10 METER LADDER LINE J POLE ANTENNA / Build and Field Test

Easy to build 10 Meter vertical antenna. A start to finish antenna build of a ladder line J pole antenna cut for the 10 meter band. I also follow up with a few of the contacts that I made in the ARRL 10M Contest. An excellent antenna for local ground wave communication or chasing DX.

[@russellkvistad7976]

Great video Steve! Can’t wait to build one! Russ KK4WX

[@gregorylewis381]

You would achieve more bandwidth by using a spacing of 6 or 8 inches between the wires of the ladder line. This can be done with 14 AWG wire and some insulators between the wires. All the best.

[@happyhome41]

Wow, glad I found you. EXACTLY my problem - weekly 10m net, and I simply could not participate - so much noise on receive, and no one could hear me.

[@hamradioportable1630]

We started a weekly 10m net in my area. After our club build of this antenna, we now have many more able to participate. I can't emphasize enough, if this antenna is working well for your local net it will be one heck of a DX antenna. I have compared this antenna to my 5/8 wave Maco vertical antenna at the same height. Not enough difference to mention. Have fun with it. Steve - Ad4xt

[@BaySideTV]

Thanks Steve for this great idea. Followed your instructions and got it up into a 40ft tree. Worked 7Q7EMH Malawi in east Africa in first hour of operation from upstate NY... a new country! Only 10 watts on my IC705... Don - KW2AIR

[@hamradioportable1630]

Sounds great Don! This one here will be up for winter Field Day 2023. Steve - Ad4xt

[@Not_So_Weird_in_Austin]

Nice video. i once made a 40 meter J Pole out of twin lead for a 90 foot tall pine tree!

[@hamradioportable1630]

I'm already thinking about one for 15 and 20. Thanks for watching. Steve - Ad4xt

[@n0vty873]

Fed a half wave 10 meter vertical wire with a 49:1 unun. Got a wide band width and a low swr and worked great DX

[@hamradioportable1630]

Yes that's another way to get a 1/2 wave wire up without radials. Just need to make sure the transformer is light weight enough. Thanks for watching. Steve - Ad4xt

[@arconeagain]

I once made an aluminium J-Pole for 11m, it was a great antenna. I had teething problems with it though, they're shocking for CMC. I would tune it at ground level, but once I raised it up, the SWR would go through the roof. Maybe this is an antenna Q thing as well. Anyway, I found that if I fed it at the 200 ohm point with a 4:1 coaxial balun, it settled the whole thing down. I was using a decent ferrite choke btw. That's the beauty of these antennas, variable input impedance. You could easily feed it with 450 ohm ladder line. Another thing worth mentioning, you could make a version of this completely with ladder line, a Slim Jim. Short at each end and simply make a short cutout on one side. It has a second half wavelength that doubles back down on itself. That's another I have made in wire, what a performer that was.

[@chrissewell1608]

I am impressed with the antenna coverage. I tried making a 2M / 440 rollup J-Pole, and have had the damnest time getting it tuned, just right. I even added a longer strand to the top end, to start re-tuning it. I think I will have to MOVE the co-ax, in order to tune it. But This 10 Meter, will be my next build, after finalizing the first antenna. PS. That Liquid Tape comes in handy! And if you wear surgical gloves, and wet your fingers, you can mold it and work with it, before it cures.

[@hamradioportable1630]

Yea those 2M / 440 rollup's can be a little finicky. You wont have any problem with this 10M, Thanks for the liquid tape tip with the wet gloves. I'll give that one a try. Take care; Steve - Ad4xt

[@chublez]

More effective to move the feed point on the 2m J-Pole. Also a faire bit more finicky than this 10m version I imagine. Can't say for sure, working on this 10m version now. Got my 2M Slim Jim tuned in pretty quickly when I built it moving the feed point but a little movement is all it took.

