Good video. Looks like a nice antenna to try. A few tips if I may: 1. Slow down on the camera movement to give people a chance to see details. 2. Instead of drilling out the pvc, consider heating it with the torch (modestly. Keep the torch moving or it will burn) instead. Then just slide it onto the pipe. When it cools it should also secure itself to the copper and not need screws. But if you don't want to do that, you can drill holes into the pvc and thread them and use bolts as set screws. Do your other drilling inside the pvc to make it bigger, which I would do all the way through so you can slide it all the away to the side to trim the length. 3. Another omnidirectional 6m antenna is the flowerpot antenna. Something to look at if you haven't. Easy to build and very portable. 4. For people not used to sweating copper pipe, just remember the heat does the work and draws the solder through the joint. Keep the torch moving but remember to heat the far side away from where you hold the solder and when the solder melts and draws through you know everything should be good.
the non conductive spacer can be a piece of sprinkler pvc pipe (found at home dopie, where the sprinkler elbows and connectors are located). it fits perfectly inside a 1/2” copper pipe.
Followed your lead and built this antenna last weekend. Worked like a charm and happened to catch the 6 meter band open and made contacts in the Midwest from my qth in Massachusettts. Thanks for the nice video. 73 KC1NDQ
Looks very much like a scaled up version of the Jaybeam 2m halo that I used /M on my BL Mini and FT290 many years ago. It worked well beyond expectations.
Awesome Video! I really liked the fact you were dealing with problems and making it work as the build progressed. It is a great how to video. Thanks, 8P6RC
Nice job Chris. You do a really nice job making these videos. You are a good teacher! I have been using a similar squalo like that for years and when the 6 Meter openings come, it really performs well. Keep up the great work! 73, George K2WO.
Ernest Neijenhuis Hi Ernest!! Thanks so much for checking in! It was alot of fun to build and it works great! There was a 6m opening yesterday and I made a few contacts. Thanks again for watching the video! Best 73! K2CJB
This is a very nice project!!! Very simple, clean work, good job on not overcomplicating or overanalyzing things! It would have taken me a lot more failures and fixes! So satisfying to hear some CW coming in on that test!!!
I know this is over a year old, but I am so glad I found it! I need to get a 6 Meter antenna up here at my home since I have the 817ND that can do 6 Meters. Yea I know it is qrp, but I still want the capability to work 6. I was just going to throw up a 6 Meter dipole, but I like this setup better!! I sub’d to your channel and am watching your other videos. Thanks for sharing! Juddie WD8WV
J & J True Outdoor Adventures Thanks so much for the sub! It’s a great antenna. If you look thru the comments, you’ll see that the ham that designed it commented on the video!
Nice build, and this version is very similar to the M2 HO-Loop. In the last year since you posted this, the band has been super with a lot of the activity having moved to FT8 on 50.313 MHz and FT4 on 50.318 MHz. I run the Par loop and currently have 46 states, 34 countries and 231 grids. Got my 6 meter VUCC with the loop and 40 watts. CU on the band! De WB2VUO here near Buffalo, NY
A really nice video: informative and very entertaining! Also an interesting antenna. I built some copper J-poles for myself and for my Civil Air Patrol squadron - their VHF frequencies bracket our 2m band. As for aligning the pipe, the antennas were laid out on the garage floor and then "sweated". Figure that should work for your squalo! Thank you again de k6whp dit dit
Thanks Ron! Yeah, the SWR was so much better with it up in the air. I forgot to mention that I decided to mount it by itself rather than on the mast with the tri-bander to reduce any coupling between all the antennas. It looks to be ok so far. I was going to just leave the rig on 50.125 and see if I heard anything.
I realize this is a few years old now but when I built one a few years ago I took a small piece of copper strap drilled a hole in the center and made a "butterfly" capacitor that went over the space in the gap I could then adjust it over a much wider range of the 6m band without needing to cut anything. using a marker ran the analyzer on it and was able to mark directly on it the aprox. position of each center frequency. it made tuning easy and no fuss. well done 73 ve3hbj
Suggestion - never "sweat" a soldered connection with the pipes in a metal vice - too much heat loss. Also with a complex shape like that it is difficult to get the finished item dead flat. Best to lay the whole assembly (with flux and fittings) on a flat non-metallic surface, (e.g.silicate board) then sweat every joint without moving anything. I like your "down-to earth" approach showing what happens as it happens - very nice!
