Easy Build: 20m Half-Wave Rotatable Dipole Antenna

[@brenta1905]

One of the key elements to hamming. Great build. One of the mystical commercial sellers would charge $1500 for it after adding their "secret" sauce.😂

[@georgebodley8068]

your absolutely spot on about the outrageous price of antennas these days Good video bloke.Cracking job well done.

[@grandpaandlucas7054]

I built a 3 element for 20mtrs it done me proud. its out done my mates cushcraft A3s. well done gone job.

[@n5yiz]

I believe it. I want to possibly convert this dipole to a 2-el beam in the future.

[@seeharvester]

@@n5yiz You'll love the 2 element. I had one for 10 meters that worked great. 6' boom as I recall. Plans from the ARRL Antenna book.

[@jeffmay1024]

I would love to see the plans for that.

[@Viktorherenowhere]

Great idea and realization! For drilling, I'm usually start with small diameter, then switch to bigger step by step.

[@Viktorherenowhere]

Later you can extend it into 2-3 elements yagi type ;)

[@johnsonstechworld]

Thanks for the video. May be I will try a 6 m rotatable dipole when I get an HF radio, hopefully this year. I do not have space for any lower band antennas! Happy New Year. 73 de VU2JO.

[@n5yiz]

Happy NY Jon, 73

[@HamVentureswithKD9YOZ]

Solid construction. Looks great!

[@digitalanaloguehamradio]

What a fantastic build great swr too!

[@n5yiz]

Thanks Chris

[@TelfordO]

Even pre made wire antennas have gone through the roof in price. Nice Video de G0SGO

[@JesusIsLordofMybeing]

Very clean assembly. Thanks for sharing.

[@n5yiz]

Thanks. I'm already thinking about adding a boom and a reflector to convert it into a 2el beam.

[@tonyd6884]

Very Nice I will definitely keep this in the project to do list

[@limanowski1234]

Very nice build ...the drill block is real nifty. John Limanowski N9DNB

[@n5yiz]

No as good as V-blocks and a press, but good enough.

[@jeffcibulka5063]

Thank you Brother, great build. 73. AJ4PL

[@phillipzx3754]

Can it be collapsed short enough to use (maybe) up to 6 meters? But what caught my eye is that clever mast mounting system in your truck. 👍

[@n5yiz]

I can't get 6-meters out of this one unless I order more 5/8" tubing. The center section extends 36" (one side) and you can't insert the next tube enough to get it to the 54" or so needed. All that's needed would be a couple of 24" 5/8 tubes. all the other bands up to 20m can be configured. I'm going to make another video exploring different configs. 73

[@PhilON4VP]

Nice build. Did you make some F/S tests to see how good the antenna surpress the side lobs ? Raising the aintenna higher will result in shifting SWR numbers as take off angle will improve to be lower to the horizon. 73 Phil ON4VP

[@n5yiz]

I've made several changes since that video. I added more tubing for strength, built a balun, etc. I'm in the process of building a station and plan to mount it as high as I can. 73

[@richarde735]

you must be close by to Texas Towers because shipping is $40 via UPS to my QTH.

[@n5yiz]

Yes... shipping is expensive. I'm picking up direct. If you find any place that's cheaper, let me know.

[@richarde735]

@@n5yiz I spent the $40. the hub guy’s store is shutdown while he’s on vacation

[@RC-Heli835]

Love those dial in sounds. How far have you made contacts with 20 Meter? Nice build also!

[@n5yiz]

I'm very surprised at how such a simple antenna can work so well. I made 175 contacts the day after I made that video.

[@RC-Heli835]

@@n5yiz Awesome! Check out the sound of this old ham radio dialing in. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZXHqJ-FlqyYebM

[@MrCharleyb]

awesome build from 6y5ho

[@n5yiz]

Thanks Oscar...great signal from 6Y land!

[@richarde735]

been waiting on that damn bracket for three weeks now. still not here yet! Texas towers was fast - 2 days

[@n5yiz]

I think the seller was on vacation when the video dropped, so he's probably still playing catch-up. I'm thinking about ordering a larger size bracket and building a 40-meter version. Good Luck!

[@willrucker1628]

Morning, I built this as per the video and my SWR is off the chart. I am new to this and am at a loss of where I went wrong. I am thinking it could be the pig tail, it was my first time building one. But I am not sure that I constructed it correctly. Can you explain on guide me to a video of how to make a pig tail? Or maybe the choke balum wasn't built exactly as it should be. I removed the choke balum and put in a 1:9 UnUn and got he SWR to come down to a 1:1 in the 21mHz range.73 KN6SCF

[@n5yiz]

The pigtail I used is just a simple common mode choke. The center pin of the coax goes to one side of the dipole and the shield (braid) is attached to the other. It sounds like you may have a short if you wrapped your own. Check for continuity through the choke for both the center conductor and braid with a multimeter. I'm not sure if you were stating a sweep of the dipole with your Unun resulted in the lowest SWR at 21mhz or your were targeting 21mhz. The specs for the one in the video is for 14mhz (20m). Sorry, it's hard to gauge someones technical knowledge through the comment section. As a quick test, I think it would be best to bypass the choke or unun entirely. Just connect your feedline directly to each leg of the dipole. Sweep or check the SWR. I'm working on an update video about a 40m rotatable I made a few months back. I'll try to explain the feedpoint a little better. Video should be out Monday if you don't get is solved until then. Good Luck!

[@willrucker1628]

@@n5yiz you were spot on. The continuity on the coax was non-existent on the center wire. Seems I was using too large of a wire lug. 73s and many thanks.

[@DucatiMTS1200]

That's a real good job. I like to see a job done well! 73 de GI8WFA.

