leg of the dipole. Of course these are rough numbers and should be a little long so you can make your final trimmings of the wire to be resonant right where you want it. There's more complicated ways to do this but this is good enough for ham work.
@@hamradiotube It's interesting that I've never read/heard (at least that I remember) using 300 for a result in meters... but then I've never searched for it either. I'm 58 years old and learned something new today!
I've measured out 80m dipoles with a 12 inch ruler. Measure two feet, fold it over and double that, then double that, then doubl that etc. No need for a long tape measure.
You cleared up a lot of confusion . I’m not good at math and have found conversion to either system combersome . I have a measuring stick but it won’t accurate for long measurements . Harbor freight huh , boy are they gonna get a lot of business . Thanks
I just use both. If I know how to do both sides, that gives me a one up, as your friend said in house, use Imperial when working International use metric.
Yes metric is part of our life and I use it sometimes when measuring small parts but I’ll stick to imperial. I have a measuring tape that has both imperial and metric markings. 2x4,Framing is 16” on center. Somehow 406.4 mm just doesn’t cut it.
Hams use metric and imperial in totally different circumstances. If antenna lengths were a precise multiple or fraction of the band designation (e.g. "forty meters, 20 meters, 10 meters) then it would be silly to use imperial at all. But as you note a half-wave 20 meter antenna is not exactly 10 meters long. Also, we use imperial because imperial tape measures are what we have lying around the house.
To make things even more confusing: the imperial unit we use in circuit board design is the "mil" which is thousandths of an inch. Gets awkward when people also use mils to refer to millileters or millimeters.
All of the big box home improvement stores have tape measures in stock that are at least split-system. I grew up with the imperial system, but I find the metric system a lot easier to use with about everything except building a wood structure.
2:18 Americans use American standard not Imperial. Imperial is a change to the old Henry VIII units, that was brought about as a standard across the British Empire and it was long after 1776. It's pretty much the same except the fluid units which were changed under Imperial but which remained the same in America.
I am a proponent of the metric system. I recall as a design engineer developing some components in metric because I thought it would be easier. It's not as simple as 'just do it in metric.' It requires the entire conversion of a manufacturing and supply chain. I can't even imagine what it would take to convert the US construction industry. We would be dealing with legacy designs and drawings native to the imperial system basically forever.
This came just in time. I was looking at something today, and it was in cm. So I did the conversion to inches, got out my measuring tape and started to measure in inches when I saw that the tape measure had metric measurements also on it. Duh, didn't need to do any conversions.
Man I am with you. I work with fiber optics, so other end of the RF Spectrum. Everything I do all day is in metric. I understand that one generation will not embrace this and another will. Time to pull the bandaid and just get it over. Also, we landed a man on the moon in 69. So what happened June 30th 1959? NIST defined a standard inch as 25.4mm. So even our inch is based on the metric system. I think the largest push back is our mental frame of reference. If you say a foot people can see it in their minds eye, but you say a meter and they aren’t as familiar. Now if you say hey what is half of 5 3/8” those same people can’t answer, but if you say what is half of 136.5mm they at least have a chance of doing that math. We cling to these dang fractions when 90% of the people cannot use them anymore. I’m with you I converted to metric for all of my woodworking, 3d Printing, radio and fiber, I’m not looking back!
I use both systems, dependent on the Application at hand.. When following a Plan or Diagram I utilize whatever Measurement System it was developed in. Starting a project by converting all the Measurements from one system to the other is just a waste of time, though I have seen more then one person do this. Thank You, 73
It should not be an issue. When I was in 7th grade, we received a book about the Metric System. It told us that the United States would be fully metric in 5 years. I was in 7th grade in 1970.
RF Engineer here retired from an Aerospace company. I go back and forth between english/imperial and metric with little issue. NASA sent us a design note that ALL components and orbital calculations are to be in metric. Transitioning to metric from imperial is still a very expensive process in some cases. The main issue is that many of us who do machining of parts (3D printing, CNC, manual milling) tend to use machines that are quite old and are calibrated in imperial instead of metric This may also explain some resistance to going to metric for some people. Personally, I'm in metric for 3D printing and transitioning to metric if and when I get a CNC.
