Back between 1982-1988 was on the upper channels dx'ing. Had a modified President Madison and 400 watt amp. Collected up some black iron pipe and home brewed a tilt-over tower that stood 84 feet. Started out with a Wilson Y-quad and then built a full 2-ele-quad. Later put up a 5/8th (mighty magnum) wave vertical. Had a ball talking all over the world. The 11 meter band was wide open back then. Retired now. Enjoy watching your channel. :)
Brilliant. Simply brilliant. You inspire me (and others, obviously). I wish I were as young as you are. No more climbing on the roof for this old geezer. BTW, I heard you this morning on ch. 35 LSB talking with someone in Chicago, I think, but conditions weren't good for me to you. Maybe one of these days I can be honored to have a QSO with you, 151. And I really liked Barb's comments. Happy 4/20. 73 from Unit 807 -- the Old Buzzard in southern Illinois.
I hear You, It won't be many more years till I can't go up on the roof anymore too. It's kind of funny to see Me come down off the roof....I crawl on My hands and knees. Yup, I was on 35 lsb for a little while today, I wish We could have made a contact, When We do.....the honor will be Mine! Take care 807, and Happy 4/20 to You too! 73's from 151 SC.
Here in USA 🇺🇸 California USA 🇺🇸 ch 6 conditions are … intense and Competition Radio 📻? Not for my mud duck 🦆 radio 📻 or maybe 🤔 555 Bahamas CB poker ♥️ and chips fall where they may
Hey Mower Junkie - I just come along your channel and I need to say “WoW”. Back in 1973 - my wife and I had the Realistic TRC-46. I still own it. In the house we used a Yaesu 101 for CB with a Moonraker 4 on the roof. After watching your video - I’m believing you and your wife take a lot more pride in your set-up than I did with mine. It’s always a lot more rewarding when you put your own system together and get the results that you just achieved. To make your own “Beastly Antenna” and get a 1 to 1 SWR - - That’s almost impossible. “Way to go”...
Thank You so much! I spent a lot of time designing this antenna, and I couldn't be happier. it looks great, and works great too! Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
Decent build matey ! I built a 2 ele cubical quad for portable, I could assemble and take it down in about 5 mins, for 10m/11m it was bloody awesome. The boom was square thin wall aluminium, and the spreaders were old army tent poles I picked up at a surpless store. With a 1/4 wave length of 75ohm coax as a matching stub I got a 1.3 to 1 SWR at the lowest point, and it was under 2 from the bottom of 11 to the top of 10.
You've got yourself a nice little dual diversity pair of stardusters I like it kind of reminds me of the old set of IMAX antennas I put up going opposite directions about 30° up from flat had to use a pair of 75 ohm cables quarter wave long times the velocity Factor get it to work right and a couple other little deals but yeah Homebrew that's the way to go man when it works you feel 10 times better than just going out and buying something
I just completed this antenna build, I used two ss 102 whips and 4, 4ft Wilson fiberglass antennas for ground radials. It's turned out awesome, it looks like something I would have bought from a store. That's just my opinion. My swr's aren't quite as good as yours, but I've got 1.3 to 1 on channel 1, 1.2 to 1 on channel 20 and 1.1 to 1 on 40. I usually talk on 38 lsb so I'm happy with my swr readings. Love you're channel, keep bringing on the antenna builds, love em !
@Luis Perez who can afford to? They're close to $100 apiece anymore. Not worth it for a home brew antenna. You'd have $300 to $400 wrapped up in radiators and radials if you used 102's for the entire build. Compromised radials are the norm anyhow. The Sirio GPE 27 5/8 ground plane has three radials that aren't but maybe 4 or 4 feet and the Tornado 27 has slightly shortened radials. Both perform plenty fine
@@LuisPerez-xe6nu I thought about it, but it came down to money. I still want to use all ss whips to see if it will preform any better, but as it is right now I'm very happy with the antenna.
Good job. It’s great with the rotor. You can null out interference and at the same time get some gain vertically polarized . Great video as always MJ. Art NJ
What an amazing antenna, like the comment from Robert M. below, that is an *amazing* antenna, getting the resonance correct first time is simply amazing. You are a fantastic engineer, and I agree with your XYL ! This is lovely to watch.
hello mower junkie,name here is Ray,i just looked at your video,and i am pleased to see you out there spreading the good will among fellow cb"ers ....i will be sending you an email with some info in the subject line i will put the word moonrakker,so that you will know its from metake xare job well done.
This antenna looks and appears to perform great. It also has the bonus of being quite compact, which would be ideal for my small garden. I know you show the parts you used, but do you have a list of what's required so a technical incompetent like me could construct one ?. All the best from across the pond.
Love co-phased antennas, had a pair of co-phased quads up for a year, did the trick, look forward to hearing you in the skip if we ever get any "North 7" said that
So far this antenna has been great for both, Local and skip! I've talked to a few stations in Canada today, I think You should turn on Your radio. Take care North 7, 73's from 151 SC.
