In my many hours at home as of late, I have been able to take advantage of some time to spend on antenna projects. My latest is a simple and effective antenna; The Fan Dipole.
The basis of this project was to get on the air after a 5 year hiatus(baby 1 and baby 2), and re-prioritize what is truly important. Just kidding. The kids are a bit older now, and they love helping me with my projects! This is good time to be a Ham-Dad, and the kids are still cute.
Anyway, onto the antenna. I wanted it to be easy to make with stuff I have already, easy to fix if it breaks, and easy to take down if I need to remove it.
It really is simple. The elements, if spaced correctly, will not interact with each other. And, the electrons will follow the path of least resistance and travel to the correct elements when you switch bands on your transceiver.
My antenna does not have the 40M and 15M elements yet. I will do that later. Right now, it is a 2-Band 20 and 10 dipole. Construction was straight forward. Measure the total lengths, and cut into two sides. I used “dog bone” style insulators for the termination points, and a heat-gun to solder all the connections. If there was any thing that makes this easier, it is the heat gun. Get one!
Heat-shrink tubing is great. I use it for a lot of things. Mainly, it helps apply a weather seal to connections and protects wiring from UV rays. Notice it on the coax. It also gives a finished look.
Next, pick some tree(s) and throw ropes. I did this with my sling-shot and a fishing lead tied to 10lb test fishing line. It took a few tries, but I got it to were it will work. Use 550 paracord, some springs, and a few screw-in eyes to tie off the ropes at a convenient height at the tree trunk.
The antenna performs great! I have been doing FT-8 on 20 and 10, and last night some local SSB with good range. My noise floor is really quiet here, and that is a huge bonus. Happy days!
Matt KB9YOJ
Matt — do the ends of the 10M wire dangle down, or are they tied to the spreader at the end of the 10M wire?
Good design. The fan dipole works great. I use one here for WARC bands 30/17 meters.
Joe,
The ends hang down. I’ve been scheming and new and better design. Stay tuned for version 2!
Matt
KB9YOJ
Heat gun? What kind to you have? I have a heat gun for scraping off paint; I’m pretty sure mine does not get hot enough to reflow solder though.
Yes, it was a heat gun for removing paint and such. If you hold the copper really close to the nozzle, it’s like soldering copper pipes. Just don’t burn your fingers!