I'm European ham radio operator. I use metric, but considering ordering imperial measuring tape, just to make it easier given all guides and youtube videoes. converting all the time...
I was of the generation that was taught the metric system in school, because we were told "the metric system is coming! we'll switch over soon!" I developed a feel for the metric system before I ever developed a feel for the imperial system. Hell, I still do things in metric at home. I have never really understood our advocacy for the imperial system. I'd like to think it was ironic, but then people get actually mad if you express a preference for something different. But why do I find that surprising?
YES! With Imperial screws every different diameter has a different thread pitch. With metric screws there are far fewer pitches which makes measuring and machinery tooling simpler.
Hi Mike even here in England the home of the imperial weights and measures we are mostly in the metric system, food is in kg and litres, road fuel litres, engineering and construction in metric although for some bonkers reasons we still use miles and mile per hour on our roads, may be its something to do with us driving on the left side of the road :) An the important stuff in life beer is still served in pints de G0(zero)FFL
some folks won't budge a millimeter but when given an inch... they'll take a mile.....
Lol ain't that the truth!
But how many furlongs per fortnight can they travel...
@@unclemikeyplays My magic 8-ball says.... to ask again later.
My car gets 40 rods to the hogshead, and that's the way I like it!
Hahahahahahaha!!!!!
Preach it bro!
The metric system was invented by cheese eating surrender monkeys.
The best part about that line IMO is, if you convert that to mpg it's actually horrible...
@@andrewmurschel2608You can get better fuel economy if you limit your speed to 150,000 furlongs per fortnight or less like we did for the oil shortage in the ‘70s.
When I was a Kid, and I’m far from being a kid, the USA was dedicated to switching to metric. All the talk was about how are car’s speedometers, mile markers, milk, would all change…. That is exactly the time when Coke changed to metric and we got the 2 liter bottle. I was taught the metric in grade school!!!. NASA uses the metric system. Chemistry, Pharmaceuticals, Medicine, Cars for the last 30 or more years all are in metric. Heck, our freedom creating and keeping military uses the metric system… It is time to embrace the metric system!!!!
I started buying metric tape measures 30 years ago. Trying to lay out evenly spaced holes into random length is much easier using a base 10 system then one with fractions. Trying to divide 256 3/8 inches (21 feet 4 3/8 inches) by 23 in my head requires a bottle of Tylenol. Dividing 6.512 Meters by 23 is so much easier. Want to switch to the next larger or smaller measuring increment in the metric system just move the decimal place one space to the right or left. Try doing that with imperial.
Another point, the radio hobby is a electronics hobby. Everything in electronics is in metric. Tera, Giga, Mega....Micro, Nano, Pico... All metric prefixes. Everything I do in electronics all day, every day is measured in metric units. Microvolt, Gigahertz, kiloohm, picofarad, nanohenry, milliwatt.
This argument for metric makes no sense to me: how is dividing 6.512 by 23 any easier than dividing 256.375 by 23? The result of latter may be harder to find on your tape measure but this has nothing to do with metric or imperial. 6.512 is just a number, not more or less superior to any other number. Use what units make you happy and work for you.
@@smbrown Don't have to convert the fraction to decimal before doing the division. Then converting it back to a whole number and fraction afterwards to use a tape measure later since they are marked in fractions. Metric is base 10. Meters, centimeters, millimeters. Just a decimal place movement. 1 mile = 1,760 yards = 5,280 feet = 63,360 inches = I don't want to even think about fractious. What jackwagon in history thought up this stupid system anyway. I'll stick with metric. 1kM = 1000M = 100000cm = 1000000000mm = and just keep moving the decimal place for micro, nano, pico, femto, atto, zepto, yocto, ronto, etc.....
When you are doing small measuring, like bearing clearance, the inch is broken down to thousandths of an inch. So much easier than fractions.
@@shelliecarlson7015 My brother works for SKF bearing and everything done in the plant he works at is measured in micron's (10^-3 mm).
@@mikesradiorepairWell, it’s Swedish after all ;)
I live in a metric country.