151 SC. 406 NC. wow man this is awesome ! I gotta build one . I built your pvc copper ground plain antenna it works great . Love the videos you put out , they’re great for people like me, low on experience and funding . LoL I really learn a lot watching your videos keep up the good work 151 73’s to you and yours 406 back on the side
That looks like a Jo Gunn antenna except that a Beam has a reflector, a driver, and a director. This doesn't. You will find that this antenna will radiate in a figure 8 pattern off of the sides of the antenna so it will get out better from the either side rather than off either end. It looks great and brings back memories when I use to play around with antennas in my back yard in the 80's. Keep up the good work. I enjoy all your videos.
Like John said this antenna should be directional in the direction the ground radials are pointing. Theoretically it should have less forward gain than the 3 element beam also the purpose of the beam is to give you forward gain eliminating or should I say reducing signals coming from the back and sides of the beam. This antenna has some gain in the direction the radials are pointing and allows you to hear signals coming from all directions it's like having a omnidirectional and directional antenna all in one. If you are building this for cb channels separation between antennas should be a quarter wave apart around 9 feet the coax for the cophased rg59 around 18 to 20 feet on each side 75ohm to achieve a 50 ohm at the radio. 73's...
I don't want to complicate things but Iam sure some are wondering or thinking about this lol. Rg59 is rather small coax there is also rg6 and rg11 coax more expensive less loss probably handle a little more power but the lenght for each side will be shorter both are 75ohm and not that hard to get it's used for cable systems and stuff like that. For low power or reasonable power stations rg59 is a no brainer already made and plug and play like they say. 73's..
Excellent! Wish you had rotated it 180° during QSO with 1963 Jamaica, so we could hear the received signal drop to below the noise as the side null is pointed at him, and then hear the peak build when it rotates to where it is again broadside to the other station. If you S-meter is linear, you can calculate the front & back to side ratio in db that way. Nicely done!
You're right, I should have rotated it. I have rotated it while talking to locals, one of them gives me a 6db signal pointed at him, and a 3db on the sides. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
From a fellow country boy, that's country boy engineering if I ever saw it! Great stuff 151. Regards to your wife. I love the way the supports you. 424 Whiskey Runner Royal, AR
Just wanted to give you an update on the co-phased antenna. First off I really like this antenna I'm so glad I stumbled across your channel. I got the swr down to less than 1.1 to 1 across the band and this thing works like a champ, I've yet to add a rotor to it, I just have it pointing NE and I've made contact to Canada, Buffalo,NY Cleveland, Ohio, the Carolinas I've even talked to operator's in North Dakota and Arizona. I hope one day to make contact with you using your co-phased antenna design, that would really make my day! Until then 73's friend and keep the antenna designs coming. 719 SE Oklahoma, operator Wally.
I know it's been a year since your post. One question- pointed NE- How do you know what side to point NE? One of the ends, one of the sides? I was thinking if the 102's were on their side it would be directional the way they are pointing with the ground planes being the backside of antenna. Are both co-actions the same length and tied to one end? Got any thoughts about this? Thanks in advance😊 FYI- I'm just south of you in Northeast Texas. About 40 miles south of the Red River. 73's Mr Wizard 101
@brainiac_brian I don't think it really matters which end is pointed in a certain direction. it's not really a true directional beam its still a ground plane but i believe it to be slightly directional To be honest, im really not that smart all I know is it just works. I love this antenna. It is better than the A99 I ran back in the 90s in my opinion . And its pretty tough, been through some 50 + mph winds and haven't had any issues. Sorry that's about the best I can answer you're question
@@MowerJunkie I've had this antenna in the air almost two yrs, it's been through a few Oklahoma thunderstorms with 50+ mph wind and still standing strong. Next days off I'm lowering it down to replace the fire stick radials with SS 102s. Wish I had bought the 102s when they were a lot cheaper, Lol. Also upgrading my coax cable and plan on adding the rotor to it. I've talked all over with this antenna, every time Im asked about my station I always give you props for the antenna design. You're pretty well known, still hoping to make contact with you, I've heard you on SSB but mother nature hasn't been cooperative for me , still gonna try that's my goal to talk to you with this antenna. Love the antenna, love your channel and antenna builds keep em coming. 73s and wishing you well. 719 SE Oklahoma operator Wally.
Wow, Pretty cool on the home Brew Beam for sure! Found your channel through cb radio ghost talk -NY202 channel. We are having a March snowstorm so i am kinda chilling near the fire and watching videos, radio has been dead for a few days now as far as skip goes!
Well John , I finally got to watch the video . I'm very impressed , and I'm just gonna say .. I'm gonna steal that design and make my own soon , I don't know when , but I will haha . Great job buddy , very good work .
They may say you are crazy but the stuff you build works better then the stuff you purchase keep doing this you should sell the design kit so others can build it at home you are the modern Heath Kit of antennas Keep up the good work I heard the Jamaican station 1963 Friday night 4 /16/2021 from NJ
great video lovely antanna its a pity over here in Ireland nobody uses am anymore.we do have a choice to use fm but only rarely used only when propgaion is in. Most use the upper band on ssb 27.555 calling channel
@@MowerJunkie thanks. I've built a lot of antennas. But the math seems to get in the way. Especially with dipoles. But this groundplane of yours really cool. Beautiful in its simplicity
Thank You. I have bought parts at metal suppliers, Yard sales, flea markets, or any place that has something I might be able to use. Thanks for watching, Take care.
