Homemade CB Antenna, 1/2 Wave End Fed Vertical with 1:64 Balun

Homebrew CB antenna, using a balun, with aluminum and fiberglass poles.

[@mervinjohnbaptiste4889]

a great and productive day to you Sir. I'm a CBer by the call sign 966 in the west indies..appreciate you for your great and valuable information

[@robertmeyer4744]

Great idea . I have done 1/2 wave vertical with ground radials on the ground. Talks DX all over .49:1 UNUN with copper wire going up a fiberglass mast . Also a 4:1 UNUN will tune 5/8 wave end fed . Balun designs has Balun and UNUN rated to 5 KW and made in TEXAS ! The way that 64:1 is wound is why to broadband so well. If you take a hose clamp to outside of PL 259 that is the ground connection for that antenna .

[@MowerJunkie]

Cool, sounds like we think alike. the last time I had the antenna down, I added a clamped on wire from the PL-259 down to the mast.

[@TimDinkins]

Still would love to see you build a wire quad Mr mower junkie I know it would be a great video

[@spaceflight1019]

Bear in mind that a 1.5:1 SWR equals a blistering 4% reflected power. The instruction manual for my Mark 3 advises not to bother with a SWR that low. Memories... Spring, 1971. I decided to build a 1/2 wave vertical out of the remnants of a 1/4 wave ground plane that had a broken vertical element. My dad and I went to the hardware store and bought aluminum tubing. I assembled it and it didn't work because the SWR was horrible. I didn't know that an end-fed halfwave has a 1800 ohm impedance. Back to the drawing board... Commercial antennas like the Super Magnum have a matching coil at the feed point. It also provides a DC ground. With some trial and error, I was able to duplicate the A/S coil. We put it up on the chimney and it worked great, much better than the Trik Stik I started with. A few weeks later, I learned that there was a difference between the aluminum tubing sold in the hardware store and CB antennas. A windy spring day turned my vertical into a horizontal. My dad replaced the bent bottom section with a copper pipe and that was that! Eventually, he needed the copper pipe back and I acquired a second hand Super Magnum. Thanks for the memory. If it doesn't have a DC ground don't leave it connected to a radio when it rains. The static voltage will take out the front end of a transistor radio. If it's anything like the Super Magnum the SWR will increase in the rain as the change in capacity between the antenna and the ground causes the resonant frequency to lower. When the ground dries up everything will return to normal. Good build!

[@MowerJunkie]

Thanks for the comment, I enjoyed it. 73's

[@spaceflight1019]

@MowerJunkie Thanks for jogging my memory.

[@ibuildsheds5654]

I bet this antenna works great on 20 meters as well, probably 10, 11, 12, 15, 17 and 20 meters… a 6 band antenna!

[@WillieJu]

Great coverage. What lenght is the main radial? Also, where is the negative (screen?) connected to, or does it use the pole as the negative?

[@MowerJunkie]

The active part of the antenna is about 204" tall. I have it grounded to the mast.

[@shepfc1962]

Awesome

[@MowerJunkie]

Thanks for watching, 73's

[@m9ovich785]

HAHAHAH I had one on the back of a 10 Speed Bicycle 1977 ish. Wire wrapped Bike Flag and a Round bottom 23 ch Royce on the Handle bars on a Slide bracket. Motorcycle battery in the Frame. had to be tuned with Me sitting on the Bike.... But it worked great for Bicycle Mobil

[@UDX4570PalmSprings-yh1mv]

I am curious if using a copper pipe would increase the db gain? Fantastic build you have Mower, I've been pondering on making a "Sirio style " Gain master" it seems to be a fairly easy design to copy using other materials I have laying around, The Gain master is a center fed dipole, My Gain master is a 5/8's wave,and under the fiberglass,looks to be a fairly simple design, idk, engineering antennas is a fantastic hobby!

[@charleswills4554]

Awesome. Have a good one. 514 Ontario Canada

[@MowerJunkie]

Thanks 514, 73's

[@ronleblanc9832]

Thats some flat wide coverage

[@MowerJunkie]

I know it! I'm still surprised by the coverage.

[@stevep1007]

Couldn't get in there in time maybe next video I'll give you a thumbs up on the way out

[@terrykeil6751]

Nice video. I am new to all of this. So there is no wire inside the antenna pole? I am in S.E Asia where I can cut bamboo for a pole, I wish I had a diagram how to use a bamboo pole to make the same type of antenna..

[@MowerJunkie]

you can use wire inside of bamboo, mine doesn't need wire, it uses the aluminum instead.

[@terrykeil6751]

@@MowerJunkie Thanks for the reply. Bamboo is not hollow, it' has knots that are solid. can I just put an aluminum pole on the top of the bamboo pole? If so, how long, 103"?

[@MowerJunkie]

@@terrykeil6751 this antenna has a 204" radiator. you can attach wire to the outside of bamboo with tape or zip ties.

[@JAFO.]

Sure is broadbanded! I wonder what is the real world loss in performance compared to an A99 or Maco V58? Any way you could test this with several stations then swap it out for an A99 or V58? 👊🤠👍

[@JAFO.]

Hey that would be the perfect comparison, another half wave Homebrew like a T2LT that you could use some PVC ABS or fiberglass to get up that high.

[@MowerJunkie]

I have an Antron 99, and a Maco V58, and I'm pretty sure this antenna receives better than both of them. I'll need more time to figure out how well it transmits.

[@jamesporter1164]

Do you mind if I repost this in my group, All Things RF?

[@MowerJunkie]

please do. Thanks for watching, 73's

[@christophersmith1155]

How long is the radiator?

[@MowerJunkie]

about 204"

[@christophersmith1155]

@@MowerJunkie 1/2 wave ? and the coax is the counter piose ?

[@MowerJunkie]

@@christophersmith1155 Yes it's 1/2 wave, and the coax acts as the counter poise, But it has to have a matching transformer to get the resistance down, that's why it has a 64 to 1 balun connected.

[@christophersmith1155]

wow . i have still much more to learn . we are the same age . lol.

[@marciuschester7739]

Good afternoon M.G. What's you're home frequency that you usually reside on? 73’s Maverick 233 Mojave Desert 🏜 CA Edwards AFB Station

[@MowerJunkie]

38 LSB usually, But I move around from 27.365 - 27.650

[@shawnthompson520]

What kind of antenna analyzer is that?

[@MowerJunkie]

it's a Sark-100

[@johnlees8418]

@@MowerJunkie i got 1 . way cheaper than a mfj and work just as good

[@joerowland7350]

Balan like you should not b wrap a stell tie it efec the magnetic field N balans are really easy to make n I have seen do harder I can't remember the call of the ham but make a good 64/1 it for hafe wave long wire n you do well over 2kw so a friend told me lol 2 teroid n n a out side electric box n copper wire remember the crossover conts as a wrap

[@chrishorst6993]

Love your videos Antenna Junkie. Lol

[@TimDinkins]

Awesome