Tuning Inductors for Ham Radio

In this video we will talk about how we make and tune inductors for Ham Radio Equipment.
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👍UCTRONICS LC Inductor Capacitor Tester: amz.run/5gpe
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[@KO4VNX]

Wrap, wrap, wrap, wrap, wrap, wrap, wrap, wrap it up, I'll take it!!! So much wrapping, you know somebody had to drop this one on you! It is your reward for making a good video that actually taught me something!!!

[@TheSmokinApe]

Haha, thanks for watching man!

[@ChristisKing7749]

Ive learned more from you than any other channel. You explain things like others do not.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks JB, glad to hear the videos are helpful 👍

[@KK6USYHamRadioAdventures]

Ape those are really touchy , good job I want to see the project

[@TheSmokinApe]

Yes they are 🤨

[@Cliff-KI5OPP]

another piece of test equipment i didnt know i needed until today!

[@TheSmokinApe]

Lol Cliff 😂

[@Sean-q7d]

Very handy gizmo!! They used to be very cheap, but I don't know if they still are available. They work great for this and reading tiny capacitance, which make them indispensable when designing input tuning & Pi networks for amps, and Pi networks elsewhere.

[@ChrisKD9YSW]

Great video again, Ape, I can’t wait to see the build video

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks Chris, hoping to get it done soon 👍

[@K5QBF]

Thanks for the lesson Professor

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks for watching Shane 👍

[@DutchmanRadio]

73s Ape! Love seeing the content man, never stop!

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks RO, I’m not planning on stopping yet 👍

[@MikeN2MAK]

All the back and forth with the coils and inductance reminds me of tuning my mag loop and how sensitive it is. That was very interesting to see.

[@TheSmokinApe]

For real N2MAK, I was getting real to throw it 😳

[@JT-py9lv]

Great training video. Thanks Ape !

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks JT, glad you like it 👍

[@Swamp-Fox]

Great demo on tuning inductors. Back in the day they used Q-Dope to secure windings on toroids. I have heard of folks using clear nail polish as well. Can't wait to see the project!

[@TheSmokinApe]

I will probably use the polish, a few others said to use Q-dope but I am not familiar with it 👍

[@Ezzell_]

Great video. I will be doing this with the antenna tuner kit I will be building.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Awesome man, good luck with the project 👍

[@AD6DMDennis]

Ape always be rollin'.

[@TheSmokinApe]

The see me rolling!

[@brickerhaus]

Now I am curious. Whatcha make'n? This is exactly what I needed. Now to get out the formulas and do some math. This was perfect. Thanks.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Glad you liked it, I am working on a band pass filter 👍

[@HamRadioA2Z]

Nice demonstration Ape! What brand is your LC meter? I’ve been wanting to get a decent LCR meter for my bench, but haven’t wanted to spend the $300-$400 and up for a good one. I have a cheap, Chinese component tester that’s good for a quick check, but there’s no way to zero or do any other adjustments. Does yours allow you to pick different frequencies to test at?

[@TheSmokinApe]

Hey Tom. I have a link to where I got this in the description, it’s sold under a few brand names but a search for 200a L/C meter will turn them up. On the low setting this tests at 500hHz. Here’s the manual 68.168.132.244/LC200A_EN_manual.pdf

[@HamRadioA2Z]

@@TheSmokinApe Thanks!

[@bobkopf227]

Another awesome video thanks for sharing

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks for checking it out Bob 👍

[@don_n5skt]

Very interesting video, Ape. One thing I do own is an LC meter and those look like fun to play around with. Was really confused about how as you got close, the inductance changed. Does that get better when they are mounted on a circuit board or is it always that twitchy?

[@TheSmokinApe]

They are twitchy but using glue or another adhesive will help. And yes, your hands can cause the value to shift 👍

[@temporarilyoffline]

Great Demo!

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks man, these thangs are super touchy 😮

[@temporarilyoffline]

You know we're good friends when I can say "Hi-Q" and you know what that means. @@TheSmokinApe

[@TheSmokinApe]

You talking about the poems?

[@temporarilyoffline]

@@TheSmokinApe of course

[@ricksshop]

Clear spray paint works well to lock everything down. I use it for coax traps as well.

[@TheSmokinApe]

I like that idea, thanks 👍

[@labcat73]

Nice one Ape! 👍

[@TheSmokinApe]

Thanks LC 👍

[@75ohmHAM]

Been rollin my own since highschool

[@TheSmokinApe]

Nice, thanks for watching Allen 👍

[@t.j.speakman7723]

Yikes Bro. I'm gonna have to try something like that after my BP pill in the a,m, lol. Always great info here. Thanks

[@TheSmokinApe]

Hey TJ, good luck with the build 👍

[@LeeMcc_KI5YPR]

Looks good. Question: how sensitive is the meter? Will it measure a straight piece of wire?

[@TheSmokinApe]

Nah, it won't measure the straight wire... 👍

[@joshuas390]

This video is a good representation of why i no longer chase perfection 😂 the closer you get the more you end up messing it up.

[@TheSmokinApe]

You ain’t lying 🤥

[@tmccusk1]

Hi Ape. Thanks for the video. I just bought a Mercury. Should I measure the resistance while/after I wrap the wire around the toroid from the kit? Also, can I use a multimeter to take the resistance measurements?

[@TheSmokinApe]

I would test them. Unless the multi had inductance testing you won't have any luch, they measure resistance, not inductance with DC voltage.

[@tmccusk1]

@@TheSmokinApe I’ll try to test it with my Kaiweets. No matter the outcome I’ll learn something. Thanks for replying.

[@TheSmokinApe]

@@tmccusk1 good luck with it, the challenge will be with DC you won’t get the reactance part of impedance with is ohmic resistance + reactance. Either way hope the project works out 👍

[@tmccusk1]

@@TheSmokinApe It has to. It’s a CAHR Antenna:)

[@Frank_K4FMH]

I use a wooden knitting dowel (gets smaller from to bottom so it’s self-leveling to the toroid) and think wooden toothpick to move the wires while connected to my LCR meter. Don’t forget to add your Dope…Q-Dope, that is, 😢

[@TheSmokinApe]

That's a good idea, I was looking to find something that would do that. Thanks Frank 👍

[@Evilslayer73]

i have a question i need a 180 nh inductor how many turn i need to build it its a for a si4732 diy project thanks for your help!✌✌

[@TheSmokinApe]

Check out coil32.com, it might be able to help 👍

[@mervmartin2112]

Hot glue??? Real techs use fingernail polish to lock coils (and slugs) in position. :-D (also to use resistor color codes to mark the value in picohenries with nail polish colors) Love the clarity and depth of information you present.

[@TheSmokinApe]

@@mervmartin2112 thanks Merv!

[@bassangler73]

I roll a lot of my own :)

[@TheSmokinApe]

I know BA 👍

[@bassangler73]

​@@TheSmokinApe😎👍

[@ChipEckardt]

Good idea to use hot glue gun or fingernail polish. Are you going to test the difference when you have multiple and you wind one in one direction and the other in the opposite direction?

[@TheSmokinApe]

I like that fingernail polish idea! I do have a few extra wond for testing. Thanks Chip 👍

[@luminousfractal420]

inductors taking 3months out of china atm, taking too much off is not an option 😂

[@TheSmokinApe]

Waiting on parts sucks 🤬