Antenna placement

[FPR1981]

These dipoles are cheap and work well, except for the fact they're advertised as 1/2 wave and they're around 12 feet per side. They require significant trimming. I ended up ditching the factory wire and using dual-stranded 18 gauge lamp cord. It performed much better.

Workman BS-1 Indoor CB Dipole Antenna FASTEST SHIPPING | eBay

Workman BS-1 Indoor CB Dipole Antenna. s 9 ( 426. ).

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[FPR1981]

OK, how much of this thing needs to be exposed above the roofline?

Robert

36 feet begins the sweet spot for any base station antenna for 11 meters. Mine is about 37 feet at the radials and up another 17 from there.

 

[rcraig114]

Oh wow. Yeah, that's not happening. Between the wind and Karen, 36 feet in the air will never fly.

Robert

 

[FPR1981]

Oh wow. Yeah, that's not happening. Between the wind and Karen, 36 feet in the air will never fly.

Robert

Do you live in a homeowner's association, or just have a landlord or a neighbor who is a butthole?

 

[jonwienke]

OK, how much of this thing needs to be exposed above the roofline?

All of it. Just like any antenna. Mounting below obstacles will detune the antenna, and waste more of your signal power heating trees and roofing components and so on. The horizontal grouind plane elements should at least be at the same height as the peak of the roof. But higher is always better.

 

[rcraig114]

HOA, gotta love it. And it just so happens that Karen is on the board and drives around a lot.

Robert

 

[FPR1981]

HOA, gotta love it. And it just so happens that Karen is on the board and drives around a lot.

Robert

I'd almost just do it anyhow and wait to see if you get a letter. If you get a letter, take it down.

 

[rcraig114]

I'd almost just do it anyhow and wait to see if you get a letter. If you get a letter, take it down.

Tempting, lol.

Robert

 

[FPR1981]

Do it at a time when you're least likely to be observed doing it, and do it with the least amount of disruption. Plan it out, then execute. Then just lay low and see. You know the worst thing they're going to do as initial action is send a letter. If you get the letter, then you take it down and just do a dipole.

 

[rcraig114]

Yeah, agreed. I'm still doing a dipole in the attic, but I want to experiment. Plus, just getting away with something right under Karens nose is entertaining (hence why the 6 foot whip is painted black).

Robert

 

[prcguy]

That's not their best performing, its a 23ft long 5/8 shortened down to about 19ft tall like the old Radio Shack 5/8. The longer versions with a lot of little ground radials are their better performers like the 827, 2008 and 2016 with the 827 probably having a slight advantage. I've installed a 2016 for a friend and its a well made antenna and should survive high winds just fine.

This is the Sirio that you want:

Amazon.com

 

[FPR1981]

That's not their best performing, its a 23ft long 5/8 shortened down to about 19ft tall like the old Radio Shack 5/8. The longer versions with a lot of little ground radials are their better performers like the 827, 2008 and 2016 with the 827 probably having a slight advantage. I've installed a 2016 for a friend and its a well made antenna and should survive high winds just fine.

For $95 bucks shipped, it's damn close.

Myself and four others have purchased this antenna within the last year. Not a single one of us is unhappy. I regularly talk to people that live nearly an hour away from me, in both directions.

I've not found a Sirio yet that is a rip off, or that sucks. I think their dipole is ridiculously expensive at $120, but no one complains about its performance.

 

[MindenJoe]

I made a 1/2 wave dipole out of 12 gauge electrical wire stretched and attached to string trimmer line. I attached it under the roof eaves. I started with around 9 feet on each side and trimmed down the wire till I had a low SWR reading. Make sure you trim each side equally. You should end up with around 8.56 feet on each side. I was surprised how low I was able to get the SWR with a homemade antenna. Like you, I don't want a big antenna on my roof. I've tested it with my car and have been able to get out 5-8 miles. I've been plotting points on a map to look at the pattern. I'm constructed another dipole and I'm going to mount it in between trees. I'm more interested in skip which a half dipole is great for.

