| PA0SNY |
Antennas (Present and Past)
My HAM equipment covers a range of frequencies and applications.
My activities run from 80 meters till 70 centimeters, so 'only' from 3.5 to 440 MHz
No extreme 'Lows' for me, nor extreme 'Highs'.
As we have only a small town garden, my antennas are practical solutions.
In the information below, you'll find mainly the antennas that I have used since
I started as Radio Amateur. See the Library page for Antenna Constructions
| Antenna
picture (icon) |
Description |
Remarks |
 |
The Diamond
V2000 is one of those
ideal antennas for the FT-8900. Although I bought it with the multiplex
filter, I don't have to use that here. It goes straight into the
receptacle. The only thing that can be adjusted is the counter poise
(radial) for 6 meters. I experienced a bad SWR on 6 meters (when I did premodification measurements). I then found out that the 6m counterpoise was not tightened correctly: the small wire inside the coil connector didn't make contact at all. After this SWR was OK again. Further, I use the antenna for reception of the Airband (118 - 137 MHz) on my FT-8900 and the SDRPlay. Although it has no ideal impedance there, it works fine so close to Schiphol Airport |
The V2000 is
an antenna with
some complexity. SWR should be considered as 'reasonable', as it has some parts of 70 cm where it is over 1:1,75. 6 meters and 2 meters are OK. June 2021: Two of the three radials have been replaced. I did not replace the longer radial. The SWR slightly improved. I have a type of V2000 that uses 6mm (M6) in stead of the 5mm (M5) radials. See my own publication (library page) for the V2000 M6 radials modification, and the booby traps that we encountered (and overcame!). |
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The End
Fed Half Wave antenna. The
one you see here is the one that I bought by HyEndFed Company, but I
have
now also constructed one that I acquired as a kit from HF Kits, who gives great support
when you have questions. The total antenna length is around 23,5
meters. The feeding point is on the mast of the V2000. It then runs
practically horizontally towards a
fiberglas
pole on the roof deck in the backyard. The last part, about 6
meters,
runs to a high pole, that I acquired (2021) from Fred, PA0FMS. I
managed to catch this story
in one picture!. SWR is fine on all 'classic'
bands. For 80 meters the antenna is for 120 kHz perfect. For the lower
part the AT-200 Antenna Tuner is required. |
Making the
High End Fed Antenna
from the kit, requires adjusting and measuring. My experience is that
when you cut it to perfection for the 10 meter band, it will be well
within the 1:1,5 range for 15, 20 and 40 meters as well, beit that the
1:1 dip can be just outside these bands. So, don't pin yourself to get
it that inside the band, and make sure that 10 meters is OK first.
Finally the 110 uH coil and the 3+ meters are adjusted for 80 meters. I
fold back the last 25 or so centimeters, so that it can be used later
for lower frequencies. See my library for documentation on how the
Antenna was measured and adjusted. |
 |
Half Wave dipole antenna with
Gamma Match for 4 meters (70 MHz)
This antenna was purchased as
"Model SD-FM Dipole 87-194 MHz" by Sirio, an Italian Antenna
Manufacturer
The modification of this Gamma Match for use on 4 meters is a challenge, as some, but not all dimensions are available on the Sirio wabsite. See my library for a publication of this 4 meter Antenna. |
I bought it
in 2010 because
I liked the construction. But never used it, untill the 4 meter band
came to the Dutch HAMs. In 2021, I retrieved it from the cellar and
first played with it to see if it would work on 6 meters. With new
aluminum tubes, and studying publications,
I finally came up with this construction
for 4 meters. |
 very past... |
Situation
from 1976 until 1981
The year:
1978, still living at
my parent's house. That was in the most eastern part of Haarlem on a
four floor appartment building. The mast itself, including the antennas
was 6 meters high. In this mast you see a 10 elements VERON Beam,
a Raster for UHF (70 cm and more) and a Bicycle Pump Antenna
(Fietspompantenne) or better a sophisticated J-pole Antenna |
Situation
from 1979 until 1981
The 10
elements VERON Yagi was
an Antenna that was developed under supervision of the Dutch Radio
Amateur Union VERON. It was very popular and had a stiff design due to
the two supporting brackets, keeping it straight (and level....). Above
that is a UHF TV Antenna, that I also used for 70 cm (Amateur
Television reception.... mainly PA0BDC) and DX-ing for Broadcast
stations from Belgium, Germany and the UK under favourable conditions.
On top: a coaxial J-pole Antenna. Constructed very heavily. A solid
brass pole with a copper tube at the bottom. This may be the reason why
the mast failed. See my library with more nostalgic pictures in an
exiting (....) story |
 |
Combi
2m/70cm for the car This is an antenna to be used on
the car for 2m and 70cm, either by fixed (Kathrein) base or magnetic
base. The working part for 2m is a 1/4 lambda, for 70cm it is 5/8. The
antenna is based on an article
in Electron (Dutch amateur magazine) from October 1989.
I made swr graphs in 2005, and these can be found here |
This antenna
became a project of the ProjectGroup PG.540 shortly after the
publication. Jos, PA3GDF created a
template made of a composite material which was used to create the
curl in the antennawire. We used 2mm welding wire. As Jos had assembled and adjusted a first product, is appeared not too difficult to get the 'production version' working as well. I have used both the fixed and magnetic based antennas, but now only the magnetic base is used in combination with the CRT-Electro UV (see equipment page). |
