Ham Radio - My back yard HF vertical antenna build part 1. The Plan.

[@timg5tm941]

Go for it Kevin. I look forward to seeing the results.

[@thomaskilburn3111]

Ok

[@Bill-HRT]

Kevin, Been watching your videos consistently since I found them. You are a great reference and learning resource for me. Thank you. Just put up your backyard vertical per your example on my roof just outside my window. Works like a charm! I've used many antennas, but this one has me hearing farther than any of the rest I've tried. Still have to install counterpoise or radials of some kind so haven't tried to talk yet. Best set of ears I've had though. Thanks.

[@Bill-HRT]

One 30ft counterpoise/radial and I just got into Arizona from 50 miles West of Chicago with 15w. Been trying to reach that guy for weeks. Great antenna. Thanks Kevin.

[@loughkb]

I have it set up to work on the RV now. Only tested it once, but it seemed to work very well. Glad it's working for you.

[@USMCDAD47]

Kevin, my son and I deployed a 33 foot wire vertical, and used no 9:1 UNUN...but we did lay out four radial wires. 2 were 33 feet and 2 were 66 feet...we were able to tune it 15m-80m and worked a lot of DX on 20m with the thing..we had 50 feet of RG8 feedline coming back into a MFJ 941 Versatuner. We didn't really know what we were doing so we just did it. Adding the 9:1 UNUN and the 1:1 choke makes perfect sense....looking forward to building another one. BTW if you don't have a 33 foot pole...find a tree that would allow you to run a 33 foot wire up the trunk...we used this same layout at a Jamboree on the Air...but with just ONE 33 foot radial...we worked scouts all over north america with that setup on 40m. I really enjoy your videos.

[@livesonjura]

My poor understanding of 1/4 wave vertical antennas is that their impedance is lower than 50 ohms so adding a 9:1 impedance step-up rf transformer willy-nilly does not make good sense. I liked the first first antenna that you described. Don't fix it if it ain't broke.

[@straightpride451]

Good job kevin, you've given me all kinds of great ideas on my vertical antenna project. I'm going to purchase the 50-ft carbon fiber telescopic mast that GigaParts sells and use it in combination with My Antennas efhw 8010 for my vertical build.

[@jennifer86010]

Great, Great opening to this video !!!! It took me back to the days of black & white movies, reminded me of the opening shot of the RKO Radio Pictures movie logo, where the world was turning, and on top of it was a radio tower that was blasting out lightening bolts and circular waves as we heard a radio keyer pound some CW brass: "A Radio Picture" 'Loved this !!

[@loughkb]

Thanks! I was kind of proud of it when I made the opening. And I was thinking of that same old film opener as well.

[@cookiebeariscool]

Hi nice project , I have just completed an end fed antenna for the hf band and when I made my 9:1 un un I also made the 1:1 un un as well and put them in the same plastic box after testing them of course with a 450 ohm load acting as an antenna and it was pretty much flat from 1mhz to 50mhz on my analyzer so I was happy with that. Being the tight arse I am I used clothesline wire coated in plastic as my antenna wire made it about 135 feet long with a counterpoise about 30 feet long..... just long enough to reach a hose tap which of corse is a great ground as well. My biggest problem was being able to get the antenna wire up high enough ...... all I managed in the end was 10 feet max height and the wire goes through my yard in a kind of c pattern ..... it would be more accurate to call it a fish hook shape haha. But it works from 80-10meters without a tuner with swr on all bands less that 1.6 and 80 and 40 are no more than 1:2 through the band...... I do need a tuner for 6 meters and 160 meters. So far I'm quite happy after working into the states and the UK and Aussi with good reports with just 100 watts. This is what our hobby is about...... making it yourself when you can , with what you have at hand. By the way I use FT240-43 toroids to make my baluns , they are perfect for the HF band because they are so broad banded . Keep up the good work I enjoy your videos...... Greetings from New Zealand ( ZL1SEW) 73

[@mo1tard743]

Great video - please keep up the good work

[@KX4UL]

I realize I am commenting after the fact, but still enjoyed this video and looking forward to the next video of this project.

[@alalan3735]

Sounds great! I built your other antenna projects with great results!!

[@kenc5156]

Is there a ground at the unun at 6:06 on the 16ft vertical that you maybe didn't show? Also, is there a balun on the coax??

[@Lip_Ripper.]