[@johnstumm3155]

Great video. I found that same N1LO diagram and I've been making them up for fellow club members at cost. I happen across some interesting solderless disconnect blocks that mount nicely just below the feed point using a tiewrap. Allows for unplugging coax feedline and providing strain relief. Saw them in a video using them from an aussie who used them on his "Extension Cord 10 Meter Vertical" Called Kaszoox. Available on Amazon. 10 Sets 5.08mm Pitch Male & Female No Soldering Green Phoenix Type Connector 4 Pin PCB Screw Terminal Block. 16.99. Can use on other band J-poles too.73, John

[@redacted2763]

Thanks for making this video, Steve! The 10M rollup J-pole has become my primary 10M antenna. Due to the towering heights that are possible with this antenna and a good Southern pine tree, I have not found a better 10M omnidirectional antenna for local or surprisingly DX work.

[@pvdk]

I bumped into this video and it caught my attention. I will build my own 10m j-pole to test it against a inverted-L end fed have wave (80-10). Great instructions, nice signals (real dx). 73 Phil ON4VP

[@hamradioportable1630]

The secret sauce to this antenna is that: 1) no radials are needed. 2) It's very light and you can pull this antenna very high into a tree top. Even when pulling up some good coax. Very easy to take portable. Build it, you will be very happy with it. Steve - Ad4xt

[@journeyon1983]

I'd like to borrow your slingshot and fishing pole to get my J pole over some high branches on one of my two tallish maple trees. LOL! Thanks for uploading this tutorial video. I'll have a crack at it and see how it goes. Thanks Ham Radio Portable.

[@hamradioportable1630]

Yea, my local club keeps me busy. Thanks. Steve - Ad4xt

[@joelh1950]

Thanks a million , that is exactly what I have been looking for !

[@Steve-GM0HUU]

👍Thanks for video. I made a very similar antenna for 6m. As you said, a big advantage is no radial or counterpoise.

[@johnsinclair3067]

Great video and info. Thanks for the measurements!!!

[@dylanschulz2404]

Can't beat that! I plan on building one for 6 and 10. Thanks for the video. 73

[@kb9qdi863]

Thanks for the video & easy to follow directions. As a technician this build is right up my alley & I do enjoy building antennas. Going to try one out for a POTA activation with my FT-710 on FT8 & SSB. If all goes well a 6m build will be my next adventure. 73's KB9QDI

[@W1RMD]

Looks like a great antenna! I've been wanting to build one myself. Don't under estimate rg8x coax! I've run 800 watts though it and never had a problem. WAY better than rg58 and not much bigger around. A lot less bulky and cumbersome than rg8 pr lmr400. Also the length of the antenna determines the resonance. Where you attach the coax actually adjusts your feed point impedance not the resonant frequency, although it can make the swr look good. I'm trying to master the art of complex impedance myself, so this is a good physical example of the difference between a resonant antenna and a matched antenna. This also means you can feed it with ladder line if desired if you attach the feed line further from the bottom. I'm curious to experiment with this and do a comparison. I believe j-poles are fairly broad banded and I've always been a fan. You could spent hundreds on a commercially built antenna, or have fun building one of these which looks way cooler anyway! Thanks for sharing this project with us and 73's!

[@G0ogs]

You could also work this horizontal with the matching section hanging down if desired, so this a quick easy and versatile antenna, thanks for sharing.

[@hamradioportable1630]

It would work great going out a 2nd. Floor window to a tree.

[@AlMurray-wb2xt]

Great Antenna built mine Smashin the DX....

[@hamradioportable1630]

Great to here. One of the most effective and easiest to build antennas i've seen for 10 M. Pull it up high and get ready for the CQWW contest later this month. Mine will be high and ready. Steve - Ad4xt

[@K3JRZOnTheAir]

Nice work with the 10m antenna & the 10m contest! 73

[@ivorbiggen9599]

I’m convinced, I’m trying that

[@hamradioportable1630]

We used one this past weekend at winter field day. So simple to deal with. Worked great.

