Wire Antennas that WORK! A collection of details and descriptions of antennas

based on Spiderbeam fiberglass poles,as described in greater detail on DJ0IP’s Web Page:

WWW.DJ0IP.DE

The antennas described in this booklet were designed to be efficient, yet simple enough for the

average ham to build, using common hand tools. Several of these antennas are used regularly by DX‐peditions to all corners of the world. All of these antennas have been built and tested by at least one

of the Spiderbeam Team members: DF4SA / DF9GR / DJ0IP / DL9USA / DO5PNS / W4PA.

First Edition, June 2016 ‐ © Spiderbeam GmbH

2€

Antennas that work on the beach and also in your own back yard!

“Affordable” DX‐Antennas

Fee

dp

oin

t 5

0 O

hm

Co

ax

RF

-Ch

oke

Re

com

me

nd

ed

Ra

dia

tor W

ire

1m

m (A

WG

-18

)

10

.1m

(33

ft.) Lon

g

10

to 2

0 R

ad

ials

(5 to

10

m lo

ng

)

(16

to 3

4 ft.)

12

m (4

0 ft.) S

pid

erb

ea

m

Fib

erg

lass S

pid

erp

ole

40

m V

ertica

l

7m

’

Gu

ys O

ptio

na

l

In S

tron

g W

ind

s

Gu

y H

ER

E

Fee

dp

oin

t

De

tails

16

turn

s RG

-14

2

on

FT

-24

0-6

1

to ra

dia

ls to

ve

rtical w

ire

No

tes:

•R

ad

ials sh

ou

ld b

e 6

to 1

0m

lon

g.

•It w

orks g

rea

t with

just 8

rad

ials.

•1

6 o

r mo

re ra

dia

ls is a little

be

tter.

•S

pa

ce ra

dia

ls sym

me

trically

aro

un

d th

e p

ole

.

40

m V

ertica

l on

12

m P

ole

(Gro

un

d R

ad

ials)

http

://ww

w.D

J0IP

.de

/ve

rtica

l-an

ten

na

s/

Op

tion

al R

F-C

ho

ke

80m Vertical Antenna On a Spiderbeam 12m HD Fiberglass Spiderpole

L1

L2

L3L3

L1 = 13m (43 ft.) CQ‐532 wireL2 = 35m (115’ ) CQ‐534 wire1

L3 = 12 to 20m (40 to 66 ft.)L4 = 35 to 50m (115 to 165 ft.)2L5 = >10m (>33 ft.)L6 = depends on stake3

160m Inv‐L on 12m Spiderpole

4x Guy Ropes(2mm Kevlar)

8 ‐ 20 Radials

L5

8 or 10 turnsSpaced 5cm (2”)PVDF Monofil

Stake for diagonal wire

L3

Note: Spiral the radiator wire down the pole about one turn per meter. Near the bottom, wrap about 8 or 10 turns closer together, such that the end of the wire mates with the feedpoint.

Use 1mm Kevlar between the doubleinsulators, NOT PVDF Monofil.

If possible, raise the diagonal wire as highas possible, by tying to a tree oranother mast. Tying to the ground as shown, works, butIs a worst case scenario.

Use 2 Spiderbeaminsulators.

L4

Total Height: 12m (40 ft.)

L6

GuyStake

CQ‐534Wire

CQ‐532Wire

3m

DANGER HIGH VOLTAGE!

1Adjust length for resonance.2Adjust such that end of L2 is at least 3m high.3Adjust as necessary.

*Not critical. Wire length will be adjusted for resonance.

CMC Choke

300 to 500 pF, 5KV*50Ω Coax

Feed‐point

DJ0IP

11m

(not used)

80m Vertical using the 18m Fiberglass Pole

RADIATOR:

• Use 1mm to 2mm diameter wire

(AWG12 – AWG18)

• Length = 20m

• For lowest losses when running high

power, use 10m of 2mm wire on the

bottom and 10m of 1mm wire on the top

• Prune radiator at the bottom for

resonance

RADIALS:

• Use 0.4mm to 0.7mm diameter wire

(AWG21 – AWG26 works well)

• Use 8 radials (better 16)

• Length = anything >10m (Note: they do

NOT have to be 20m long!)

