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antenna upgrade questions

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lonlywolf65

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Just curious, did you get one of the hamstick type brackets or did you roll something of your own to tie the two sticks together?
Tie 2 sticks together..??? Was actually gonna do a post tonight... Did a lil research.and found there is a bit more gain if our use electrical pvc..
. ?? 1 do I need to ground a pvc mast...
?? Any advice about mounting a mast to the side of a home... No eave.. just a couple inches of shingle overhang
I am guessing I'll use a 10 ft section of PVC... ..
I can roll.with a good idea easy...
Thanks.. Dave
 

KANE4109

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Deer Park, TX
Tie 2 sticks together..??? Was actually gonna do a post tonight... Did a lil research.and found there is a bit more gain if our use electrical pvc..
. ?? 1 do I need to ground a pvc mast...
?? Any advice about mounting a mast to the side of a home... No eave.. just a couple inches of shingle overhang
I am guessing I'll use a 10 ft section of PVC... ..
I can roll.with a good idea easy...
Thanks.. Dave
I should have been more clear.....
If you built it out of two Firesticks.... each one of them has the 3/8"x24 mount on one end.
To make a dipole out of two of them.... you have to thread them into something such that one of the two Firesticks is the center lead and the other is ground/the braid.

Here is a photo of the commercial one I am talking about ... an MFJ-347 Hamstick/Dipole Mount Kit

the main bracket has a common pipe-clamp type mount. Then, where the antennas mount.....
the closest one to the front has an SO-239 on this side and a 3/8" x 24 socket on the back side. The SO-239 grounds to the plate it is mounted on and towards the back is another 3/8" x 24 socket facing the opposite direction. So the idea is, screw in two matching Firesticks for the band you want, screw in the coax, clamp it on to a pole and put it in the air...and you have a very quick horizontal dipole. A little more work I am betting you could make it vertical.

2A0Q635.jpg
 

mmckenna

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Tie 2 sticks together..??? Was actually gonna do a post tonight... Did a lil research.and found there is a bit more gain if our use electrical pvc..
. ?? 1 do I need to ground a pvc mast...

Not sure what you mean by more gain from PVC pipe. Having a metal mast in close proximity to the radiating element of the antenna will impact it's performance, but you can deal with that. PVC pipe as an antenna support can be problematic as it will flex a lot.

And you can't/don't need to ground PVC pipe. It's an insulator, so it won't work. You should be grounding the coaxial cable shield where it enters the home. They make lightning suppressors that will handle this. As for the actual grounding, that's a complex procedure that involves the National Electric Code.


?? Any advice about mounting a mast to the side of a home... No eave.. just a couple inches of shingle overhang
I am guessing I'll use a 10 ft section of PVC... ..
I can roll.with a good idea easy...
Thanks.. Dave

They make stand off brackets that were often designed to support small TV antennas. They'll lag bolt into the siding and support a small mast. I'd not recommend PVC pipe as the mast material though.

Other option is to use some short lengths of Unistrut with some suitable size pipe clamps. You can pick that up at Home Depot… I've done that on small antenna mounts before.
If you are going to put up a full size base antenna, you do want to put some thought into your antenna support. Last thing you need is a gust of wind taking it all down, or worse, landing on power lines.
 

lonlywolf65

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Feb 4, 2020
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Well folks I went with the M400 starduster... took some work and a few changes of underwear, Had to cut an overhanging branch, but got it up and installed and grounded...
My SWR is nice and low 1.1 -1.2.. however havent found and local groups to talk to yet... that will be another thread..
I want to thank you all for putting up with my newbieness.. ..

Now to figure out what channel the locals are using.... Thanks again to all!!
 

WB9YBM

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mobile antennas are at best a compromise: their designers are balancing performance versus a length practical for mobile use. A full-sized dipole would probably be the best balance between cost and performance. Ham radio stores sell (as a kit) everything needed for dipoles--possibly you could buy one for the 10M ham band and just cut it a bit longer for CB.
 
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