Moxon Antenna Build for 6 Meters
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- čas přidán 8. 06. 2021
- Start to finish Moxon Antenna Build for the 6 meter band. A portable lightweight 2 element wire beam antenna that you can take to your favorite hilltop. Follow along as I build this very popular 2 element antenna.
This antenna build is centered around the type of center hub or X bracket that you make. I used copper pipe to make a lightweight bracket that works
well.
This is a good video. Easy to follow along with. BUT, I could never make a thing like that without a hot cup of coffee. 😄 I like the idea of those fiberglass electric fence posts. I would not have thought of it. That looks like just the thing for a field day event.
In a word: OUTSTADING!
Clear, consise, and very well presented. A hat tip to you Sir.
I've wanted to get on 6M SSB and the FM Repeaters for years. You just showed me how easy it can be and with band edge to edge usable SWR.
I have so many projects running simultaneously that I can't keep track of them. Some I've just started, some are at some level of completion, but none have been completed. YIKES......
I suspect I have some form of AD. In my mid-teens, my Grandmother said 'Rusty, you never finish anything'. So for the last 65+ years, I've been working really hard to prove that that Grand Old Lady was 100% correct. Hi-Hi.....
Well, you just added another project to my list. But, this is so easy that I can start it in a week or two and finish it in one or two days. A great Rainy-Day project.
If I do this, I'll come back and edit this post.
Say a prayer for me.....
73 from So NH
Thanks for the kind words.
6 M season is upon us.
Steve Ad4xt
I got mine built, and was able to make two contacts this morning from Danville KY to Muncie Indiana and Indianapolis so that's great, I am working on strength ting the hub so I have to make a new one love this antenna
One of the best video on Antennas!!
Wow what a nice design! You make this look quick and easy and your instructions are clean and easy to follow. A work of caution on the Dremel, those mini saw blades can get dangerous VERY QUICKLY! I almost cut my thumb off one time because I was holding the piece with one hand and cutting with the other and at high rpms the blade can grab the piece you're cutting and take off. You're smart to use a vise!
The 6 meter Moxon I built used 1/2 inch copper pipe and was more square than rectangle. It worked great, but I noticed that it radiated down the coax when I checked it with a cheap homemade field strength meter. I used your technique of making a few turns of coax around a small coffee can and then taping and using wire ties around the coax. I didn't leave the coffee can in place, I just used it as a guide while winding the coax. I've heard that it works best when you make the coax 1/2 wavelength long, but I just winged it and wound it a bunch of times and the turns even overlapped each other. It was kind of a mess, but absolutely had NO rf on the coax after that point!
It would be cool to see you add 2 meters to this as well. I'm not sure if you could feed them with the same coax or not. I love these plumbers delight design and you build hem in the true spirit of amateur radio. Way better than buying something out of a box for hundreds of dollars! As a Mainer myself, I appreciate your shirt, although I did live in South Carolina for 17 years and always like traveling through Georgia. Thanks Steve and 73's.
Thanks Ryan for the kind words. My son lived in ME for a year. Got to spend a week and travel with him. Beautiful state.
My club has done a couple of 2 meter j pole builds.
I have a 2 meter simplex video that shows the Is measurements.
Steve - Ad4xt
Been looking for a alternative to dipole, and your idea has given me the route to getting on 6 mtrs with without a dipole,Thanks for the clear instructions. DE G1GDB
Excellent
Just started this build , I used to my band Saw to cut the PVC and not a rotary tool, great job
I have been using this GREAT antenna for about 6 months. Making lots of QSO's would recommend it to anyone... Thanks Steve
73 KB7MM
Just what I was looking for - excellent work!
Enjoyed watching. Just beginning here looking for ideas and you sure gave me one! Subscribed.
Thanks for a great step by step guide to building an easy to do build
Nice build. Good video.