John Boy Utah, Brenda’s hubbie. Nice video great antenna! Got off my bump and cause of COVID prison studied got tech and general same day, and I found out I do still love CB no radio snob’s just everyday people like sly said! At seventy four I am going to do all radio. Our brothers from the UK have some good video’s also there is a big rebound in CB in the UK because of COVID . Wish I had a CB store near SLC, Utah the way you do CHOW😎🇺🇸🎙
That's awesome, I enjoy building antennas myself, I think I'm going to try this one later this spring, 73' ..Whiskey November 115.. Yellowknife, NWT, Canada
Hey David, are you nuts? Hehehehe...I like what you doing. you enjoy what you do and have lots of fun with it. And this is what's it all about to live in peace and harmony. Good job, buddy. Happy sunday from Germany.
The spacing is not critical on this design. it will work best with 9 to 10 foot spacing. I used a factory made 18' co-phase for mine, and a barrel connector to attach it to my coax. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
Im not to knowledgable of the co-phased antennas. Question, both the 102 whips are not active at the same time are they? In meaning, you have both the coax going into a switch box. What would happen if you had a splitter connector to connect both coax and was able to run only one cable to the switch box
Well I sure hope I can get ahold of you one day to tell you great job over the radio instead of just messaging you but fantastic job on that one 145 Northwest Oregon
Does this have 4 lobes? Co phase projects perpendicular to the elements but if it works a bit like a yagi it would project front to back, I'm guessing it has 4 lobes and does a bit of both, i guess you can test that with the rotator. How about add 4 more 102" instead of those loaded sticks. I have a metal roof and thinking to try this in one direction, north if with directors along the roof apex, or east to west as co phase. If it works well with the roof as the ground plane i might be able to swivel a few 102" whips over the apex for directivity. Could be worse i guess. Another idea i had was to mount co phase on each of the 4 sides of my roof.
Really nice build here in nova scotia close to salt water and the wind off st marys bay every thing has to be tripple size ans salt proof to stand up i have a 5 band vertical in the yard its a hustler its suppose to stand qit a bit of wind but i have 4 paracord guys so far its still up good video keep em comming
I had a dual polarity Moonraker 4 at one time and was able to switch polarity using the switch box provided with the antenna. I noticed that when the skip signals would start to fade on vertical polarity I could switch to horizontal and the signal would come back up. When it would start to fade on horizontal I would go back vertical and again, the signal would come back up. As the skip signals bounce off of the atmosphere, the polarity will change. That is why it is good to have both horizontal and vertical when shooting skip. Changing back and forth while talking local will not help much. Flat side will normally work a little better for local if both party's are running flat but both stations need to be the same polarity when talking local. Being able to switch polarity on signals that are half scale or fading out is a real advantage when shooting skip. Nice job on the antenna mower junkie.
Absolutely right! I have multiple antennas setup, and I use switch boxes to switch from antenna to antenna. sometimes You need a vertical, sometimes a horizontal. and sometimes a ground plane is all You need. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
MJ, Is the reason for staggering the ground radials and positioning the whips between them due to function or strength? I was curious as to why the ground radials aren't exactly opposite each other.
The cophased harness are already made you can order them on ebay 18 feet per side it's connected to a single connector you need a double female 259 to connect the two 75ohm coax to your normal 50ohm coax to the radio. I hope it's clear enough if not I don't mind answering any other questions you might have 73's..
Looks fantastic! How did you arrive at the design? I'm interested in the calculations. I need a roof-mounted DX antenna (read 'small') that can reach Japan from east coast USA on 100 watts. Can yours do that? Also, what bands can it cover? Thanks!
For your next homebrew antenna project you might consider building a two element quad beam. Back in 1978 I had an Avanti PDL-2 Quad beam on the roof at about 35 feet that got out great! It would effectively multiply my transmit power by 16 times (4 watts would get out like 64 watts and 100w would get out like 1600w!) What's cool about a two element quad beam is: 1 - It has a shorter boom length than your phased beam in this video 2 - It's a wire antenna, rather than using aluminum elements (although, it does use an aluminum boom to space the elements) 3 - It provides the ability to switch between vertical and horizontal polarization (although, it does require two feedlines) 4 - It provides both gain in the forward direction and rejection of signals coming in from the rear of the antenna 5 - The rear element is totally passive, requiring no connection (the rear element wires are slightly longer than the driven front element) 6 - The wires are bent around the spreaders so it isn't as tall or wide as straight elements, which means it can be rotated in a smaller space A step up from the two element quad would be a three or four element quad. You may recall the legendary Moonraker 4 antennas that were popular in the 70's. They had a reflector element at the rear - like the PDL-2 - then a driven element in front of that and then two passive director elements that further narrowed the beam in front of that. And, of course, there was the big boy beam - the Moonraker 6 antennas that had a 36 foot boom and SIX elements - the reflector, the driven element, and then FOUR passive director elements! The Moonraker 6 would effectively multiply your transmit power by a whopping 50 times! Thanks, for the video!
I also had a PDL2 back in the '90s. Mine came apart and was destroyed during a microburst. The hard part of duplicating this great antenna is trying to find an economical way to fabricate the "orbital" spherical ball skeleton.
