great stuff Walt. I only work portable now. been doing portable radio since around 1980. before POTA . Some of my camping spots are POTA . So girlfriend calls it Tents On The Air. worked 160 meters threw 70 CM threw the years. The best thing buy far is the LiFePO4 battery. so much better than lead. and today's solar works so much better ! End fed half wave is my go to antenna and DX commander pole. I do have the DX commander antenna as well . Multi band. Even worked CB from NY to England on end fed half wave cut for 11 meters. Also have a coax antenna made from RG 8X . The T2LT . works out center fed half wave. Just stripp sheild 1/4 wave off. then another 1/4 wave down. wrap a coil out of coax and done, tune it and on the air. I got a 6 meter one and a 10/11/12 meter one. I fold the end to tune. Lots of fun making antennas' ,some work better than others . trying them is fun ! 73
I live in the parsonage of a church so limited antennas at my house, plus my house is surrounded on three sides by power lines. I have the mag mounts and ham sticks. For my FT-891 I have the ATAS 120. I have a full size pickup with a 2" trailer hitch. I went to Amazon and bought a flag mount that slips into the trailer hitch. I have a mast and put a vertical antenna, the same one you use at your QTH on it. I ground it to the truck frame and I do have a counter poise and it works well. I mainly use my G90 and a ham stick.
3+ years and I still don't have a permanent setup at my house (and I do not live in an HOA either, LOL). Yes, it can be frustrating at times, but it also gets me out and enables me to easily try new antennas and setups, which is a good learning experience.
Enjoyed the video. As far as mounts are concerned, don't overlook flexible seat rail mounts. They are like a flexible cup holder mount but mount under a bolt where your front seat is attached to the floor. They are very long and were originally designed for big rig trucks, but I use one to mount the head of my ICOM 2730 to the right of my console. It is very secure and keeps your cup holders free for other things.
Like you Walt, I also have a JK and there just isn't any room to mount radio equipment! So I solved that problem and removed the passenger front seat and installed a platform in it's place. Now I have tons of room for HF equipment when I head out for portable ops!
Another interesting video. I see you have on of the Mister Long Arm painter poles. They have lots of potential for use in fixed/static mobile antenna applications. I bought the 24 foot version for about 50 bucks at Home Depot a few years back. The 24 foot version has two nominal 8 foot ALUMINUM upper telescoping sections and a fiberglass 8 foot bottom section. I added an aluminum mast sleeve over the lower section and connected it to the extended two upper sections along with a nominal 8 foot stainless steel stinger rod and successfully resonated it as a 40 meter quarter wave vertical mounted into a mast step made of PVC pipe I installed in the bed at the left rear corner of my Tacoma. The bottom of the mast step has a pipe cap and a bolt that secures it to the bed floor. The top of the mast step is secured to one of the Tacoma adjustable cleats with a large pipe clamp that bolts into the cleat. The step is very strong and I’ve also used it to support a mast for VHF beams during during VHF contests. Chris AJ1G Stonington CT.
Should note that the two upper aluminum sections of the Mr. Long Arm are electrically isolated from one another as built. I jumper them and the lower section sleeve together with braided grounding strap and hose clamps. Also, I typically just use the Tacoma body as the counterpoise. Extending wire counterpoise radials may improve performance but typically isn’t practical especially if there is a lot of vehicle and pedestrian traffic where one parks for a fixed mobile operation. Walt while you are in RI check out the Ocean State Job Lot bargain stores for their 16 foot (extended) telescoping swimming pool skimmer handles. Very rugged ribbed blue metallic finished aluminum (2 eight foot sections), usually less than. 20 bucks. I’ve made a base loaded 16 foot vertical that drops into the aforementioned mast step in the back of the Tacoma as well. Never tried it but should also be able to resonate it as a quarter wave vertical on 20 meters. The pool skimmer is rugged enough to serve as an Armstrong rotated mast for my VHF beams as well as a low inverted V dipole for NVIS ops on 80/75 and 40 meters. Like the Mr. Long Arm, the two 8 foot pole sections are not electrically connected, one must use jumpers and hose clamps to tie them together electrically. Chris AJ1G Stonington CT.
