[CQ] antenna building?

[Jonathan Lassoff]

Excerpts from Michael Shiloh's message of Thu Nov 12 10:39:30 -0800 2009:
> i need to make a very simple antenna for my dual band handheld (FT-60R), 
> so that i can use it inside my faraday cage (shipping container) at the 
> shipyard.
> 
> i envision a simple vertical perhaps with 4 radials. it will be mounted 
> on the roof of my container and so has a nice metal groundplane.
> 
> to simplify construction i don't  want to raise it very high. i hope 
> that a 2 * 4 stuck in one corner of the container will suffice. i will 
> somehow have to clear the (unused) solar panels on my roof.
> 
> my constraints are:
> 
> 1. price must be near zero
> 2. scrounged materials might be quite exotic but are entirely unpredictable
> 3. reasonably easy to construct

For which band were you thinking? I've had good luck in the past making
verticals with a chassis-mount SO-239 connectors.

The most common kind has a square plate to rest against the chassis and
four holes in the corner. I would solder four copper wires as a ground
plane and angle them down to match the right impedence.

In the center pin, I soldered another copper wire straight upwards.

The lengths of the wires can be adjusted for different frequencies.

Pretty cheap ('cept for the cost of the connector), and functional.

--j