Salty Walt's Portable Antenna Sketchbook (Page 2 of 2)
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I've got some of those 18' telescoping antennas. I can assemble a vertical or Ty-wrap the insulator to a portable mast and make a dipole. Problem is protecting the masts from being dinged, dented, or bent in the bag I have for that stuff. I found this on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQVW9S61 The tube telescopes and clicks to lock at various lengths. 
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Hey @SaltyWalt. Just built and used my first Rybakov antenna to do a SOTA and POTA activation out here in Western North Dakota. Overall it went well, though I have to confess I did not take you book with me when I should have, or I would have a few more radials on the ground instead of the one. Yet, even with the one "counter-pose" wire, I managed 66 SSB QSOs in roughly an hour on a shifty 20M in the afternoon and through the evening. This included one contact from Alaska.    As you can also see, I had the UNUN a little high off the ground. After consulting your book, I'm going to try and shorten the DX Commander Mast down a little (and the mast, I find, can be temperamental in ND winds). My counter-pose was halfway elevated and halfway grounded. I've heard that the antenna performs better with the radials/counter-pose elevated than on the ground. My post, however, isn't about my "look at my setup--isn't it awful", but it's what I had used as the driven wire: braided, stainless steel. I work out here in the Bakken oil field, hauling crude oil off the wells. My truck is equipped with the ground cable that spools up. Well, over time, and particular this weird winter we've had, rocks and dirt got in the spool and killed the ribbon spring on the inside. Replaced it with a new one from our, shop was told to junk the old. Welllll...I kept it, remembering something that copper was the end all-be all metal as the best for antennas. A quick research indicated that stainless steel would work, and it would cut back on some of the noise floor. Measured twice, cut once, and this time it wasn't too short. Also found that my wire cutters needed sharpening after several minutes of trying to cut this braided cable/wire. After managing to not fray the end of the wire, I slipped on a banana plug to it, cut the grounded wire to 17ft and placed a banana plug on as well. Placing it on the mast and getting up in the air took me less than 10 mins. Honestly, this is my second homebrew antenna with a tape-measure yagi being my first. Hooked it up my G90 and used that slut of an antenna tuner, and I was pleasantly surprised that one: holy crap, it worked; and two: the noise floor was low. And this is with the not-so-great audio that the G90 is known for. I tuned it up for 15, 17, 20, 30,40, and 80 Meters. Did a few FT8 contacts on 15M, it did not like 17M that much, 20 was easy (and where I did my 60+ SSB contacts on), and 30 and 40 were much the same. But what surprised me was 80M. It was quiet when making a few CW contacts to the point I was hearing answer stations to my POTA CQ that were faint, but still managed to make the contact. I'm not thoroughly convinced that the stainless steel line had that low noise effect (though I there were times it was hard to pick out faint stations too). I do want to cut a Rybakov with my 20 gauge silicon wire and swap them out to see if there is a difference in noise reduction. I'm also curious of your thoughts as well. As for the SX Commander Mast: I got this as a recommendation from you, and with some of the redneck engineering I had to accomplish to get it stable and up in the air, it still flopped over once, but that was due to my poor redneck engineering. I did, however, had issues with it when it came to high wind. The mast we collapse on its own in high gale. To the point that it loosed and fell part of its sections into the tube. This also jammed one of the inner tubes into another that had the edge buried into itself that I had to deconstruct it to get it back up. This is were I noted it can be temperamental out here in high wind ND. Also doesn't help with the load factor I've got on it with a braided stainless steel cable attached to it. 73s.  