[@Steven-re7xt]

Tkx fer info. Just moved in to a area that has a dislike for antennas and I have 2 meter vhf/uhf antenna on a pulley set up. Even hid one in a flag pole. All ways learning the j pole tkx de kv4li 73

[@leemonaco5377]

Thanks steve! Going to try it! Looks good! Hope all is well with you and your family! Take care!

[@thed8229]

Liquid E tape is the best. Especially good for coating your outside coax connections after wrapping.

[@Jmart2111]

Awesome Build , de KN4SWS and KO4FHS 👍

[@jensmueller6374]

Great video Steve! Looking forward to making my own 10m roll up!

[@steve0321]

Yeah I liked the first one so much I kept it. LOL Have used this antenna to make contacts all over the world,

[@DonzLockz]

Awesome. I haven't seen that type of antenna before for 10m, especially on ladderline. Very cool, it works extremely well. You don't seem to have any polarisation issues either.😉

[@buddyhoover57]

Very Cool! I definitely will build one. AI7YM.

[@hamradioportable1630]

I like to take one to a hilltop when portable and pull it up a tree. So easy. Works great when 10M is open. Have fun with it. Steve - Ad4xt

[@HeyNylo]

Looks like you had some great conditions for testing your new antenna. Nice clear signals that day! DE N1LO

[@hamradioportable1630]

Thanks Mark for the info. My club is planning up a club build for this one. The neat thing on this design is that you can get it up really high in a GA pine tree. Works great for ground wave too. Steve - Ad4xt

[@darrellcollins877]

Love it ! Ham 101 need an antenna make the antenna simple works AWESOME

[@kdracing3941]

Awesome job

[@edahan]

Hi Steve, great video. I've built something similar, the flowerpot antenna...basically a vertical dipole using coax shield, similar choke and so-239. Instead of using coax inner strand solder some 14AWG wire for greater bandwidth. Seems to work nice. I'd probably build your antenna if I had spare ladder line. Keep it up! 73 and great DX.

[@tonym7cvk430]

Another one to add to the build list Cheers Mr Steve M7CVK

[@hendrikvandermerwe3970]

Think i have to consider making one. Staying in an apartment complex all the houses is ground flood but dont have enough space and height for a permanent antenna... Thanks for a very good video 74SD777

[@acestudioscouk-Ace-G0ACE]

Thanks for this, I might well give it a shot!

[@AlvinMcManus]

Great video but I see a couple of tweaks construction wise the first I noticed would be to use a piece of 4" PVC or a cardboard tube former for you balun windings. I realize you don't have to be uber precise on these things, but I just like the precision of a former to wind coils on. Also you could lay a couple of zip-ties on the former before you start winding. Like I said it just my maker ocd manifesting itself in commentary. I really enjoyed your presentation. That was some clean signal. 73

[@kenluning909]

Nice video. Thanks for sharing. Another item to the antenna build bucket list. LOL de W5KAL

[@deankq4adj125]

Thank you for sharing, great build!

[@wildbill1]

Nice video! You have inpspired me to make one myself for local comms

[@DutchVietnam007]

Great video, nice result. 73 Hans / PC8X

[@edbeckerich3737]

Great video! Let us know how it works for the club!

[@bobadams7245]

Great presentation Steve.

[@shakymedia_UK]

Thanks Steve, got some ladder line so I'm going to have a go. 73's John GM0MST

[@hamradioportable1630]

It will not disappoint. Steve - Ad4xt

[@TheGlane98]

Thanks for the video Steve! Been looking for a portable 10m antenna

[@joelh1950]

Put my antenna together today ............SWR 1.27 at 28.400 MHz ..............Perfect !

[@hamradioportable1630]

That's awesome. Pull it up high as you can in a tall tree. You won't be disappointed. Steve- Ad4xt

[@joelh1950]

@@hamradioportable1630 Thank Again ! 73 from KO1CCO

[@alanpfahler1707]

Thanks Steve I will be trying this out.

