Hello, just wanted to say, I'm just a broke redneck and can't afford the high fangled cb base antennas. I set this antenna up exactly as you described and I love it. SWR's are flat as a truck pressed pheasant. Thankyou for this video!!!!!!
I built a much simpler 102" whip dipole last year. I have a flat roof wood patio cover on the back of my house, which I converted into a storage shed. The roof has 2x4 wooden fascia, completely level, not at an angle. I took half of a mirror mount bracket, drilled 4 holes through the 2x4, ran 4 long bolts through the 4 holes in the half of the mirror mount bracket that the antenna attaches to, all the way through the 2x4, and then though the back half of the mirror mount bracket, which I put on the other side of the 2x4, and put nuts and lock washers on it. I installed a 102" whip with a 4" spring on the outside part of the bracket, and connected a 106" piece of 8 gauge wire to one of the bracket mount bolts, and ran it horizontally along the edge of the roof. So half the dipole (the whip) was vertical, the other half (the wire) was horizontal. I did some trimming on the end of the wire to tune it. I tuned it toward the upper end of the 11 meter band. I got the SWR on channel 40 so low that the needle didn't even move. That was with a 4 watt dead key. Then I connected up my homemade 100 watt tube amp, and the SWR was still well below 1.5. I'm in the southwest U.S., and I made a lot of contacts in Australia, New Zealand, a few in Hawaii, and several other places in the South Pacific on 38 LSB. And that was with almost half of the vertical element lower than the highest point of my pitched roof.
I just finished a similar setup with my 102" whip antenna with a couple 102" wires attached at the bottom two bolts on the mount and angled outward and downward at about 45 degrees. The antenna is temporarily attached to a 16 ft pole and the SWR is at 1.3 on ch# 40 and ch# 1. Before I added the wires the SWR was at 5.8. That's an amazing difference. Great video mower junkie. Now I'm looking to get er up in the air another 20 ft higher to see how well it works.
3/2023: Very cool. I have always loved the simple 102" whip. No coils, no compromise, just a good, affordable, sturdy, long antenna. I wondered recently, what about using it for a base station antenna? Glad that I found you. Your 2 wire ground plane appears to do the job flawlessly. Thanks. Love this post.
Hey there! Following your video, I built something very similar to yours using stuff I had laying around. The antenna is a 4' fibreglass 1/4 wave mobile antenna, but other than that, it's basically identical. I mounted it on the end of my shop roof similar to yours. The SWR is very good across all 40 channels, about 1.2 to 1.4 give or take. The problem I keep running into is the massive noise floor - I have to turn the squelch 3/4 of the way to the right or more to cut it out. It's showing 3/4 bars on the little readout on the radio. I already investigated by hooking the setup to a 12v car battery to eliminate the power supply and/or shop wiring as the problem. I also mounted the antenna on my house about 25 to 30 feet away from the shop in case the metal roof of the shop was the issue - apparently not. Interestingly the SWR on the house is not quite as good, and the noise is basically unchanged. I hooked the CB radio back up to the magnet mount in my wife's van (where it came from) and the noise dropped to almost nothing even parked in the driveway in front of the house, so it seems it's not likely an environmental source like a transmitter in the area. Any hints for me what might be causing all the static?
I used a 102" stainless steel whip as the antenna for a radio setup I put on a mountain bike back in the early 2000s. I mounted the antenna to the end of the rear bike rack using a homemade mirror mount type mount I made from aluminum angle iron with a heavy duty stud mount. I used a Power Wheels 12 volt 12mAh sealed lead acid battery which was mounted to the rear bike rack with a custom made hold down mount. Coax was RG-8X. The radio I used was a Galaxy mobile mounted to the handle bars using a custom mount I made from more aluminum angle iron and a heavy duty cb radio mount to hold the radio. The radio handlebar mount was fastened to the handlebars using stainless steel u-bolts and wing nuts for easy removal. I either rode around or rode to the local park and sat on a bench and talked to most of my locals with in a 10 to 15 mile radius easily. I also shot skip with the setup while sitting in a local cemetary. That was the closest place at the time that was flat and had a wide open area. Some of the people I talked to while shooting skip couldn't believe it when I told them I was talking to them with a radio set up on a bike.