Peter Jones Thanks Peter! I'm far from an expert at plumbing work as you can see. It was fun to do and it works great so far. Thanks for watching! 73 de K2CJB
Hi again Chris, wow! its been two years since I first watched this video. and I just watched it all the way through again. And I'm sad to say we have not gotten into each other's logs on 6m. but I'm always monitoring the band still my favorite band since 1972. I monitor 50.125 on my 160m dipole and kenwood (only does 50w) then switch to my Yaesu with 100w and 8 element yagi homebrew on 26ft boom. so make noise ! if I hear you I'll work you! thanks again and 73 gud dx de Ellis WA1RKS
Great job on the squalo..!. I've never been on 6 meters, but I think I'm going to try and build that antler and get myself a 6m rig. I enjoyed the video, and thank you for sharing this. 73 de km4dme
Tnx ny friend, indeed with small antenna's on 6m you can make nice contacts during the Es-season, past year I made 70 qso's from JM08 EA5/ with a wire-dipole and my TS480 also heart but coudn't work 4X Israel ( is work by a french station) this has to be a double hop Es 73 de ON7ARQ Patrick
Hello and 73 Chris! Found your channel and this video and I'm gathering stuff to build my 6m Squalo! I haven't sweated copper in nearly ten years but no problem. Looks like a fun build and I have a location for it already. Wound up with a combo 2m/70cm stacked Squalo from a friend, and I might "stack" them all on one pole if that'll work. Thanks for the video and link, you have a subscriber in me. De KE5LIB Mark.
Great Job Chris, if you remember from your novice days back then Cushcraft used to advertise their Squalo mobile antenna in QST,73,CQ magazines back then. I presume what you built is a spin off of that one. in any event nice job, showing all the workings in the build, gud for the new guys. and yourthought process during helps them also. I have been on 6m since 1972, love the band and the best part is almost all HF rigs now days have 6m n them. so come on all you guys make use of that band on that rig. they don't call it the "Magic Band" for nothing. try it you'll like it.!. 73 gud dx ! de Ellis WA1RKS
Great looking! I’ll need to give this a try at some point. Would be interested to see if feeding this balanced antenna through a balun would have any significance too.
You likely always had a 6m antenna, a 40m dipole works well on 6m openings, I have used it to make 1000km/m contacts on SSB every summer...... nice job on the squalo thanks for posting
I have a Yaesu FT-690R MK II that will love the 6M Squalo, it will complement the dipole I have at 70'. I sit at the top of a 550' hill which causes a rolloff of about 10° to the horizon (which adds about 2DBd to my signal) as it pulls the angle of attack down to the horizon at about 5 to 7°. I have some hard drawn copper pipe left from a well project (3/4") and I will try this project. Thank You! 73 de W4FJF
I built an extended double zepp and never got to use it much. The local group left 40/80 to meet up on 6 so I deployed the EDZ. worked well then my friend made a squalo. Now everyone is headed to build one. I was just out in the garage figuring out the measurements as you have to account for the amount the elbows set off the center of the pipe. I was interested in how you mounted yours. Also, my friend used standard 1/4" semi flex copper tubing, hammered it flat for his feed point and strap connections. That is probably what I'll do. He found that you do need to add some additional length for the center legs for mounting. I allowed for a little extra room to move the feed point and shorting strap. On the air it seems to beat the EDZ, the MFJ cobweb with 6 meters and a dipole, in our little 6 meter group anyways. Build one!
Ed Williams Thanks for checking it out! Yeah, the elbows have to be figured in. I had to do some trimming under that pvc piece and it came in to a good swr. I've used it a few times and have made solid contacts with it...relatively local though. Hoping conditions improve soon! Thanks again! 73 de K2CJB
@@k2cjbradio Hey Chris, Got me off my tail and I soldered up the 1/2" pipe this afternoon for my squalo. I used two cpvc couplers and a piece of pex for my insulator. I need to stop by the big box and get a little 1/4" copper pipe to make my feed point and shorting strap. Then hang it and dial it in. It sure works well for my buddies that have them. I will be doing an A/B test with the EDZ when I get it in the air. Happy hamming. Ed DE WB5ORT
It’s a fun project! And the antenna does work. Sometimes I’ll leave the rig on the national calling frequency and hear when the band opens. Those windows are rare, but when it opens, it’s amazing how this little antenna works!
