Quad story

My first quad has been erected in 1961, the frames was bamboo and the wires was cooper electrical wires(from electric motors rewiring shop).
That quad was designed for 3 bands: 20,15 and 10 meters and for "economical" reason feeded by 3 separate 75 ohms cheap TV coaxial lines.
I was using the same design until 1972 and during theses 11 years, the bamboo's and the wires has been changed several times as well the boom and crossed brackets.

Of course, according with the Murphy law, either the Bamboo, the wires or the boom was broken during winter time ... HI.

In 1972, during a professional trip in west ot France (Noirmoutiers island), I find one small factorie making fiberglass poles for vintage, the owner was also amateur radio and was making quad kits with fiberglass poles.
The bamboo was forgetted and that new triband quad has survival until 1978.
That time, I decide to make a new design, and from the previous experiences , quad literature and because I was having more "economic" possibilities the new quad has been completely redesigned with the latest improvements.
The most significants was stainless steel "spider type" bracket and stainless steel wires to avoid corrosion and wire lenght expanding as was doing the cooper wires and to keep the right spacing for each band.
That time, I was also experimenting successfully the feeding of the 3 quads with only one coax trough 3 gamma match connected togheter at only one point.
That quad was very efficient and was at the top of a small home made tower at 12 meters above the ground.
That tower was not self standing but fixed close to one wall of home.
In 1996 I was replacing the small tower with one manufactured aluminium telescopic tower wich can be extended till 23 meters
I was also making some building modifications where the tower are hooked to allow an easy acces to the quad (flat roof).
Now, when the tower are fully retracted, (7 meters) it is very easy to modify or adjust any elements.
During summer 1996, I decide to extend the quad with the warc band, and start first with the 18 and 24 mcs. That time, it was not possible to adjust the special one coax gamma match feeding, it was too much interaction between each adjustment.
I was then making one separate gamma match feed for each quad and only one feeder going to the shack using a home made remote controlled antenna switch with 6 positions.
I was also extending the fiberglass poles with fishing fiberglass poles to allow the 30 meters warc band. In 1997 after some experimentations with shorted 40 meters dipoles, I was trying a shorted quad for that band using the philosophy of shorted dipole and find that it was very efficient, the permitted design here was maximum 8 meters wide to stay inside the home aera.
the lower part of that square has been folded both parts of the center and the lenght adjusted to resonate within the 40 meters band
The inner part of the folded square has been feeded trought a gamma match.The 30 meters and 40 meters gammas match are very close and feeded with the same coax using the 6th free position of the remote controlled switch.
I do not use any reflector on 40 meters band, the 30 meters band reflector is then used as director and its work ...

I have just to remind that on 40 meters; the true direction is 180 degrees different that others band ... HI

During 1999 the old fiberglass poles has been replaced by new ones (Max-Gain Systems Inc.) one reflector for 40 meter has been implemented and each antennas are feeded trought separate Gamma Match using manufactured ACOM antenna relay switch.

I am now intended to replace the existing stainless steel wires by lighter aluminium alloy wire with a bigger diameter

That job s been done during summer 2007 return to main page