[LeArc] New antenna set up

Sat, 06 Sep 2003 21:36:07 -0500

I thought you would get a kick out of this... so I am going to tell you all
about the apartment antenna I just built, and the preliminary testing I have
done with it...

I built a slinky antenna.  Took 6 slinky jr.s, used 3 for each side of a
dipole, and straight connected a 20 foot section of RG-8U.  On the ends, I
have two jumper leads made up... one for 80/20M, and one for 40M.  However,
I have found that I only need one (more on that in a few minutes)..I have
the ends stretched out about 8 feet on each side, with the center in the
corner of the room, so the antenna is at a 90 degree angle.  As for height
from ground... I would guess 16 feet.  I live on the 2nd floor.

I have hooked it up to my Kenwood S450S/AT.  This radio has an automatic
tuner which will match ohm loads of approx 20-150 ohms (which translates to
approx a 3:1 swr).  The leads on the ends are 33inches long each, and re
designed to hang sraight down for 80M, connect to the 56th loop from the end
for 20M, and to the 5th loop from the center for 40M... however, I have
found that it really doesn't matter, so I leave it in 80M setting.  Using
the tuner, I am able to match the anntenna up as follows... (using the
center of the voice bands)

160M    Tuner not designed for this band
80M      Tunes to a 1:1 match
40M      Tunes to a 1:1 match
30M      Did Not Test
20M      Radio Will not Tunes 20M
17M      Tunes to a 1:1 match
15M      Tunes to a 1:1 match
12M      Tunes to a 1:1 match
10M      Tunes to a 2.3:1 match (tested at 28.400MHz)

I would think that this isn't bad for a first shot at building an antenna,
besides the fact that it is extememly compromised.  However, it does get me
on the air in the limited space I have to work with.  A slinky jr is a 72
turn by 1 3/4 inch coil.  I have six total (3 on each side), linked
together... I don't know the math, but this is scrunched into a 16 foot
space...

The only thing that depresses me about it is that I built the thing to work
20/40/80, but it won't work 20... oh well...  look at all the bands I get
that I wasn't expecting...

Franklin D Wolverton
[email protected]
N9OE

What's my dynamic range on the bass trombone?   On or off.
These two tuba players walk past a bar... Well, it could happen!