Although metric system was adopted for over 150 years, up to 30 or 40 years ago, engineering material still used imperial measurements. What did we do?
Well, I have two sets of tools, my measurement tools can do both.
You don't have to convert. You need half inch, pick an inches ruler. You need 5 meters of wire, use a metric tape measure! That easy
Mike, you are absolutely right. You rant is my rant. You rule!
It makes no sense to change everything. I bought a metric tape measure long ago and it is so easy. Keep fighting the good fight my friend.
I bought a funky tape measure off eBay a while ago because it scratched two hobby itches of mine, ham radio and vintage military equipment. It’s a U.S. Army Signal Corps frequency tape measure from pre-1960, as it still uses the term “MC” (Mega Cycles) instead of MHz.
It’s a 156-foot tape measure with a few odd features. One side is marked with frequencies like “7.0MC” or “7.0MHz,” meaning if you cut an antenna at that mark, it will be a ¼ wavelength antenna resonant at 7.0 MHz, or in the 40-meter band. If you flip the tape over, it’s marked in feet, but in decimal form instead of inches, so at the 7.0MHz mark, the reverse side shows 33.4 feet, or approximately 33 feet and 5 inches, for a ¼ wavelength antenna resonant at 7.0 MHz.
Haha, it’s funny how much effort went into making the tape measure for antennas that didn’t use meters. Still, it’s a cool piece of military history.
Now listen here good sir, I measure tapes in children's toes divided by the number of 30-06 cartridges and my measurements are never wrong.
😂
lol I'll allow it!
Does it bother anyone else that most people who talk about the "imperial" system actually mean US Customary, which is different in some of its units than the British imperial system? Length units are the same, but liquid volume? Not only is the gallon completely different, the way it's subdivided is different, despite the smaller units having the same names.
And let's not even get into US survey feet. Or troy weight.
Thanks, I was about to point this out too.
“How many yards in a mile? Nobody knows “
1760
@@hjc4604 8 furlongs or 80 chains or cricket pitches.
Such a great skit!!
How many yards in a nautical mile?
@@N2YTA 6080 feet
Up to what you are comfortable using.
Soapbox: When I was sailing at 15 knots in 28 fathoms of water with my English Father-in-law he asked me how many stones I weighed. After traveling 30 furlongs I asked "What?" Your channel your rules. I bought a 25 foot metric tape measure just for antenna building. My wife stole it to use for her sewing as her patterns are in metric.
In the UK, tape measures have both metric and imperial.
i looked down here before posting the same comment,
I am from Canada, 61, and use both Metric and Imperial systems daily. No issues. Just go with the flow.
I've been working on losing weight. I've managed to lose 1.4 stone.
How many rocks is that.
The meter bands do not match the assigned frequencies. Well, 30m is pretty close. So conversion from the 20m name to the 14.2MHz length takes work, may as well do it in feet.
Then I do not need ANOTHER bit of kit and my smaller tape measures are fine.
Then again, I have been doing imperialmetric conversions in my head since the 70's.
Exactly, they’re meant to be harmonically related, that goes back to international treaty in 1929/30
That's kind of my take on it - you are already looking to a calculator of some kind anyway, and computers are really good at doing the conversions for you.
Metric tape would just be a unitasker, and a very poor one at that because most of us already have effective substitutes.
I've got a set of Triple Square Bits I bought to work on a VW I once had - those bits are also unitaskers, but then you can't exactly substitute something else for a triple square bit
If you know the frequency then the math is easier with metric. There's shortcuts to make it easier in imperial units but equivalent shortcuts exist for metric so there's no advantage to using imperial other than you personally like it. Metric isn't perfect but it very very consistent and the reduced mental load leads to many fewer mistakes.
The names of the bands are shorthanded so why would you make an antenna for a given frequency but use the name of the category as the target?
@@haxwithaxe First, velocity factor must be included. So the math load is the same. And if you use the real frequency instead of the label, then the advantage of metric goes away.
Ideally, an antenna analyzer should be used, so precise measurements are not necessary.