[@kgrafton4582]

Thanks, I’m gonna build One. Good video. Kelly

[@yv6eda]

Great antenna! Thanks

[@richardchandler9027]

Perfect. This one I can do. My put it in or on fiberglass pole not sure.

[@RobertLeeAtYT]

I like it. I've been using a end fed half wave dipole for the same use case. It's really just ~5m length of wire (one cut for 28.400MHz for SSB, and one cut for 29.600MHz for FM) and a small 49:1 unun stuffed into a small pill bottle. I'm curious now to compare the two. I suspect the EFHW may be less efficient due to losses in the unun, but should be a lot more practical for field ops. Longer wire on the EFHW means multiband operation on that single wire. Tuning the antenna for that perfect match should be easier too.

[@hamradioportable1630]

The neat part about this antenna is that you can get really high into a tree. Steve - Ad4xt

[@turkishrealtor]

Nice recipe. Thank you! --TA1HYK

[@eyeinidas]

I tried a bazooka antenna for field day. It didn't work as good as I had hoped. I have some ladder line at the house, I'll try 5his one, next.

[@agustinperez4819]

Me gusto saludos desde mexico

[@chrismeisch9922]

Great vid Steve! I found another plan which only used the ladder line and the coax. I have not tried that out yet but once I do let’s compare…. I like yours because I think it may be nicer to hang directly from your wire than directly from the ladder line but we’ll see. 73 K4HCQ

[@hamradioportable1630]

Thanks Chris; This version give you a full 1/2 wave on 10 meters. Club build coming soon on this one. Steve - Ad4xt

[@ssyoumans]

Can you post link?

[@zhirano3909]

Como se calculan los largos de ambas partes de la antena. Me interesaria probar una en 40 metros horizontal. Gracias y muy buen video.-

[@cesarastiz9691]

Esta antena J es en realidad una Zeppelin. Puedes buscar en la web y encontrarás toda la info que necesitas. Basicamente la parte radiante es una 1/2 onda y el stub o sección adaptadora (la que está hecha con la línea paralela) es de 1/4 de onda. Si tienes el espacio suficiente ya que la vas a instalar de forma horizontal puedes agregar otra media onda del lado libre de la línea paralela (doble Zeppelin). Tiene que estar extendida y no en forma de V invertida para que no se distorsionen los lóbulos de radiación. Y la altura recomendada no menor a 1/2 onda. Debido a sus dimensiones y altura requerida usualmente su uso se limita a las bandas altas de HF. Pero para 40m puedes probar con una sola 1/2 aunque no le veo mucho sentido. Creo que te sigue conveniendo un dipolo común y corriente.

[@1shARyn3]

Results sounded good, but all QSOs were US stations. Was hoping to hear QSOs from Argentina and Chile. Good job on the build

[@martinsanford1097]

Very nice sir!

[@cscarbone3655]

Very interesting. I am wondering if instead of ladder line, I could just use 14 gauge wire all the way through and use some 3d printed standoffs to keep the j spaced out. I also wonder if that would eliminate the need for the choke. I've been out of the hobby for a long time, so I'm a little rusty on my antenna theory.

[@hamradioportable1630]

You could, but ladder line is so easy to work with. The choke helps keep out the common mode current.

[@HeyNylo]

I have done exactly this with some newer designs, using homebrew ooen wire line to make the matching section. I used 14 ga THHN wire and electric fence insulators from Tractor Supply as spacers. They are 4" long and I cut them in half. Tuneup is great but still requires a choke to prevent the coax shield from radiating. Regardless of matching section type, this antenna will still detune in the rain. The open wire matching section is a little more tolerant though. Mark - N1LO

[@Dirt_Floor_Garage]

Plasti-Dip makes a black coating if you ever wanted it to match the window line.

