You wouldn't believe me if I said this, but I'm her grandson, my grandad and Grandma loved radio, and grandad was great with making antenna so he showed my grandma how to make them filmed it (our family loves photography so we have alot of cameras) and he posted it onto RUclips on his RUclips channel as he wanted her to be the face of it
I just happen to have some old 11 meter antennas from the old days; I'll make this for my. 817 nd for two and 6 meters. Sometime you come across a gem of a project and I think this one is a fine jewel. Thanks for you time and effort
Excellent instructional video, Margaret. I have made many of those over the last 50 years or so exactly the same way. These days I usually use dual wall heatshrink as it has the inner layer of glue in it. 73....Eric VK2VE.
I have been looking on how to build a 5/8th wave properly, particularly the coil specs at the bottom. Great instructions here that make things very easy. Thank you. 73 VK3TVZ.
Hi Margaret, thanks for this video, and well done! A newly-licensed friend has built one of these antennas per your instructions, and reports improved performance on his car compared to his 1/4 wave whip antenna. I remember you from Brisbane North Radio Club (BNRC) in the early-to-mid 1980s - I was licensed as VK4VLE then VK4BMD, and known at the Club as "Mike 4". 73, Mike VK2IG.
My 33 years of exposure to radio and antennas has left me with the idea that placing the coil at the bottom to be not as good as putting it at least half way up the length of the antenna so that ground losses are minimized. Also going from a solid copper conductor (the coil) to the braided radiating part may not be as good as just continuing with the solid wire. Another good thing to do is to finish the top of the antenna with an adjustable tip. So instead of searching for all these parts, just get 5 feet long FireStick CB antenna, remove the wire from it and then you have the right base, fiberglass rod, and adjustable tip ready to go, just add your own coil and radiating section(s), this way you save time that you can use for experimenting.
A coil at the middle of the antenna is common to dual band antennas, where the antenna is resonant at the lower (144MHz) frequency but the higher frequency can't pass the coil because of the higher inductance, and instead the bottom part of the antenna is resonant. Such antennas often also have a coil at the bottom, compensating for the non dipole-ness of the antenna.
Thanks for the video. I built a 5/8 antenna per your design and it seems to work great. Much better than the 1/4 wave that I had been using. A fair bit bigger though :) Mine is the full 1.4 metres long, and tests good on 2M, as well as 6M, and somewhat OK on 70cm.
Been a Ham radio operator for 50 + yrs, learned lots of communication knowledge', all bands, all modes, simi retired now, only have 2 meter gear for local repeaters, vy 73's, de AA4FT NC
She was great and new what she was talking about,they are right we need more girls in the hobby ,hope she has other videos to learn from ,thanks for your video.
Hello Margaret Thankyou for the video, please publish more. As hams we should be sharing more and RUclips a great medium to do so. I try to do that with my channel
Got a bunch of old CB mobile fiberglass antennas laying around and will try you antenna out with one of them. Thanks for such a wonderful vid. KC4RAF, 73s.
Its better built than the crappy commercial Marine Radio antenna that I bought for two quid at a boat jumble! (the makers had used a springy phosphor bronze loading coil that was supposed to use its springiness to hold all the connections together without needing solder, FAIL! ) I would however recommend using Fluid Film Rope & Chain Lubricant (based on Lanolin) or varnish to stop the braid going green with verdigris. Of course in Australia it doesn't rain very often and there isn't the 90% humidity and salt spray that is so common here. Well done!
Brilliant and it looks the part, Im new to amatuer radio and finding all these homemade antennas on line that cost next to nothing cant wait to try them all
Very cool antenna project! Wish I had seen this video years ago back in 2003 when I was first getting into amateur radio as I could have made me and my friends some very cheap 5/8 mobile antennas. 73 -VA3AWP
Ciao Mam, sono rimasto affascinato dalla tua semplice, quanto meravigliosa realizzazione!!!! Grande....! :-) Hi Mam, I'm "home-brewer" in HF antennas: I'm fascinated by how wonderful your simple realization!!!! You are great....! :-) Among other things, I observed your hands: I think "hands-lived" a lifetime. You have all my respect!! I saw the video today, August 21, 2013, for the first time.... Vy 73 de IZ2JQE - Lello
Try soldering 15 cm of braid to ant. base then 11 turns of wire then 33 cm of braid then another 11 turns of wire then 20 and a half cm of braid then another 11 turns of wire then 28 and a half cm of braid.
