Ham Radio Mystery Antenna: Was This $5 Flea Market Find Worth It??? 

The 6m repeaters you were trying probably had vertical antennas. Your horizontal antenna would have about 18 dB of loss when trying to work a station with a vertical antenna.

In no way can you lose getting that much metal for $5.00. I usually convert yagis to traditional dipole drivers instead of using the matching units they always are designed with.

Nice find! Our closest 6 meter repeater is 206.1 miles away. I played with 6 meter repeaters when I was in Denver visiting my daughter and family. I was able to get a response from the repeater but nobody answered.

I purchased a used Cushcraft Ringo 6m vertical around 30 years ago. It might have already been 20 years olds at the time. I'm still using it today, maybe 50 years since it was made. The materials, connectors, and clamps on the Ringo all look identical to the 3-el beam in the video. I believe it's a earlier version of the Cushcraft A503S beam maybe 30 or 40 years old. Those are about $250 new today. For repeater use, the beam could be up to 30db better mounted in vertical polarization.

A $5 antenna that works and 2 Collies, you are a lucky man! I used to train Collies to work sheep and we did dog agility for fun. Your guys would love dog agility! Thanks for taking the time to make your videos, I always enjoy them.

I know the horizontal polarization is not ideal in this video. This was just a quick test I did Thanksgiving morning and didn't think to change it while recording these clips as I was going back and forth between the backyard and the kitchen helping my wife cook. I'll give it a try with vertical polarization in the future and see what happens.

In my area of the country, the local gas company used vertical polarized yagis that seemed to be cut for maybe 40 mhz. at their compressor stations. Ive noticed over the past few years those have been replaced something looking like an antenna for EME use!

For $5, you got a real bargain. Congratulations!

For wire dipoles that I've cut a bit too short, I have added a little 'flag' made with square inch or two of folded-over *aluminum* (metal) duct tape as a sort of capacitor hat. It works to lower the resonant frequency, and is a surprisingly powerful effect (since it's at a voltage peak at the end of the element). Multi-elements would be a bit of a chore, but maybe just copy the driven element solution to the other elements.

Wow! that's a great deal you got on that antenna.

⁠​​⁠Great find! I also noticed your license plate solution

Nice one Rob.

That looks like a Hi-Par Hilltopper. I have one, purchased at a hamfest last year for $40 - you got a fantastic deal on that one. Not much info about them on the web. There was also a 2m version but I've never seen one. Some of the old timers in my club are familiar with them and one guy has 2 of them. Apparently they were made in the 1960s or 1970s. They were intended for portable operations - field day, VHF contesting on hilltops, etc. Would be awesome for SOTA and POTA.

Add some coils to the driven element might bring it down

Doing pretty good with a horizontal antenna. Many of those repeaters have fantastic range, as you know.

Interesting antenna. I think you got a terrific deal on it! Probably would be better like your setup on the house, using a rotor. Gotta find a 40 foot fold up to put that on!

Try to find some aluminum tubing with an ID to match the OD of the element tips. Cut just a small collar to push over each element tip. OR small aluminum angle and clamp little extensions to each element tip. Great find for $5, always enjoy your content 73

If it were me, id use so hardware store clamps and dangle a few inches of wire off the ends to bring it down the band, you'd need 9 of them... Id do some research first on how that tuning stub works because I dont get it. Overall, great find and great vid!

If you were to reorient your antenna to vertical polarization , might get into to some of the repeaters you didn't bring up due to cross polarization. Great deal either way.

Wow good find for 5bux. With the wing nuts and the way it folds up nicely Ill bet it was meant for portable/temp use. Like for field day or camping. I have a more modern Dimand 2m antenna that i like that. Also all the repeaters are going to be V polarization. I think thats why you had better luck with the ones far out compared to the local ones. Any luck on the 6m FM calling freq 52.525?

put it vertical for the repeaters. Also change the tuning capacitor to a longer and smaller tube along with the shorting bracket (make one) use vinyl tube as an insulator, to give you more tuning range. Or just live with it for $5 what the heck. It looks as if it was built for portable use, easy up and down.

Just find tubing the same as the Gama match connection and use the new aluminum brasing rods that claim to weld any metal together and braze it together. Then sand/grind the weld down so the clamp slides over the weld

I wish I had that many 6 meter repeaters 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

Anytime you can get that much aluminum for $5 that's a great deal. Even if you can't figure it out you can use it for something else.

Your antenna is horizontally polarized, but I know of no repeaters that aren't vertically polarized. The loss from a horizontally polarized Yagi-Yuda attempting to hit a vertical is atrocious, as much as 30 dB, the difference between 1W and 1000W. You could easily hit with full quieting and a quarter-wave vertical any repeater you managed to key at all with the horizontal beam. I'm actually surprised you managed to key any of them. In any near-LOS communication, correct antenna polarization isn't just important, it's essential. I learned this when I was on a mountaintop Field Day site feeding a 9-element 2-meter beam with 160W. The beam was atop a 25 foot mast and was pointing directly at our club repeater 35 miles away out on the Colorado plains. With binoculars I could literally see the water tower our repeater antenna was mounted on, but I couldn't key the repeater. Meanwhile, other hams were wandering around our Field-Day site with their HT's working the repeater no problem. That's the difference polarization makes.

try 6 inches of wire coat hanger lol added to the driven as a test with jubilee clips... test with VnA.. simple cheap test..

Border collies! My sister had a border collie and she was my dog niece. The most incredible dog I ever knew. It takes a lot to understand them but I took the time to understand what border Collies are all about and we were very close. She died at 12 1/2 years in July of 2022 because she came in contact with a raccoon virus that eventually shut down her kidneys. I will remember her for the rest of my life. Mollie the Border Collie

Great video, maybe you could add length to the antenna by adding solid copper wire to the end of the elements.

May I ask, that dips that you saw on the nano vna, is that really normal sir, and why do you think that is? I'm new to ham and been experimenting in homebrewing a yagi for 2 meters and upon testing it via an analyzer, I'll get a 1.2 swr from 144 to 145 then goes 1.5 on 146 then dips to 1.2 again at 147. Am I doing something wrong. I'd appreciate it much for some advice. Thank you sir.

Instead of clamps get some really good shrink wrap ... not the crap from Harbor Freight... cut a piece so that it is about 3 inches longer than the center of the slider splice. I/A cut a 6 inch piece and slide it down to 3 inches on either side and then shrink it. I personally prefer to do it this way because it will limit and reduce the liquid between the 2 elements and you having to run up there every year to clean out the oxidation. Good luck and have fun wit your $5 toy as far as I am concerned you can never go worn with a YAGI and a compass to point it with

I bought a 7 element 220 beam for 10 dollars and a 17 element 900 for 15

would this antenna work on 11meters and 10 meters.

Are not most repeaters vertically polarized ??? you were horizontal, correct polarization would really help

You would get much better results if you changed to a vertical polarization.

cut the tips off. stuff some copper tubing or rod of some sorts in the ends. shouldnt need to much .. maybe what 3 to 6 inchs .. no idea tho ..

I have one of these...6 meters

don't throw away do a giveaway so your channel grows.

It as $5.00 homie! We spend are money on dumber shit then that!