A Ladder Line Slim Jim Antenna for 2m.

The Slim Jim built with ladder line is light, portable, cheap and quick to make, what's not to like? Also testing a tone board for my IC-251E. Sometimes things just don't work as planned... Please see: / radioprepper DISCLAIMER: The Radio Prepper logo (depicting a microphone) is indeed inspired from a famous flag created in 1775. It is NOTHING BUT a symbol of freedom and independence. It does NOT imply support to any political group. It does NOT imply, represent nor support any ideology with an intent on harming anyone. Freedom means freedom from persecution based on any human trait or belief such as, non exhaustively, race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or nationality. The Radio Prepper channel is a technology and science channel with a focus on preparedness and use of radio technology for disaster relief and small group communications in times of need. It is apolitical and open to anyone sharing the same interests. .
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[@BarefootBeekeeper]

My hot tip: start by positioning the gap in the middle of one of the plastic reinforced sections of the ladder line. Measure in both directions from that point. No extra reinforcement necessary, although a short length of shrink tubing makes it tidier.

[@rkaag99]

when cutting the notch out, pre measure the length so it does not fall on the 'window' opening. the solid part of the plastic will provide the support while only notching out the wire piece from one side. i built 1 for 222MHz band (US) and it works wonderfully.

[@RadioPrepper]

+rkaag99 Excellent idea.

[@smde1]

A great way to reinforce the gap - that is electrically neutral - is to use baking soda mixed with super glue. It will provide a super hard filler for that open space and it can be sanded/ground & painted after it has dried .... Try it on some spare material and see how well it works !

[@BrianJurkowski]

Thanks for another great video. 1:17 Rather than reinforcing that opening, I would recommend (next time you're making one of these) that you measure out from that cut, such that the cut falls in one of the the solid parts of the ladder line (not a window). Then you measure out from there and let the ends fall where they may, rather than starting at one end and having that opening fall in a window.

[@jacknifedbl]

Heat shrink tube works great to reenforce the gap from the split...I have several antennas like this....they are great!!!

[@washingtonstatepicker3460]

I use adhesive shrink tubing for the ladder line for durability. It will hold the split section together

[@humaxf1]

Binding post to BNC adapters are very useful. I made a UHF dipole from one for an SDR dongle in a few minutes. So quick and simple with two lengths of wire ~150mm long. I may upgrade to 2 lengths of small diameter copper pipe with the ends flattened and drilled so each element just slides over the threaded post which will be kept in place with the red/black nuts. I like the feed-point on your slim-jim. Quick and easy to attach the feedline unlike others where it is permanently attached. If you can't cut the notch on a 'rung' of the ladder-line, maybe use an ink refill tube from a biro pen to link the two ends of wire?

[@RadioPrepper]

+humaxf1 Yep, I need a couple more of those binding posts, extremely useful indeed!

[@rkaag99]

to reinforce the one you already have built, try using a length of narrow 'zip tie' to bridge the opening. (maybe 'weld' it with a soldering iron to the existing plastic.)

[@RadioPrepper]

+rkaag99 Maybe, since epoxy does not stick...

[@untungsumardi3586]

Ok , Thank You Very Much By Information Antenna A Ladder Slim Jim For 2m.

[@pathopkins4500]

Gill you can another piece of "LADDER-LINE" segment like the same one missing and remove the inside WIRE and plastic weld the NON WIRE segment to the "SLIM JIM" antenna together =) Welding ( melting ) the plastic will take a bit of practice using SLIVERS of the SAME PLASTIC use in the ladder-line =)

[@RadioPrepper]

+Pat Hopkins Thanks, never tried that...

[@BarefootBeekeeper]

Make the gap within the plastic moulding of one of the "steps".

[@joeshmoe7899]

Cheapest for ladder line: $30 for 50 feet on eBay. Seems cheaper to buy it made.

[@kurtzimmerman5845]

Just a quick note. If you measure the 1/4wave side so it falls within the solid section of the wire you will not need to add additional support to the wire since both ends are attached to the solid section. 73; Kurt -W2MW

[@RadioPrepper]

Not sure what you mean...

[@troymckaskle]

Hi, I followed your idea and built a 6m Slim Jim. While building, it occurred to me that if you use a balanced to unbalanced connector for a feed point as you do in this video then 2 things are possible: 1) You can completely cut the window line at the feed point, strip all of the ends and join them together inside the barrel connector. This would allow for some small adjustment in length to get very close to 50 ohms at the feed point making adjustment somewhat easier. 2) You could build a radial system and terminate the ends into a banana plug and connect that to the negative side of the connector and have a basic ground radial system to assist with grounding. Not sure if this is even feasible, but it seems easy to test, especially at QRP Love watching your videos, thanks!! - K0LEA

[@RadioPrepper]

Thanks, that would be an interesting test...

[@stephenwilliams5201]

Just got mine love it. However I launch antenna with a zebco/ sling shot. A quick shot into tree pull up 15 feet. And tie down . When it's time to go I "cut and run" hi hi. enjoy how ever . And I use a choke made from a beer can x6 turns then tied off with wire ties x4. 73 de kv4li

[@RadioPrepper]

Nice :-)

[@drewby4563]

How long does the coaxial cable need to be or does it not matter.

[@RadioPrepper]

It does not matter but longer means more losses.

[@joseico90]

Have you ever tried building a ground plane quarter wave? I really like how well they perform and can be built to be easy to dismantle. No need for chockes on them either. Regards! Good video!

[@RadioPrepper]

Thanks, sure, but they aren't as interesting!