Hi Chris, thanks for the tip. I pass 2 Job Lots everyday after work. I’ll definitely check them out. And thanks for the great comments and input. 73, Walt
Thank you so much! We have a Toyota Rav-4 and it's been my dream to outfit it for DXing. You've given me everything I need to get to make my dream a reality. The items you use are great because you can easily get them. I wondered about painter's poles. Too many amateur radio operators think you can only use very specific equipment , such as extension poles designed specifically for ham radio. Ham radio is about experimentation and experimentation is all about trying new things. I really appreciate the way in which you've made it easy to build antennas. I'm an extra class ham and read a lot of antenna books. Your explanations are much better than those I've found in the books. Maybe I need to get some of those "splaining" glasses the Smoking Ape wears when he's explaining a subject. Thanks again! 73 KN6KNB
I was listening to VE3TWM (Outdoors on the Air) live stream when I saw you pop in for a hello. I enjoy both of your channels. Tracy is a fellow member of the BARC club. Brian VE3GUE
Got the magnetic mount, drive on flag pole holder. The good thing about ham is you can have minimal stuff like a mag mount and ham stick and talk all over.
There is also a trailer hitch flag pole mount. My son gave me a steering wheel table which fits most cars. Not very practical for me but your mileage may vary.
Thanks Walt, easy video to assist us all to utilize our vehicles wherever & whenever we travel. For my ‘16 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk, I intend on investing in a 2” tow hitch “flagpole” adapter, into which I will put my painters pole, with my 2 Shark ham sticks for 20 m using the Xtenna Mast Maestro and my G-90, I anticipate a good time will be had. Keep safe, keep well & know that you’re blessed. 🙏. ‘73 AC3EA
Another great video. You are the one that started me building my own antennas. I operate portable for POTA activations. I have been trying to use a different DIY antenna to see which one I like the best. Your 29' vertical is one I really like using because it fits anywhere without having to string out a long wire. Thanks for all of your videos. 73s
Nice one Walt!! Great to see what different antenna systems you are using. A bit hard for me to go portable ops, due to the really crappy weather we’re getting here at the moment. Typical winter here.
the roll on flagpole mast holders cost 81 Euros in the EU. I will make my own out of PVC pipe and some flat wood and hinges. Then I will see if my motor scooter is heavy enough to hold it and the 12m spiderbeam mast without the whole thing toppling over. Where I live I am motor scooter (static) mobile when not at my QTH.
I have a fender mount wired into the cab of my pickup truck. Stud mount base accepts Chameleon 17 ft whip. Able to get on air in a jiffy. Used a sharpie to mark resonant spots on the whip for each band 20-6. Only takes a few seconds to change bands! ky4ej
Walt, thank you for sharing. I will be looking forward to seeing the Radioddity Mount. I am not sure, I will be able to get that off of whatever I put it on. It looks pretty good. Thank you Walt.
@@COASTALWAVESWIRES hope to catch you sometimes but i have time only on saturday and sunday italian morning.....maybe we can have qso on 20m, but usually i catch pacific on that time
Keep that mast kit forever! Those poles are bringing 80.00+ shipped CONUS for FOUR! on eBay Wish I had snaked away dozens of them when they were cheap.
This is totally off subject. What is the lead in song and band you use? I love it. I reminds me of some of the alternate music I listen to in the late 80’s. 😂
That’s my son’s band, Allen Hudson and the Halfmoons. They’re on iTunes, Spotify, etc. He’s an alternative rock artist here in Virginia. He definitely has a late 80’s to 90’s sound. Here’s one of his popular songs: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vOQdkH659_0.htmlsi=Cla8luDFTl7djd3y
I’m a shipbuilding design engineer that works in the field when a project is being built. I’m the on-site problem solver when there are issues with a construction drawing.
Hi Walt- your channel is GREAT! Where can I get one of those painter pole aluminum antenna plates? Checked the X-tenna site and didn’t see it listed. Tnx, 83 K8SG
Thanks! That was the Chameleon 17 foot telescopic whip on my Tram Mag Mount. That was last year in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TS3ZDXbcUGc.htmlsi=wFAUJLRUoUU5ZF8R
Walt, are you using the 3 section 23ft Mr Long Arm or a shorter model? I think that adapter for X-Antennas plus a Comet SSB-7 no ground plan antenna with UHF connection would be awesome for VHF/UHF as a temporary mast.
Thank you, Walt! Great information. I was looking for the DX Commander pole. Seems to be a few choices. Do you have a link for the one you showed in this video? Thank you for your time and patience!! -73 KQ4KIO
They come with it, the one I currently have is the Tram Triple Magnetic Mount. I just ordered the Radioddity Mount and will be showing it and how it works in a video soon.
Been meaning to ask you this for a while. Will an EFHW work “well enough” when used as a vertical? There are some places I can use the drive on holder but can’t “slope” the antenna.
Yes as a matter of fact the EFHW as a vertical is one of my favorites. I use a shortened wire the is a halfwave for 20 meters and it gives me 20 through 10 meters. The video I posted a couple days ago (Morning DX) I used that antenna and made several contacts into New Zealand and Australia from Rhode Island with 20 watts