Just wanted to say thank you for these helpful videos, Kevin. I'm new to the hobby and hoping to get my ticket at the nearest test. (Which is March!) Anyways, I find your videos very helpful, especially the drawings you do to explain the set up. Many thanks and keep em coming! ;)

[@loughkb]

Good luck on the test and thanks for the kind words. Happy to know I've helped.

[@davidnachbaur6805]

Adding a longer counterpoise to balance the system. Having a 33' radiator and only a 20' counterpoise creates an imbalance below a given frequency and create more rf on the shield. More counterpoise wires will help even more if possible. But the end fed wire project your doing is great!!! I have a similar to what your doing here. This has been my experience. With my particular installation. Looking forward to your next video. On this.

[@umajunkcollector]

The trick is to make the antenna the least path or resistance (50 ohms) for the rf energy to radiate from, into space. Ferrite beads on the coax at the feed point resist rf radiation from going back down off the coax. Transformers (baluns and ununs) are a good way to impedence match. A tuner is like a filter, choke or variable transformer, to pass desired rf radiation to the antenna but block reflected power from getting back into the radio. BALUNS and traps are very good ways to match multi band antennas. But I like to use monoband inverted vee dipoles and loops to begin with, very simple, and can be used without traps. I prefer a remote coax switch instead of a tuner, always best to use a matched ANTENNA.

[@davidnachbaur6805]

umajunkcollector while I'll agree for single band operation. He is using this for multi-band operation with a 9:1 balun. But he could switch this to a 1:1 balun and spread out resonant wires for other bands and possibly achieve 50ohm match you referenced. Then no tuner would be required. Except for 80/75m but now I am getting off on another aspect of antenna fun!

[@walterslover1056]

I'm planning on going vertical with 33ft. of 14 gauge copper wire up PVC schedule 40 in progressive larger sizes. I will try with only the 9:1 un un and no 1:1 choke. Should I use a field strength meter to check for RF back up the coax?

[@marciuschester3683]

Good morning Kevin, Just finished watching you're video. I'm decided to build a multiband vertical antenna using a 20' fiberglass kite pole with 33'.9" 18g wire attached to it with a 9:1 unun transformer with 3-33'.9" counterpoise wire facing west/southeast/east. The 20' fiberglass kite pole will be attached to a 6' aluminum pole attached to my balcony railing that's 10' off the ground which will put the top of the antenna at 34' due to mounting it on the aluminum pole. With 100' of rg8x coaxial cable attached to the railing going to my atu I should be able to have skywave propagation conditions on 40-10m. With you're knowledge/experience do you think this setup will work? I'm 2700' above sea level here in the Southern California desert.

[@n8nkqrp595]

Nice video Kevin. Fun to watch. I'm confused though. Some other comments herre mention using a 33' wire with a 9:1 UNUN and that it worked out well. On 40 meters, you'd have a resonant quarter wave vertical, with a 50 ohm Z being reduced by the UNUN. down to 5.5 ohms, causing a 9:1 SWR on the feedling going into your shack. Seems you be much better off bypassing the UNUN on 40. Seems like you'd also need to step down your 50 ohm transmission line to a lower Z, not up to a higher Z when the system is used on 80 or 160, as the input Z at the end of that vertical wire should be well below 50 ohms. But then again, I'm not an antenna guy. LOL. Love your videos! They are informative, pleasant to watch, and just plain interesting. 73 / 72

[@loughkb]

I know, it doesn't seem like it would work the best. In playing with random end fed wires, it's interesting how it seems to work. In my shorter version, the 16 ft. wire radiator is a quarter wave on 20. Yet, the SWR was below 1.5:1 from 20 meters up through 15 meters. It doesn't seem like it should work well, yet it does. Here's another puzzle. Some have used a 49:1 auto transformer on end fed wires with success. The ratio there makes it seem even weirder. This is an experiment. I'm not exactly sure how it will behave, that's why I'm building it. I may make several changes during testing before finding the best combination. That's the fun of experimenting.

[@w0dpd]

Kevin love your videos, this series should be interesting. Any ideas yet how your going to anchor the mfj telescoping pole?

[@loughkb]

Working on that. I know how I'll do it for my semi-permanent install, but coming up with a portable solution is a puzzler.