@@johnsortore4470 I had a Moonraker 4 in the late 80s that got caught in a tree and mangled the director elements pretty bad. A friend fabricated a PDL-II out of the remnants. To make the orbital elements, he bent the aluminum tubing around the trunk of another tree. Worked great.
I love the antenna! I just got a base station radio so I will be figuring out which antenna to go with. I am more interested in skip than local but would be nice to have both, if you have any suggestions for a relatively inconspicuous one let me know, I live in town so can't be too crazy looking haha.
I love how Barb supports Mower Junkie with all his projects. Behind every great man…
Love the videos. I’m just getting back into the cb world after 47 years and it brings back so many good memories.
I love it when you make homemade antennas your real inspiration for us all
Yes he is!
This is an absolute thing of beauty! Bonus points for the repurposing of the tractor seat and the "adjustment strings."
Thank You so much! 73's from 151 SC.
Back between 1982-1988 was on the upper channels dx'ing. Had a modified President Madison and 400 watt amp. Collected up some black iron pipe and home brewed a tilt-over tower that stood 84 feet. Started out with a Wilson Y-quad and then built a full 2-ele-quad. Later put up a 5/8th (mighty magnum) wave vertical. Had a ball talking all over the world. The 11 meter band was wide open back then. Retired now. Enjoy watching your channel. :)
This has been around since the 60s yet i think many have forgotten great job
Thanks Andrew, So far I am very happy with this antenna. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
Thank MJ for making these videos. I really like watching them as it seems you are making them next to your viewers.
Thank You so much! Take care, 73's from 151 SC.
Nice job.
Been playing with 102" whips in various configurations.
Ground plane is the key to success.
I agree! Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
Brilliant. Simply brilliant. You inspire me (and others, obviously). I wish I were as young as you are. No more climbing on the roof for this old geezer. BTW, I heard you this morning on ch. 35 LSB talking with someone in Chicago, I think, but conditions weren't good for me to you. Maybe one of these days I can be honored to have a QSO with you, 151. And I really liked Barb's comments. Happy 4/20. 73 from Unit 807 -- the Old Buzzard in southern Illinois.
I hear You, It won't be many more years till I can't go up on the roof anymore too. It's kind of funny to see Me come down off the roof....I crawl on My hands and knees. Yup, I was on 35 lsb for a little while today, I wish We could have made a contact, When We do.....the honor will be Mine! Take care 807, and Happy 4/20 to You too! 73's from 151 SC.
Your are the best, you certainly give us ideas on builds and so entertaining and informative in the process. Just loving the vids
Here in USA 🇺🇸 California USA 🇺🇸 ch 6 conditions are … intense and Competition Radio 📻? Not for my mud duck 🦆 radio 📻 or maybe 🤔 555 Bahamas CB poker ♥️ and chips fall where they may
When the xyl says it's absolutely gorgeous . You have already won !
Great work MJ! You are a great advocate for our hobby. Really appreciate your passion
Thanks, I appreciate that! Take care, 73's from 151 SC.
Works fantastic. Your signal is much better locally. Pretty neat looking too.
Hey Mower Junkie - I just come along your channel and I need to say “WoW”. Back in 1973 - my wife and I had the Realistic TRC-46. I still own it. In the house we used a Yaesu 101 for CB with a Moonraker 4 on the roof. After watching your video - I’m believing you and your wife take a lot more pride in your set-up than I did with mine. It’s always a lot more rewarding when you put your own system together and get the results that you just achieved. To make your own “Beastly Antenna” and get a 1 to 1 SWR - - That’s almost impossible. “Way to go”...
Thank You so much! I spent a lot of time designing this antenna, and I couldn't be happier. it looks great, and works great too! Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
Decent build matey !
I built a 2 ele cubical quad for portable, I could assemble and take it down in about 5 mins, for 10m/11m it was bloody awesome.
The boom was square thin wall aluminium, and the spreaders were old army tent poles I picked up at a surpless store.
With a 1/4 wave length of 75ohm coax as a matching stub I got a 1.3 to 1 SWR at the lowest point, and it was under 2 from the bottom of 11 to the top of 10.
You have to be one of my most favorite people to watch,thank you for everything you do
Thank You so much!
You've got yourself a nice little dual diversity pair of stardusters I like it kind of reminds me of the old set of IMAX antennas I put up going opposite directions about 30° up from flat had to use a pair of 75 ohm cables quarter wave long times the velocity Factor get it to work right and a couple other little deals but yeah Homebrew that's the way to go man when it works you feel 10 times better than just going out and buying something
What is the distance from the end of the pipe to where the radials hole is drilled? I enjoy the information that you provide.
As a former CB'r and antenna builder, i must say that was an excellent SWR you got. Greetings from sunny Jamaica.
Thanks Lawrence, I'm very happy with My new antenna. I've talked to a couple of stations in Jamaica with it. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
The best antennas I have ever used in my life were home made ,, Thanks for sharing the great information.
Phased Array works well. Reminds me of the "Twin Trucker" antenna on each rear view mirrors.
I hope that you keep both the three element yagi and the co-phased ground plane up on the roof. This way you can work both verticaly and horozontaly .
