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News Subject: Make Your Own Loading Coils DE KØFF Amateur Radio Club:
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Propagation "Air Dux" inductors were once plentiful and CD, Heathkit Book
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like to make their own apparatus when possible. Cards:
Ham Links Here is one method that I have long used to
List Archives
News Articles
make evenly spaced, nice looking coils of all
Product Reviews sizes.
QSL Managers Coil winding -
custom
Precision bobbin-
Site Info
wound coils to your
eHam Help (FAQ) Make your own loading coils for antenna projects specs from Dia-
Support the site
The eHam Team using Caterpillar Grommet Netics
dia-netics.com
Advertising Info strips. Also called flexible grommets, flexible
Vision Statement
About eHam.net bushings etc.
These are used by installers to form protective
bushings around the edges of holes cut into
sheet metal,
and come in strips that are cut to desired length
then snapped into the hole to cover the raw edge.
We used to use them when installing 2-way
radios to line the holes we made in the firewall to
QSL Managers pass the heavy 12V wires.
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I think you have started a new method that may be used for a long time.
Well done, and thanks for posting the idea to share it with the
community.
http://www.ad5x.com/images/Articles/CoilRevB.pdf
The McMaster part number of the nylon edge trim I use is 85085K8, and
a package of 25 strips, each 12.75" long are $11.33 - plenty to make a
lot of coils. #14 solid copper wire is a nice fit for this nylon trim.
McMaster 8873K51 is $20 for 80 feet - though it is probably cheaper
through Lowes or Home Depot (didn't think of that until after ordering
the wire from McMaster - and 80' has lasted me a long time).
Phil - AD5X
73 de Neil
K9CTB
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73 de KG6WLS
Mike
Geo>K0FF
I don't have any enamel coated wire but have plenty of 12 GA insulated
wire, so if I can use it I won't need to purchase enamel magnet wire.
73,
Dave AB7E
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73 de Jim, N2EY
A: Nylon, Teflon and Derlin look very much alike when in a block or rod.
To test any material's RF capability, expose it to about 700W @ 2450
MHz ( i.e. put in in the microwave oven!)
While PVC is fine for low power applications ( both as insulators and as
coating on wires like power wiring), it melts easily when exposed to
heat. AT high power, coils get hot.
All antennas, verticals included have high current/low voltage and high
Voltage/ Low current points along their length.
A simple 1/4 wave Marconi antenna has the high current point at the
feedpoint. At the end of the wire, there is a LOT of Voltage (try a
florescent tube out there!)
Geo>K0FF
For very high reactance loading coils in critical applications, it's probably
useful to use enameled wire to reduce leakage resistance effects after
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I spray my coils that are on forms with electrical varnish these days. It
probably doesn't actually matter, certainly not in a practical way, but it'll
make me feel better after the coil gets all covered with damp cobwebs
and my PVC forms get wet and dirty.
http://n3ox.net/projects/stepperswitch/160_match_lg.jpg
http://n3ox.net/projects/stepperswitch/40m_match_lg.jpg
With less surface area like with these strips, leakage resistance would
be much lessened. But I'd probably varnish my coils anyway. I wouldn't
leave PVC THHN insulation on though... it's easy enough to strip off. I
can do enough wire for a big coil in a few minutes using a pocketknife
and practice.
73
Dan
Ed K7AAT
I make my own verticals out of scrap. Perhaps I will be able to build one
of those $200-$300 verticals for a few bux and PVC masting/support
tubing.
" The key to the coil project is the nylon spacer material from McMaster-
Carr . I just wanted to point out that N1LO website at
http://www.qsl.net/n1lo/mobilhf.pdf "
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K0FF Says: RR and amen to that. I was first introduced to the method in
the 1960's by my friend and neighbor W0DYI (SK). Gateway Electronics
of St. Louis had this material and many other things that you wouldn't
normally find lying around, making for a very creative ham community
there. Oh how I miss those WW2 Arc-5 sets, all you wanted for $5 each,
TX, RX, Modulator, PS....all different bands etc.
Today we have far fewer surplus electronics places, but we do have the
internet. Distribution of ideas among hams is key. I encourage anyone
who has a gimmick or method to take pictures and post it on eHam, for
all of us to benefit.