The metric system is very useful and convenient in Breadmaking as all the ingredients can be described in a recipe where each item is expressed as a percentage of the weight of the flour. And when 200 grams of water weighs 200 milliliters, the wetness of the dough can be expressed as a percentage of the weight of the overall bread loaf.
Also, I would much prefer weighing out all my ingredients, for ANY food preparation. So much easier than having to fiddle with all those measuring vessels. It’s so much more convenient and reproducible to weigh things out (in metric) for scaling the recipe too.
Trying to follow an american recipy outside of US is mindbogling... A cup of... What cup? How do you defie a cup? I just give up...
@@fthorup A cup is roughly 250mL
On one of my trips to Canada, I went to a store specifically to buy a metric tape measure for antenna building. It removes some of the problems of a calculation error.
I'm going to have remember that one the next walleye fishing trip I take to Ontario, "Honey, I'm going to run to the store for a new tape measure. Be right back!!" 😅😅😅
Both systems can work together. American here, moved to Chile where everything was metric. No problem, you get used to it. Then moved to UK. Guess what? Car speed is miles per hour. Weight can be kilograms or stone! People have no problem with inches or centimeters. I just watched a video from my favorite British ham in which he gave antenna lengths in feet, but said, “that’s __ for those that prefer metric, I learned in Imperial measurements, so that’s easier for me.” Use what you like, no need to get all high and mighty about your preference.
I'm comfortable....either system. My measuring devices go both ways.
Mike, I worked for a German Company for 29 years, the blueprints for the items we built were in metric, it took a little getting use too but it got easier. I downloaded a woodworking project a few months ago and the plans were in both standard and metric, I found it easier to do it in metric than standard because metric was more rounded then trying to go with something like 5-55/64. yes we were brought up on standard and not metric, but once you get to using it then it comes natural.
I’ll use both. Thank you.
I have been very similar thoughts ever since joining this hobby. I try to think in metric terms as much as possible when thinking about antennas and related things, precisely because that's what makes sense for relating antennas to the waves they're supposed to be catching!
Well said sir. Concise - unemotional - logical - accurate. No system is perfect. Metric makes the math much easier.
Is that Baofeng measurement with or without the extended battery?
Great not only do i have to know the imperial and metric systems, now i have to learn this new baofang system of measurement.
Haha!
@ 6.25, i have a similar one bought from screwfix here in England. most tape measures and steel rules are in both here.
It is why the last tape measure I bought I looked specifically for one that had both imperial and metric.
Me too!
Luis Figueiredo VE3FIG
Hi Mike! Great point on measuring antennas, metric system only simplifies and makes the process of cutting antennas so much easier and leaves no room for error. Take this example, 2.5 meters is bluntly simple: 2 meter and 50 centimetres; 250 centimetres; 2500 millimetres. Easy enough, try to do the same with imperial : 16.47 feet ; 16 feet and 5.64 inches; 16 feet 5 inches 5/8. Some times people don’t realize , for example, that 1.5 feet is 1 foot and 6 inches but 1.4 IS NOT 1 foot and 4 inches but IS 1 foot and 3 inches.
Thanks for the work on education of the ham radio community.
73 Luis
What a good video, the touch of acid of everyday reality seemed masterful to me, not so much the machine translation, but I sincerely congratulate you. 73's of YV2ESB.
Imperial is ok but when you get down to things like 1.367 feet how do you measure that?
Never thought to think about it!?! I think imperial most of the time. But, when learning Amateur Radio I just used metric for radio! I never found it to be a problem or big deal. Good points. Thanks for sharing.
When I started making HF antennas over 55 years ago , I used a very large surveyors tape. Therefore, I used the imperil system. Worked very well. Put up many end fed and dipole antennas that matched extremely well. I were or do it today, I would use a metric tape. Easier!
I’ve seen antenna plans that provide measurements in both imperial and metric. If using a tape measure with both, the wire can be measured in one and checked against the other. Salty Walt, (K4OGO), Coastal Waves & Wires, does this. I plan to with my 12 year old, to help him learn conversions.