I've been running 102" whips for over fifty years, base and mobil. I ran co-phazed 102" whips for many years on the rear bumper, that was a little directional though, but if I was talking to someone in the direction I was headed, they were going to hear me over anybody else.
Great video! A 1/4 wave groundplane with 42 degree radials is my favorite antenna because it requires no special matching to the feedline or the transmitter if the feedline and transmitter are both 50 ohms. SWR may be slightly off with the new antenna due to using 45 degree plus the stainless steel whip instead of copper wiring which your other video helped me learn from :) (Thank you again!). Few things about the previous antenna: 1) The previous antenna you were using generally has a impedance characteristic in the 68-75 ohm range depending on height above ground and other variables. If you assume 72 ohms, then 72/50=1.44 which is close to the SWR you measured on the previous antenna. This would result in a small loss and reduction of efficiency. 2) A completely vertical dipole has a pattern is aimed straight towards the horizon which creates loss as well. If your area is anything like where I live here in TN...I would just be shooting all my RF into the side of a hill with a dipole antenna LOL. 3) The dipole is a balanced antenna. Coax is an unbalanced feedline. While it's possible to get away without using one, a balun would be the proper solution to match the balanced dipole antenna to the unbalanced feedline. Otherwise the outer shield of the coax can possibly radiate RF whenever there's not a perfect balance and create loss. The groundplane does not require a balun as it's an unbalanced antenna, so it matches up with unbalanced coax in that respect.
Thanks for the comment. It sounds like You have done as much antenna research as I have. I agree with You about the Ground plane antennas...There're My favorite too.
I mounted a 102” whip right at the peak of the two 2x6 eve boards; and then ran a piece of some 4 gauge copper wire down each of the eve boards stretched tight and fastening the ends to a wood screw. I found the angle to be almost perfect and I painted the wires to match the eve boards so all you really see is the whip antenna. I get about 1.2 SWR on ch1 and 1.4 on ch40
That's awesome 151 , simple and easy , yet very effective . Hopefully I can't contact you on the air in the future . I heard you a couple weeks ago but couldn't get through . Be safe , enjoy , hope to see you on the next Farm Family live chat !
I have a tram and a102 antenna, tram on garage and 102 on truck, I have another 102 I'm wanting to put on the house when the weather gets better, your blessed to have been given the lot of radios, thanks for your videos have a happy new year sun devil 192 out from Southern Utah
I'm using a magnet mount on my house right now until I can get my Antron 99 up I don't have a metal roof either I took a 2.5 by 2.5 foot sheet of 11ga steel and set the antenna On it 1.0-1.2 SWR and surprisingly it gets out pretty dang good can't wait to get my Antron in the air though
Followed these directions similar results … added a spring at the bottom because of my wind same 1.1 1.2 1.1 ….1 20 40 noise is also low …great reception, got stations all over with skip also Nova Scotia and England it’s great.
I built a 1/4 wave and I have a 1.1 on channel 1 and a 1.2 on channel 40 ONLY with the antenna leaned over on 2 ground radials and setting on the ground. As soon as I place it on my test pole, my SWR goes into the red. I've checked ground, I've ran a ground wire to my buried copper pipe and I cannot get the swr to come down. Take it off the test pole and lean it over on the ground, boom... perfect SWR! About to yank my hair out.
i made a antron with ground plane made out of old tv antenna.uesd 3 3foot radials mounted on 6 inch square plate .on top of 2 ,20 foot top rails from chain link fence ,3 guy wires under ground planes.worked great.
