This is PROOF that an antenna does not need to be "resonant" to radiate well. What most do not understand is this....IF you can get the load to accept power, it must go somewhere (radiation or heat), but it WILL be dissipated. The trick is to find the impedance of the load, and simply match to it. PS. Walt, you deserve a leather jacket to cut the wind. 73 OM
Hi Walt, Love your stuff that you do, as unlike other ham RU-vidr's you get out and actually show people the antenna set up and test through the bands.
Ive mostly been doing FT8/4 lately but I agree 12/10 was a fire. The waterfalls were so packed you could not find any spaces to transmit. Keep it up I love the cheap fun antennas.
Hello Walt. Another great video. No question about whether you are doing it right or not - If It Works, You Are Doing It Right! Now I'll have to get one of those Poles and 41Ft of wire and try that setup here in Crewe. Thanks for the encouragement. 73 - John Aloi Sr - WB3HPE
Another quite successful experiment, Walt. Congratulations. Propagation really looked great. There's an antenna sold as "Magitenna", I think that this one would deserve this name. 73, Alain
Hi Walt. I saw that you had a good QSO with a fellow Frenchie. Now that I know that you seem to operate mostly around noon eastern time, I'll do my best to catch you soon when I start using the antennas you've taught me building 😁 I should start from next week-end on, now that I eventually have all I need and that the cold wave is behind us here in France.
Great video Walt. Hampton Roads has been more like Artic Road lately. Thanks for braving it out there in the cold. You give all of us fans of the channel antenna ideas for when we all emerge from hibernation.
Hello Walt, I also did that at the beginning to find the right antenna. simply attaching 12 meters of wire to my 12 meter spider beam mast worked perfectly. now my antenna is a inverted V for 10, 20 and 40 meters. It's still fun to keep looking at you, trying and testing keep going what you are dowing. Ron Pd3ron
Walt pretty neat. You know for a fact you were operating a decently efficient station. Good signals on tx and rx both. 20 watt station working the world. Gives you a great feeling when you grab the mic and get so many contacts. That's what it's all about. Thanks for the work and video. 73
Really good to see you in here. Saw the guys in the Wsky club about a month ago (& a few in the Chesapeake club too). Take care. Have fun. Tootles... Wade
That was awesome to watch 👏👏👏 This antenna makes a lot of comercial products obsolete 😁😉👍 Ham spirit at finest. Just throw this wire at pole and look what will happen 💪👀
Walt. take a look at the 12M Spiderbeam HD pole. Its a bit heavier than your DXcommander, but it is more stable in wind. For shorter antennas, leave out the top 1-2 sections for even more stability
Great video Walt, I used something similar when haing a S9+ noise level at home, had it wrapped around a 15 meter pole and strapped to the verandah, only good to get on digital modes but it did get me on air. Love these type of videos! I also lived in Australia for 12 year many years ago and used to make 11 meter versions and a baking tray for a small ground plain and had it on my caraven when traveling around... worked well. Thanks for the videos. Fantastic as always. 73 ZL1MY
That was a great experiment, Walt. Worked out well too. I have yet to hear my own G90 on the air but it makes me smile listening to yours. BTW, yours is the COOLEST looking G90! Walt, A windbreaker over that Hoodie couldn't hurt, 73 brother, Joe KC1MTM
I have experimented and have found the pole is more resistant to wind loading by helically winding the wire, there is far less whipping. This hobby is great, as is your vids, cheers Walt, all the best, 73
Great job! I am forcing myself to learn / memorize 1 meter to how many feet which is 3.28feet or 39.37inches or 3 feet and 3.37 inches. Good knowledge to know like you mentioned in another video for a quick measurement without using my phone's calculator app. Good to try various different antennas - experiment to see what works and does not work. So, 12.5 meters is about 41.99feet. This is really good to know so I can get on 80 or 40m bands if the other antennas I try will not get those bands - especially at night.
Mornin" Walt... Been watching you for a while... Certainly a breath of fresh air... Thanks for the heads up on the Tram 1499... Although I have used radios nearly all my life (many years in the CAP using modified HF and VHF gear) only amateur licensed for 7 years. Still have my Lafayette HE-20C and D-104 mike when I was 13! Have had my experiences with the "Sad Hams"... never thought these attitudes existed. Had to drive 2:30 hours to take my tech because the 2 nearest clubs couldn't commit. Moved to SW VA 6 years ago, Studying for the gen now running into the same testing problem... may have to drive 6 hours to my sisters whose husband is a tech to take the test with his club there. Anyway... enjoy your antenna experiments. I'm not playing in my sophisticated radios, I will play with antennas... too shaky to do delicate soldering work. I have to move my 10 meter hamstick dipole to the roof of my garage so it will clear the "mountain" that's blocking east of me (and the snow to melt). Hope to make contact with you soon. I'm in Bristol VA. 73's and stay frosty... KM4ZYH David (my real email is dahat001@hotmail; dont know where that other came from)
Hi Walt, thanks for another great video. I made a 41’ vertical with a 17’ counterpoise with a 9:1 unun and I get SWR’s under 1.5 across 10, 12, 15, 17 and 20 meters! No tuner! 40 meters comes in at 1.9 to 2.2 . I can live with that. Thanks again keep um coming. BTW, the nay sayers just don’t get it. Your just trying to help the rest of us tinkerers.