Great design except with its size and apparent stiffness, you better watch out for obstacles! Id love to see a similar design with much smaller diameter rod so that you could survive accidental trees and drive through's! XD
How did you calculate all the lengths & diameter of the wire? If one we're to make an antenna for 11 meters, would one multiply everything by 5.5? That would make for one seriously awkward antenna!! Does anyone have any ideas or formulae? Thanks & 73, Norman.
The antenna is made to be used with a mobile mount (either permanent or mag-mount) on the vehicle. When connected to your radio, the braid of the coax will connect to the vehicle chassis (ground) which forms the ground plane. The center of the coax will connect to the base of the antenna. I have made similar antennas using fibre glass rod with wire, coax braid or copper foil as the conductive element. I can report they work just fine! Using UV resistant heatshrink is a good idea.
Hi Miss margaret. I need a antenna for 6 meters only for reception (no transmition)¿witch is the long of the antenna and the coil turns? (sorry for my horrible grammatic english) thank you.
Hi im new in the business, i have bought a cb radio, The antenna uses a coax cable to connect with the radio unit, you soldered only one conducter, what about the ground? thanks Well Done eeee
I wish all instructional videos were this good. Very informative, easy to understand and to the point. Awesome video.
Thank you!
I wish she made videos, shes amazing! The world needs more women like her.
I hold a Ham Study Group and guess what they are gonna watch this Tuesday...
Definitely agree.
You wouldn't believe me if I said this, but I'm her grandson, my grandad and Grandma loved radio, and grandad was great with making antenna so he showed my grandma how to make them filmed it (our family loves photography so we have alot of cameras) and he posted it onto RUclips on his RUclips channel as he wanted her to be the face of it
I just happen to have some old 11 meter antennas from the old days; I'll make this for my. 817 nd for two and 6 meters. Sometime you come across a gem of a project and I think this one is a fine jewel. Thanks for you time and effort
Excellent instructional video, Margaret. I have made many of those over the last 50 years or so exactly the same way. These days I usually use dual wall heatshrink as it has the inner layer of glue in it. 73....Eric VK2VE.
Building antennas has got to be my favorite part of amateur radio! Awesome video!!! 73
I made this recently not for my car but for a stealth home antenna, works very well and very impressed with the results thanks 73.
I have been looking on how to build a 5/8th wave properly, particularly the coil specs at the bottom. Great instructions here that make things very easy. Thank you. 73
VK3TVZ.
What a great instruction video
Straight to the point and simple and easy explained and shown
Hope you can make more videos like this
still watching this year 2019... my greetings from philippines
Me too hehehe DW3ZXC Subic Phil
Delighted to say it's being watched in 2020 too!
Happy New Year to all.
This is wonderful! You do a great job explaining this fabrication. Thank you very much for sharing!!
Hi Margaret, thanks for this video, and well done! A newly-licensed friend has built one of these antennas per your instructions, and reports improved performance on his car compared to his 1/4 wave whip antenna.
I remember you from Brisbane North Radio Club (BNRC) in the early-to-mid 1980s - I was licensed as VK4VLE then VK4BMD, and known at the Club as "Mike 4". 73, Mike VK2IG.
My 33 years of exposure to radio and antennas has left me with the idea that placing the coil at the bottom to be not as good as putting it at least half way up the length of the antenna so that ground losses are minimized. Also going from a solid copper conductor (the coil) to the braided radiating part may not be as good as just continuing with the solid wire. Another good thing to do is to finish the top of the antenna with an adjustable tip. So instead of searching for all these parts, just get 5 feet long FireStick CB antenna, remove the wire from it and then you have the right base, fiberglass rod, and adjustable tip ready to go, just add your own coil and radiating section(s), this way you save time that you can use for experimenting.
That's actually a pretty good idea...
Beats the hell out of my "5/8 collinear mounted to Prius" idea.
Cheers and 73.