Mike,
I live in Pueto Rico and here is really crazy
roads are marked in km but speed is in mph.
gasoline is sold in liters and milk in gallons.
and direccions (address) are given in mago trees and house colors lol
73 de KP4MI
Sounds like Canada...
I built an antenna by measuring a wire in inches and it didn't work. I started over and measured it out in meters and then it worked! But they were both the same length... weird. I guess HAM radio only works in metric.
Ok that dudes joke about"that's how we measure tape" was funny
Is that what he meant?? Lol that's pretty funny!
just FYI, recording tape speed was (and still is ?) measured in IPS - Inches per Second. I'm pretty sure that was his reference. And yes, my tape measures have both Imperial and metric.
As a Canadian I think I’m highly qualified to speak on the Imperial vs. Metric debate (jk I’m not qualified to tie my own shoes). We use and are forced to use both systems on a daily basis and in science.
And let me tell you it’s an absolute nightmare
Im currently in college for Power Engineering, so we essentially play and work with steam (too long to fully explain lol). Inches of water column, pounds of steam, foot-pounds, pound-feet, inch-pounds, pound mass, pound force, BTU’s, BTU-Hours, it’s a disaster. Thermodynamics, linear motion, moments and torque, all that stuff is hell to do in imperial.
Metric on the other hand? An absolute breeze. Newtons, meters, pascals, kilograms, joules, watts, everything just works together and math’s so nicely. I cannot fully explain how deplorable the imperial system is without getting my UA-cam account banned lol.
Love the video tho and love you silly Americans. Keep doing you and don’t let anyone tell you different 😉😂
Are Canadians Qualified to speak on anything? LOL please don't be offended it was a joke. You are so right Eric.
@ maybe snow, that’s about it 😂
@@Eric10179 There is a reason the Inuit have around 50 words for snow.
Literally 3 countries in the world use imperial. Thank you for pointing out how the metric system is superior, especially when it comes to ham radio. Thanks Mike!
Thank you for this video. I remember when I took my Technician exam, one of the questions asked something like, "Which dipole length is suitable for the 10-meter band?" The options were given in feet. My first thought was, "Why complicate a trivial question with unit conversions?" The imperial system has more units for distance and volume than the entire SI system, which only has seven base units. Favoring imperial feels like choosing a slide rule over a calculator.
They didn't want to ask a trivial question. They wanted to know if you knew how long a basic dipole was, (a 1/4 or 1/2 wave,) and could do the conversion from metric to feet, because in the real world you'd likely need to know how to do just that. It was a simple question that required a fair amount of knowledge to answer, the best kind of test question. In the amateur radio world, especially in the USA there are all sorts of ham radio projects from 50 years ago that appear in old ham magazines and ARRL handbooks that are still being built, (because electromagnetic theory doesn't change much in 50 years,) and conversions are necessary. I did all of my longwave radio antenna research in books written around 1910 to 1920 because that's when longwave antenna research was actually being done and written about, and I spent much of my time doing measurement conversions of 1 sort or another. The NIST library had all of the design information in those old books, and no one bothered to repeat it all in the next 90 years because it had all been thoroughly covered before then, and almost no one was designing new longwave antennas anymore because no one had a need for them. Everyone was writing software to help design Yagi-Udas for 10 meters on up, not 8 foot diameter top-hats or high Q loading coils with 35 pounds of copper on them for 175 kHz.
Great video Mike, Thank you for explaining this simple concept and how we in the U.S. actually use both Imperial and Metric.
I've had a 100ft tape measure from HF for over a decade. We'll, I just looked at the otherside and discovered it also has metric. Much easier now to measure my long wires
Quick story: Australia iin the 60s had rocket development, at Woomera. Under name of ELDO (European Launch Development Organisation).
Each country worked on their own rocket stage. First few rockets blew up at stage separation.
Why? One stage was imperial, other was metric. Close, but with enough difference to be fatal. So EVERYTHING went metric, to eliminate error.
Nice vent! I hope u feel better Mike. I'm with you man!
Home Depot sells a Stanley with both units. That is also very useful as a scale for conversions
I'm completely on the same page. I use the metric system when doing anything in Ham Radio and Electronics.
