[VHFcontesting] Portable 50 MHz beam antennas

Mark Spencer mark at alignedsolutions.com
Thu Feb 15 11:22:56 EST 2018


Thanks All.  I got some great on and off list responses.

Yes I believe the 40" length limit is a reasonable one.   (I have found carrying 48" mast sections via backpack to be a bit awkward for me.)  

73

Mark S
VE7AFZ

Aligned Solutions Co.
mark at alignedsolutions.com
604 762 4099

> On Feb 15, 2018, at 7:17 AM, Bob K0NR - email list <list at k0nr.com> wrote:
> 
> Zack,
> 
> I'd be interested in the 144 MHz yagi design for backpack portable operating.
> Its got to be compact and easy to assemble, otherwise it tends to get left at home.
> For me, compact is nothing longer than 40 inches.
> (I'm actually thinking SOTA more than VHF contesting but I sometimes combine the two.)
> 
> 73, Bob K0NR
> 
>> On 15-Feb-18 7:57 AM, Zack Widup wrote:
>> I got a design from VE3BFM for a four-element 6m beam on a 13 foot boom.
>> It's a great performer. Since I operate portable 95% of the time, I built a
>> version I could quickly assemble and disassemble at a portable site. The
>> boom and each element is in two pieces. I never formally wrote up an
>> article about how to build it, but I did talk about it at the VHF forum at
>> Dayton a couple years ago. Maybe I should write it up.
>> 
>> I have similar portable Yagis for 144 through 432 MHz. I can assemble and
>> disassemble them pretty quickly. My 144 MHz Yagi has six elements
>> wide-spaced on a 12 foot boom. I believe the gain predicted by Yagi
>> Optimizer is about 12 dBd. I haven't measured it yet.
>> 
>> 73, Zack W9SZ
>> 
>> 
>>> On Thu, Feb 15, 2018 at 8:23 AM, jon jones <n0jk at hotmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Mark:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Another idea is to build your own portable 6 meter beam. I have found a 2
>>> element yagi is easy to build, break down and re-assemble quickly. A 2
>>> element yagi offers about 3 - 4 dB gain over a dipole. It is easier to put
>>> up and take down than a 3 el.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> I use one for my VHF contest and portable operations. A picture of it is
>>> in the NCJ March/April 2016 pp. 32. It works... have WAC with it on 6 with
>>> 100 W from KS on ssb/cw.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> A plan for one is here:  http://www.qsl.net/k7yo/6m2Yagi.htm
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>>  - Jon N0JK
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> ________________________________
>>> 
>>> Hi:
>>> 
>>> I finally took delivery of a suitable LiPo battery to facilitate "back
>>> pack portable" operation at the 50 to 100 watt level.   If any of my
>>> Canadian colleagues are interested I can provide the contact details for a
>>> Canadian distributor.
>>> 
>>> At this point I'm planning on simply taking my 50 MHz three element beam
>>> apart and re assembling it on site.   In my view the beam I have isn't
>>> really intended for that type of use and I'm curious if anyone knows of any
>>> suppliers for small 50 MHz beams that break down and re assemble quickly
>>> and easily.   Google searching on my part didn't turn up anything that is
>>> currently in production.
>>> 
>>> I'm hoping to shift my focus a bit this year and actually reach the true
>>> summit of at least one local mountain (vs simply driving most of the way up
>>> via logging roads.)  Having this ability would also have been useful
>>> earlier this year when I had to abort my CO81 visit during the sept
>>> contest.   In hindsight I suspect I could have activated the grid for a few
>>> hours on foot.
>>> 
>>> 73
>>> 
>>> Mark S
>>> 
>>> Aligned Solutions Co.
>>> mark at alignedsolutions.com
>>> 604 762 4099
>>> 
>>> ------------------------------
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> VHFcontesting mailing list
>>> VHFcontesting at contesting.com
>>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/vhfcontesting
>> 
>> <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon>
>> Virus-free.
>> www.avast.com
>> <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=link>
>> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
>> _______________________________________________
>> VHFcontesting mailing list
>> VHFcontesting at contesting.com
>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/vhfcontesting
> 
> -- 
> 
> --
> Bob Witte K0NR
> bob at k0nr.com
> 
> _______________________________________________
> VHFcontesting mailing list
> VHFcontesting at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/vhfcontesting
> 


More information about the VHFcontesting mailing list