Falcon 11 Meter CB Half Wave Base Station Transmitting Ham Radio Antenna

[k9rzz]

Well thank you very much, now all I have to do is find some RG-58 U coax cable, it seems all I have is RG-59 U. So can I just make my antenna out of the speaker wire soldering the coaxial cable directly to the speaker wire? Well congrats on someone buying it, I just don't like to mess with Paypal, ha ha. But I was wondering also if I have to have two wires running in opposite directions like your did, or unless I can just use one wire all the way down from my coax? Like one straight line.

Feeding a wire from the end with coax will not work. It has to be from the center of a half wave.

 

[instrumentphilip]

Ohhhh ok thank you. I understand what you were saying then. So I will solder the two speaker wires that are in the same insulator together, solder that to some RG-58 Coax. And then split the speaker wire down the middle and hang them up in opposite directions. What do you think about that other guy that said that RG-59 U instead of RG-58 U would be ok?

I really appreciate all of your help with this, I am new to all of this radio stuff and really interested in learning.

 

[k9rzz]

Dude, don't be afraid to do some reading on your own!

Yes, RG-59 will work just fine and yes, you've got to feed the 'dipole' from the center.

Do you have a meter to check the SWR?

 

[instrumentphilip]

Ha yeah I have done some reading on this in the past, but I do need to follow up on some more reading in making this. There is just so much stuff, that I don't know. And I have a SWR Meter built in on my Regency DR-230 radio.

 

[JayMojave]

Hello jackj: Sorry you took my advice as trying to snow anyone. But its good technical advice and it works very well.

Have a nice day.

Jay in the Mojave

I really admire these people who try to snow you with how much they know.

I can't speak for how well made the antenna is but it should preform very well given just a few 'ifs'. If the antenna is cut for the frequency(s) you will use, meaning that the SWR or reflected power is low. If the coax is quality stuff, at least 95% shielded and low loss. This looks like a center-fed, 1/2 wave dipole. It will be slightly directional toward it's broadsides, if you put the antenna up running north-south then it will be directional to the east-west with a gradual fall off in signal strength to a null off the ends. It has 3 db of gain over a 1/4 wave, end fed antenna.

A Balun is a device used to match an BALanced load to an UNbalanced feed-line, or the reverse. Hence the name BALUN. Technically Jay is right but I have used 1/2 wave center fed antennas for years without a balum and I've never had a problem. Back in the days when I was an active ham, I worked all over the USofA and Canada on 40 and 75 meters using dipole antennas without baluns. They work well.

If you have moderate mechanical skill, you could probably make one for less money. You'll need about 20 feet of #14 or #12 wire, 3 insulators of some sort and enough coax to reach between your transmitter and the center of your antenna. You should be able to get everything you'll need at Radio Shack (at least they used to carry what you will need).

 

[James_Bond_007]

Hello everybody I am thinking about purchasing a "Falcon 11 Meter CB Half Wave Base Station Transmitting Ham Radio Antenna" from the Falcon website, I am looking for antenna made for stealth. Something that I can put in my attic that will work better then throwing my magnetic mount cb antenna out the window on a little 1 foot by 1 foot piece of metal to try and ground it, since I belive it uses the ground plane of your cars metal body when you put it on your car.

Here is a link to the page

Falcon 11 Meter CB Half Wave Base Station Transmitting Ham Radio Antenna - #1 Falcon Antenna

I was wondering if this antenna will work , and what are the ups and downs to using it. I read these threads on "Radiorefernce" all the time and I know how helpful you guys are here.

I am just looking for someone to give me some more information or reviews about this kind of antenna.

Thanks,

Phil

try a full wave loop antenna.

A Full Wave Loop Antenna

 

[instrumentphilip]

Okay I got the speaker wire, and a small length of RG 58 with a soldered on pl-259 connector on one side. Now I am just curious how I go about connecting the two separate wires that are roughly 8 and a half feet long to the RG - 58 core of the cable going to my rig. Is it as simple as soldering the two speaker wires running in opposite directions to the coax?

 

[k9rzz]

One wire to the center, other wire to the braid.