Got my metric tape measure at Lowes, $8. it is just 8 meters but it works for great for antennas
If I remember correctly, the legal definition of an inch in the US is 25,4mm...
Keep up your excellent work!
How many feet is that new tape measure?
from Google
1866
In 1866, the U.S. Congress authorized the use of the metric system and almost a decade later America became one of 17 original signatory nations to the Treaty of the Meter. A more modern system was approved in 1960 and is commonly known as SI or the International System of Units.
I measure things in Baofengs ;)
One Baofeng Unit equals 30 Hamm's. But Hamm's is heavy to haul home. Baofeng comes to your doorstep. Winner: Baofeng.
How many ‘fengs in a gofar?
Thank you from the metric ham community!
I’m with you. I work on German cars and I only know metric tools and measurements. The one thing I’m still not giving up is the solid inch. I’d rather say “an inch” than to say I “25.4mm”
I like my beer in "pints" which I think is possibly a "universal" measurement. 😉
I have my beer in 0.5 liter bottles. They (imperial system advocates) are stealing yours 28.824 milliliters of beer every time you drink it. Ha-ha-ha.
@@snail2171 I think your referring to a UK pint, a US pint is only 473 mL.
British pubs still serve beer in pints.
Some people like theirs in yards, which I believe takes a special technique to avoid making a fool of yourself.
@@Ropetangler Oh yes, a yard of ale.
When I first came to Europe, I used a tape measure with "feet" as the size unit. Turns out it was based on some other king's foot. A foot on that tape was only 11 inches on an imperial tape measure.
I have a KFC restaurant branded ruler that was part of some initiative they did promoting learning. It’s in inches which is fine but each inch contains markings for 5 “quarters”.
I have been a ham since '97. In all these years I have honestly never thought of using the metric system for antennas! I am a diesel mechanic by trade and use metric daily, it is far easier! Great video and great point! I will for sure be measuring my antenna builds in metric from now on!
It's interesting that while the bands are expressed in metric lengths, we still have formulas that are part of the exams for ham radio licenses that deal with feet as well (468/frequency = length in feet for half-wave antenna). Maybe there needs to be a push from the top down to get everything converted to metric in the literature and testing.
I grew up in the era that the US was 'supposed to' to metric. It is what I learned in grade school, so I was always comfortable with it. When I took my Ham exams back in the 80's, I did all the antenna wavelength calcs in metric and then converted my answers to the numbers in feet. PIA! It would be sooooo much simpler to just do it in metric all the way through.
I wondered why non-metric questions were in the tests
All the measuring tapes I own have both Imperial and metric markings. I can't remember the last time I saw one in a store that didn't. I wonder where the guy is getting his tapes?
Preach it! Says, the ham, PhD, and science teacher. Keep traditions such as football and such. Forget memorizing conversations best made by a machine. Just use and smile. 73, Bill.
As a teacher, "the foundation of all sciences is metric". This contributes to the struggles of our students as well as burdens our economy with lost time doing conversions. Wish we would change to metric.
But... but... they sell speaker wire and coax by the foot and I have a chart with all the bands middle freq half and quarter wavelengths converted to feet and inches.. why?? because 'murica.. LOL
When I make wire antennas I use in ft. Most of the web sites that I get the lengths from are in ft. If I need to convert, I google ft to mm and calculator appears. I have no idea why it is such a big deal. As for tools, today I have more metric because everything comes from China.
I've got one of those, it's in imperial and metric. I think it's 100 feet, so about 33 meters? I have a tendency to be a monster when building antennas and might start with the initial cut being imperial. But when I go to adjust it, I do the calculations in centimeters. I honestly wish the US would have adopted the metric system (and it was supposed to have swapped in the very late 1700s/early 1800s but the ship with the reference materials was lost). It's just easier to deal with. I have a hard time finding metric 7-10m tape measures locally though (I prefer to be able to pick something up if I can, rather than wait for it to be shipped), so I end up with 20-30 ft ones for framing and such. But the big caveat for me, having spent 32 years using imperial, don't really have a reference for a distance/length in metric, which is frustrating. Like ok 3 ft is about a meter (I know it's like 39.something inches or whatever). I just wish my brain would think in everything length wise in metric. Especially when building something out of wood or metal and needing to find a half measurement of something. Trying to get a precise measurement of half of something when it's 13 11/16" and my tape measure is only marked int 1/16", sucks.