⁰
Congratulações excelente antena bons Dxs pw8gts
I just completed this antenna build, I used two ss 102 whips and 4, 4ft Wilson fiberglass antennas for ground radials. It's turned out awesome, it looks like something I would have bought from a store. That's just my opinion. My swr's aren't quite as good as yours, but I've got 1.3 to 1 on channel 1, 1.2 to 1 on channel 20 and 1.1 to 1 on 40.
I usually talk on 38 lsb so I'm happy with my swr readings. Love you're channel, keep bringing on the antenna builds, love em !
That's awesome! You're the first person to tell me they successfully made one of these antennas. Enjoy the hobby, 73's from 151 SC.
Why not using SS whips for radials?
@Luis Perez who can afford to? They're close to $100 apiece anymore. Not worth it for a home brew antenna. You'd have $300 to $400 wrapped up in radiators and radials if you used 102's for the entire build.
Compromised radials are the norm anyhow. The Sirio GPE 27 5/8 ground plane has three radials that aren't but maybe 4 or 4 feet and the Tornado 27 has slightly shortened radials. Both perform plenty fine
@@LuisPerez-xe6nu
I thought about it, but it came down to money. I still want to use all ss whips to see if it will preform any better, but as it is right now I'm very happy with the antenna.
Good job. It’s great with the rotor. You can null out interference and at the same time get some gain vertically polarized . Great video as always MJ. Art NJ
Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
What an amazing antenna, like the comment from Robert M. below, that is an *amazing* antenna, getting the resonance correct first time is simply amazing. You are a fantastic engineer, and I agree with your XYL ! This is lovely to watch.
Thank You so much. Take care, 73's from 151 SC.
hello mower junkie,name here is Ray,i just looked at your video,and i am pleased to see you out there spreading the good will among fellow cb"ers ....i will be sending you an email with some info in the subject line i will put the word moonrakker,so that you will know its from metake xare job well done.
Works great looks great keep up the good work.I really like your videos and they all work great. I’m NightOwl 137 Southern Indiana
Thank You so much. Take care 137, 73's from 151 SC.
Your not nuts, you just love the hobby, congrats on your antenna project !!
You got that right! Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
What do you think about non metallic verses metallic guy wires
The best I've seen yet. Those mobile antennas really work well when paired up. 155 N.C.Ohio
Thank You so much! Take care 155, 73's from 151 SC.
This antenna looks and appears to perform great. It also has the bonus of being quite compact, which would be ideal for my small garden. I know you show the parts you used, but do you have a list of what's required so a technical incompetent like me could construct one ?. All the best from across the pond.
Really enjoy your show I intend to build one myself thank you very much 73s 537
Hello there.. instead of using the 48" fiberglass radials would it be possible to use the 102" whips as the ground radials?
Yes, 102's would work. any 1/4 wave antenna would work as the ground plane.
@@MowerJunkie hey mower junkie thank you so much... 73's is my friend!
Absolutely brilliant John! Experimenting is a big part of the hobby for me! Take care and regards to your mrs 👍 73 176 Scotland 🏴
Take care 176, Thanks for watching 73's from 151 SC.
Love co-phased antennas, had a pair of co-phased quads up for a year, did the trick, look forward to hearing you in the skip if we ever get any "North 7" said that
So far this antenna has been great for both, Local and skip! I've talked to a few stations in Canada today, I think You should turn on Your radio. Take care North 7, 73's from 151 SC.
Fantastic job
Hey MOWER !!! good video Mr. 429 Randy is few block away from my QTH .. 429 booms all over the place, break break !
Very cool, John! Glad it's working so well for you, and can't wait until we get to talk on the radio again. :) 73s from 641
Thanks Josh! I'm looking forward to it as well. Take care 641, 73's from 151 SC.
Cool. I've always wanted to do that with two A99s.
151 SC. 406 NC. wow man this is awesome ! I gotta build one . I built your pvc copper ground plain antenna it works great . Love the videos you put out , they’re great for people like me, low on experience and funding . LoL I really learn a lot watching your videos keep up the good work 151 73’s to you and yours 406 back on the side
Thank You so much 406. I really do like hearing about others experience with the PVC ground plane antenna. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
Hey did you use a cophase harness if soo what length? Also what coax type going back to radio? 73's from the Mile High City 4-2-0 Wavin
That looks like a Jo Gunn antenna except that a Beam has a reflector, a driver, and a director. This doesn't. You will find that this antenna will radiate in a figure 8 pattern off of the sides of the antenna so it will get out better from the either side rather than off either end. It looks great and brings back memories when I use to play around with antennas in my back yard in the 80's. Keep up the good work. I enjoy all your videos.
Yup! The figure 8 radiation pattern is why I put it on a rotor. this way I can point where it needs to be. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
Awesome job as always. It was worth the wait. Very educational.
Antenna design ask my neighbors 502 Fresno California USA 🇺🇸 or 188 Sno Beast… wHo know how and CB AM cB radio 📻
Like John said this antenna should be directional in the direction the ground radials are pointing. Theoretically it should have less forward gain than the 3 element beam also the purpose of the beam is to give you forward gain eliminating or should I say reducing signals coming from the back and sides of the beam. This antenna has some gain in the direction the radials are pointing and allows you to hear signals coming from all directions it's like having a omnidirectional and directional antenna all in one. If you are building this for cb channels separation between antennas should be a quarter wave apart around 9 feet the coax for the cophased rg59 around 18 to 20 feet on each side 75ohm to achieve a 50 ohm at the radio. 73's...