A squalo is great for SSB CW or AM...the weak signal modes use horizontal polarization. FM is vertical...a simple 1/4 wave gnd plane works...also a Larsen NMO150 on a decent gnd plane..
This was great... looks easy enough. I have a 50 watt four band mobile (10m, 6m, 2m and 70cm) I'm dying to get on the air but this virus hit as soon as I was ready to take the Technician exam and now can't find VEs who are administering the exam. I'm hoping to find someone who might test me via webcam one on one. Meanwhile i will keep listening to nets, watching videos, and learning more. I'll hit the ground running when I do get my ticket.
David Lynch Hopefully you can take your exam online!! This antenna works like a champ. It’s still up and working fine. Thanks for watching! 73 de K2CJB
Just getting back into the hobby myself. 6 meters has always been a bit of a mystery. Thanks for explaining how to build the antenna. Also, thanks for leaving the challenges in your video! 73s N0ORF
Hi Chris! Great video on the squalo, I like how you take the extra time to show and explain details, parts list and field test with the Rig Expert. Where did you post the antenna drawing as I’d like to print it please? Hope to work you on 6M, been a great E season so far. 73 es DX, Chris K4PC
Do you have any update on how the squalo antenna has been performing? Thing about building one for my qth and just wondering how performance is. 73 KG9NA Tim
This is 5 years old when I found it. Been looking for something like this for a while, and will be looking a bit deeper into building this possibly. Have looked at a few other 6m designs over the past few weeks and very possibly will be considering building this one in the near future. Are there any updates to the design & build? Cheers Mick G6ASJ.
Nice build; did you seal the coax at the feed point to prevent water intrusion into the coax? Also do you have those antennas grounded? I will check out those plans.
Mike C Thanks Mike! Actually I was out of coax seal the day the antenna went up. I can run back up and seal it up when I get some. As for grounding the antennas, I dont't have any ground connection directly from the antenna mounts to ground. In the 40+ years I've been a ham, I've never run a direct ground connection from the antennas. Of course now that I say that, something catastrophic will probably happen! 😃. Thanks for checking it out and have fun if you build one. It works great! 73 de K2CJB
I've built my 6m squalo antenna based on your information. Thank for the nice job presenting all the information. MY SWR is very high. I've never sweat pipe before so I am double checking the joints. Feed line was okay I thought. 3 feet initial, but I am gong to make it loinger test out in the open today. Moving the short and/or feedpoint don't have much affect on the swr. Any pointers? Hope you are well.
You may have to check the length at the open end. I had to make a few adjustments there. Check your connections at the feed point too. That matching section can be a little tricky to get right.
@@k2cjbradiothanks for the quick reply. I went over all the solder joints and mounted it on a speaker stand at about 7 feet up outside. Moving the matching system while hooked up to a nanovna along with feed point adjustments, the swr is now under 1.25 at the low end of the 6m band. This antenna is going to be great as the sun cycle shifts. My house has an old satellite dish mount. Dish off squall on. Thanks for the great video and help at the end. 73. Joe KC1NNR
John Peterson Thanks! Well, I used regular plumbing flux and solder. Another viewer said I shouldn’t have. The antenna works fine still, so not sure if it makes a difference.
Thanks for the hands on build video. I’m new to the self-made, self installed antenna world and have a quick question; How do you ground the antenna for a potential lightning strike?
Patrick Corso This May sound terrible, but I have never grounded an antenna. I hang my head in shame. I’m sure there is a way to do it properly, but, I never did it. Now you have me thinking I should do it in my next QTH.
Chris, I’m thinking of using an inline “Polyphaser IS-B50HU-C0 Coax Grounding Block” for the antenna/coax, and a grounding clip attached to the mast. Both will be wired with 12-18 AWG ground wire to a grounding rod separate from the electrical service meter.
Hello K2CJB, I am now interested in this 6m antenna, last Sunday passed my Technician License test, will receive my Call sign in about 2 weeks. :-) Heading to store to get supplies, what I was curious about was maximum watts it can handle, and did you find it to be directional? If so what point is forward? Will set mine at about 25 ft.
Bryan Vincent Congrats! Welcome to ham radio! The antenna “might” be directional like a dipole, but I can’t say for sure. As for power, it’s copper pipe so it can probably handle a lot. I run my FTDX3000 into it at 100 watts with no trouble. Good luck with it! It’s a little finicky to tune up, but once you get it, it works fine.