Glad the Antenna is working great for ya Mower Junkie! I commented on a previous video on the 102 setup I made pretty much like what you have here except the two radials are zip tied on dacron guy ropes below it that were already there for a beam I have below. The vertical I'm running at about 50ft up has been hearing very very well. The noise floor is higher by me on 11m 1s unit but on 10m it's zero noise level. Nothing I can do to control that since near alot of other homes. Hears so good now I'm picking up the kids playing with their RC toys in the neighborhood between ch 15 and ch 16 RC frequency. I do run a 1" coupler for a spacer between mount and antenna as its a little happier for 11M that way. Without the coupler the SWR was tolerable but slightly higher for my liking. It's super happy now on 27.385 so been running with it. Every installation is slightly different and unique because interaction with nearby metal objects and different height above ground will affect how the antenna behaves and tunes but should generally be close. As an added bonus on accident I found that 20M recieve was phenomenal on this antenna at the height I'm running it at. So well that it is actually tuned in the higher portion of 20M and receives better than a loop antenna I have that is very large for low band. If you don't mind a couple recommendations or suggestions. Instead of duct tape on the coax to mast that will get gooey in the sun if you change up your stuff later use zip ties. Simple and easy to bring small snips up and let drop to ground when up on garage. I gave up playing with tape when up on the heights. Also I hope you seal the coax connection by the mount. I prefer to use "silicone tape". It's found in the electrical department of your hardware store. I'll wrap the connector with that and then use two coats of liquid electrical tape on top of that. Sometimes I'll use coax seal as well. But having a good water tight connection. When you take everything apart later the connectors will be shiny and new and nothing to pick off as the silicone tape was acting as the protector for them. Just wanted to pass that along. Cool setup and very envious of your low noise floor! 😃. That really is a key for hearing slight openings or stretching the limits of local range. Enjoy that setup! Take care 151 from 724. 73!
Thanks for the comment SandMan724. The tape I use is a heavy duty vinyl tape that holds up well for years. I don't use zip ties on coax, because if you compress coax, You can change the impedance of the coax when the braid gets closer to the center conductor. someday I might seal up the coax connector, if I ever decide on a permanent antenna. Thanks for watching, Stay safe and 73's from 151 SC.
I'm trying to understand why the 102 inch mast length is significant when the ground wire is parallel to the mast and much longer. I'm building a similar antenna using three 102 inch whips. One is vertical like yours. Instead of ground plane wires, I have two 102 inch whips that are drooping at an angle. My thinking is this eliminates the ropes. Thanks for your help.
Nice work mate... the 1/4,wave whip always works better with radials... you have essentially built a 1/4 ground plane antenna.... great for local work up to 50miles... work fine on skip too. 73 from Australia.. us2317 here
Good job buddy. Got a tank whip here, on a Sirio mag mount on a long hand rail...cant get the Swr down for love nor money. Suburban area, need the antenna low and as covert as possible, but not easy to get that SWR down, seeing you get yours like that is awesome
Thanks Steve, if You have room below Your antenna, You could add in a 102" length of wire below the antenna. this should improve Your ground plane, and hopefully lower Your SWR. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
Make sure your coax is the right length, if the coax isn't the right length, the swr will be harder to work out with the ground elements. There are other things you could play with on the antenna, such as a floating ground.
la antena 1/4 de onda tiene un buen rendimiento dentro de los 30 km, y si le colocan 4 planos a tierra mejora aun mas, lo bueno que es barata de construir, saludos.
@@MowerJunkie "1/4 wave whip is good within 20 miles, if you add 4 ground planes (2 more) it will extend range. The best part is that it is cheap to construct." By the way Mower Junkie, love your videos. I'm waiting for some longer coax and I'm going to do the same type of set up on my wifi antenna. It already has 3 wires ( radials) as the antenna pipe support, I'm going to attach my viper mobile at the 102" height and reattach the support wires and insulate them from the roof rebar attachment points at 102" down. The fact that the wifi tube is longer than 102' may be a problem, we will see when I attach my Viper (that uses almost the identical mount as yours). Cheers from Mexico...