I don't want to complicate things but Iam sure some are wondering or thinking about this lol. Rg59 is rather small coax there is also rg6 and rg11 coax more expensive less loss probably handle a little more power but the lenght for each side will be shorter both are 75ohm and not that hard to get it's used for cable systems and stuff like that. For low power or reasonable power stations rg59 is a no brainer already made and plug and play like they say. 73's..
Excellent! Wish you had rotated it 180° during QSO with 1963 Jamaica, so we could hear the received signal drop to below the noise as the side null is pointed at him, and then hear the peak build when it rotates to where it is again broadside to the other station. If you S-meter is linear, you can calculate the front & back to side ratio in db that way. Nicely done!
You're right, I should have rotated it. I have rotated it while talking to locals, one of them gives me a 6db signal pointed at him, and a 3db on the sides. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
You would not rotate it 180 degrees it transmits front and back theres no back rejection to this antenna
From a fellow country boy, that's country boy engineering if I ever saw it! Great stuff 151. Regards to your wife. I love the way the supports you.
424 Whiskey Runner
Royal, AR
Thanks for the great comment. Take care 424, 73's from 151 SC.
This is great Mr 151. Just wish we had conditions across the pond so I could talk to you again. . be safe my friend. 73s. Good DX. 👍
I hope so too! Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
This is impressive! I think I may just try to make one of these someday.
👍
Mower junkie. You continue to amaze the cb world. Keep it up man. Echo 148 in arkansas standing by
Thanks 148, 73's from 151 SC.
Impressive RF engineering right there sir.
That's fantastic! Great work. 73s from 993 Seattle
Thanks 993, 73's from 151 SC.
Just wanted to give you an update on the co-phased antenna. First off I really like this antenna I'm so glad I stumbled across your channel. I got the swr down to less than 1.1 to 1 across the band and this thing works like a champ, I've yet to add a rotor to it, I just have it pointing NE and I've made contact to Canada, Buffalo,NY Cleveland, Ohio, the Carolinas I've even talked to operator's in North Dakota and Arizona. I hope one day to make contact with you using your co-phased antenna design, that would really make my day! Until then 73's friend and keep the antenna designs coming.
719 SE Oklahoma, operator Wally.
Thank You so much! I'm glad the design worked for You. Take care 719, 73's from 151 SC.
I know it's been a year since your post. One question- pointed NE- How do you know what side to point NE? One of the ends, one of the sides?
I was thinking if the 102's were on their side it would be directional the way they are pointing with the ground planes being the backside of antenna.
Are both co-actions the same length and tied to one end?
Got any thoughts about this? Thanks in advance😊
FYI- I'm just south of you in Northeast Texas. About 40 miles south of the Red River.
73's Mr Wizard 101
@brainiac_brian I don't think it really matters which end is pointed in a certain direction. it's not really a true directional beam its still a ground plane but i believe it to be slightly directional To be honest, im really not that smart all I know is it just works. I love this antenna. It is better than the A99 I ran back in the 90s in my opinion . And its pretty tough, been through some 50 + mph winds and haven't had any issues. Sorry that's about the best I can answer you're question
@@MowerJunkie I've had this antenna in the air almost two yrs, it's been through a few Oklahoma thunderstorms with 50+ mph wind and still standing strong. Next days off I'm lowering it down to replace the fire stick radials with SS 102s. Wish I had bought the 102s when they were a lot cheaper, Lol. Also upgrading my coax cable and plan on adding the rotor to it. I've talked all over with this antenna, every time Im asked about my station I always give you props for the antenna design. You're pretty well known, still hoping to make contact with you, I've heard you on SSB but mother nature hasn't been cooperative for me , still gonna try that's my goal to talk to you with this antenna. Love the antenna, love your channel and antenna builds keep em coming. 73s and wishing you well.
719 SE Oklahoma operator Wally.
Awesome comparison vid! Now really curious on the radiation pattern of the co-phase. Maybe wider coverage than the Yagi?
been watching off and on for years ..i am probably going to try to build something soon ..im broke so building my own is a no brainer
Pretty cool I learn a lot from you thank you I watch all your videos keep them coming 😉
Another great video as always. Really enjoy watching your channel.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
I know I've asked 100 questions here but on your coax going to each antenna I think you said you use 75 ohm what was your total length?
a basic co-phase harness like the truckers use works great. it's made out of 2 9 foot pieces of 75 ohm coax.
Wow, Pretty cool on the home Brew Beam for sure! Found your channel through cb radio ghost talk -NY202 channel. We are having a March snowstorm so i am kinda chilling near the fire and watching videos, radio has been dead for a few days now as far as skip goes!
I'm so glad we don't have any of the evil white stuff here. stay inside where it's warm! Thanks for watching, Take care
Excellent build! Love this idea! May have to try for 10, 11, 12 & 15 meters!
