--Joshua Davis, KD5LSX

You will need (dependent on the band you wish to build your antenna for):

• A length of 2x2 wood (if you don't know what that is, go to a hardware store, they will know what it is.) for the antenna boom
• Saw (hand, power, it doesen't matter)
• Drill
• Drill bit just large enough to let the coax through
• Tape measure
• Some 1/4" (outside diameter) copper tubing (yep, the same stuff behind your refrigerator)
• Staple gun
• Hammer
• Soldering iron (yes, soldering is nessesary)
• Cable tacks (they are small pieces of "U" shaped plastic with a nail on the side)
• Hot glue gun
• About six feet of RG-58 or similar (50 Ohm) coax
• Sharp utility knife (USE WITH CARE!!! IT HURTS IF YOU SLIP AND CUT YOUR FINGER!!!)
• Wire cutters
• Tubing cutter (Your local hardware store will carry these)
• Connector (varies based on the hookup you use. I use a BNC connector to go on my ICOM IC-T7H.)
• Camera tripod
• Nut (the metal kind, use one that fits your camera tripod)
• Cold drink (keep it in the fridge until you're done!)

1. Determine the band you wish to make your antenna for:
   • 6 Meters (Resonant at 52.000 MHz)
   • 2 Meters (Resonant at 146.000 MHz)
   • 1.25 Meters (Resonant at 224.000 MHz)
   • 70 Centimeters (Resonant at 440.000 MHz)
   • 33 Centimeters (Resonant at 902.000 MHz)
   • 23 Centimeters (Resonant at 1296.000 MHz)
2. Gather supplies (duh!)
3. Cut the wood to the right length for your antenna boom.
4. Using the tubing cutter (you can use wire cutters in a pinch), cut the copper tubing to the exact length specified for your antenna's band. These will become the three antenna elements (reflector, driven element, director)
5. Lay the reflector (the longest element) just a few millimeters from the end of the wood, use three staples to hold the copper tubing to the wood. Make sure you are using a staple gun, not a standard office paper stapler! Hammer the staples into the wood (it's ok for the tubing to become flattened, it helps with the overall stability.)
6. Strip one end of the coax, leaving about and inch and a half of the center conductor exposed, fold the foil and braid back against the coax. Be careful when using a utility knife! There is a good chance of cutting yourself, as I have done it many times. The cuts are barely visible, and bleed very little if at all. Unfortunately, these type of cuts become very sore. You have been warned!
7. Using the data for your antenna's band, mark where the driven element will go. Lay the exposed center conductor on this mark. Place the driven element on the mark/wire. Use two staples to hold this element down. Make sure the elements are centered. Once again, hammer the staples into the wood.
8. Fold the center conductor over the driven element and solder. You may have to hold the iron to the metal for a little bit, as the tubbing may not easily conduct heat.
9. About 1/2" - 3/4" (towards the reflector) from where you just secured the driven element drill a hole all the way through the wood. Feed the coax through the hole.
10. Refer to the data for your antenna band. Mark where the director element will go. No wires are attached to the director, so go ahead and use three staples of hold the element down.
11. You're almost done. Heat the hot glue gun and use it to secure the elements. You don't have to cover the entire element in glue; just the center area where it attaches to the wood. Let dry (don't worry, it only take a few seconds.)
12. When the glue has dried, use cable tacks to hold the coax where apporpriate.
13. Turn the antenna over. In the exact center of the boom glue the nut on (to the wood, not your finger!). It may be wise to make sure the nut fits your camera tripod. Let dry.
    • Advanced/Optional: You may wish to drill a small hole just deep enough to flush mount your mounting nut instead. This is very difficult and drilling a hole to wide or deep for the nut may ruin your project. I would reccomend drilling the hole just deep enough and slightly narrower than the nut itself. Insert a bolt that will fit in the nut, tap with hammer until nut is flush with wood. This will widen the hole so it is just the right size. Pull the bolt/nut out. Fill the hole with hot glue and tap the bolt/nut into the hole. Use a lot of glue. Let dry. When the glue has dried, rotate the bolt (counter-clockwise) out of the nut, which should now be firmly in place. Use your utility knife to remove any excess dry glue from around the mount.
14. Strip the other end of the coax and attach the connector. The amount of stripping you have to do depends on the connector you use. This may be a good time to check your SWR.
15. Carry your setup (radio, tripod, and of course your antenna!) outside. If you built the six meter version, you may need some help moving it outside, as you would see by now the six and even the two meter versions are rather large. Go ahead and connect everything.
16. Have the XYL or one of your kids (if you don't have one, I'm afraid you'll just have to do it yourself) go get that drink from the fridge for you. HIHI. You're ready to go!

HOME