• For easy installation of radiators, use the

Radial Connection Plate

www.spiderbeam.com/products_info.php?i

nfo=p246

Note: m = ’ ”

R a d i a l s

Optional Radial Connection Plate

Wire Radiator

Optional

www.DJ0IP.de/vertical-antennas

Note: sp

iral (co

il) the ra

diator w

ire down

the p

ole a

bout 1 tu

rn per m

eter o

f the

pole. A

bout 2

m above th

e botto

m, w

rap

10 tu

rns p

er m

eter o

f pole. A

DJUST

spacin

g of tu

rns su

ch that th

e end o

f the

wire ju

st reaches th

e connectio

n plate

2x S

piderbeam

Insulators

2x S

piderbeam

Insulators

CAUTION

HIGH V

OLTA

GE

CAUTION

HIGH V

OLTA

GE

Feedpoint Details

17 turns RG-142

on FT-240-43 (2x Cores for 1KW)

Antenna Details: http://www.dj0ip.de/vertical-antennas/

Choke Details: http://www.dj0ip.de/vertical-antennas/rf-cmc-choke/

www.DJ0IP.de and click on:

• Antennas

• Vertical-Antennas

• Inverted-L-Ant

(or)

• RF CMC Choke

Simple 160m Inverted-L Antenna

on an 18m Spiderbeam Fiberglass Pole

Height: 16m ’

Height: 18m ’

TX

ca. 22m ’

Wire: AWG-26 (CQ-534)

ca. 25m ’

8 to 16 ground mounted radials, each 25 to 40m long.

’ to ’

18m ’ of wire AWG-18 (CQ-532)

Height: 2m ~ ’

(Drawing not to scale)

1m ”

Insert RF Choke here:

160m Vertical

on a Spiderbeam

26m Fiberglass Pole

4x Top-Hat Wires, 1mm, 7m long. ( CQ-534 26 AWG Copperweld )

26m

24m

PVDF Monfil Line

PVDF Monfil Line

PVDF Monfil Line

8 to 16 Radials, 20 to 40m long.

7m 7m

7m

7m

MUST use 2x very

lightweight insulators

for each top-hat wire.

24m 26m

19m

12m

7m

15m 25m

Guying Info

minimum distance

2mm Kevlar

PVDF Monfil Line

• Spiral vertical wire about one turn per meter

down the pole until the bottom of segment 2.

• Wrap the wire around segment 1 with a

winding space of about 10cm. Adjust as

Necessary such that the wire terminates

about 10 to 15cm from the bottom of the pole.

• Secure end of wire to pole using a wire-tie.

27m Radiator Wire:

• Top 8m: 1mm diameter

• Middle 9m: 2mm diameter

• Bottom 10m: 3mm diameter

Top hat wire Feedpoint

Details

17 turns RG-142

on FT-240-43

to radials to vertical wire

Note: drawing not to scale !

• 4 levels

• 4 directions

(For simplicity, the guy ropes are not shown above.)

18

m

10

.1m

80

m ra

dia

tor id

en

tical

to ra

dia

tor o

f the

80

m

Ve

rtical o

n 1

8m

Po

le.

40

m ra

dia

tor

DU

AL –

BA

ND

VE

RT

ICA

L

80

m / 4

0m

Use

8 to

16

gro

un

d ra

dia

ls

(or m

ore

), 12

to 2

0m

lon

g.

Sp

ace

rad

ials sy

mm

etrica

lly

aro

un

d th

e p

ole

.

Fee

d w

ith 5

0Ω C

oa

x.

Use

op

tion

al C

MC

Ch

oke

(pre

ferre

d).

Fe

ed

po

int ~

5-1

0cm

ab

ove

gro

un

d.

12

m

Ra

dia

tor w

ires a

re C

Q-5

32

(AW

G-1

8).

Fo

r 1K

W o

r mo

re o

n 8

0m

, use

2m

m

wire

(AW

G-1

2) o

n th

e b

otto

m h

alf

of th

e 8

0m

rad

iato

r (or d

ou

ble

the

CQ

-53

2). (N

ot re

qu

ired

on

40

m).

Gu

y ro

pe

s are

2m

m K

ev

lar.

Use

ligh

twe

igh

t insu

lato

rs!

Fee

dp

oin

t

Sp

ace

first insu

lato

r ab

ou

t on

e

me

ter a

wa

y fro

m th

e p

ole

. Th

e

40

m ra

dia

tor p

asse

s thro

ug

h th

e

Bo

ttom

ho

le; d

o n

ot fa

sten

. Th

is

en

ab

les a

dju

sting

the

ten

sion

.

