The Jet: A Homemade PVC Pipe Window Mount for a Dipole Antenna

[davidrfeeney]

THE JET: A Homemade PVC Pipe Mount for a CB Dipole Antenna

New CBer here. Bucks County PA 19047 outside Philadelphia, PA. Set up a UNIDEN 980SSB as a base station in my home with a RADIOWAVZ DOUBLE BAZOOKA dipole antenna.

The Plan:

1) The RADIOWAVZ DOUBLE BAZOOKA will be attached to my homemade PVC PIPE MOUNT (aka The Jet).

2) My homemade PVC PIPE MOUNT (aka The Jet) will be mounted outdoors, through a 3rd floor window, through a wooden 2 x 6 with a custom-cut hole sized for the lower T section of the Jet.

3) If all components work according to plan, the RADIOWAVZ DOUBLE BAZOOKA dipole antenna will be securely mounted outdoors, through the 3rd floor window (at the highest point in my home), in a vertical orientation.

4) As a bonus, I should be able to rotate The Jet mount (and antenna) from vertical to horizontal from inside the home, at will.

Of course, if I can't make it work, I'll have the satisfaction of having built it myself!

Then I'll order an ANTRON A-99 vertical antenna like I probably should have from the beginning.

THE JET PVC Pipe Mount Photos:

https://imgur.com/NJrjAJU

https://imgur.com/JRMW8a3

https://imgur.com/EUM4pEr

https://imgur.com/qkytmBk

My First CB Base Station: https://imgur.com/XZwkHZN

RADIOWAVZ CB Double Bazooka Dipole Antenna CB 11 M DOUBLE BAZOOKA

 

[MisterLongwire]

I understand you have the knack to fix and do things, however, for me, time is often of the essence, so I would just get a good/decent CB base antenna and be done with it. If you are retired, all the power to you. Anyways, once you get your real base station CB antenna up, enjoy it and then on the side start playing around and possibly get your :antenna farm" going. You might want to keep all your "adventures" on 1 thread though, as I see you have started a few. Just my 2 cents

 

[davidrfeeney]

I understand you have the knack to fix and do things, however, for me, time is often of the essence, so I would just get a good/decent CB base antenna and be done with it. If you are retired, all the power to you. Anyways, once you get your real base station CB antenna up, enjoy it and then on the side start playing around and possibly get your :antenna farm" going. You might want to keep all your "adventures" on 1 thread though, as I see you have started a few. Just my 2 cents

Thanks for your "comment".

We have a very different perspective about the value of time. I value the time of making things myself, the rewards of which are evident to me, at least.

The Jet is real enough for me.

I'll take your feedback about multiple threads to heart, though you are the only commenter here who has mentioned it.

For the most part, I've found commenters here to be supportive and friendly. "For the most part", that is.

Thanks for your "feedback". I guess.

David

 

[SteveC0625]

If you don't want other points of view, don't post it in a public forum.

 

[davidrfeeney]

If you don't want other points of view, don't post it in a public forum.

I'm sorry, where did I say I didn't want other points of view?

Sounds like people aren't comfortable reading my point of view, TBH.

PS: Thanks for your point of view! LOL

 

[wyShack]

Most CB is vertically polarized. For local work a dipole should be vertical. The cross polarization 'loss' is around 25 dB at CB frequencies. Some antennas in the past (like the old 'Moon Rakers') had switchable polarity and at least on SSB you could actually 'share' a channel with one contact vertical and the other horizontal. Other than that, I agree that some of the fun is in doing it yourself.

 

[davidrfeeney]

Most CB is vertically polarized. For local work a dipole should be vertical. The cross polarization 'loss' is around 25 dB at CB frequencies. Some antennas in the past (like the old 'Moon Rakers') had switchable polarity and at least on SSB you could actually 'share' a channel with one contact vertical and the other horizontal. Other than that, I agree that some of the fun is in doing it yourself.

Yeah, the Jet will be mounted through the 3rd floor window, outdoors, vertically.

If the setup works, I will be able to turn the antenna from vertical to horizontal orientation from inside, through the window. I've been told that horizontal orientation is better for long distance TX? Anyway, it will be nice to be able to experiment easily.

Thanks for your point of view!

David

 

[prcguy]

Horizontal may have worse skip performance than vertical depending on height. The two basic advantages of horizontal is less man made noise pickup and the ability to turn the antenna and null out interference. In some cases horizontal may work better for skip, sometimes not.

If you dedicate the antenna to vertical and get it above surrounding objects it should work fine for local and skip. At 1/2 wavelength above ground and multiples of 1/2 wavelength the radiation pattern of both a vertical and horizontal antenna will hug closer to the ground, which is better for local and skip, since skip at CB frequencies is usually in the 1,000mi plus range and you want a low glancing angle off the ionosphere for that.
prcguy

Yeah, the Jet will be mounted through the 3rd floor window, outdoors, vertically.

If the setup works, I will be able to turn the antenna from vertical to horizontal orientation from inside, through the window. I've been told that horizontal orientation is better for long distance TX? Anyway, it will be nice to be able to experiment easily.