 

[instrumentphilip]

I split the speaker wire that had the transmit and recieve wires in it under the insulator, made sure they were sparated and soldered the two along with my coaxial cable all wire together. the two separate speaker wires are going in separate directions. I wish I had enough speaker wire to make a whole wave.

 

[k9rzz]

Well, if you find more wire, give it a try. How does this one work for 'ya?

I was listening today and heard a couple guys from California on Channel 9. Good signals too. Nothing on 27,555khz or on 10 meters at all.

 

[instrumentphilip]

Well I am giving it a try and each wire is cut to 8 ft and 7.2 inches and I have it strung up but I am getting a really high SWR. I mean 8.6 ft is 8 feet and 7.2 inches and I have it cut that way but I don't know why it is giving me such a high SWR.

 

[k9rzz]

Okay, now the fun begins! (and people say it's so easy to build a dipole)

What SWR are you getting? 2:1? 5:1? 10:1?

Is it worse on the higher channels or lower channels?

If the SWR is lower down around channel 1, then the wire is too long.
If the SWR is lower up at channel 40, then it's too short.

Also, make sure the wire is away from other metal and double check your connections.

With 50 ohm coax, you should be able to get it down to about 1.4:1 on some channel.

 

[instrumentphilip]

Well on all channels the SWR is in the red, which I know is bad. It reads over three which is what my Regency CR-230 little meter goes up to. I think it is something like 4 for the SWR, 4 for RF power, and like 9 for signal. I mean it is just the needle and the three of those lined up on the background. My CB only goes up to 23 channels. I am wondering if it (Wires) is too short.

And yeah ha ha, everything is soldered together, I am testing it out inside my house, because it is still raining outside. But I am pretty sure it has to do something with the length of the wire right?

And thanks again for being such a big help.

 

[k9rzz]

Okay, measure the wire length again, make sure you've got it right.

Re-check your connections again, make sure those are good including the coax connector to the radio.

Look at the meter real close, see if you can see any difference in the SWR between channels 1 and 23. If the SWR meter is just pegged (too high) then I'd guess the antenna is too close to something that's affecting the SWR. Move the antenna to someplace different, see what kind of SWR you can get.

 

[instrumentphilip]

Okay I will give it a try moving it somewhere else tomorrow. I am thinking though that I might have to re solder some more speaker wire back on it and keep cutting small amounts of wire until I can get some good SWR going on, I just do not have a soldering iron at my disposal this weekend.

I'll let you know how it goes when I move it, maybe tomorrow it will stop raining.

 

[n5ims]

One other suggestion to help rule out stuff in the attic affecting things. Temporarily move the antenna outside and using some rope (or even string if you don't have any rope) tie the ends to a tree, fence, or house so it's pretty level and check the SWR. If it's OK there, the issue is with stuff in the attic. If not then check the antenna assembly to make sure everything's right.

A few things to check are (this list isn't complete):
* Recheck your measurements (two or three times, just to be sure is often the rule - measure twice, cut once).
* Soldering to coax can at times melt the center insulation and cause SWR issues if too much heat was used.
* Are the solder joints good (smooth and shiny is generally good, rough and dull is generally bad).
* Are both sides of the antenna the same length?
* . . .

 

[jackj]

N5ims has hit on your problem I think. A couple of observations. High SWR can result from incorrect antenna length but an SWR of over 3:1 usually means something other than a slightly long or short antenna. Use an ohm meter and check to see if you have a short between the center conductor and shield (it should be open). If you don't have an ohm meter, then try to borrow one from a friend or neighbor.

Stuff, even stuff that is non-conductive, near the antenna can upset the tuning of the antenna. Take it out of doors and hang it at least 1/4 wave length above the ground and check the SWR. If it is okay, then you have a choice of finding a place for it out doors or not being able to use it.

Remember that roof shingles are held on to the roof with either nails or staples. Both nails and staples are metallic and will affect the antenna.

 

[instrumentphilip]

Well I am going to solder on some more speaker wire when I get back to my house maybe tomorrow. If that does not do anything I will ask somebody I know for that meter, or ask him to take a loot at it, maybe if I threw up a picture on here that would help out, I could do that.

 

[k9rzz]

We like pictures!

I've got an MFJ antenna analyzer ... one of the best investments I've ever made.