I'am Your Newest Subscriber Here In Florida I Love My Antron 99 Antenna I Just Got A Used Ground Plane Kit For My Antron 99 At The Hame Radio Fest 25.00 US
good idea I have a 102 whip I am thinking about doing a similar thing with I had a washington and loved it they are quite nice on the ears on the rx on ssb
@@MowerJunkie yes it works real well on my truck I have one on that in fact thats what I have been using for a base antenna for the last year and a half I got 75 feet of lmr 400 run out to the truck when I am home 73s kp244 north central maine
@mower junkie I got a Antron mounted 15ft over the house on stock power I got a old Royce ssb radio talked skip a little while ago on 38lsb to Florida from Louisiana I’ll be listening for ya 365 south Louisiana 73s to ya
I used to have a friend that had an 102inch whip outside his pool up in a tree, my friend is now a silent Key, but for 20 years he could get stations, his SWR, were 1.5-1.7, his father est station was Tokyo Japan, when he passed, I have his qsl card, from 27,385, question, 27,385, appears, to be ruined by an operator who does? And says 1 one1111 , and makes it hard to hear conversations, thank you for all that you do. What would you recommend for an HOA?
Literally doing the same ALMOST exact thing. Mast pipe is copper. I have x4 stainless steal electric fence radials 108’. Steel whip has a riser. Biggest issue right now is the noise level but I’m near power lines also.
As always late to the party. I'm going to hopefully surpass you, sir. Not two but three radials apx 60 degrees, from each other radial. It was called the European sky lab. It was called something else here in America, Star Duster. Bottom of antenna will be around 25 feet above ground. Heading out tomorrow for coax, RG-213 and 100 feet.
check out my other videos, I built a Ground plane with 4 radials, and I also built a set of Co-Phased ground planes. Good luck with Your Star Duster, I know You'll be happy with it. Take care, 73's from 151 SC.
Hi you have any more info on the grounplane radials? What did you use are they too 102" in length? I'd like to try to build this setup for my porch radio.
This is a bad mamajama setup. How is this mounted to the house? Looks like 4 pieces of angle iron - 2 holding the pole with U bolts | 1 connected to the house (my guess by lag bolts into a stud) | and the 4th as a bracer? Are those bracing cables coming off the angle iron for more stability? How is the ground wire connect to everything? Sorry for all the questions. I have only done mobile and watching this video has pushed me over the edge to get a shack setup! Why not run the coax down the middle of the pole to protect it and then drill a hole in the pipe for the coax to come out of to connect to the antenna. 102.25" whip 102.25" fence pole 102.5" vinyl coated stainless steel cable x2 for ground plane wires
the wall bracket and support cables are bolted through studs, and connected to angle iron, mounted to 3 wall studs on the inside of the wall. it's a bit stronger than it needs to be.....But better safe then sorry. I attached the ground wire to the u-bolt at the bottom of the pole. it sounds like You are ready to build Your antenna. let Me know if I can help in any way. this video shows the wall bracket build ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mKFLmJ2qT94.html Good luck with Your antenna, and Thanks for watching.
Mr.Mower Junkie, are the ground radials you’re using the same as the all purpose clothes line from Lowe’s? It’s also green coated. I enjoy your videos.
Good eye, That's the stuff. I have recently discovered the copper wire works a lot better, But the steel cable will work well too. Thanks for watching, Happy holidays.
What did you use for ground plane wire. And how would you adjust them if you had to. You also said the pole mass has to be the same length with your antenna. 102inches.
I think I used stainless steel cable for the ground planes on this antenna, But copper wire will work the best. if you cut the wires to 102.5" and set them at 45 degrees, the antenna should not need any tuning. thanks for watching, 73's
I built a similar antenna using a heavy-duty ball mount. I've got 6 ground plane radials set as close to 45⁰ as I could get them some are far from it due to places to tie off to so they're more at like a 60⁰ angle. Anyways im getting a 1.5-1.7 swr I was wondering if moving the radials will bring the swrs below 1.5 or would adding a spring or 6in stud bring the swrs down? I know I've been blowing your inbox up but I appreciate you taking your time to respond. You are the only person on the interweb who has anything about a 102 whip being used for a base antenna
I used vinyl coated steel cable on this antenna. I built another one after this, using 12 ga. solid copper house wire. the copper wire is easier to get, and it works better too.
I'm trying to set up similar. Will more ground plane radials be better? 3? 4 ? 6 ? I can run the 12g copper wires but want to add on some guy wires for stability of the mast.