73. ✌
Well John , I finally got to watch the video . I'm very impressed , and I'm just gonna say .. I'm gonna steal that design and make my own soon , I don't know when , but I will haha . Great job buddy , very good work .
Nice! and I'll bet You already have all the parts needed to make it.
Good Job 👍. I'll definitely try these kind of antennas with my old and trusted Washington radio.
That is a wonderful idea. Best of both for local and DX. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
They may say you are crazy but the stuff you build works better then the stuff you purchase keep doing this you should sell the design kit so others can build it at home you are the modern Heath Kit of antennas Keep up the good work I heard the Jamaican station 1963 Friday night 4 /16/2021 from NJ
Maybe one day, but for now, I'll give the info for free. Thanks for watching 73's from 151 SC.
great video lovely antanna its a pity over here in Ireland nobody uses am anymore.we do have a choice to use fm but only rarely used only when propgaion is in. Most use the upper band on ssb 27.555 calling channel
The performance of the antenna is amazing, 73 from 146
Thanks 146, 73's from 151 SC.
The shape reminds me of a gizmachi. I wonder how it would preform with two more elements.
Me too! a Gizmotchy was the first thing I thought of, after I put it together. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
Cool groundplane. Gonna build one tomorrow. How far exactly apart are your two verticals?
Thanks. the spacing is not critical, just don't go over 9 feet, or shorter than 6 feet. 9 feet will give you the most gain, but 6 would work too.
@@MowerJunkie thanks. I've built a lot of antennas. But the math seems to get in the way. Especially with dipoles. But this groundplane of yours really cool. Beautiful in its simplicity
Where do you get the materials to build your antennas ?
Thank You. I have bought parts at metal suppliers, Yard sales, flea markets, or any place that has something I might be able to use.
Thanks for watching, Take care.
Las antenas son de acero, no tienes problemas con descargas electricas?
what is the distance in inches between your 2 whips
96" spacing between the whips.
@@MowerJunkie I've read in the ARRL handbook a .2 spacing (87") is supposed to be the point of highest gain & best Front to Back.
Will 10 aug. Copper wire be a acceptable replacement for the radials you used ? At 108" . Thanks...
Nice build john ... beautiful results...
Thanks 👍 73's from 151 SC.
John Boy Utah, Brenda’s hubbie. Nice video great antenna! Got off my bump and cause of COVID prison studied got tech and general same day, and I found out I do still love CB no radio snob’s just everyday people like sly said! At seventy four I am going to do all radio. Our brothers from the UK have some good video’s also there is a big rebound in CB in the UK because of COVID . Wish I had a CB store near SLC, Utah the way you do CHOW😎🇺🇸🎙
I'd ask you to take a ride to Sumter and Cheraw to check out some houses for me, but you're always too busy building something. lol
send Me an email. I might be able to help you. mowerjunkie@yahoo.com
That's awesome, I enjoy building antennas myself, I think I'm going to try this one later this spring, 73' ..Whiskey November 115.. Yellowknife, NWT, Canada
Sounds great! Take care 115, 73's from 151 SC.
Hey David, are you nuts? Hehehehe...I like what you doing. you enjoy what you do and have lots of fun with it. And this is what's it all about to live in peace and harmony. Good job, buddy. Happy sunday from Germany.
Happy Sunday to You too! Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
Show a video of your roof mount. From what I saw, I like it and being a one man show I need all the leverage I can get putting up an antenna.
check out this video, it shows when I built the fold over roof mount. ruclips.net/video/u4hw3ogGpjA/видео.html
Is that 9’ 4 “ perfect spacing or would 9’8” work? Also, would a 18’ co-phase harness work? Cool build and 73’s.
The spacing is not critical on this design. it will work best with 9 to 10 foot spacing. I used a factory made 18' co-phase for mine, and a barrel connector to attach it to my coax. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
Im not to knowledgable of the co-phased antennas. Question, both the 102 whips are not active at the same time are they? In meaning, you have both the coax going into a switch box. What would happen if you had a splitter connector to connect both coax and was able to run only one cable to the switch box
this antenna does not use a switch box, both antennas are active, they are coupled together with 75ohm coax.
Well I sure hope I can get ahold of you one day to tell you great job over the radio instead of just messaging you but fantastic job on that one 145 Northwest Oregon
Copy that 145, I'm looking forward to the contact with You. Thanks for watching 73's from 151 SC.
Nice antenna. You will have much fun with this one!
Thanks, it's been up for a week, and I have been having a lot of fun with it. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
How do connect your coax to your grand plane antennas?
Does this have 4 lobes? Co phase projects perpendicular to the elements but if it works a bit like a yagi it would project front to back, I'm guessing it has 4 lobes and does a bit of both, i guess you can test that with the rotator.
How about add 4 more 102" instead of those loaded sticks. I have a metal roof and thinking to try this in one direction, north if with directors along the roof apex, or east to west as co phase. If it works well with the roof as the ground plane i might be able to swivel a few 102" whips over the apex for directivity. Could be worse i guess.
Another idea i had was to mount co phase on each of the 4 sides of my roof.
