tent poles

im thinking building 2 element bean out of tent poles it looks easy enough and cheap it would for 11 meters and listen on 10 meters has anyone do it and did it work
dave

Hi Dave,

Radio enthusiasts can be an ingenious lot, especially those that like to experiment and grab whatever materials are available to hand.

I've built a few beam antennas now from old TV aerial parts, metal rods from a garden umbrella and even thick wire stapled to wooden planks or lengths of bamboo all in the effort of having some antenna fun.  

Seeing everything from old metal tape measures to fishing rods wrapped with aluminium foil by others constructions it shows that many will try anything for their radio quests.

A recent video shows a Ham with a tent pole beam working 10m here :-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-Zr2XGDNOI

A good scour of the internet will give you many resources for dimensions required as well as feed methods needed.

I doubt many of these homemade antennas would stand up to some rough weather or last long mounted on a rotator but for experimental fun along with an 'armstrong' method for rotation (simply turned by hand) they can be a lot of fun. 

You never know, before long you could be gathering aluminium poles with other parts and constructing a homemade antenna as good as any commercial offering. (Probably way cheaper too!)

Always worth thinking about, trying for and most importantly having fun with it all.


All the best,
Victor

i saw that video that why i thought ill give it ago i live 2 mins from the beach what i thought ill do it build it mark all parts then take down to the sea front one summers evening and see what happen if it work i may even video it and post it on here for everyone to see it and enjoy it
dave

I have used gas welding rod's and picture hanging wire in the past to make a duel band 2m/70cm and an end-fed multi band and they both worked.
Go for it Dave and remember that buzz and big smile you get when you get your first contact on your home made antenna.

Nice one Dave.  

I wish you well with it all and look forward to any video you post up. Stuff like that can certainly enthuse others to try the same and join in with the fun of antenna experimentation.

73

yes that's what thought and if it dont at least ill give you all a good laugh
dave

teapot wrote:

yes that's what thought and if it dont at least ill give you all a good laugh
dave

I won't laugh, honest   Getting by with what you have is all part of the fun, and so much more satisfying when it actually works!

When I first got my B licence back in the day, I lived in a housing association house so I couldn't put any antennas outside, and I couldn't afford a rotator for a loft aerial. So I used what I had in the junk box.

For 2m I constructed a 2 element loop with coat hangers stapled to a bit of wood. I had an old record player deck which I changed the induction motor for a DC one that ran really slowly on reduced voltage. I also installed a potentiometer that tracked one revolution clockwise and anti clockwise. I mounted the homebrew antenna on the turntable and ran three cables from the loft down to my cupboard under the stairs; one for the coax, one three wire for the DC motor forward and reverse, and one to register ohms on a multi meter from the potentiometer so I knew which direction the antenna was pointing. I used that for a couple of years until I bought my own house where I erected a proper mast.

But now, I remember that first 2m antenna (and the fun I had constructing it) more than the bought gear that I eventually could afford.

I love hearing about home brew radio stuff. Be sure to let us know how you get on with the tent pole beam.

Sadly my 40 year old log has suffered from damp but still just about readable.

Deb

Do let us know how you get on Dave if you do do decide to build an antenna from the tent poles. Always love to read about other's antenna experiments. Sometimes they inspire me too to make something.

Deb, it's great you've still got your paper logs you can peruse through. Your clear hand writing helps even if they have sustained a little damp damage. I've seen engine running and battery charging logs from around the same time period in disused ROC Posts that have similar damp damage, but the people who have made the log entries poor hand writing makes it difficult to make out what they've entered.

Nice to see the old paper logs.

I still have mine from 1986 when I first got going.
Lost a few years when I went to Turbolog and my backup failed.

Got some paper ones from around the early 2000s and now all digital since I got back in around 2018.