Tun

e 8

0m

rad

iato

r by

sho

rten

ing

at th

e b

otto

m. 4

0m

is tun

ed

by

Ad

justin

g th

e le

ng

th. A

lwa

ys

tun

e 8

0m

first, the

n 4

0m

.

1m

Gro

un

d ra

dia

ls

are

req

uire

d.

info

@sp

ide

rbe

am

.com

Bu

ilt on

a S

pid

erb

ea

m

18

m F

ibe

rgla

ss Po

le

L1

L2

L2

L2

16

0m

/ 80

m D

ua

l-Ba

nd

Ve

rtical o

n S

pid

erb

ea

m 1

8m

Po

le

L1 =

16

to1

7m

(NO

T m

ore

)

L2 =

Ab

ou

t 12

.5m

(Cu

t 15

m, fo

ld b

ack

exce

ss)

L3 =

2M

L4 =

25

m (if p

ossib

le)

*L5

= 2

0m

~o

40

m

L6 =

14

.5m

L7 =

1,0

m

L8 =

6m

(cut 7

m, fo

ld b

ack

exce

ss)

Sta

rt with

L1 =

18

m a

nd

trim to

ad

just fre

qu

en

cy.

Fee

dp

oin

t: L4

T

o g

rou

nd

stak

e.

• Ra

dia

tor W

ire (L1

): AW

G-1

8 (C

Q-5

32

)

• Top

Ha

t Wire

s (L2): A

WG

-26

(CQ

-53

4)

• 80

m R

ad

iato

r Wire

s (L6 +

L8): C

Q-5

32

L3 1

8m

Sp

ide

rbe

am

Po

le

Ra

dia

ls no

t sho

wn

.

18

m

16

m

L6

L8

L7

Co

mm

en

ts:

•T

he

16

0m

an

ten

na

is bu

ilt exa

ctly like

the

S

pid

erb

ea

m 1

60

-18

-4W

TH

.

•T

he

80

m ra

dia

tor is cu

t for a

tota

l len

gth

of

a

bo

ut o

ne

me

ter lo

ng

er th

an

¼ w

ave

len

gth

.

T

he

exce

ss is fold

ed

ba

ck (n

ot cu

t).

•Tu

nin

g is a

ccom

plish

ed

by

ad

justin

g L8

.

•L7

is siply rope to the i

sulator.

L4

To

gro

un

d sta

ke

.

ww

w.D

J0IP

.de

/v

ertic

al-a

nte

nn

as

(for m

ore

de

tails

)

16

0m

Ra

dia

tor

80

m

Ra

dia

tor

Feeding Low Band Verticals (Especially 160m)

Common Mode Current Choke

The choke is placed at the feedpoint of the Vertical. The drawing above shows how you can simply

wrap coax on the toroid. Use RG-58 for a few hundred watts. For 1KW use RG-142 (Teflon Coax).

For 1.5KW use 2x Toroids glued together. On the right you see a choke/balun usable for 40m

and above. My choke looks similar to this, but has more windings in order to cover 160m.

It is not necessary to cross-wind the coax, but sometimes it is more convenient.

Feedpoint

Details

17 turns RG-142

on FT-240-43

to radials to vertical wire

A Hairpin Match (Shunt Match)

I’ e used the shu t at h for early 50 years. It is a heap a d si ple ea s of raisi g the feedpoint impedance from a low value (i.e. ~10Ω) to something closer to 50Ω. This is a great

ay to i pro e a lo a d erti al’s at h. Use thi k soft-drawn copper wire or thin copper

tubing. I wound about 10 turns onto a wine bottle. Tune by pushing the turns closer together

or pulling them farther apart. My choke and Hairpin Match are shown on the right. (DJ0IP)

Hairpin

Match 50Ω Coax

Quarter-Wave Vertical

HAIRPIN MATCH (Shunt Match)

The Coil: Wind thick wire or thin copper tubing

On a round object, such as a glass jar:

TUNING:

• Measure and record the SWR.

• Push the turns of the coil closer together and see if the SWR improves or gets worse.

• Pull the turns farther apart and check if the SWR gets worse or improves.

• Adjust for best SWR.

• Note: if spread too far apart and still not perfect, remove 1 or 2 windings from the coil.