[@n5yiz]

Thanks Bill...appreciate it

[@MooneyDriver74531]

I am not finding SSS solution. Do you have the link to his ebay store?

[@n5yiz]

www.ebay.com/str/yz4iz0?_trksid=p4432023.m570.l113337

[@williampeacock9473]

Enjoyed watching you build the 20 meter rotatable dipole. I want to make one myself and a 15m as well. I have 17m rotatable dipole already. 73 WILLIE PEACOCK Blackshear, GA 🎉

[@JA-fy1bn]

Excellent video! What would you consider the maximum power handling capacity? Thanks!

[@chublez]

Should easily handle 5 watts EIRP.

[@jamesgeorge1709]

Good job next time use 10 -15 snap on ferrite cores on your coax rather than the 240/43 core,it works better and looks better too. This was an awsum build I did something similar but built a vertical and going to build another and phase them so I can steer my signals on 40. So I'll have a 2 element vert array for about $200.00. 73 and keep up the good work.

[@n5yiz]

That 43 core is just one I had on hand. It seems to work fine, but I haven't tested it on other bands with the dipole. Good luck with your vertical array. I'd like to build one also.

[@johnforte3466]

Let's face it, not very much left other than antennas for hams to experiment with. The dipole is a very good antenna and being able to turn it helps somewhat.

[@n5yiz]

100% agree....73

[@charlesmanos7464]

I watched your video to the what happened to the price imports list you said you were going to have it I have not found that to be accurate

[@K9TPT]

I hate it because now I am forced to build one, lol, great job. Like to see a video n the truck mast setup

[@n5yiz]

It's very, very easy to build. 73

[@jeffmay1024]

Do you have a Length List for the other bands. I plan to make this 20 meter to your specks.

[@n5yiz]

You can adjust the 20m version down to get the higher bands. I just use the quarter wave formula to get it close and then fine adjust from there. Use a Sharpie to mark the tubes for different band configs. It's going to be a couple months, but I'll be installing the 20m and 40m permanently on a Rohn mast. I'll try to video as much as I can.

[@jeffmay1024]

@@n5yiz so bringing in the elements brings it from 20 down to what meter band you want? I’m learning as I go.

[@w7ashbob289]

@@jeffmay1024 Yes

[@johnwest7993]

Excellent! I grow weary of new hams thinking they have to spend $400 on $120 worth of tubing just because it has a fancy name sticker on it. Ham radio is about learning about RF. That's why even a tech class ham is licensed to design and build 1500 Watt Xmitters. New hams really need to find Elmers, not salesmen to help them get going.

[@KE4NAB]

Did you get this out of the antenna book?

[@n5yiz]

No, just made it up. It's just a simple dipole.

[@JockoFlocko]

Great build, really nicely put together using solid hardware. I've been thinking about making something like this to replace the 20M portion I use on my Alpha Delta DX-CC antenna (part of a multi-band fan dipole in an inverted V configuration that doesn't work very well). I was curious about stacking two of these, one antenna's lobes pointing north and south and the other pointing east and west. Would they interfere with each other? Could such a configuration be co-phased? I'm trying to get around using a rotor because of where I live and the horrendous weather we get in the fall and winter months (heavy wind storms, freezing rain, ice, etc). Fantastic video, thanks for sharing it. 73 -VA3AWP.

[@n5yiz]

I think that would be an interesting idea with the phasing. I plan on stacking the 40 meter and 20 meter dipoles on a 50ft Rohn telescoping mast. I have big plans for a few antennas. I've been busy lately and just haven't had time. 73

[@DK5ONV]

Excellent Job done on that Antenna built. 73 de Uncle Günter 💯👌🙋‍♂

[@n5yiz]

Good hearing from you again Gunter...73

[@paulobrasilhawaii]

Thanks for share, Im planning start my next week. 73 W4LDS

[@n5yiz]

It looks like the K2SSS "SSS Solution" eBay store is temporarily closed until 8-29-23. He's on vacation. Good luck!

[@paulobrasilhawaii]

Finally I finished and the result blow my mind, thanks again to share your experience! 73 de W4LDS

[@KD9VUK-]

We have the same setup! 7300 and Wimo rails. Wish i had a truck though, i would do the same thing. Is that the mast section from the MFJ EX Tripod mast?

[@n5yiz]

The Wimo rails saved my radio about three days after I installed them. I had the radio zipped up in the backpack and it fell out of the truck from the passenger seat. It landed directly on one of the rails. It hit the ground hard enough to bend the rail mounting screws. I had to replace the screws, but other than that, there was not a scratch on it. The mast is from Max-Gain Systems. It's one of the "HD" models. 73

[@TheRetiredtech]

Is he calling the elements radials?

[@g1egz]

He certainly is, first time i,ve ever heard elements called that, must be an American thing, lol

[@KVUSMC-KU4SMC]

Awesome Build Cheers and 73s KU4SMC

[@n5yiz]

Thanks...I'm a subscriber to your channel...73

[@kn4yba80]

Looks great! Thanks for sharing...

[@n0vty873]

made my 20m dipole with 2 16.5 ft fiberglass fishing poles from B&M poles. light weight and cheap

[@jamesabc372]

I'm interested in your system. With the fishing rods. Like the wire size and mounting of the rods.

[@gadymarcus2362]

Magnifico.⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

[@P.SeanCoady]

Link broke for download.... = download pending (forever) bummer. Nice build 😊

[@n5yiz]

Seems the link is working OK now.

[@ScatManAust]

nice

[@theramblingsoflarry9290]

Cool

[@P.SeanCoady]

Nice

[@Team-fabulous]

Fantastic job. Would there be any advantage to trap it for a full wave!?

[@TheRetiredtech]

No

[@WaltKO4LFE]

Well done! KO4LFE