Longwire Antenna
| Feb 5th 2012, 03:08 | |
WB8ZTPJoined: Apr 4th 1998, 00:00Total Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
Les, (N7GH) Thanks for the heads up on the web article on long wire “random length”! Well written and very informative. URL: http://www.hamuniverse.com/randomwireantennalengths.html BTW, great looking King Salmon on your QRZ.com bio. Looks like we both like to fish, check my site also for some fishing pictures. Let’s keep the ideas and comments on long wire (random wire) antennas coming, one never stops learning from all the great Elmer’s out there in the Ham Radio world! 73, Mark WB8ZTP |
| Feb 28th 2012, 02:13 | |
chip3655Joined: Feb 27th 2012, 22:47Total Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
Based on the hamuniverse lengths here is what I made with A 84' piece of 12/2 outdoor lighting (landscape) wire. I cut one of the conductors at 25' This is to be the matching stub. The radiator is the other conductor at the full 84'. They run parallel(molded together) up the back of my house to 22' then go horizontal to my neighbors tree. The 25' Conductor is just cut dead ended next to the radiator conductor. The two conductors are terminated to a PL259. 35' of rg8 feed this with a 8 turn 5" air balun just before the connection to the antenna. The LDG at-600 matches this wire excellent 80-10 meters although i only use it from 80-20. I also run an Ameritron ALS 600 with no problems. No rf in the shack, no counterproise wires - and no zaps or burns. Amazingly it works very very well for such a comprimise antenna. Small property calls for drastic measures. More importantly, being heard is the goal and having fun doing so. Experimient; you never know what will work for your situation. 73, Harold "Chip" KC2ZVA |
| Jun 5th 2012, 03:55 | |
WB8ZTPJoined: Apr 4th 1998, 00:00Total Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
Thanks all for the great info on Long-Wire / Random Wire antennas. I finally had a chance to put one up while on vacation at the Outer Banks, NC (OBX). Zack (W1VT), Ed (W1RFI) and Bob (WB1GCM) I made sure I had some sort of grounding / counterpoise system with this portable location. I ran an insulated ground wire down the outside of the 3 story house and bared the last 20’ and buried it in the sand. I wet the sand area down every day to try to help... It isn’t the idea ground for sure but it worked. As for putting it up, it took me ~ 2 hours to access the situation, cut the length I could fit on the lot and put it up. Phillip (KA9WGN) you are so correct, the on the fly knowledge gained was tremendous. As for length, I used the web site that Les (N7GH) suggested: http://www.hamuniverse.com/randomwireantennalengths.html It was a great reference for optimal lengths. With the area I had to work with, 84’ was the longest I could put up. Chip (KC2ZVA) exact same length as yours. I used my Yaesu FT-897 rig and an MFJ-949E manual antenna tuner. With the limited time I had to operate, vacation activities, family and kids I’ve had confirmed QSO’s with UR3HC & UR0IF (Ukraine), UA3QKA (Russia), OV1CDX (Denmark) and many US stations. This is just operating ~ ½ hour a day after everyone left the family room for the night where I had to setup the rig. I even got to check into my favorite net, The Brothers Net (W9BRO) one evening.. The sun must have worn everyone out and they all went to bed early! I was VERY impressed with this portable location antenna! Thanks all for the info and help. This topic still seems to be popular so keep it going and let’s get some new ideas and information posted. 73, Mark WB8ZTP |
| Jul 4th 2012, 14:20 | |
gw0nvnJoined: Apr 4th 1998, 00:00Total Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
I glad all went well. It's a very nice place to visit. I've worked portable there, when parked up on Route 12 which runs up Cape Hatteris National Seashore. Because of the location surrounded by the sea you may find that a vertical antenna will also work very well. I used an MFJ 12ft telescopic whip ( the biggest I could get at the time) mounted on the vehicle trunk, a small matching coil across the feedpoint and a counterpoise wire when I operated there. A vertical dipole would have been better. But I had no supports. Something to think about as a backup if you can't get the long wire up. The ARRL website and books have much information on antennas for use on the sea shore. 73's GW0NVN N1XIH |
| Aug 13th 2012, 20:54 | |
AG3EKJoined: Dec 12th 2008, 10:05Total Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
I'm glad I found this thread. I'm just about to put up a random wire antenna. Because of restrictions, this is about the best I could come up with. The plan is to run 148' along three sides of my yard (roughly 28' then a 90 degree turn to the left for another 50' and then another left turn for another 70') along the top of a 6' high fence. I'm planning on running an identical wire as a counterpoise along the bottom of the fence. These would be connected to a 1:1 current balun (MFJ) with coax from there into the house. I wasn't planning on using any kind of grounding, just the counterpoise. Does anyone see anything inherently wrong with this picture? I've got all the materials, but I probably won't get around to actually installing it for a few more days so maybe someone will make a suggestion before I run it. I'll let everyone know how it works out when I'm done. Marty, AG3EK |
| Sep 23rd 2012, 09:18 | |
WB8ZTPJoined: Apr 4th 1998, 00:00Total Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
Marty (AG3EK) Glad you found the post, it's been very popular! See my comments above, (June 5th, 2012) on running a longwire while on vacation at OBX. I barely had a ground system and it worked great so I would think yours would work fine also. I'm planning on installing a 203' run this fall at the house after the leaves fall. 73, Mark WB8ZTP |
| Feb 22nd, 09:30 | |
WB8ZTPJoined: Apr 4th 1998, 00:00Total Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
With over 6000 views we need more feedback and experiences from folks using Long Wire antennas! 73, Mark Pogany - WB8ZTP |