Ringo Ranger - cut to 800 - possible??

Status
Not open for further replies.

phask

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
3,670
Location
KZZV - SE Ohio
I have a Ringo Ranger that has set for 10 years indoors doing nothing. I know I can cut it for VHF (150-155) si I can certainly use it for that. But does anyone know if I can cut for 800? (770 - 850). I need something for 800 and what is out there is either $$$$ or just a ground plane.
 

ka3jjz

Wiki Admin Emeritus
Joined
Jul 22, 2002
Messages
25,361
Location
Bowie, Md.
You're kidding, right? You could build an 800 Mhz Yagi rather easily; plans abound on the net for this, including the formulae you need for the length and distances for the director and reflectors. Even the off center fed dipole in our wiki would outperform a recut Ringo Ranger, which I kinda doubt would be worth the effort.

Any good amateur radio antenna handbook would have the plans and formulae for a yagi. If you are looking to hear a specific tower or need to hear a system that's a bit far away, this is the way to go.

Mike
 

phask

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
3,670
Location
KZZV - SE Ohio
Not kidding - no need for a Yagi -I have around 6 sites that I'd like to get. Short of a 60 foot tower and a simple dipole, or multi-coupling 6 Yagis together :) I was willing to give it a try.

Actually I've built 10 or more 2 meter Yagis primarily for fox hunting - even have a couple Cushcraft 2 - meter ones stored away.

If I could I'd get one of those Ebay yagis , tower and rotor - just don't have the real estate or the tower climbing ability I used to.

Just looking to gain a few DB and attic mount. Like I said I know I can cut if for 155m but I only have 2 FD freqs. worth monitoring.


- De - N8PFF

You're kidding, right? You could build an 800 Mhz Yagi rather easily; plans abound on the net for this, including the formulae you need for the length and distances for the director and reflectors. Even the off center fed dipole in our wiki would outperform a recut Ringo Ranger, which I kinda doubt would be worth the effort.

Any good amateur radio antenna handbook would have the plans and formulae for a yagi. If you are looking to hear a specific tower or need to hear a system that's a bit far away, this is the way to go.

Mike
 

mmckenna

I ♥ Ø
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
23,617
Location
Hiding in a coffee shop.
Ringo's are usually half wave or co-linear half waves stacked. half wave at 800MHz is going to be about 6 inches long.

The issues you'll run into is the matching "hairpin" in the center probably isn't going to work well since it's designed for VHF.
The impedance coil at the base is too big for 800MHz.

It'd be much easier to build a 1/4 wave ground plane out of an old connector and some copper wire. Get it up as high as you can.

Or, if you've got a bit of a budget, shop around for a used 800MHz vertical. I've found them cheap in various places. Lots of used ones on the market.
 

phask

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
3,670
Location
KZZV - SE Ohio
About what I figured.

1/4 dipole just doesn't cut it - did some experimenting last year comparing 1/4 wave diy, Diamond Discone and a ST-2- all with the same feedline. All were about the same. I have a pretty decent extendable I also connect to an HP1 (or) 2 and using the extreme tools it will show a graph of signal strengths. I think some of my discone issues were feedline. It was some RG8 that was getting old.

All were actually pretty close.

Plan is get everything off the roof - attic mount SOMETHING for 800 even if it's a ground plane. Use Lm400 or similar and be done with it.

Know of any DIY one could build with any gain? Seems that I did one for 2meter at one time - but I sure am not current on antenna building.



Ringo's are usually half wave or co-linear half waves stacked. half wave at 800MHz is going to be about 6 inches long.

The issues you'll run into is the matching "hairpin" in the center probably isn't going to work well since it's designed for VHF.
The impedance coil at the base is too big for 800MHz.

It'd be much easier to build a 1/4 wave ground plane out of an old connector and some copper wire. Get it up as high as you can.

Or, if you've got a bit of a budget, shop around for a used 800MHz vertical. I've found them cheap in various places. Lots of used ones on the market.
 

mmckenna

I ♥ Ø
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
23,617
Location
Hiding in a coffee shop.
Both quarter wave ground plane antennas and discones will have 0dB gain, so yeah, they should be equal. The difference is the radiation pattern when transmitting.

Check into a coaxial colinear antenna. You can solder one up using old coaxial cable. They'll give you some gain. Not hard to build at all and well suited for life inside an attic.
 

K5MPH

Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2003
Messages
1,622
Location
Brownsville Texas,On The Border By The Sea.
About what I figured.

1/4 dipole just doesn't cut it - did some experimenting last year comparing 1/4 wave diy, Diamond Discone and a ST-2- all with the same feedline. All were about the same. I have a pretty decent extendable I also connect to an HP1 (or) 2 and using the extreme tools it will show a graph of signal strengths. I think some of my discone issues were feedline. It was some RG8 that was getting old.

All were actually pretty close.

Plan is get everything off the roof - attic mount SOMETHING for 800 even if it's a ground plane. Use Lm400 or similar and be done with it.

Know of any DIY one could build with any gain? Seems that I did one for 2meter at one time - but I sure am not current on antenna building.
The Ringo is not going to be any different than the Discone or the ST-2 antenna .......
 

phask

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
3,670
Location
KZZV - SE Ohio
Like that idea - I can build a 4 or more "element" and test it - then double check my height limit and max out. Being inside no need to even place into PV - though I might just to protect it.

We put up a commercial one of these or something similar several years ago for our club 2 meter repeater. Never saw the insides, but did see the old one and it was awful similar - if I knew the term I'd long ago forgotten.

Both quarter wave ground plane antennas and discones will have 0dB gain, so yeah, they should be equal. The difference is the radiation pattern when transmitting.

Check into a coaxial colinear antenna. You can solder one up using old coaxial cable. They'll give you some gain. Not hard to build at all and well suited for life inside an attic.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top