[@Laborkei]

I am getting ready to do the same thing, interesting I came across your video's tonight. I am doing more of a L Configuration, up the fiberglass pole, and then out. My wire is 50 feet long, pole is 38 feet. My power limit is 100 watts on my antenna, and will be using it for POTA. My question is does the 1to1 balun circumvent the coax as being part of the couterposie. Many 9to1 Unun makers ground the transformer to the shield and tell you, you don't need a counterpoise, but you can use one if you want too...

[@loughkb]

Yes. If you install a 1:1 choke at the antenna end, you'll need to add a counterpoise to the ground side of the 9:1 to give the RF currents a place to flow. the 1:1 will isolate the coax shield.

[@Laborkei]

@@loughkb I wonder if you put it behind the ldg tuner if it is still affective and the coax still acts as counterpoise. I have not been able to do any testing yet, been to cold. I’m picking up a mgs4u.com pole soon. Much stronger than MFJ and they are local to me. Thanks for your videos!

[@Laborkei]

@@loughkb one more question, what bands are you getting with you verticals and the 38 feet of wire element?

[@loughkb]

@@Laborkei It was a non-resonant antenna. Basically a random wire. It did well on 40-10 meters. I did manage to make a few contacts on 80, but it's efficiency was pretty low being such a short radiator for those low frequencies. It was also quite noisy. Being omni-directional as a vertical, it picked up all the noise sources from my house and the houses around me in all directions.

[@JamesP6084]

Always inspired to get of my bum when i watch you video's Kevin :-)

[@mu0chn]

I have read that the radiator should not be resonant on any frequency, but you are very close to 1/4 wave on 40. Have you had any problems tuning on that band.

[@loughkb]

I'll let you know once the antenna is up. My smaller version is resonant on 20 and works fine without a tuner on 20 through 15, so I'm pretty sure it's going to work fine.

[@CharudattUplap]

How good would a Carbon Fiber Fishing Rod, serve for a field day Vertical Antenna. These come in various sizes , 10M ~ 14M

[@USMCDAD47]

I bought 3 or 4 20 foot Crappie poles when a local sporting good place folded up....I have made 10m and 20m verticals from them and they worked well. One design was a 20m vertical diople....not sure if they are carbon fibre though...you just need to try it and report back here. : -)

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

If you are out in the country and have lots of private land you might be able to have a 1KM long antenna wire and might give you a chance of getting out to those contacts that you want to get, I think that 30 turns of trifler wire should be about right.

[@loughkb]

Nope, I'm on a really small city lot with absolutely no supports or trees, just the house and a shed. So it's a challenge.

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

OK no problem Just wondered just an idea.

[@loughkb]

Believe me, I WISH I lived outside of the city with a little room and a few trees. I've dreamed of growing a decent antenna farm and enjoying bands free of all the noise and interference I suffer here in the city. And a beverage antenna would certainly be interesting for listening. Maybe some day.

[@Ericktuin1]

How did it work?

[@loughkb]

Very well on 40-10. Ok on 80.

[@thormusique]

Looks like a great project. Looking forward to it, thanks!

[@jmitsch44827]

Better and more labels would help. with the minimal sketch diagrams. I am sure you know what you are talking about but the goal was to show the rest of us.

[@dancingbear6239]

Kevin You showed a 16’ vertical with a 9:1 Unun. 16’ is approx 1/4 wave on 20. Is a 9:1 unun necessary? I’m planning the same vertical for portable use but haven’t measured the impedance yet. I’m assuming it would be 50 ohms so an unun would not be necessary.

[@gsansoucie]

Dancing Bear I’m interested as well (double that for a 40m version). I thought I’d only need a 1:1 balun and ground radials. Though I believe the key is the radials.

[@BsrlinMAZ]

Returning to HAM Operation after being away for few years and having to 'relearn' everything -- to the point: would there be any issue with putting the 9:1 in there even if it's not 'necessary'? Thank you for your time and assistance. 73, WF7BSR

[@davidj.wilcox6053]

Kevin, Check out Myron's (WV0H) site wv0h.blogspot.com/2014/07/attaching-spike-to-mfj-1910-pole.html to see a neat way to mount the MFJ 1910 pole. I do it with all my various antenna poles. Dave K8WPE

[@loughkb]

Thanks Dave, I've been thinking a lot about how to do it. I'll check this out.

[@cletocampos5414]

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[@1redrubberball]

I'd strongly advise hams that are interested in antennas, to buy some Antenna Handbooks such as the ARRL version and ON4UN version. If Kurt N Sturba was still alive, he'd find many, maybe even most of these KZbin videos, to be full of myth and poor technique.