Now, this is cool. Just too much fun. Thanks as always 73s from NY202
Take care NY202. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
@@MowerJunkie Side note We did catch some skip yesterday most Northern NY about 530 pm-600pm Mostly Jamaica and area. Quick and furious .. NY202
would a pool brush pipe work to make the beam.
Really nice build here in nova scotia close to salt water and the wind off st marys bay every thing has to be tripple size ans salt proof to stand up i have a 5 band vertical in the yard its a hustler its suppose to stand qit a bit of wind but i have 4 paracord guys so far its still up good video keep em comming
awesome! I hope Your antenna last for many more years! Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
I had a dual polarity Moonraker 4 at one time and was able to switch polarity using the switch box provided with the antenna. I noticed that when the skip signals would start to fade on vertical polarity I could switch to horizontal and the signal would come back up. When it would start to fade on horizontal I would go back vertical and again, the signal would come back up. As the skip signals bounce off of the atmosphere, the polarity will change. That is why it is good to have both horizontal and vertical when shooting skip. Changing back and forth while talking local will not help much. Flat side will normally work a little better for local if both party's are running flat but both stations need to be the same polarity when talking local. Being able to switch polarity on signals that are half scale or fading out is a real advantage when shooting skip. Nice job on the antenna mower junkie.
Absolutely right! I have multiple antennas setup, and I use switch boxes to switch from antenna to antenna. sometimes You need a vertical, sometimes a horizontal. and sometimes a ground plane is all You need. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
I agree with Barbara it's gorgeous and very easy to copy of guy wanted to build one, I'm all with it I'm all about your building antennas myself
Are the fiberglass antennas hooked up to coax?
I like your Realistic SSB. Nice,nice...
MJ, Is the reason for staggering the ground radials and positioning the whips between them due to function or strength? I was curious as to why the ground radials aren't exactly opposite each other.
I staggered them because they are bolted to the boom, and the bolts needed room to clear each other.
How do the two cables terminate at the radio end? Thanks for posting.
The cophased harness are already made you can order them on ebay 18 feet per side it's connected to a single connector you need a double female 259 to connect the two 75ohm coax to your normal 50ohm coax to the radio. I hope it's clear enough if not I don't mind answering any other questions you might have 73's..
You are spot on! I set it up just like You said. Thanks for watching 73's from 151 SC.
which way is the direction, off middle or side?
Are you making these antennas using electric conduit pipe. And ham sticks?
Looks fantastic! How did you arrive at the design? I'm interested in the calculations. I need a roof-mounted DX antenna (read 'small') that can reach Japan from east coast USA on 100 watts. Can yours do that? Also, what bands can it cover? Thanks!
For your next homebrew antenna project you might consider building a two element quad beam. Back in 1978 I had an Avanti PDL-2 Quad beam on the roof at about 35 feet that got out great! It would effectively multiply my transmit power by 16 times (4 watts would get out like 64 watts and 100w would get out like 1600w!) What's cool about a two element quad beam is:
1 - It has a shorter boom length than your phased beam in this video
2 - It's a wire antenna, rather than using aluminum elements (although, it does use an aluminum boom to space the elements)
3 - It provides the ability to switch between vertical and horizontal polarization (although, it does require two feedlines)
4 - It provides both gain in the forward direction and rejection of signals coming in from the rear of the antenna
5 - The rear element is totally passive, requiring no connection (the rear element wires are slightly longer than the driven front element)
6 - The wires are bent around the spreaders so it isn't as tall or wide as straight elements, which means it can be rotated in a smaller space
A step up from the two element quad would be a three or four element quad. You may recall the legendary Moonraker 4 antennas that were popular in the 70's. They had a reflector element at the rear - like the PDL-2 - then a driven element in front of that and then two passive director elements that further narrowed the beam in front of that. And, of course, there was the big boy beam - the Moonraker 6 antennas that had a 36 foot boom and SIX elements - the reflector, the driven element, and then FOUR passive director elements! The Moonraker 6 would effectively multiply your transmit power by a whopping 50 times!
Thanks, for the video!
I also had a PDL2 back in the '90s. Mine came apart and was destroyed during a microburst. The hard part of duplicating this great antenna is trying to find an economical way to fabricate the "orbital" spherical ball skeleton.
@@johnsortore4470 I had a Moonraker 4 in the late 80s that got caught in a tree and mangled the director elements pretty bad. A friend fabricated a PDL-II out of the remnants. To make the orbital elements, he bent the aluminum tubing around the trunk of another tree. Worked great.
@@mstover2809 I've tried to bend some but they always kink.
With the new technology of 3D printing, someone should start making the PDL2 hubs.
I love the antenna! I just got a base station radio so I will be figuring out which antenna to go with. I am more interested in skip than local but would be nice to have both, if you have any suggestions for a relatively inconspicuous one let me know, I live in town so can't be too crazy looking haha.
I think You should build one of these, and let Your neighbors think Your crazy....Like Mine do! Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
Do the 4. radials need to be the same brand of antenna? Can I use different 4 footers for the radials?
Any 1/4 wave antenna of the same design, will work fine.
So what was the 4 foot whips for ?
Can the ground plane be stainless steel too? Or does this have to have fibreglass whips?
as long as they are 1/4 wave whips, They will work. I used the fiberglass because that's what I had. Take care, Thanks for watching.