A coil at the middle of the antenna is common to dual band antennas, where the antenna is resonant at the lower (144MHz) frequency but the higher frequency can't pass the coil because of the higher inductance, and instead the bottom part of the antenna is resonant. Such antennas often also have a coil at the bottom, compensating for the non dipole-ness of the antenna.
para mi no hay como la slim jim
She wanted to get more bandwidth i guess with the braid.
Fantastic. Well explained, simple to build, works perfectly. Thanks, Mark VK3PDG
You are absolutely adorable and capable. A dangerous combo. :) Thank you Margaret!
Thanks for the video. I built a 5/8 antenna per your design and it seems to work great.
Much better than the 1/4 wave that I had been using. A fair bit bigger though :)
Mine is the full 1.4 metres long, and tests good on 2M, as well as 6M, and somewhat OK on 70cm.
EXCELLENT! I love DIY; brings the meaning back to Amateur/HAM radio! This is what it is all about!!
Been a Ham radio operator for 50 + yrs, learned lots of communication knowledge', all bands, all modes, simi retired now, only have 2 meter gear for local repeaters, vy 73's, de AA4FT NC
Great instructional. I'm sure many will enjoy these good performing antennas
I don't know how one could dislike this video :(
Thank you Milady for this great video.
i made mine , using copper brain from old coax cable , its works a treat ,thanks Margette, i love you
Explicación sencilla y práctica, muchas gracias.
Nice presentation, thank you from Czech Republic ;)
Amazing... Madame... You got talent soldering.... Explaining... Better this young kids... Keep posting....thank you for share... Cheers
You are an absolute dear! Thanks miss.
i made my own base antenna from this (i added 4 radials to the bottom and a BNC connector) it was good outside for 3years before i took it down.
She was great and new what she was talking about,they are right we need more girls in the hobby ,hope she has other videos to learn from ,thanks for your video.
One of the best antenna videos I've seen, thank you!
Great Job Margareth .. respect and salute 🙏
Hello Margaret
Thankyou for the video, please publish more.
As hams we should be sharing more and RUclips a great medium to do so.
I try to do that with my channel
great, easy to follow video. well done! Thank you !
Got a bunch of old CB mobile fiberglass antennas laying around and will try you antenna out with one of them. Thanks for such a wonderful vid. KC4RAF, 73s.
Its better built than the crappy commercial Marine Radio antenna that I bought for two quid at a boat jumble! (the makers had used a springy phosphor bronze loading coil that was supposed to use its springiness to hold all the connections together without needing solder, FAIL! ) I would however recommend using Fluid Film Rope & Chain Lubricant (based on Lanolin) or varnish to stop the braid going green with verdigris. Of course in Australia it doesn't rain very often and there isn't the 90% humidity and salt spray that is so common here. Well done!
Brilliant and it looks the part, Im new to amatuer radio and finding all these homemade antennas on line that cost next to nothing cant wait to try them all
Excellent explanation and demonstration video! Thanks.
Well done from England 73's xx
Nice presentation, thank you from ROMANIA
Very good idea and easy to make, Thank you Madam from India.
Good idea. Using cable shielding for radiator.
Very cool antenna project! Wish I had seen this video years ago back in 2003 when I was first getting into amateur radio as I could have made me and my friends some very cheap 5/8 mobile antennas. 73 -VA3AWP
Very useful and simple way of DIY!!!!
Thank you .
Thanks for your time in doing this , I am going to do this soon . Thank you
should be a good swr for 477Mhz as well because it is a fairly wide band antenna as well.
Great Job Margaret. 73's from the states!
excellent video... thank you from the Uk
Ciao Mam,
sono rimasto affascinato dalla tua semplice, quanto meravigliosa realizzazione!!!! Grande....! :-)
Hi Mam,
I'm "home-brewer" in HF antennas: I'm fascinated by how wonderful your simple realization!!!! You are great....! :-)
Among other things, I observed your hands: I think "hands-lived" a lifetime. You have all my respect!!
I saw the video today, August 21, 2013, for the first time....
Vy 73 de IZ2JQE - Lello
Thank you and a big hello from Brighton UK. 73’s M6KII
Xx
Great video! I'll have to give this a try once i get my licence.
I don’t understand why the ground plane and main element are soldered together. Which is the ground plane the coax ground or the wire at bottom?