[@patriot9455]

I am just going beyond 2w/70cm. 10, 6, and 20 seem to be the "way to go" K0XHF 73

[@marcinmichigan2772]

Steve. I think that the diagram @2:40 is wrong, I think that the center goes to the long leg and the shield goes to the short leg, What say you? I tested mine today, first call was to Puerto Rico, and the 2:1 bandwidth was about 1 Mhz. Nice antenna, I used it with a 40ft sotabeams fiberglass mast in a hitch mount. I like it. 73's de K8MH

[@hamradioportable1630]

It does not matter which side you use. I have tested both ways. Just where on the window line you attach. Final tweaking with the 14ga wire length. A great antenna. Have fun with it. Steve - Ad4xt

[@rfphill1984]

Great video! A couple questions: 1. Is it common for resonant frequency to move slightly higher when elevating the antenna? I'm assuming that just getting it elevated to less stuff is in the near-field causes the impact. 2. Any reason other than cost/weight to use the air choke over a ferrite or two? 3. Would it be OK to just make the whole antenna from ladder line, like a slim-jim setup where the top is shorted and a 4cm or so gap is cut in one side? Seems more expensive but a little more resilient.

[@hamradioportable1630]

Yes, frequency can move with the elevation. Everything affects everything with wire Is antennas. You can choke it anyway you prefer.. That will work. I like to keep the antenna simple and easy to build. And low cost. We have a couple of local hams that have this antenna strung up in a tree 75' or so. With proper Strain relief it will hold up the big coax just fine. Steve - Ad4xt

[@JamesWilson1a]

Hello, thanks for the video. I assumed that a 2 meter ladder line j-pole the elements would be too close together. If this works for 10 meters would it also work for 20 meters?

[@lucase6407]

The bandwidth will be extremely narrow but yes

[@AubryHarrington-q8i]

Do you remember how much power you were running for the comtest is this antenna good for 100w ssb radios

[@Locksnut]

Excellent Steve! How many Watts did you use? External speaker sounded good but couldn’t see the brand. 73

[@hamradioportable1630]

100 Watts, The ext. speaker is an MFJ. Thanks for Watching. Steve - Ad4xt

[@james19X]

Yeah thanks to MUD DUCK JOE.

[@ihaulscrap]

i think the center wire of coax needs to be attached to the long side of ladder doesn't it. Do the instructions indicate that.

[@hamradioportable1630]

It does not matter which side for the center conductor. You will find plans for the shield to go on either side. Ladder line and the J is to provide a 50 ohm match. I have done it both ways with no difference. Build it and enjoy. Will be a great antenna this fall on 10M. Steve - Ad4xt

[@cesarastiz9691]

Dear Steve, I loved this video. I always enyoy your testings during the contests. How about building a Super-J, a 5/8ths Super-J or a Collinear J for lower take-off angle and more gain towards the horizon? 73 de César, LU3HIP.

[@hamradioportable1630]

I'll have to look into that. Steve - Ad4xt

[@cqarizona4461]

Steve..Do you have a link for the spec build sheet you used ? Nice video. Thanks

[@HeyNylo]

This plan comes from my website, nylo's notepad. You can search for it. It appears that hyperlinks are not allowed to be posted in the comments. I've made numerous attempts to post helpful comments here but they keep disappearing. Good luck with your construction. Mark N1LO

[@hamradioportable1630]

Hey Mark; I really enjoyed building the antenna from the directions on your website. Everyone should go check out Mark's site. He has some really good antenna stuff. Thanks for what you do for the hobby. www.qsl.net/n1lo/10mjpole.pdf Steve Ad4xt

[@HeyNylo]