• Note: if squeezed tightly together and still not perfect, add 1 or 2 windings to the coil.

http://www.DJ0IP.de/vertical-antennas/hairpin-match/

A quick and easy way to obtain

a better SWR for short low-band

Vertical Antennas. Radials

Simple Multi‐Band HF Vertical Dipole

ByDJ IP,November Page

0,85 m 1,70 m

2,55 m

3,63 m

1,08 m

1,70 m

0,85 m

1,08 m

2,55 m

3,63 m

Feedpoint Impedance = 100 Ω

Insert @ 15m Feedpoint

= 2 : 1 BALUN

Loop Lengths:

• L20 = 20,55 m

• L15 = 14,43 m

• L10 = 9,60 m

Spiderbeam 3 – Band

Single - Loop

Portable Quad

20 m 15 m 10 m

10

15

20

9/07/2012

450 Ohm Windowline [WIREMANN]

Special Feedline

851 mm 1084 mm

Special Feedline

Attach balun to 15m Feedpoint

Feedline Details

BALUN

Wire = CQ-534

300 Ω or 450 Ω

Openwire

Matchbox

Mono – Loop Quad A Vertically Oriented, Horizontally Polarized Loop

*Jumper

Spiderbeam

12m Fiberglass Mast

7 – Band Portable Antenna

*Jumper Band

In 20, 17, 15, 12m

Out 40, 30, 10*m

~5m ~5m

~5m ~5m

Up to 500w:

• AWG-26 Wire (CQ-534)

• 300 Ohm or 450 Ohm Feedline

Over 500w:

• AWG-18 Wire (CQ-532)

• 450 Ohm Feedline

*Also works o with ju per i

NOTE: Use Symmetrical Matchbox or Asymmetrical Matchbox with 1:1 or 4:1 Current Balun.

Spiderbeam

Quad Kit

---- 12m High

8m High ---

4m High -----

L=4m

L=4

m

• Secure the feedline to the pole near the

feedpoint to provide strain-relief .

• The feedli e a e al ost a

length as long as it is long enough

to reach from the antenna to the

shack.

• See text for more info.

DESCRIPTION:

A vertically polarized full wavelength loop, with more or less Omni-directional radiation (due to the low

height, requiring NO RADIALS. NOTE: though good for DX, stations within 500 miles may be stronger on a

simple dipole.

CONSTRUCTION DETAILS:

• The pole should e a out high i i u . ’ ” to 36’ . Highe is ette , ut the ou ill have to re-adjust the total length for resonance.

• The feedpoint is located in either diagonal side near one corner of the antenna, enabling vertical

polarization. This makes the antenna an excellent DX antenna.

• The length of the diagonal is not very critical and may be adjusted to help find a better fit in the space

available, but the distance from the feedpoint to the top should be one quarter wavelength.

• The e a t total le gth ill a depe di g o g ou d o ditio s at ou QTH. Begi ith . ’ ” a d the sho te the ho izo tal leg to i g the eso a e up to the desi ed f e ue .

• Adjust total length by adjusting the length of the horizontal wire. (Easiest way).

• The ho izo tal leg of the a te a o the otto should e to high ’ ” to ’ ” high e ough fo humans and animals to walk under. Changes to the height will require adjusting overall length.

• The insulator shown directly on the pole at the 2m level is for mechanical reasons. Secure the insulator

to the pole, and then pass the horizontal leg through the insulator, reducing sag in the horizontal leg.

• The insulator in the horizontal leg near the left is an option for convenience. It enables easy adjustment

for resonance by removing or adding wire. For disassembly, disconnect one side from the insulator and

then roll the antenna as a single wire. Each time I changed my QTH, I had to re-adjust the length of the

jumper. I just let the jumper wire hang down. For permanent use, you may leave this out.

• The a te a ill ha e a i peda e et ee Ω a d Ω. A ua te a ele gth at hi g stu of Oh oa ill p o ide a good at h to Ω. RG-59 is good enough for about 500w. If you want to

run more power, use RG-11.

c TX

40m Delta-Mono-Loop Height: 11m ’

Height: 2.0m ’ ” Jumper (See Text)

2.20m ’ ”

(about) 17.20 ’ ”

TOTAL

~42.20m ’ ”

9.0m ’ ”

RG-59

6.85m ’ ”

RG-213

Insulator

Insulator

A Vertically Polarized

DX-Antenna

Total Horizontal Length

DJ0IP; Original source: CQDL article by DL1BU, April, 1979, page 154.