Still a great video, thanks!
Thank you for this. I am just getting into ham radio so this is going to be a project for myself!!! Thank you!!!!
Try soldering 15 cm of braid to ant. base then 11 turns of wire then 33 cm of braid then another 11 turns of wire then 20 and a half cm of braid then another 11 turns of wire then 28 and a half cm of braid.
That was a lovely video.
My left ear absolutely LOVED this video.
Very good video. I will make an antenna like this. I will just have to decide how I want to mount it to the car.
Buena idea y muy buen trabajo. 73 de LU1XDP.
Nice and simple antenna .Thanks for posting mam .
Where do you get the fiber glass rod and the base from?
Margaret: Great project, wonderfully explained! Wouldn't be surprised if you were a teacher sometime in the past! Don, N6CD
She was planning on becoming a piano teacher, I don't know why she gave up on that dream, if your wondering how I know I'm her grandson
A very useful video. Thank you.
Thank you for this easy instruction video! 73's from germany
Wonderful Finish
Бабушка молодец..
Very well done indeed :) 73 from USA...
nice thank you for showing me how to make one
Great design except with its size and apparent stiffness, you better watch out for obstacles! Id love to see a similar design with much smaller diameter rod so that you could survive accidental trees and drive through's! XD
Thanks for your video demonstration.
Nice work. :)
Congratulations to you!
Nice DIY antena..signing in from Malaysia
How did you calculate all the lengths & diameter of the wire?
If one we're to make an
antenna for 11 meters, would one
multiply everything by 5.5? That
would make for one seriously
awkward antenna!! Does anyone
have any ideas or formulae?
Thanks & 73, Norman.
please make more videos VK4MH!
enjoyed this video.
Nice video. Very well explained.
Excellent job and great design, will have to try that one! Thanks for the excellent Video.
73 from England.
de 2E0HTS Simon
Why coax shielding and not coated wire all the way up?
That was fantastic thank you for sharing that.
Great presentation - explained well!
It only has one pole...where does the centre and braid of the co-ax feed attach?
The antenna is made to be used with a mobile mount (either permanent or mag-mount) on the vehicle. When connected to your radio, the braid of the coax will connect to the vehicle chassis (ground) which forms the ground plane. The center of the coax will connect to the base of the antenna. I have made similar antennas using fibre glass rod with wire, coax braid or copper foil as the conductive element. I can report they work just fine! Using UV resistant heatshrink is a good idea.
Congrats for the tutorial vk4jgh, nice selection for mobile working on 2 meter band !!!....73, I´am yv2ejs, from venezuela.
This is a great video. Anyone know where you can get an "Mobile Antenna Base"? Part number and supplier would be useful. Thanks.
great video, explained in detail, thanks :)
Nice presentation Margaret! 73
Congratulations from PW8RC, best regards, 73!
Lovely! I know what i will be building next weekend !
Perfect tutorial
Hi Miss margaret. I need a antenna for 6 meters only for reception (no transmition)¿witch is the long of the antenna and the coil turns? (sorry for my horrible grammatic english) thank you.
Also works well on 6m. SWR about 1.4;1. Cheers, VK2FP
Very Nice Video and so Sweet. Thanks!
Thanks dear Margeth ... I'l have fun to copy your antena. Thanks for be here! Good luck, 73 and 88's from DK6DX/EA3ANC
Thank you!
That looks like some fine work!
Thanks Margaret. Yoy are cool!
Great presentation Margaret. Thank you!
Tim - N3EKG
Granny, you rock!!
Thank you verymuch recommended.i will try to see it from heve. from e27cmt chonburi thailand.
Excellent job.
Thx VK4MH, enjoyed your video how to, question, what lengths (fiberglass rod, enameled wire etc)would I need to make 1.25m, 440 MHz?
Cual es el metodo para calcular esa bobina????.., necesito calcular una,para 118 / 135 MHZ.....TKS!!!
Awesome thanks 🙂👍
Hi im new in the business, i have bought a cb radio, The antenna uses a coax cable to connect with the radio unit, you soldered only one conducter, what about the ground?
thanks
Well Done eeee
thanks great job and great video
thanks and very nicely presented
Thanks for that you did a great job !