Thanks for your point of view!

David

 

[davidrfeeney]

Horizontal may have worse skip performance than vertical depending on height. The two basic advantages of horizontal is less man made noise pickup and the ability to turn the antenna and null out interference. In some cases horizontal may work better for skip, sometimes not.

If you dedicate the antenna to vertical and get it above surrounding objects it should work fine for local and skip. At 1/2 wavelength above ground and multiples of 1/2 wavelength the radiation pattern of both a vertical and horizontal antenna will hug closer to the ground, which is better for local and skip, since skip at CB frequencies is usually in the 1,000mi plus range and you want a low glancing angle off the ionosphere for that.
prcguy

Great info, thank you!

The height would be out of a 3rd floor window, so I am guessing 30+ feet off the ground.

However, it would be only about 3 feet extending outward from the house, in vertical orientation.

We'll see how it all works. If it sucks, I'll buy an ANTRON 99 vertical antenna like I probably should have from the start.

David

 

[kc8kek]

Cool setup, have fun with it. I have a 980 at my base (no amplifier, unmodified) and I work all up and down the east coast on a pretty regular basis. Building antennas is half the fun, so go for it, experiment, and enjoy the hobby. Talking across the country on an antenna you made yourself is more rewarding.

You might want to Google "choke balun" and think about doing that if you get interference in your shack from RF on the feedline, though at low power it might not be a problem - just a thought.

 

[davidrfeeney]

Cool setup, have fun with it. I have a 980 at my base (no amplifier, unmodified) and I work all up and down the east coast on a pretty regular basis. Building antennas is half the fun, so go for it, experiment, and enjoy the hobby. Talking across the country on an antenna you made yourself is more rewarding.

You might want to Google "choke balun" and think about doing that if you get interference in your shack from RF on the feedline, though at low power it might not be a problem - just a thought.

Yeah, thanks! I am researching THE UGLY BALUN right now... I have leftover PVC and coax... And I think I am getting RF...

Sent from my SM-T713 using Tapatalk

 

[prcguy]

If the match on your antenna is really good then you probably don't have a problem with RF on the coax. Adding a 1:1 choke balun can reduce potential noise traveling up the coax from computers and stuff inside the house. It can also isolate the antenna from the coax and make the radiation pattern more text book depending on metal objects nearby. You may not even notice any change or improvement by adding one.

The "ugly balun" should be renamed "useless balun" because at best they are not very effective. If you really think you gotta have a choke balun, do yourself a favor and make one using ferrite. A 61 mix ferrite is great for making 1:1 choke baluns for the CB range but a 43 or 52 mix will work fine.

A 2.4" dia ferrite toroid is a good size to wind with RG-58 or RG-8X and 8 turns on an FT-240-61 core or 9 turns on a FT-240-43 or FT-240-52 core will give the peak choking impedance on CB. An FT-240-43 core is about $9 to $10 and the other mixes mabye a dollar more.
prcguy

Yeah, thanks! I am researching THE UGLY BALUN right now... I have leftover PVC and coax... And I think I am getting RF...

Sent from my SM-T713 using Tapatalk

 

[davidrfeeney]

If the match on your antenna is really good then you probably don't have a problem with RF on the coax. Adding a 1:1 choke balun can reduce potential noise traveling up the coax from computers and stuff inside the house. It can also isolate the antenna from the coax and make the radiation pattern more text book depending on metal objects nearby. You may not even notice any change or improvement by adding one.

The "ugly balun" should be renamed "useless balun" because at best they are not very effective. If you really think you gotta have a choke balun, do yourself a favor and make one using ferrite. A 61 mix ferrite is great for making 1:1 choke baluns for the CB range but a 43 or 52 mix will work fine.

A 2.4" dia ferrite toroid is a good size to wind with RG-58 or RG-8X and 8 turns on an FT-240-61 core or 9 turns on a FT-240-43 or FT-240-52 core will give the peak choking impedance on CB. An FT-240-43 core is about $9 to $10 and the other mixes mabye a dollar more.
prcguy

OK, very helpful, thank you!

I am taking cues from the following as well: How to Make a Balun or Unun: 3 Steps

FYI, this is the RADIOWAVZ Dipole Antenna I am using: RADIOWAVZ AMATEUR RADIO ANTENNAS

David

 

[GadgetGeek]

It's fun building antennas.

I recommend an Imax 2000.

 

[lmrtek]

I made the wise decision 40 years ago not to waste my precious time trying to re invent the wheel
......
I leave that to hams ; )

 

[MisterLongwire]

I made the wise decision 40 years ago not to waste my precious time trying to re invent the wheel
......
I leave that to hams ; )

and I say....

AMEN TO THAT...just buy an antenna and get on the air.....

 

[Retroradio]

Good luck with the project. The dipoles and double bazookas I have built for 11 meters have always performed well and I actually foung them to be superlative performers horizontaly as intended. Vertical I run a " real" antenna.

There is great satisfaction in running something you build.