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Originally Posted By Mauser556: Hey @SaltyWalt. Just built and used my first Rybakov antenna to do a SOTA and POTA activation out here in Western North Dakota. Overall it went well, though I have to confess I did not take you book with me when I should have, or I would have a few more radials on the ground instead of the one. Yet, even with the one "counter-pose" wire, I managed 66 SSB QSOs in roughly an hour on a shifty 20M in the afternoon and through the evening. This included one contact from Alaska. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55202002396_d3a20ffc84_b.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55201107617_9e3d4703b9_b.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55202405190_28768da602_b.jpg As you can also see, I had the UNUN a little high off the ground. After consulting your book, I'm going to try and shorten the DX Commander Mast down a little (and the mast, I find, can be temperamental in ND winds). My counter-pose was halfway elevated and halfway grounded. I've heard that the antenna performs better with the radials/counter-pose elevated than on the ground. My post, however, isn't about my "look at my setup--isn't it awful", but it's what I had used as the driven wire: braided, stainless steel. I work out here in the Bakken oil field, hauling crude oil off the wells. My truck is equipped with the ground cable that spools up. Well, over time, and particular this weird winter we've had, rocks and dirt got in the spool and killed the ribbon spring on the inside. Replaced it with a new one from our, shop was told to junk the old. Welllll...I kept it, remembering something that copper was the end all-be all metal as the best for antennas. A quick research indicated that stainless steel would work, and it would cut back on some of the noise floor. Measured twice, cut once, and this time it wasn't too short. Also found that my wire cutters needed sharpening after several minutes of trying to cut this braided cable/wire. After managing to not fray the end of the wire, I slipped on a banana plug to it, cut the grounded wire to 17ft and placed a banana plug on as well. Placing it on the mast and getting up in the air took me less than 10 mins. Honestly, this is my second homebrew antenna with a tape-measure yagi being my first. Hooked it up my G90 and used that slut of an antenna tuner, and I was pleasantly surprised that one: holy crap, it worked; and two: the noise floor was low. And this is with the not-so-great audio that the G90 is known for. I tuned it up for 15, 17, 20, 30,40, and 80 Meters. Did a few FT8 contacts on 15M, it did not like 17M that much, 20 was easy (and where I did my 60+ SSB contacts on), and 30 and 40 were much the same. But what surprised me was 80M. It was quiet when making a few CW contacts to the point I was hearing answer stations to my POTA CQ that were faint, but still managed to make the contact. I'm not thoroughly convinced that the stainless steel line had that low noise effect (though I there were times it was hard to pick out faint stations too). I do want to cut a Rybakov with my 20 gauge silicon wire and swap them out to see if there is a difference in noise reduction. I'm also curious of your thoughts as well. As for the SX Commander Mast: I got this as a recommendation from you, and with some of the redneck engineering I had to accomplish to get it stable and up in the air, it still flopped over once, but that was due to my poor redneck engineering. I did, however, had issues with it when it came to high wind. The mast we collapse on its own in high gale. To the point that it loosed and fell part of its sections into the tube. This also jammed one of the inner tubes into another that had the edge buried into itself that I had to deconstruct it to get it back up. This is were I noted it can be temperamental out here in high wind ND. Also doesn't help with the load factor I've got on it with a braided stainless steel cable attached to it. 73s. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55202255089_50188b0bc4_b.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55202255019_513e853ee6_b.jpg There are test results out there that show 4 elevated radials cut to 1/4 wavelength at least 1 foot off the ground are as effective as 32 ground level radials. |
Mach
Nobody is coming to save us.
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Nobody is coming to save us.
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If you tape the joints on the mast when it is windy, it helps with the collapsing. Leave a tail on the tape so it is easy to remove. I have a Commander up all year, and between zip ties and tape it survives gusts up to 60mph. I have to push it back to full length after a lot of wind, but it doesn't collapse on me. I jam the crap out of the sections on the portable one when out, and I haven't had it collapse, but I don't go out in heavy wind. |
World ain't what it seems, is it Gunny?
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Originally Posted By Mach: That is some beautiful country. There are test results out there that show 4 elevated radials cut to 1/4 wavelength at least 1 foot off the ground are as effective as 32 ground level radials. I am formulating a plan for that. Where I am puzzled is what band should I cut the 1/4 waves for since the Rybakov is meant to be a multi-band antenna. I'm also figuring out how to elevate them and have them hold in high wind ND. |
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Originally Posted By lorazepam: If you tape the joints on the mast when it is windy, it helps with the collapsing. Leave a tail on the tape so it is easy to remove. I have a Commander up all year, and between zip ties and tape it survives gusts up to 60mph. I have to push it back to full length after a lot of wind, but it doesn't collapse on me. I jam the crap out of the sections on the portable one when out, and I haven't had it collapse, but I don't go out in heavy wind. I'll keep the tape idea in mind next time I head out with it. I did jam it as hard as I could, but I guess I need to use more retard strength. ND winds just aren't forcasted; they just arrive! So I need something that can take anything in a snap, without snapping. I am also religated to doing most of my radio operations in the field since living in a cramped apartment with a joke of a balcony leaves me lacking in headspace. I do have Ham Radio Duo's Just-OK-mini for 20, and it works great for what it is. Haven't tried CW of SSB on it yet, but soon. Thanks all for the critiques. I'm going to try my next driven element cut with aluminum for the Rybakov and see what that produces. |
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My pure guess would be to make the 4 elevated radials the same non resonant length as the Rybakov radiator itself, i.e., 25 or 28-29 ft. I think I've seen clamping kits for the Commander poles that squeeze the sections hard enough to preclude collapse. The idea of one wire material being less radio-noisy than another is fascinating, but seems like voodoo to me. I know that random electron noise/hiss is a thing in semiconductors and vacuum tube construction, though, at the nanowatt level, so maybe in antenna wire material as well. Liquid-helium cool all the things. 
