[Elecraft] PAC-12 portable whip for the K2

[Ron ZL1TW]

Hi,
    Hope this is not OT...but here is how I find the PAC-12 I just made to
take with me down the South Island of ZL later this year so I can work  as
a /P station in the evenings with the K2.
I finished the metal work today and have tried it out only on the 40m band
to date. I got the whip to tune to a 1.0:1 SWR at 7Mhz and the swr rises to
only about 1.3:1  at 7.080mhz , which is a very useable bandwidth.
During the afternoon I had a SSB and CW contact with  good signal reports,
and this evening I have just finished working CE1URJ for a 559 report. All
very pleasing.
Originally I was using the K2 without the KAT100 and running the full 100w
without any problems .
I have the whip  stuck in my lawn outside , mounted on a 1/2"
aluminium  rod, and no radials.( OK...the lawn is *WET*)
With it connected to the ANT2 position on my
KAT100 there is an amazingly small difference in signal level between my
dipole and the whip. The whip does produce  a higher noise floor.( about 2 S
units...whatever that might be in my set!)
Changes to design were made, but mostly out of nescessity with some objects
not available here. I used paxolin for the coil formers instead of the
"risers" (which I haven't been able to find at all yet) and the top section
that uses the collapsable whip, was made using a 24" section of solid 1/4
rod , coupled to another 24" section of 1/4" tube section ali.
The top coupler was drilled part way and threaded for the tube, and a 1/8"
hole was drilled in the top.
Another small hole was drilled and tapped in the side of the coupler and a
screw with a knurned head was installed.
I then slid a 3' stainless steet VHF whip section in the top and secured it
with the screw....
Anyway, the antenna seem to fit my needs nicely, and will pack away in the
car without problems. It certainly appears to radiate . (There is nothing
worse than a 8' dummy load)
I will now get the coils for the other bands set up.
For anyone who is handy with a few hand tools , it would appear the PAC-12
has real merit as a portable antenna..
Cheers......Ron ZL1TW