Looking to build my first 6m Moxon. Your video was exactly what I needed to move ahead. Thanks you very much. 73 AC8SW
Great job there ,will have to make one of these for portable , 73's
I like the subtle tribute to Les Nessman, interesting video.
Very nice. Thank you for sharing!
Tnx for this video. I made notes an I am going to give this a build. I already have all the materials in my junk box.
Great video
Nice antenna, can't wait to see it in action
This weekend in June ARRL VHF contest. Weather permitting.
@@hamradioportable1630 question why did you not drill holes why bugger up the pipe ?
Saw this show up on my feed. Very nice build. Will have to put this on the list for antenna projects.
Thanks for sharing.
de W5KAL
Nice build 👍👏👏
This would make an excellent Club build. Took it to my local Hilltop today. Worked great. Got run off by a thunderstorm. Made some good ground wave contacts. No band openings.
Great video! Just subscribed!!!
Excellent video. Just finished my build. Hope to have it on the air tomorrow. NB4T
Great !!, the Arrl VHF contest is coming soon, June 10th. A good time to make some contacts.
Steve - Ad4xt
Very good instructional video👍N4TOP
Thanks Steve great clip easy build found all of my needs except for the SO239 at the big box store Lowes. Have mine on portable fiber glass mast at 30 feet. My first Maxon 73 KB7MM
Awsome! , I'm currently working one for 10M.
Steve
Ad4xt
Excellent!
Nice build. I like the way the wire elements are held taught. It looks like it will hold up to the test of time.
I would have like to see better coverage of you mounting it to the mast and to hear the antenna to get a feeling for its directivity and noise characteristics, but maybe you’ve already covered that in another video, so I’ll have a look through your library.
Thanks for sharing. 73s.
Just tune the antenna for 52 Mhz with 10 AWG stranded or solid wire. The #10 AWG will broadband the antenna by lowering antenna "Q" and extend the tuned 2:1 SWR curve for the whole 6 Meter band. Enjoy !
Very nice!
Great video and nice design. Seems like it would be a hair lighter and cheaper with pvc for the X, using a short straight section and a couple Y's, though it would take some measuring.
👍Thanks for sharing.
Cool antenna. Love 6M! KD4HCT
Very Good Job, 73" F5TFB/Alain
There is a company call timeless fence that makes non conductive tee post for electric fence. Not sure there would be a need for that here but I thought I would pass that on.
Suggestion. The SO239 you used has white nylon insulation. During soldering this softens and distorts. When it cools you can get a poor connection. SO339's with a brown bakalite type insulation are the same price but do not have this problem.
googled that did not find Any SO 339
@@j1mbobtech He fat-fingered it. >>>SO-239
Really good vid, may thanks. De GM0CQV
Only critisism is your choice of PL259 with the white nylon insulator These usually distort when heat is applied. Look for connectors with a brown insulator as they don't have this problem.
Ian G4JIU
Ian, this was the only SO239 chassis connector that I had at the time. You're correct, you have to be careful with the iron with cheaper connectors. :-)
Hi Steve. Thanks for the great video. I'm nearly finished building a copy and have one question. I'm curious about the coax connection device on the active element. If you gave dimensions, particularly the distance between the dipole half's I missed that. When measuring the 80 inches for the active dipole is just the wire measured, or is the measurement including the gap between the connection posts? Thanks.
It's part of the total measurement. Just leave you a little extra at the ends in case you need to adjust. Good luck.
hub out of pvc? heat gun and a pair of 2x4s or similar
Thanks for the video. Can you adjust the feed point for best SWR, and how much of the band does it cover?
Adjust the wire length, not the feed point. Just small amounts at a time.
Covers most of the band, and all of the ssb area.
Good video, I don't get the four rods to the corners, It is more rigid to run one backbone parallel to the direction of signal, the long axis, and then use two width length pieces in an I configuration. Fiberglass is too hard to find, wood ends up lighter.
