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 (Austin, TX) Here are two antenna
projects that show the simplicity of homebrew antennas that perform remarkably well. So, before
you spend big $$ on commercial antennas, take a look at these.
While living in Texas and surfing the WEB, I ran across a site hosted by W4RNL.* One of his
many pages described a doublet that would fit in a limited city lot. I've played with a couple
variations of his 44 ft and 88 ft designs, and they all worked great.
I've used open-wire feed, 300 ohm TV ribbon cable, 300 ohm ladder-line, and 450 ohm ladder-line with
good results. Of course, a balanced antenna tuner should be used with this type of antenna, and
they can be easily built, too. All my tuners use choke baluns. (Note: I haven't had
any tuner heating issues tuning these antennas.)
Another interesting and surprising antenna is the
vertical doublet. I used one for many years in Texas (without radials) mounted just a couple
feet off the ground.
 When compared to a horizontal doublet at 19 feet above ground (neighborhood constraints), the
vertical was superior for DX on 20 meters. This antenna was a surprising performer. It
even loaded well on 40 meters with a balanced tuner, and did a respectable job. I've been
thinking about linear-loading this type antenna, but haven't followed-through.
(Note: I finally got around to linear-loading this vertical doublet after moving to
Michigan, and details are included in my Notebook Series - Linear-Loaded Vertical
Doublet)
Construction details can been seen to the left and below.
  
73 and have fun with your construction
projects...
Joe ( AJ8MH )
aj8mh@arrl.net
*L. B. Cebik, W4RNL ~ 1939 - 2008 ~ SK as of April 2008
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