Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
Open Roads Radio forum for Ham, Amateur Radio and RV camping


 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Prev Previous Post   Next Post Next
Old 10-07-2011, 05:03 PM   #1
KE5ZRT
Super Swell Guy
 
KE5ZRT's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Amarillo
Posts: 273
Send a message via Yahoo to KE5ZRT
Lightbulb 2m Ground Plane (my design)

I had some junq lying around and I wanted to build a 2m ground plane antenna for one of our local technicians. I scoured the internet and found a lot of plans but I wasn't satisfied with any of them. Many plans using an SO-239 didn't include any means of fastening to a tower or mast. Others had poor bolt-on designs for the radials by looping the radial around a single bolt to fasten them to the SO-239. It seemed to me that this method would work loose over time. So, I scratched my lumpy head and set out to make a better design.

First, I cut a piece of 1.5" x 1.5" aluminium angle to 1' length and rounded the corners using a quarter as a template for aesthetics and safety.



Second, I marked and drilled holes for a mounting u-bolt that I had in my junq box.



Third, I marked and drilled holes for the SO-239 socket.



Fourth, I cut four radials at 20 5/16" from some stainless steel scrap whips I had been saving. Any number of materials can be used for this such as: welding rod, coat hangers, ground wire or stripped romex. Then I sandwiched the radials between the SO-239 and the aluminum angle as pictured below.



Finally, I cut a vertical radiator at 20" from some scrap heavy gauge ground wire. I filed the end of the ground wire until it fit into the SO-239 center conductor and soldered it in place. (Not shown) Then, I sealed the soldered connection using grey RTV sealant--silicone will also work for weather proofing.



To finish the project, I will use an antenna analyzer to tune the antenna by trimming the radiator and radials 1/8" at a time until my desired resonant frequency of 146.520 is acheived.



This is a cheap, effective and easy homebrew project for 2m. It can be modified for any frequency. I believe this design will prove to be more durable and easier to mount than others that I have seen.

73 de KE5ZRT
__________________
Extra Class Amateur (Ham) Radio Operator, VE, SKYWARN Storm Spotter, ARES Volunteer, TSA Security Officer, Full-time RV dweller (Amarillo TX for now), webmaster www.PanhandleARES.org, Married to ke5zru!

KE5ZRT is offline   Reply With Quote
 

Tags
2 meter, ground plane, homebrew, so-239

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:57 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
×