I had a fantastic POTA QSO on the 75 Cubit band the other day.
By the way, Canada went metric in 1979. Yet we are still "bilingual" ((bi-measurement???). Canadians say they drive to work at 80 kms/hr on a day when the temperature is 25 degrees (Celsius). But at the gym they will dead lift 100 kilos and say to their buddy that they weigh 220 pounds and that they are 6 foot 2. They will pour a glass of milk from a one liter carton of milk, but they'll go to the pub for a pint. They'll tee off and drive the ball 250 yards, but they'll walk 100 meters towards the 19th hole for wings and beer. America can also join the weirdness.
You know when I measure tapes I use the duck system how many ducks tapes? :)
Ive been converting all my radio measurements to metric. I got that imperial/metric tape from harbor freight about a year ago. When i need 12meters for my remote tuner i just measure 12meters and done.
No rage here….you pointed out many things, being 100 percent correct AND by watching another one of your videos I am buying something (useful). Thank you for taking my money (again)
What is the formula for calculating the wire length of a half wave dipole for 14.05 mhz in meters?
I'm serious, I don't even know...
I'm not against metric at all ... but I remember 468. (shrug)
300/14.05=21.35 meters. Now that we've calculated the full wavelength, we need to divide 21.35/2 = 10.67m to get the half wave length. Then because we have two legs of the dipole we need to divide 10.67/2=5.33 meters per leg of the dipole. Of course these are rough numbers and should be a little long so you can make your final trimmings of the wire to be resonant right where you want it. There's more complicated ways to do this but this is good enough for ham work.
@@hamradiotube It's interesting that I've never read/heard (at least that I remember) using 300 for a result in meters... but then I've never searched for it either.
I'm 58 years old and learned something new today!
Just based on the speed of light
I've measured out 80m dipoles with a 12 inch ruler. Measure two feet, fold it over and double that, then double that, then doubl that etc. No need for a long tape measure.
You cleared up a lot of confusion . I’m not good at math and have found conversion to either system combersome . I have a measuring stick but it won’t accurate for long measurements . Harbor freight huh , boy are they gonna get a lot of business . Thanks
I’ll give up my imperial adjustable wrench when you pry it from my cold dead hands.
It is winter time 😂
I just use both. If I know how to do both sides, that gives me a one up, as your friend said in house, use Imperial when working International use metric.
Yes metric is part of our life and I use it sometimes when measuring small parts but I’ll stick to imperial. I have a measuring tape that has both imperial and metric markings. 2x4,Framing is 16” on center. Somehow 406.4 mm just doesn’t cut it.
Hams use metric and imperial in totally different circumstances. If antenna lengths were a precise multiple or fraction of the band designation (e.g. "forty meters, 20 meters, 10 meters) then it would be silly to use imperial at all. But as you note a half-wave 20 meter antenna is not exactly 10 meters long. Also, we use imperial because imperial tape measures are what we have lying around the house.
I agree completely. Thanks for the video.
To make things even more confusing: the imperial unit we use in circuit board design is the "mil" which is thousandths of an inch. Gets awkward when people also use mils to refer to millileters or millimeters.
Mils are used for films and tapes as well.
I agree if we had started young we would not be stumbling over ourselves to rack our brains to calculate and convert.
Mike, if you're "all in" on metric, why did you name your two new masts the POTA-20 and the POTA-33??? 😜
Great Video Bro!! Because of you I have embraced the metric system more. Especially when building antennas.
One ham at a time!
All of the big box home improvement stores have tape measures in stock that are at least split-system. I grew up with the imperial system, but I find the metric system a lot easier to use with about everything except building a wood structure.
One thing I like about your channel, with your antenna builds you remind me of silent key Kg6hqd he would make cool antennas with speaker wire.
Excellent presentation, okay you have won me over, as you made so many common sense points. Thank you as always.
