While most antenna masts these day seem to be built from various metals, telescoping fiberglass poles, and PVC pipe, a few adventurous radio amateurs are returning to "classic" wooden masts that were common a century ago.
In this post from Peter Parker (VK3YE), we see how simple a wooden antenna mast can be if you are careful in designing and building the structure.
Here are some of Peter's observations:
"Timber mast suitable for supporting lightweight wire antennas. The mast is 6 metres tall plus a 2 metre top extension. It tilts over for easy work on antennas.
The antenna supports dipoles for 40, 20 and 10 metres, coming off the one feedpoint. 15 metre operation is provided by the 40m dipole. 80 metres is covered by adding loading coils to the 40 metre dipole. The antenna is similar to VK5AH's dipole except there is a dipole for 10 metres instead of 15 metres. VK5AH: http://users.picknowl.com.au/~wavetel...
Being timber the mast is suitable as the centre support for open wire-fed dipoles such as the G5RV. Though it has the disadvantage of requiring an antenna coupler, the single G5RV wire is lighter and cleaner looking as one wire replaces three while covering more bands.
Since the video was taken the mast has been extended to 9 metres, with a 38mm timber dowel u-bolted to the top portion. To lower wind resistance and make the higher mast less obtrusive at the top the chopping board pictured has been replaced with a much slimmer PVC T-piece.
Main items required (from timber/hardware store):
* 45 x 90mm treated pine (6m lengths are good)
* pole for top extension (and u-bolts for it)
* Paint
* A few big bolts with nuts & washers
* Cement
* Cable clips and mounting hardware"
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If you can't see the video, please insert this title URL into your browser search box: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfUbL_4VCww. The G5RV and its popular variant, the ZS6BKW, are popular multiband HF antennas for radio amateurs. In this video, members of the Stamford Amateur Radio Association W1EE, show us how to build a ZS6BKW antenna capable of covering the 80 to 6 meter amateur radio bands. Here are the guidelines offered by this construction team: "The ZS6BKW is the successor to the G5RV. It's a multi-band 80-6 meter wire dipole. ZS6BKW started with the G5RV and then conducted extensive computer modeling to increase the gain, flatten the SWR a bit, and smooth out the lobes. It's also about 10 feet shorter than an equivalent G5RV. The antenna must be fed with 39 feet of 450 ohm ladder line and also must have at least 70 feet of coax feeding the ladder line. The coax and ladder line together form a matching network that brings the SWR below 2:1 (
If you can't see the video, please insert this title URL into your browser search box: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXTYTytR56A. Don't let deed-restricted properties (HOA/CC&R) stop you from enjoying Amateur Radio. In this video from AC2RJ, we see how some well-placed trees, a camera tripod, a telescoping fiberglass mast, and a "V" antenna can get you on the air without a lot of effort. Add an antenna "tuner", a sturdy rig, such as the Yaesu FT-817, a microphone/cw key, and a simple grounding system, and you have a fully functional, nearly invisible ham station in your backyard. For the latest Amateur/Ham Radio news and information, please visit these web sites: http://www.HawaiiARRL.info. http://www.arrl.org. http://www.arrl.org/arrl-audio-news (a weekly podcast which is updated each Friday afternoon). https://hamradiohawaii.wordpress.com. https://bigislandarrlnews.com. https://amateurradionewsinformation.com (Amateur Radio News &
If you can't see the video, please insert this title URL into your browser search box: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeNHIQ_j4Dk This well-produced and richly illustrated tutorial on the classic G5RV HF Dipole Antenna was presented to the Brandon Amateur Radio Society in Brandon, Florida in 2017 by Bernie Huth (W4BGH). Bernie does an excellent job of explaining the pros and cons of this popular HF antenna from the late Louis Varney (G5RV). Although Varney envisioned his design primarily as a 3/2 wavelength antenna for the 20 meter Amateur Radio band, radio amateurs have used the antenna for multiband use. The G5RV is an excellent choice for the 20 meter band. Performance on other HF Amateur Radio bands is good enough to qualify as stand alone HF antenna if you can only erect one HF antenna. For the latest Amateur/Ham Radio news and information, please visit these websites: http://www.HawaiiARRL.info. http://www.arrl.org. http://www.arrl.org/arrl-audio-news (a wee
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Aloha es 73 de Russ (KH6JRM).