20M Mini-Beam DIY Project - Part 3 (Final)

[@ChannelofRichPierik]

Thanks for sticking with it, and bringing us along! Cheers.

[@ianxfs]

Thanks Richard 😀

[@Steve-GM0HUU]

👍Very interesting. Thanks for posting.

[@ianxfs]

No probs Steve 😀

[@M7XCB]

Nice work very inpressive with the results.

[@ianxfs]

Thanks!

[@jimei8km21]

Great series Ian. Thanks!

[@ianxfs]

Thanks Jim! 😀

[@brianfields4479]

Great to see the build, lot of work I thought for some gain. Iam experimenting with parasitic verticals, just three cheap painters poles, but it's about 1-2 S points gain over 13,000 MLS. Ans less noise compared to the single vertical. All good fun thought. 73.

[@ianxfs]

Thanks Brian. It needs more height than I can give it to perform properly. Have fun with the verticals 👍🏻

[@m0dad]

Hello Ian, I have been planning this project for several years now and still not got around to it. I was pleased to come across your videos. I would like to build one for portable use when going up the hills to work 20m and see how it performs from a high elevation. Very interesting video and thanks for pointing out the pitfalls. 73...M0DAD David.

[@ianxfs]

Yes, easy /P set-up I think David 👍🏻

[@M7BCN]

Very impressive Ian.

[@ianxfs]

Thanks Brian 👍🏻

[@Daniel-M7BCE]

M0KOM Lenny is a legend ;) down here in Yorkshire. So is G0PMJ!

[@ianxfs]

Ha ha.

[@davidnewman7490]

Very interesting, thoroughly enjoyed the series of videos, well presented too. Certainly food for thought as I'm very limited for space.

[@ianxfs]

Thanks David. Good luck if you give it a go yourself 👍🏻

[@dxscotland5901]

Good job Ian! I built 1 years ago but changed to the moxon which has fantastic f/b keep up the good work mate 73s

[@ianxfs]

Thanks! Yes, I’ll maybe try a Moxon 🤔

[@johnmarron1944]

Nice job Ian I've just built one but I went for the full size monoband useing telescopic landing net handles .

[@ianxfs]

Good one John! 👍🏻

[@PaulaBean]

Nice strong signals at 14.077!

[@ianxfs]

Indeed!

[@snaggitfishing2827]

Nice build, Ian. I built the active element on two 3M fishing poles last year and have used it as a rotatable dipole for a few weeks - next step is to construct a boom and reflector. Adrian M7GGY

[@ianxfs]

Great Adrian. It does look like an easy way to squeeze in a shortened dipole. Good luck with the conversion 👍🏻

[@Tom_2E1FUE]

Fantastic I've been trying to figure this out I see now brilliant 👏 👍 Ian top stuff love your videos very informative 👍 thank you I might try the dipole one see what I can do :)

[@ianxfs]

Great stuff Tom. Good luck 👍🏻

[@luckydubeinrc5165]

Ian when testing the dipole, the imp shows 50 ohm xs 0 ...what did it show when you added the reflector, i built a 40m 2 ele wirebeam version, only 13m high and used to work N7ekd and N7ry on 7.148 for many years, when others with dipole were struggling interesting to hear your response.

[@ianxfs]

Hi. Sorry, I can’t recall now. I know I needed more height in the end to get the best out of it. My 7m mast was a little too low, but still worked mind! Good luck with yours 👍🏻

[@garyh8315]

A good conclusion. As a viewer has already commented, I am surprised you didn't do a moxon as your other one worked well. I presume it may be a smaller footprint too? Cheers

[@ianxfs]

Hi Gary. I mulled over a mini-horse, but it’d be a bit too big on 20m.

[@andy2E0JIU]

Nice to see it working ian but now ya next videos gotta be better ha ha.maybe you could be the first to make a MINI hexbeam 🤔🤔🤔

[@ianxfs]

😮

[@garyclark1000]

cant get this to work, followed instructions exactly my coils read about 2.5 uH, and after making the driven element with the coils on the dipole it reads off the scale swr. cant give exact figures as the project is now in the scrap box!

[@ianxfs]

@@garyclark1000 What a pain Gary. The coils are a little low for some reason, so longer perhaps will have helped there. Did you have access to an analyser? If the SWR is too far out of band it’s hard to know if the dipole is too long or short. Would be interesting to see where it was. It may end up out to the scrap box at some point 🤔

[@garyclark1000]

@@ianxfs Thanks for the reply Ian, I tried making the coils about three times with solid core 2.5mm2 insulated, enamel coated magnet wire, and the stranded insulated. I got a reading of 5.5 uH with the magnet wire but still no good on the dipole. the SWR was really off the scale with a reading of around 300 ohms. not even in the ball park! I remade the dipole to full size omitting the coils with the same wire and the swr was perfect after trimming (folding back method) I used a Sark analyser for tuning and a inductance meter LCA100 to measure the coils, but still way out. I tried the sark analyser on my vertical after using it on the dipole to check and the vertical was also perfect so not a fault with the analyiser. The loaded dipole was so out of range The analyiser cound not get a match BUT it got close on 10 meter band with a very high swr. I tested for shorts on the dipole but all checked out ok. I remain stumped!

[@ianxfs]

@@garyclark1000 Crikey! Yes, baffled with that one Gary 😮

[@daveneale5255]

Nice videos. What is he software you use, the one with the map

[@ianxfs]

Hi, that’s Log4OM2, my logging software.

[@stevenmcc6052]

Top end shack now ian. Makes my old kit look stone age. Have u tried a 5/8 wave vert?

[@ianxfs]

Thanks and yes Steven. There’s a built and test series of a 10m 5/8ths on the channel of you have a mooch 😀

[@michaelkilpatrick5331]

Thanks Ian for the effort! 3-videos in about as many days. Really helpful. It certainly looks like the little beam does the job. I reckon it would really come to life at 10m off the ground. Now all I have to do is convince this geriatric me to have a go at making one🙂 de Mike VK2DJP

[@ianxfs]

Yes Mike. A little higher and clear of the house 😀