Thanks so much! I love tinkering versus sitting at my desk making theory videos hahaha. I need to get a bigger pole and build the 41 like you did. 73, Walt
That was great . looks like parking ramps on the air. I did something like that with my 66ft 49:1 end fed in the back of a Walmart parking lot same pole strap to wooden fence . late summer changed my tune a bit but 7300 tuned it fine. talked to 2 outher stations doing Walmart parking lots on the air. that was funny to me. one station on a ham stick talking as the wife shopping. the outher in a RV . and I was using speaker wire at the time I got in Walmart. was fun . 73's
Nice to see that you are getting so many stations across the bands with such a simple setup. I am finding it hard to get many stations with my 40 m and 20 m dipoles. I have asked for a long fibre glass pole. Let me see if something like this will work for me! 73 de Jon, VU2JO
I have the same kind of antenna. 10m pole + 29 feet random wire antenna + 17 feet ground + 9:1 balun. The antenna stand behind a vehicle with a steel pile. The performance is good. This antenna is much better than my other car load HF antenna such as Diamond HF20CL, HF40CL.
Great stuff Walt. I am at my ladies friends and she dont like wires and it's raining all week in UK, Grrrr! But wait until I get home, now where did I put that balun! Cheers. Mike
Great video Walt! I use a 71' end fed non resonant stealth sloper, 9:1 unun, 50' coax & common mode choke at my home QTH East Bay of San Francisco CA. SSB on all HF voice bands 160 - 10 with my G90 & XPA125B. Hope we have a QSO sometime maybe on 10 or 12 meters! Jon - K3MAH
I'm gonna try this one for sure. I got almost exactly the same set-up Walt. G90, 10m Sotabeams pole, the thing for use under a wheel of my car ... I'm gonna have some fun soon :p Your video' are allways very inspiring. Hope to catch you one time when you are in Poland. 73 de ON1JV
Excellent 👌👍 Walt. Wow 29 degrees that's ❄️🥶. Yesterday my wife and I went to a state park here in FL, and we were at 54 and I thought it was cold😂😂. Great antenna! Hey, where can I find this orange Knobs for my G90? 73
I recently found your channel, subbed. I've learned alot from you. In fact I bought a 25' crappie pole and an umbrella anchor today on Amazon haha. I have a spool of 16g speaker wire perfect for it! I figure that'll get me on HF, I've been looking at base station antennas and dont know what i want really haha. Good stuff. Jeremy KF4CHW
Tried it out today ... worked great on 10, 12 and 17m. Identical set-up G90 20W, same wire lengths. Did an Antscope scancheck (Rigexpert software) On 17m and 15m the SWR was really good but swr rised strongly outside those 2 bands. Highest SWR 5.4 :1 on 80m. The other bands were lower. 10m ended up around 3.4 : 1 . Now I'm wondering what possibilities I have to get this even better ;) Everything was tuneable dough with my G90.
Well, on the bright side, at least if the temperature is -1.6 degrees, at least that's in Celsius and not Fahrenheit. Neat antenna and it's great hearing the various operators around the world.
Excellent. Almost tempted to get in the shack but still a bit too cold (and stormy) but the quality of daylight has got a hint of spring to it so hopefully will not be long. 73 M7BLC
@COASTALWAVESWIRES You mentioned getting a Stryker, but I would suggest the Anytone AT-5555N II, which is also sold as the Radioddity QT60. They cover 10 & 12 with a slight mod, that takes less than five minutes, and have impressive DSP noise reduction. The slight downside would be the controls arrangement, as they are configured like a CB.
Walt: I run a 29 foot wire with a 13 foot counterpoise. My drive-on mount is a plywood base, floor flange and 16 inch long length of 4 inch DVW pipe. And, yes, fed with a 9:1 Unun into my G90. I have activated POTA sites around Buffalo, NY with this set up. 58 years into the hobby and still finding new fun things to do, hi! de WB2VUO
This is an interesting concept. Unfortunately the 10m pole I have wouldn't fit in the drive on pole mounts we get here. They have a 2" max pole diameter. Might need to try one and see if the pole could slide over it if I left the bottom cap off.
Love these orange colored Knobs on the G-90. Hey Uncle Walter, there were People telling me like 3 Years ago wrapping the Wire around the Fiberglass Pole gives my Antenna System a shitty Performance. I tested it running the Comparison 2 EFHW 39ft.10inches 49:1 side by side. 1 with a straight running Wire and the other EFHW wrapped around the Pole with 4 Loops per Mast Section. No Difference in the Signals Reports I received. No Difference in the RX Signal. Only one little Difference the SWR on the wrapped around Pole Antenna was a little bit higher than on the Straight Up Version. Tnx for Your Video & have a good new Week. 73 de wrinkly old Günter not to be confused with weird Al Yankovic. Over over...💯🙋♂
This gives me an idea for the old tv tower that came with my house. Wrap the top of the tower with the wire on standoffs. Wife wouldn’t see the wires. She hates seeing wires hanging all over the place. LOL
Walt, you need to get a piece of thick sock, or grab open cell foam, or both, and if your using an external mike, shove the mike INSIDE of those items, and the wind noise will virtually gone. Tape around the bottom of the device (it's entrance) to ensure it'll stay put, and VIOLA! all's quiet. Thanks
I would like to see the formulas used to decide length of the radiator and counterpoise wires. And I'd like to know pros and cons of 5/8 wavelength over full wavelength or quarter... Is there a book?