Thanks for posting the link Steve. That will take you directly to the PDF file but if you go up one level you can see the entire antenna plans page. There is actually a super j-pole version of the 10 m which was nearly equivalent to my 10 m beam when I had it hanging from my tower. And there is a plan for 20 m version as well. These can be mathematically scaled to other bands using the ratio of plan frequency to new target frequency as a scale factor, 15 and 17 etc. There will be some trial and error tapping the right feed point. It's best to have the choke coil hanging a few inches below the bottom of the stub and to temporarily tape the coax between feed point and bottom of the stub to make it most stable for tuning. Otherwise after you do the final dress and taping of the stub and coax together at the bottom the tuning will change. It's better to have the entering and exiting portion of the coax at the same point in the choke coil, zip tied to adjacent turns for mechanical strain relief. That helps keep the weight of the coax feed line from pulling the coil apart. Also, I like to completely unitize the choke coil by spiral wrapping the entire thing with Scotch super 33. Do not pull the tape tight or it will collapse the turns. All you want is a sacrificial UV layer and it makes it rigid and durable. I also recommend using the Scotch super 33 to cover the liquid electrical tape as a UV sacrificial layer. Good luck with your club build!

[@hamradioportable1630]

@@HeyNylo Thanks Mark for the extra tips and input. The piece of coax I hand on hand was a bit short. Awsome antenna and design. We used one of these in the cqww last month for the 10m band. We had it up to 75' at the top. We had hours of contacts. Thanks! again. Steve - Ad4xt

[@AlvinMcManus]

I'm a little late to the party, but could you use 300omh twin lead instead of window line?? Asking for friend 😉

[@hamradioportable1630]

It's possible, measurements would be different. The ladder line length would be way too long. Stick with the 450ohm to keep it simple. Steve - Ad4xt

[@KU9L]

I noticed he wrote 7' 9 1/2" for the ladder line and you had cut it for 7' 9 1/4", how does that affect the resonant frequency? I want to build it for 28.1 Mhz for my QRP CW activities. I will look up his schematic. Cheers es 73, Davey - KU9L PS- Salvaged ladder line is the way to go, 100 feet of 450-ohm ladder line is $87 on AMZ. US full-time RVers have a tiny junk box, lol!

[@hamradioportable1630]

Yes, I cut mine short by mistake. Attaching the coax connection a bit lower made up for that. Don't solder the connection point until you string it up and get the resonant point you want. As I went lower on the connection point so did the dip. Steve - Ad4xt

[@KU9L]

@@hamradioportable1630 Thanks, Steve! Now to drum up some used Ladder-line, $87 for 100' on AMZ.

[@kchedville]

Hi Just wondering - can your Vertical Antenna be run straight up a 30ft Metal Push Up Flag Pole and still work good? which also has a GMRS J-Pole Antenna on the tip top.

[@hamradioportable1630]

Not sure, give it a try and let me know.

[@paullinnell]

What’s the webpage for the diagram?? Searched web and didn’t find it. Thanks! Merry Christmas!!

[@hamradioportable1630]

Look further down in the comments in one of my replies .

[@fitcher-armchair-sleuth]

Wattage of your soldering Iron?

[@hamradioportable1630]

1200w

[@Navwx1]

HI, Can I mount it horizontally? Thank you

[@hamradioportable1630]

You can , May effect the tuning. Tune it as you plan to install it. I may test that. Just get it up. Steve- Ad4xt

[@Navwx1]

@@hamradioportable1630 thank you so much for the reply Steve. I will try it once I get my new radio. 73, WX2WX

[@williamsorensen8644]

Is this for Ham or CB?

[@hamradioportable1630]

This is for the Ham 10m band. Measurements will be different for the 11 meter band.

[@paulaubuchon2336]

Do you have a spec sheet on the build. Paul K1YOU

[@hamradioportable1630]

Nothing formal. Stop the video and write down the measurements. I have seen a few online moxon calculators.

[@3dPrint_and_chill]

59, 59, 59, 59. 😂 So e of those were more like 55 but hey as long as that first number is a genuine 5 it doesn't really matter, it depends on if the preamp is on anyway.

[@jamesrick7474]

Does anyone have a link those plans? I tired a couple google searches but came up short

[@hamradioportable1630]

James, it's in a reply I made further down the comments. I don't have my computer with me. Steve - Ad4xt