 

[prcguy]

If your going for price the Sirio copy of the Starduster is cheaper and has the same rated gain as your GPE 27. I would rather spend a little more and get a bigger signal.

For $95 bucks shipped, it's damn close.

Myself and four others have purchased this antenna within the last year. Not a single one of us is unhappy. I regularly talk to people that live nearly an hour away from me, in both directions.

I've not found a Sirio yet that is a rip off, or that sucks. I think their dipole is ridiculously expensive at $120, but no one complains about its performance.

For $95 bucks shipped, it's damn close.

Myself and four others have purchased this antenna within the last year. Not a single one of us is unhappy. I regularly talk to people that live nearly an hour away from me, in both directions.

I've not found a Sirio yet that is a rip off, or that sucks. I think their dipole is ridiculously expensive at $120, but no one complains about its performance.

 

[WB9YBM]

That's a very broad statement.

Yeah, it was meant to be; I probably would've gotten more specific if the information given on the antenna was also more specific!

 

[WB9YBM]

OK, how much of this thing needs to be exposed above the roofline?

Robert

As far as possible. The higher the antenna, the better it can "see" over the ground clutter (vehicles, buildings, etc.) and also it can see farther over the horizon (for the long-haul stuff).

 

[FPR1981]

I made a 1/2 wave dipole out of 12 gauge electrical wire stretched and attached to string trimmer line. I attached it under the roof eaves. I started with around 9 feet on each side and trimmed down the wire till I had a low SWR reading. Make sure you trim each side equally. You should end up with around 8.56 feet on each side. I was surprised how low I was able to get the SWR with a homemade antenna. Like you, I don't want a big antenna on my roof. I've tested it with my car and have been able to get out 5-8 miles. I've been plotting points on a map to look at the pattern. I'm constructed another dipole and I'm going to mount it in between trees. I'm more interested in skip which a half dipole is great for.

I use dual strand 18 gauge copper lamp cord, so with insulation and extra wire, it actually measures at optimal SWR levels at just above the 8 foot mark per side.

This is my step son's dipole, which I need to tighten up, but it talks 10 to 15 miles with ease. It's made of lamp cord from the local hardware store and RG58 coax.

Also, if you add wire terminals to the end, it lengthens the antenna and has the impact on SWR equivalent to adding about an inch of wire back on both sides, so always account for not only insulation, but terminals, and build according to what a reliable meter tells you.

SWR is 1.1 on channel 1 and 1.2 on channel 40.

 

[MindenJoe]

Before I built my dipole, I had my two foot magnetic mount antenna mounted on 4 connected metal real-estate metal signs as the ground plane on top of my fiberglass RV. The SWR was not as low as my dipole, but I once made contact 23 miles away with a trucker on top of a nearby mountain pass. Experiment with different setups and see what works for you.

 

[FPR1981]

Before I built my dipole, I had my two foot magnetic mount antenna mounted on 4 connected metal real-estate metal signs as the ground plane on top of my fiberglass RV. The SWR was not as low as my dipole, but I once made contact 23 miles away with a trucker on top of a nearby mountain pass. Experiment with different setups and see what works for you.

Speaking of height, in the coming weeks I will be doing a height experiment on my YouTube channel. We will do some ground to elevated antenna communications, and then we'll send a radio operator up a 180-foot exterior tower with a handheld CB, checking signal at the ground and at different elevations on the way up. It should be fun. Still plotting it right now.

 

[slowmover]

Speaking of height, in the coming weeks I will be doing a height experiment on my YouTube channel. We will do some ground to elevated antenna communications, and then we'll send a radio operator up a 180-foot exterior tower with a handheld CB, checking signal at the ground and at different elevations on the way up. It should be fun. Still plotting it right now.

Looking forward to it.

If an saying can be worked in, thanks:

Full wavelength from building
Full wavelength above ground.

.