Hallo K2CJB! My name is Fabio and I'm from Brazil (My callsign is PU3DSP). Can you tell me if this antenna is good for DX? What's her gain? One last question, is her behavior ohmnidirectional? Great video! 73!
Sir, I enjoyed making this antenna. I am wondering if I need some sort of choke on the feedline or balun. It tuned on 50.200 1.5:2 but I notice swr jumps around while tx. I tx at 100w. Thanks, AI5CA/Bob.
I don’t have a balun on mine but it’s progress a good idea to add one. That might help. It is a fun antenna to build. We moved almost 2 yrs ago and it’s now on my new QTH. Works fine!
I built this antenna and could not get the swr reasonable 5.7 @ 50.00 to 17.5 @54.5 measured everything exactly feed and shorting strap as per plan not sure what gives
Chris, I know this is a couple years old but I am trying to build your 6 meter squalo antenna per your video. I have it all constructed and put together per your plans. Problem is , No matter what I do I can not get the SWR down. I have been working for over two weeks now with no luck. It is driving me crazy. I have measured and remeasured to insure I have them per the drawing. No matter what I do The SWR will not tune below 5.1to 1. Please do you have any advise as to what I can do. I am trying to get it tuned for 50.313 FT8 work. Thank you so much for the video.. Steve, N7WEJ
Sorry for the late response. Hopefully yo figured it out. The middle section where the coax connects is probably what you want to keep fiddling with. I did shorten mine a bit at the open end under the pic pipe.
Hi, I recently found your channel. Now that you have had some time with the antenna I wondered how it is working out. Have you made many 6m contacts wih the antenna? Looks like an interesting project. Like you, I have been interested in trying this band, but don't currently have an antenna for it. I don't actually know if the level of activitiy on 6m makes the effort worthwhile or not. I enjoy your channel, keep up the good work. 73 KD9IBH
JNetBelch Thanks for the kind words! I made one contact when I checked into a 6m net. Listen around on 6m but haven’t heard anything yet. To be fair I haven’t been on all that much lately. I hope to get some operating time in soon. Thanks again and best 73 de K2CJB!
6m is open in the summer between May and Sept The hotter the better just try it and listen I talked to New York Jersey area from Chicago and some folks around here. If you have a SDR Stick with HDSDR you can view the band quickly.
Hi there, I'm KN4GCQ a ham in Fl state that don't have a radio, Was wondering if once in a while you see one of them really expensive ones like the one you have for an affordable price? I mean every single radio that I think is worthed... its price is beyond ridiculous!!! "Hey I don't have nothing to loose asking... hope to hear from you.
Sorry for the late response. Ham radios are not cheap unfortunately. I think once they start running hamfests again you might have a shot there. Ebay is always a risk. Check with a local radio club maybe?
Somewhat of a newbie to antenna theory, but my question is, how is that not a dead short where the coax is connected by the shorting wire? Please forgive my ignorance in advance, as I would very much like to learn more about antenna theory. 73, KI5HXQ, Bob Deitz
Bob Deitz From a DC standpoint, it is a short. If you put a meter on it, it’s zero ohms. But the length of tubing at 50Mhz presents an impedance that, when combined with the rest of the antenna, presents a 50 ohm impedance to the radio.
Low SWR is fine and dandy, but does the antenna resonate? And please tell me you used rosin core solder and RA flux, and NOT plumbing solder and acid flux?
Mike Harnett Hi Mike, yeah, the antenna does resonate. I have made a few contacts with it in 10-30 mile range. Looking forward to betee conditions. Yes, I did sweat the pipe using plumbing solder. Seems to work ok.
Intersting in socallfornia there is a2mtr rptr which links to 10 6 2and 70 cm i use my dipole its easier to get on the air and less of a eye sour kg6mn
Hi Chris, why is one leg on your inverted vee wire longer than the other? I am new on HF and just bought a HF rig setup like this, (this is my first HF rig) one leg is about 45' and the other is about 88'. I thought both sides were supposed to be even? Thanks for the video!
gadgetkat It's an off-center fed dipole otherwise known as a Carolina Windom. I chose that antenna for two reasons: first, it would fit in the yard and second, the ftdx3000 built in tuner will not tune a G5RV. it tunes the ocf dipole fine for 40 and 80.