73 Geo>K0FF
KE7FD
I was just reading the article in this Months QST by W6YE. W6YE made
those exact strips on a table saw. Maybe W6YE will read this article and
save himself a lot of trouble. Making those strips must be a lot of work.
Anyway W6YE's article is a "keeper" for future reference along with this
Eham article on making coils. AD5X also has a great deal of information
on making coils. I like his Bugcatcher style of coil construction
Looking at the price of B&W Air Dux coil made of No10 wire, you would
swear its made out of gold its just so expensive.
I was just reading the article in this Months QST by W6YE. W6YE made
those exact strips on a table saw. Maybe W6YE will read this article and
save himself a lot of trouble. Making those strips must be a lot of work.
http://www.eham.net/articles/23124 5/6/2011
Make Your Own Loading Coils Page 10 of 13
Anyway W6YE's article is a "keeper" for future reference along with this
Eham article on making coils. AD5X also has a great deal of information
on making coils. I like his Bugcatcher style of coil construction
Looking at the price of B&W Air Dux coil made of No10 wire, you would
swear its made out of gold its just so expensive.
Great idea, great post. Congrats on submitting the first post to e-ham
forums that DIDN'T get flamed!! I'd have that put on my tombstone.
73,K1KO
My goodness yes Bill. St. Louis was a wonderful place to grow up in the
radio hobby and business. We had Walter Ashe Radio,
Gateway Electronics ( surplus), Olive Electronics and Van sickle
Electronics for new parts.
Later we had Ham Radio Center ( Bill Du Bourd orig. from Walter Ashe-
Bill invented the "800" number and discount pricing), Midcom, Walcom
ham radio stores.
I myself even ran a ham radio store out of my 2-way radio shop for a
few years.
Stu and Lou at Gateway were friends and mentors to all radio people in
the area. They made us comfortable and fed us coffee on Saturday
mornings, and a couch to sit and talk about radio and exchange ideas.
Geo>K0FF
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Terry, WØFM
You will find here a video with a similar process using corrugated tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyTAq1XbE1k
73
Geo>K0FF
73 W9OY
I've been building coils this way for 10 years now since you first
mentioned this trick on the Towertalk reflector way back around '99 or
so.
I've been using hot melt glue. Painting the strips first with a light coat of
flat black paint greatly improves the bond!
I gave up the wire cap hats long ago in favor of inverted L construction.
See my listing on
http://www.qrz.com for a more recent version.
Regards,
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Make Your Own Loading Coils Page 12 of 13
--...MARK_N1LO...--
Brilliant, simply brilliant. Well written, well documented and great photos.
Rick VE3FMC
Brilliant, simply brilliant. Well written, well documented and great photos.
Rick VE3FMC
If you can, I'd suggest sharing a location that can sell the stuff. It ain't
available around the parts here in Minneapolis. I went looking some time
back and discovered I'd have to order from out-state.
Cheers and 73
I gave up the wire cap hats long ago in favor of inverted L construction.
See my listing on
http://www.qrz.com for a more recent version.
Regards,
--...MARK_N1LO...--"
Hi Mark, well first of all thanks for the drawing of the mobile antenna,
very cool!
Second, thanks for the link to the QRZ site. So far I can't find your
article, but I will. Can you believe I didn't know about that site at all? I'm
a self confessed computer dummy. Need to "get out" more my wife
says, but I'm pretty satisfied tinkering down in my basement.
I really like mobile operations and have tried many antennas. Once I
had a simple setup with a coax cable running from the van into the
shack, so I could A-B compare the mobile antenna to my R7 vertical
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Make Your Own Loading Coils Page 13 of 13
mounted on a fence. When the mobile antenna got the same signals
strength as the big vertical, I knew it was good enough.
Don't lets all forget that the vehicle itself is the "other half of the
antenna". Once I backed up two identical vans to within a foot of each
other and loaded them up as a "fat dipole". Worked rather well.
73 Geo>K0FF
Steve, W4HKL
Caryville, TN
Mark
http://www.eham.net/articles/23124 5/6/2011