Can I get a better aerial than this ?
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Can I get a better aerial than this ?
It's OK but wonder if can get a better one?
https://www.superyagi.com/88108mhz_jpol ... 84551.aspx
I am willing to spend around £150 to 200 but do any come from the UK?
this defo much better than the dipole before.
But only getting about 4 miles.
I cannot go higher due to how windy it gets to.
https://www.superyagi.com/88108mhz_jpol ... 84551.aspx
I am willing to spend around £150 to 200 but do any come from the UK?
this defo much better than the dipole before.
But only getting about 4 miles.
I cannot go higher due to how windy it gets to.
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Re: Can I get a better aerial than this ?
will see if can see any that are in stock.
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Re: Can I get a better aerial than this ?
https://www.lpfmantenna.com/product/250-watt-free-tune/
Like that however, can only see US ones right now.
for extra they can ship so will look into one.
Like that however, can only see US ones right now.
for extra they can ship so will look into one.
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Re: Can I get a better aerial than this ?
It'll be worth it.fmuser877 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 27, 2022 11:09 am https://www.lpfmantenna.com/product/250-watt-free-tune/
Like that however, can only see US ones right now.
for extra they can ship so will look into one.
...How much power are you runnin? It might just be easier to up your power in the long-run.
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Re: Can I get a better aerial than this ?
15 to 50 watts
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Re: Can I get a better aerial than this ?
Have you checked the SWR on that J-pole?
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Re: Can I get a better aerial than this ?
the TX shows 0 refected feedback for me
on the indoor aerial, it has 1 to 2 bars.
on the indoor aerial, it has 1 to 2 bars.
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Re: Can I get a better aerial than this ?
The best amplifier (and usually the cheapest option) is a good antenna. The "Dominator" is just a somewhat strange way to make a J-pole - it works just the same....
A J-pole is a ½-wave end-fed vertical, with a ¼-wave matching section. It efficiently takes your unbalanced coaxial feed and does a huge impedance transformation to feed the end of the ½-wave. It has a very slightly rising radiation characteristic, and is truly omni-directional (as long as it's in free space). It's a good idea to wind 5 or 6 turns of your coax into a coil of about 6" diameter, about a meter below the feedpoint to prevent RF coming back down the skin of the coax. This is an RF choke (NOT a balun as it is often described by people who don't understand aerials). I usually just wind some of the feeder up and either tape it into a coil (or use cable ties). I usually strap the choke to the mounting pole.
The J-Pole presents a DC-short to the transmitter - this allows a quick continuity check to see that the coax is unbroken, and provides a useful degree of lightning protection.
You'll find that the field strength from a "Dominator" will be exactly the same as a J-Pole, and the "Dominator" is really expensive.
I used to make J-poles out of almost any pieces of metal I could find. I've even used the top of scaffolding with a ¼-wave stub strapped to it as an "improvised" J-pole! You can build them out of any old junk, and there are calculators on line to give you the dimensions for your frequency of choice. https://m0ukd.com/calculators/slim-jim ... alculator/ works fine. With very little work, you can get a really low SWR!
A J-pole is a ½-wave end-fed vertical, with a ¼-wave matching section. It efficiently takes your unbalanced coaxial feed and does a huge impedance transformation to feed the end of the ½-wave. It has a very slightly rising radiation characteristic, and is truly omni-directional (as long as it's in free space). It's a good idea to wind 5 or 6 turns of your coax into a coil of about 6" diameter, about a meter below the feedpoint to prevent RF coming back down the skin of the coax. This is an RF choke (NOT a balun as it is often described by people who don't understand aerials). I usually just wind some of the feeder up and either tape it into a coil (or use cable ties). I usually strap the choke to the mounting pole.
The J-Pole presents a DC-short to the transmitter - this allows a quick continuity check to see that the coax is unbroken, and provides a useful degree of lightning protection.
You'll find that the field strength from a "Dominator" will be exactly the same as a J-Pole, and the "Dominator" is really expensive.
I used to make J-poles out of almost any pieces of metal I could find. I've even used the top of scaffolding with a ¼-wave stub strapped to it as an "improvised" J-pole! You can build them out of any old junk, and there are calculators on line to give you the dimensions for your frequency of choice. https://m0ukd.com/calculators/slim-jim ... alculator/ works fine. With very little work, you can get a really low SWR!
"Why is my rig humming?"
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Re: Can I get a better aerial than this ?
There is a further version of the J-Pole, called the "Super-J". This provides several dB of gain, but is more than twice the vertical size of an ordinary J-pole.
Other effective aerials include the single-slot colinear: http://sm0vpo.altervista.org/antennas/6dbvhf0.htm - Harry's a bit over-enthusiastic about the gain from this design, but you can easily achieve 4 dB over a dipole! I've built versions of this design, and had great results with them.
There is also the 0.66-wave end-fed vertical..... This shows a rising radiation characteristic, and serious gain, but is a nightmare to match accurately. I've used them on lower sites with success, but wouldn't recommend them for a beginner.
I've also built lots of aerials with groundplanes - ¼-wave, ⅜-wave, ⅝-wave and ⅞-wave versions. Each has their benefits, each has different matching requirements, and each shows a different radiation characteristic, but all of them are more difficult to build than a basic J-Pole. I'd probably stick with the J-Pole at first. You're certain to get good results if you bother to do some basic calibration.
Other effective aerials include the single-slot colinear: http://sm0vpo.altervista.org/antennas/6dbvhf0.htm - Harry's a bit over-enthusiastic about the gain from this design, but you can easily achieve 4 dB over a dipole! I've built versions of this design, and had great results with them.
There is also the 0.66-wave end-fed vertical..... This shows a rising radiation characteristic, and serious gain, but is a nightmare to match accurately. I've used them on lower sites with success, but wouldn't recommend them for a beginner.
I've also built lots of aerials with groundplanes - ¼-wave, ⅜-wave, ⅝-wave and ⅞-wave versions. Each has their benefits, each has different matching requirements, and each shows a different radiation characteristic, but all of them are more difficult to build than a basic J-Pole. I'd probably stick with the J-Pole at first. You're certain to get good results if you bother to do some basic calibration.
"Why is my rig humming?"
"Because it doesn't know the words!"
"Because it doesn't know the words!"
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Re: Can I get a better aerial than this ?
A station which used to run from a large tower block in Bracknell changed their usual J-pole to a dominator and was reaching the edge of Southampton with it, made a massive difference.
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Re: Can I get a better aerial than this ?
that's some miles