The rods can be found here in the southeast at any Tractor Supply store. I take this antenna out portable a lot. My club will use it for Field Day next month. It packs up in a tight package. Thanks for watching. Steve Ad4xt
Steve where did you cut the driven element in the at 40 inches center
Which Solder did you use Steve on the HUB ? Resin Core or Acid Core ??? TNX For the Inspiration Video .
I used regular plumbing solder that has an acid-base flux. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for posting your video well done nice work,
I am going to make one my self the six meter band has bin open for some time,
I have a vractal for six meter not a beam thanks Steve for sharing your idea with us out here looking to make home made antennas system
TED KD2ARD....
Wonderful video! Thanks... KA7WOF
Very nice video. I am 80% done with my moxon build. Considering other ways to attach the antenna to to the fiberglass poles. I do not want a permanent threaded solution as shown in your build. Any other ideas? Thanks KK4NKR Brian
By going thru the end of the rods it keeps wire measurements locked in place. Not sure of another way and make it easy to set up in the field. Good luck with your build. Six meter season is here.
Steve Ad4xt
Interesting. Never have seen an antenna like this. I wonder if chokes like that on a Hustker vertical antenna or an EFHW could be used to work bands on lower frequencies like 40 & 80 for this antenna? Has any thought been given to that idea?
Moxon design has been out for quite a while. Easier to manage them on the upper bands.
Why I have seen so many people use this antennas vertically?? what is the correct positioning??
I know mine may differ but what was the final length of each section tuned? Great stuff and hope to work you from East TN sometime! K4RJJ
The measurements are in the video somewhere. I do remember that using one of the online calculator tools for the frequency that you want, 50.125 in my case worked out almost perfect, very little tuning was necessary. Thanks for watching.
Steve
Where might I find all the exact measurements and dimensions? Does anyone have diagram or parts list? Thank you!
What were the fiberglass rods originally intended/designed for? Knowing what they are intended for will make it easier for me to find them I think. Thanks
Thanks for watching. I'm not sure exactly what they are used for. I purchased them from a local farm feed and seed store. Tractor Supply. I will ask them next time I go by there.
Steve Ad4xt
@@hamradioportable1630 Electric Fence Post
You can find fibre glass rods at many garden centers in the UK. Just make sure that you do not buy the plastic covered metal tubed rods. I bought a load of these in differing lengths and later discovered they were all but useless for the intended radio application purpose. They are used as plant supports.
Driveway markers come in 4 foot or 72 inch lengths
If that is 5/8 on the outside that's probably cpbc
Steve where did you find the 4' tent poles, having hard time finding them
Tractor Supply. A farm feed and seed store here in the south.
12:26 Days Since Last Injury - 0
😁
Steve how for from the ends of rods do you bore holes (your outside holes)
No exact measurement here Tommy. Just apply some tension to the rods to keep the wire taught. Mark the measurements on your wire real well with a sharpie marker.
Steve
@@hamradioportable1630 Thanks Steve
Club build
Not this time but this would be a great Club build. Thanks for watching.
how many turns of the wire on the connectors do you have
5 0r 6 should be enough.
Hi great antenna what size are the fibreglass rods thanks 2I0EVH
3/8" x 48" long. I purchased them from Tractor Supply. A farm and feed chain of stores here in the south. Thanks for watching.
Steve. Ad4xt
🤩*Good manufacturing home made 73 F1OGV
What diameter is your fibreglass rods pease ?
3/8" x 4' purchased at tractor supply.
Did you get your military poles over at the military base at fort Benning ? 73 AE4OY William Peacock EM-81UF SOUTH EAST GEORGIA 😁
No ,
I picked mine up at the hamfest in Huntsville a couple years ago. I'm sure I could probably find some around here but there's always a vendor up in Huntsville that has a pretty good deal on them.
czcams.com/video/5etgiakuvg0/video.html
Link to test video
That is not a tent pole. It is a multi-purpose sectional fiberglass pole. Just sayin!