This was an exciting video! Thanks for trying this out. It's encouraging to see and now I want to do this some time. I'll have to get me a DX Commander one of these days. Hey, got a question for you. I've got the G90 myself and I've pulled together all the stuff I need to make your 7-5 vertical, including the Amazon fishing rod. I'm looking to communicate with my grandpa who lives 470 miles away. Would that antenna get the job done, or would the distance be to close?
Thanks! I make contacts all the time at that distance, it really depends on the band and time of day. I would say that 40 and 20 meters when open are your best bet. One easy way to find out is to look on the POTA spot for people in that range and see if you can make contact. That might give you a good feel from your location. 73, Walt
Great to witness the possibilities with a G90. However I think being on the coast helps too. My G90 is out for delivery today. You are getting me inspired to begin building some antennas and exploring/ playing / experimenting and especially having fun 📢🥸👁️ 73 Steve AA4SH
This is such a neat experiment, and I have the parts on hand! I see 41' is one of the "not so random" random wire lengths. So this is a random wire, vertical? Wonder if it will work well, over in the deep "holler"?
Love the videos. Only thing better would be for you to use a wireless mic with a good windscreen. Your videos sound great indoors or in the car at arms length, but as soon as you go outside or move to a wide shot, the audio leaves a LOT to be desired. (and sometimes hard to understand you) Keep up the great videos.
Thanks for another video Walt! Would you happen to know how close wound an antenna like this can be before the windings significantly attenuates its signal? 73 mike
Thank you for this video! I have 2 questions please. What ratio has your un-un at the feeding point? And where can i get a set of this beautiful knobs for my G90! ... vy73 from Hamburg/Germany, Dietmar, DL4HAO :)
Good and Great work with both 40foot wire antenna an QRP rig XIEGU G90! CONGRATULATIONS! 8800miles with only 20WATT! TEST A DELTALOOP WITH TIP OF THE DELTALOOP DOWN WITH FEEDER! MOUNTED AT THE TIP! 130 OHM USE 2:1 OR *4:1 BALUN! [* MATCHBOX ] 73s de sm6oer /Gunnar, Sweden
I've done it both ways and it works well with the cigarette lighter plug. I just use the battery to simulate a true portable outing versus a mobile one.
Hi Walt, next step maybe would be to also wind the 17ft (5 metre) counterpoise on the bottom of the pole. Would that make the antenna then an off-centre-fed random length antenna?
Thank You for ALL your great video's Walt. I have learned a lot. Recently licenced. Quick question for you, or anyone else who might know the answer. I'm considering buying a DX Commander to start building out this spring. The full package which is multi band with wires, holders, guides etc is $371. A replacement pole only is $71. Question: Can I buy just the pole and will it work with my own support or does the replacement pole require the full kit that might contain a base holder unit or such. The rep at DX Engineering could not answer the question. Thanks! Looking forward to getting going. You were/are a GREAT inspiration.
Thanks! you could just buy a pole and build out the rest yourself for sure but to be honest for the time and all the things needed i would probably just buy the complete kit if I was doing a permanent installation. 73, Walt
Walt, You didn't mention it, but will this antenna tune up on 40 meters as well? Just love your videos Walt. You are my favorite Ham on YT. 73! David 👍
I have thoroughly enjoyed your videos Sir. You mentioned a good 10, 11, 12 meter? I purchased an Anytone AT-5555 about 15 years ago and after 10 years I purchased an Anytone AT-5555n. I have had such success with both radios. The AT-5555n has, in my opinion, a richer RX audio and frequency response. And it's got a VFO type of control or channelized. Just my suggestion Sir. Love the videos Walt. 👍 Still don't have my Tkt. Chicken Band for Life🤣 Freebander: 107 The Village Idiot North Texas 73's from Big D P.S. "ONLY 11METERS ONLY QRP" Better electronics in amateur radios for 11 meter freebanding. Sorry if I offend anyone
If I was to do something like this, but attach a pole to my vinyl sided house, how much would you think the house would effect it? I would try it, but I do not have a pole and I hate to waste the money on conduit if it does not work.
Thanks for making the video Walt. I believe the DX Commander is a fibre-glass pole, have you tried this with a carbon fibre pole? I think it may absorb some of the signal but you have inspired me to experiment with spiral wound verticals. It's like going back to CBs and Firestick antennas! I was pleased to see your G90 doing so well as I have one sitting in a box waiting for me to fire it up. Best 73, G0ACE