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| Something else I have done is use 1 counterpoise / ground wire for a counterpoise and a ground manual tuner and that makes a big difference in efficiency compared to without the tuner. I have also set it up with multiple ground radials through the tuner. One radial to the tuner and 3 or 4 ground radials branched out from the output of the tuner. It is all about current flow htrough the radials / counterpoise and a tuner on the radials can make a big difference if they are not cut for the band. |
Mach
Nobody is coming to save us.
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Nobody is coming to save us.
.
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I bought two of his antenna books. One for me and one for my wife. We now each have one in our radio go bag kits. My wife loves POTA and actually watches more than I do. Edit- Wow, just realized Walt is now a member here! That's awesome! Welcome my friend. Like you, I not only run Amatuer Radio, but CB as well. All our trucks, tractors, combines and such have CB radios in them on the farm. |
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Just seeing this, what a great location! Yeah, in this situation I would probably build a pretty good radial field below it. Maybe 6 or more counterpoise wires about 17 feet long would probably be perfect. That's what I used with this antenna in my backyard in Poland and it was amazing. Thanks for sharing!!! 73, Walt K4OGO |
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Originally Posted By K9-Bob: I need to find a telescopic fiberglass pole and make a Rybakov vertical for Pota. My original DX Commander Expedition pole, broke about 2 sections from the top, so I had to buy a replacement. That original pole was "fixed" with a cut down section of fishing pole and is now what I use for my EFHW and Rybakov antennas. but I digress.. the DX Commander 10m pole should work well for this (I got mine from DX Engineering) There are a couple other poles at DXE that should do the job as well Use Salty Walt's DX Engineering affiliate link to help him out: https://dxengineering.pxf.io/xLA4Ay |
MIA: M/SGT James W. Holt USSF 2-7-68 SVN
"Your freedom to be you includes my freedom to be free from you."
-A. Wilkow
"Your freedom to be you includes my freedom to be free from you."
-A. Wilkow
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Originally Posted By RED_5: My original DX Commander Expedition pole, broke about 2 sections from the top, so I had to buy a replacement. That original pole was "fixed" with a cut down section of fishing pole and is now what I use for my EFHW and Rybakov antennas. but I digress.. the DX Commander 10m pole should work well for this (I got mine from DX Engineering) There are a couple other poles at DXE that should do the job as well Use Salty Walt's DX Engineering affiliate link to help him out: https://dxengineering.pxf.io/xLA4Ay That looks like a great price. Thanks for posting this. |
“Every man has two deaths, when he is buried in the ground and the last time someone says his name. In some ways, men can be immortal. “ - Ernest Hemingway
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Both of Salty Walt's books are available on Amazon Salty Walt's Portable Antenna Sketchbook Salty Walt’s Next Level Portable Antenna Sketchbook |
MIA: M/SGT James W. Holt USSF 2-7-68 SVN
"Your freedom to be you includes my freedom to be free from you."
-A. Wilkow
"Your freedom to be you includes my freedom to be free from you."
-A. Wilkow
|
Originally Posted By RED_5: Both of Salty Walt's books are available on Amazon Salty Walt's Portable Antenna Sketchbook Salty Walt's Next Level Portable Antenna Sketchbook |
I picked up both of Walt’a antenna books today at the Hamnvention.  Sadly I missed Walt when he was signing books. 
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“Every man has two deaths, when he is buried in the ground and the last time someone says his name. In some ways, men can be immortal. “ - Ernest Hemingway
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I'm going to try the 17-Five after Field Day.. maybe earlier, time allowing. meanwhile preps are underway to get my collective poo together for FD. My antenna tuner died last pota activation and just got it's replacement today. A few odds and ends I needed I ordered yesterday from Amazon.. Walt's 2nd book was one of them.. but it's not due for delivery until the 10th at the earliest...  I've been using mostly the 20m EFHW and Rybakov and doing well, I think. Neither of which design is "new", but watching Walt's video gave me the motivation to give 'em a try. I don't think I've used my DX Commander since... but it will be up, as well as one of the EFHW's or the Rybakov for FD 
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MIA: M/SGT James W. Holt USSF 2-7-68 SVN
"Your freedom to be you includes my freedom to be free from you."
-A. Wilkow
"Your freedom to be you includes my freedom to be free from you."
-A. Wilkow
A little short for a Storm Trooper
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20206
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PA, USA
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Based on this thread I drove down to Ham Radio Outlet in Newark, DE the other day and picked up a copy of Walt's first book. I like it and plan to try building a Rybakov. I also subbed to his YT channel. 
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http://blogostuff.blogspot.com/
NRA Endowment Life Member
RKBA = FREEDOM
NRA Endowment Life Member
RKBA = FREEDOM
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Originally Posted By Dave_Markowitz: Based on this thread I drove down to Ham Radio Outlet in Newark, DE the other day and picked up a copy of Walt's first book. I like it and plan to try building a Rybakov. I also subbed to his YT channel. I have his second book, and have enjoyed reading it. |