2:18 Americans use American standard not Imperial. Imperial is a change to the old Henry VIII units, that was brought about as a standard across the British Empire and it was long after 1776. It's pretty much the same except the fluid units which were changed under Imperial but which remained the same in America.
The reason Americans use feet and yards is because they can relate to it.
Very good presentation! Thank you.
I also have one of those imperial/metric tape measures. Comes in handy
I am a proponent of the metric system. I recall as a design engineer developing some components in metric because I thought it would be easier. It's not as simple as 'just do it in metric.' It requires the entire conversion of a manufacturing and supply chain. I can't even imagine what it would take to convert the US construction industry. We would be dealing with legacy designs and drawings native to the imperial system basically forever.
This came just in time. I was looking at something today, and it was in cm. So I did the conversion to inches, got out my measuring tape and started to measure in inches when I saw that the tape measure had metric measurements also on it. Duh, didn't need to do any conversions.
I'm with you, Mike. Metric is super easy once you use it. Amazon has tape measures with metric and old money at the same time.
Man I am with you. I work with fiber optics, so other end of the RF Spectrum. Everything I do all day is in metric. I understand that one generation will not embrace this and another will. Time to pull the bandaid and just get it over. Also, we landed a man on the moon in 69. So what happened June 30th 1959? NIST defined a standard inch as 25.4mm. So even our inch is based on the metric system. I think the largest push back is our mental frame of reference. If you say a foot people can see it in their minds eye, but you say a meter and they aren’t as familiar. Now if you say hey what is half of 5 3/8” those same people can’t answer, but if you say what is half of 136.5mm they at least have a chance of doing that math. We cling to these dang fractions when 90% of the people cannot use them anymore. I’m with you I converted to metric for all of my woodworking, 3d Printing, radio and fiber, I’m not looking back!
2 11/16"
I use both systems, dependent on the Application at hand.. When following a Plan or Diagram I utilize whatever Measurement System it was developed in. Starting a project by converting all the Measurements from one system to the other is just a waste of time, though I have seen more then one person do this.
Thank You, 73
Look up vehicle tire sizes. Its a mix of metric and imperial. Imperial is not leaving anytime soon.
Frequency is in Metric - MEGA hertz, 1 million hertz, Picofarads, millihenries
It should not be an issue. When I was in 7th grade, we received a book about the Metric System. It told us that the United States would be fully metric in 5 years. I was in 7th grade in 1970.
RF Engineer here retired from an Aerospace company. I go back and forth between english/imperial and metric with little issue. NASA sent us a design note that ALL components and orbital calculations are to be in metric. Transitioning to metric from imperial is still a very expensive process in some cases. The main issue is that many of us who do machining of parts (3D printing, CNC, manual milling) tend to use machines that are quite old and are calibrated in imperial instead of metric This may also explain some resistance to going to metric for some people. Personally, I'm in metric for 3D printing and transitioning to metric if and when I get a CNC.
I'm European ham radio operator. I use metric, but considering ordering imperial measuring tape, just to make it easier given all guides and youtube videoes. converting all the time...
I was of the generation that was taught the metric system in school, because we were told "the metric system is coming! we'll switch over soon!" I developed a feel for the metric system before I ever developed a feel for the imperial system. Hell, I still do things in metric at home.
I have never really understood our advocacy for the imperial system. I'd like to think it was ironic, but then people get actually mad if you express a preference for something different.
But why do I find that surprising?
I can't wait to see how many people get mad at this video!
There's 437 ml's in my TBBC Reef Donkey! Which I must get back to... Next time you're in Florida, try one!
I like the metric system period. Machine screws, mm for CAD, thread pitch and antennas
YES! With Imperial screws every different diameter has a different thread pitch. With metric screws there are far fewer pitches which makes measuring and machinery tooling simpler.
Hi Mike even here in England the home of the imperial weights and measures we are mostly in the metric system, food is in kg and litres, road fuel litres, engineering and construction in metric although for some bonkers reasons we still use miles and mile per hour on our roads, may be its something to do with us driving on the left side of the road :)
An the important stuff in life beer is still served in pints
de G0(zero)FFL