[@joseico90]

@@RadioPrepper "Interesting" is a subjective term dear colleague :) Regards :)

[@RadioPrepper]

Sure is ;-)

[@Robinzano]

Great video and explanation, thanks. Just bought my first 60 foot section of ladder line and now I've got to build something with it! Did you buy the rf choke or did you build it? I'd like to build one.

[@RadioPrepper]

I built It, pretty easy...

[@Robinzano]

@@RadioPrepper can you point me in the direction of the plans for it

[@phononify]

Dear Gil, can you do some videos about chocks and/or hf avoidance in the shack -- I actually want to run wtsj-x on my computer at home and realize, that the hamlib interface does not work anymore when I use a certain power level above 8 Watt -- it is the direct influence on the radio computer system and not the power line or sound card/CAT connection to the radio. All these topics included are of real interest. Would be great -- I especially like your videos. They are interesting and sympathic -- hope to meet you once on HF ... I just cannot read CW only send ;) For some reason I have big troubles to learn reading, because I did in the beginning wrong and memorized dots and dashes ;) Bad luck

[@phononify]

If you once want to try CW with me -- would be a great honor. But we need than to communicate over the internet while doing so :)

[@RadioPrepper]

Great idea, I'll add it to my list!

[@WHNorthcote]

I am wondering if you could redo this along with a NanoVNA and see if you can get a better result for VHF.

[@RadioPrepper]

I might make a new one and analyse it...

[@karlbridge6681]

Hi, it may be the passage of time but the dimensions for building this ladder-line slim Jim no longer appear to be available. I’d like to make this antenna and so would be very grateful for the dimensions please! Thanks.

[@RadioPrepper]

Ah, unfortunately I no longer have it, but an online search will no doubt get you results. Did you try the M0UKD J-Pole calculator?

[@CroPrepper]

Great. I read that it's the best one radiating horizontally. Odd design though, do you got field test videos?

[@RadioPrepper]

+Croatia Prepper No field test yet. I need to make a new one for 6m because I used the ladder line for something else!

[@CroPrepper]

Radio Prepper thanks for the prompt reply. I am still trying to understand that choke thing. Isn't the slim jim unbalanced so the unbalanced coax shouldn't need a choke / balun?

[@RadioPrepper]

+Croatia Prepper With an unbalanced antenna some current returns to the radio via the coax outer shield. The choke stops it. The fact that coax is unbalanced does not help because even though both are unbalanced they do not balance each other...

[@sauroiu5asa696]

Hi Gil, to reinforce the ladder line, i would Just use a strip of good american tape. Best 73 de IU5ASA

[@RadioPrepper]

Thanks good option.

[@RadioPrepper]

Good one thanks!

[@9PAT508]

Salutation Gill Est-il possible d'utiliser du plexiglass afin de monter l'antenne dessus? Il me semble que ça serait plus rigide et en même temps, ça règlerais le problème de la gap..... qu'en pense tu? salutation d'un Acadien du Nouveau-Brunswick Canada 73 et bravo pour tes montage vidéos. Très informatif :) a la prochaine...salut

[@RadioPrepper]

Bonjour, oui, certainement!

[@humaxf1]

Does the short piece of ladder line affect the SWR in anyway? As in lengthening the aerial in some way

[@RadioPrepper]

+humaxf1 I haven't done enough testing to find out...

[@oladapoaloba]

Hi Gill I have a slim Jim 2m 70cm ordered for my yeasu VX-8DE ..on it's way now. Just wondering would it work with FT587D as well? Thanks for sharing have a good one mate 👍

[@RadioPrepper]

Hi, it definitely should on 2m and 70cm. I'd suggest getting a clamp-on toroid choke to slide on the coax. It helps finding the best SWR sometimes.

[@oladapoaloba]

Radio Prepper thanks a million my friend👍73s

[@PatAutrey]

hey when building a yagi antenna is it understood that you should get your connections to the driven element as close as possible, does it matter how close they are, is there a formula that is used to tell you what that spacing should be, I can't find anything on this And when measuring the driven element can you take that spacing into consideration or is it disregarded entirely and you're simply measuring each half independently so that they both Total the calculated distance

[@RadioPrepper]

Not that I know of... The little split coax there is does radiate a little too. I try to keep that as short as possible...

[@PriyamwadaV]

Could you please let me know what is the base material used for the black belt sort of wire here ?

[@RadioPrepper]

The wire is ladder-line, a pair of multi-strand copper wire with plastic insulation.

[@rickramirez7710]

Great video but your audio output is low.

[@RadioPrepper]

Noted thanks.

[@lyonrowe9527]

hi there, im not good with computors. so could you plse give me the length of this antenna and the nessercery details.. I would love to try one.. will put my results on ere. many thnx lyon

[@RadioPrepper]

Hi, see this page: m0ukd.com/calculators/slim-jim-and-j-pole-calculator/

[@billstaats1817]

Does it matter which side is Red or Black?

[@RadioPrepper]

+Bill Staats The red on the long side. Though I don't think it matters...

[@stevejones8665]

Nice Cheap easy to make Antennas are usually the best..It always makes me laugh when I hear someone who has paid a fortune for a ready made commercial Antenna and compare the signals to the real Hams who make there own, have talked to many over the year's who have spent Hundreds on Antennas with good sounding name's but not so good sounding signals lol☺...Any great Video Gill keep up the good work 73 de Steve M0BFM Liverpool UK

[@RadioPrepper]

+Steve Jones Thanks Steve. Amazing what one can do with a bit of wire!

[@adityajalan09]

What’s the gain on this?

[@RadioPrepper]

www.hamradio.me/antennas/slimjim-vs-traditional-j-pole-antenna.html