Ok so wouldn't u also use 102 length radials for say a sirio 5000 mobile antenna as a base? Trying to get a base build a base antenna but have hoa to deal with! Any help is appreciated
if u had to tune it, what and how would you do it? i am in the process of making one myself, just like that, but i am using 4 ground radials. i have a 102 whip fiberglass, new from Radio shack ( left over) and today i built a mast. i been wondering where or how would i go to tune it.?? mine is built almost exactly like urs...P.S &3s Thanx!.. Boston?.. in SC? hahahaha come back up heah and go trout fishin with us!
Tuning can be done by changing the length of the ground plane and coax. with 4 ground radials, Your antenna should be good, and not need to be tuned. I wish I could go fishing with You, the state of Maine is an awesome place to be, in the summer. Good luck with the Antenna, 73's from 151 SC.
tried using a mobile antenna, err-time i put on pole swr was wack. your advise on cutting pole to 102'' will prolly fix this. will try tomorrow. thanks for all your videos!
I've got another question mower junkie! I've got a ball mount im going use to make an antenna similar to yours. My connector on the ball mount isn't the same as a normal mounts do. I've got the center conductor connected to the center stud going to the antenna. And ive got the shield separated and sodered. If I connect the shield to the ground radials do I still need a ground wire ran back to ground if im using the ground from the coax. I hope this makes sense.
all outdoor antennas should have an Earth ground to protect against lightning strikes. the earth ground can be connected to one of the mounting bolts on the ball.
Hey. I just installed an Solarcon A-99 (75 feet run of lmr400) for my Uniden 980ssb. My SWR is 1.1 on 1 and 1.3 on 40. I’m using some rg6u as a ground wire which I have connected to my home copper plumbing system. Is that a good ground? Also, I have been reading that I should ground my coax cable before it comes in my house and ground my radio chassis? I am getting some rf noise on am, usb and lsb. Will the extra ground really help with the rf noise that much?
You should give that antenna it's own ground. it usually does quiet down the receive. I recently helped a friend set up an I-max, and before We hooked up the ground, it had a lot of noise. the ground did not remove all the noise, but it did make it better. When I ground an Mine, I attach the wire to one of the mast bolts. 73's from 151 SC.
@@lawrencegoodwin6687 it's a very good ground....but if Your antenna ever gets hit by lightning, the damage will be much worse with it grounded to Your plumbing.
@everyday tenor You can have more than one ground but all grounds should connect to a common ground. Shortest routes with no sharp angles. Common is usually at the meter or at the fresh water pipe in from the mains. Newer homes tend to shy away from water pipe grounding due to plastic pipes being used so much anymore.
Instead of using the long wire lines as ground plane (due to space constraints) would a ground plane kit, as found on Amazon, suffice with satisfactory results?
Yes, Check out this antenna I built, using an aluminum collar from a ground plane kit. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qwGN48Tr3CY.html
I been following your posts tonight, and learning a lot through these builds! My thanks for posting these to the world! I'm hoping you can answer for me, if i could use an antenna like this, with the lengths you used, with a CB base radio that only has 23 channels? I hope to one day own a 40 channel base radio, that's one day, and I would use this same antenna with it.
I have a couple questions about how you grounded the mast. Did you drive a ground rod into the ground? Also what gauge wire did you use to ground the mast?
What if You use a triangle piece of steel, with a hole in the center for the radiator, and holes at each point for the radials. if You use 3/16 or better, the corners could be bent upward for the radials.
@@MowerJunkie Ya i thought about doing that and i probably will have to.I just hoped i could find the right piece. I do have the little part that holds the small parts on the top piece i can use that to get the proper angle on the base. Thanks Take Care Be Safe 73s from 514 Ontario Canada
Yes, a 4x4 post would work well. Try it with 4 ground plane radials, The 102" whip really comes to life with 4 radials. Thanks for watching, Take care.
@@MowerJunkie This is what I don't understand. You said you cut the mast to be 102" like the radials, but then you extend it with the ground cable all the way to the ground. Why cut the mast then? Thanks.
Hello there 151 mower junkie i love how good ure homade antennas work i just picked up radio and still have power supply etc to pick up i still have a k40 antenna with the trunk mount i am going to use this for hombase untill i purchase or build an antenna i have made a bracket that enables we to get it ontop of the shed i was wondering do you thimk if i made a groundplane like the one you have in this video conecting some copper wire to the mount and getting the degrees rite on them and then another running strait down to the ground if this would work well ..prity much what you have built there but the whip going up would be a k40 thanks in advance ..
Thank You David. this design should work with any 1/4 wave antenna, but a 102" whip works best. 1 of these days I'll try using a base loaded mobile antenna as a base, just to see how well it tunes, and performs. thanks for watching.
Mower..Can I do the same making the top element out of copper wire inside PVC pipe and then attach down to a 102" metal pipe same length as the radials? Then attach that pipe that will be grounded, to a 2" PVC mast on the back of my garage for height? Thanks!
that might work, the antenna I built needed the ground radials. I tried it without the radials, with the antenna just connected to the 102 mast, and it had very high SWR. Good luck with your antenna, 73's
a question i have been searching for an answer to. thinking of a cb for my shop to break the boredom. tis would be mounted on a 40x50 post frame building. cant seem to find an answer if the metal roof would work for ground plane if using a mobile antenna. or even if were to use a 102' whip. pretty much radio dumb and would appreciate your opinion. thanks dave in wisconsin
Yes, Your metal roof would work as a ground plane for a mobile antenna, But the base of the antenna would need to be close to the roof. if You put the antenna to high above the roof Your SWR will be high.
Great video I’m new to C.B. & base stations. The green wires on the 45, are they two insulated wires or one passing through the bracket? How Do they serve a purpose ? I used black pipe and painted it . It is grounded though. I welded a flat piece to a B/ pipe flange all painted for a magnetic Mobil antenna to place on top. Can’t get my SWR down to safe levels. Where do you order your antenna? Many questions I know but I’m need mucho help.
Welcome to the CB hobby Charles. The green wires on My antenna are ground plane's. they are separate wires 102" long. the ground plane absorbs the rest of the signal that the antenna did not use. when a mobile antenna is on a car, the car acts as the ground plane (also known as counterpoise) You must have this counterpoise in order for the antenna to perform correctly. without it, the antenna will have a very high SWR.
Mower Junkie why is it that I get a very low SWR and yet the red indicator light on my new cobra 29 classic emits indicating dangerous SWR when transmitting?
@@charleshills8540 there are a bunch of reasons to what may affect the swr's the location if it's around a bunch of tree's or scrap metal can throw it out of wack the antenna being to tall or two short can affect the swr's if you live around a power grid will it's kinda hard to say for sure exactly what it the best way to find out what it is just try one thing at a time I can't stress that enough because if you change everything and it fixed it you don't really learn how it works and what does what. Believe me when I tell you that I've not been in the CB radio world for a while and I recently got back into it so things are coming back to me the more I think about radio and functionalities of frequency and things that change how the load goes threw the antenna. Again if you have a friend who is into the hobby see if he can help otherwise just trying one thing until it's fixed but I'm going to bet too me that it's the thing that you welded because you don't want to make a Frankenstein monster antenna any flat boltable piece should work fine but that's what I would change first personally.
Great video but I have a technical question, I was into cb’s back in the late 70’s with pretty much basic equipment, I want to set up something like this for emergency use , I already ordered a hustler 102” whip and a telescopic mast , here’s what will probably sound like a dumb question, those wire are guy wires or do they serve some purpose for send and receive. I’m using a Galaxy 959B radio
@@MowerJunkie with that telescopic mast which is 9 feet long when fully collapsed, the bottom of the mast will be on the ground and the 102” whip , If I had the mast fully mast fully extended to the Max 17 feet plus the 8 foot antenna how long do the counterpoise have to be , and why the string at the wire
Sorry for being a pain , I just want something that can reach out a bit for emergency use , I’m pretty green with this , I may need a little extra detail, thanks
a ground plane (counterpoise) needs to be close to the base of the antenna. A static ground or lightning protection ground can be at the bottom of the mast.
Hey, I just watched the RU-vid video and I was wondering how long was those wires ground wires I was going to do the same exact thing you did I was just wondering how long those wires
