Antenna Springs

Yup,just bad info
the cheap steel used in todays "spring" offerings are junk
they easily stretch and are worn out in a mere few weeks.

I have springs on both my Jeeps that are 25+ years old and are still in better shape then any of the new ones others in our club have purchased in the last ten the club has been together.

Yall keep yappin . . . . . on stuff neither have "CURRENT" working experience with.
Scary being old aint it ?,nothing left in there thats new,fresh or original

 

one in and one is out,plural no ?
Trucking Forum,Trucking TERMINOLOGY

Troll

 

You nust be buying Chinese ones good ones will last for decades but they are not cheap ... As for old Most radio technology has been around since the 40's except for the way it is apply and the devices used is the same.

The basic Superhet receiver since the 1930's REGEN stuff is still made today and goes back to the deforest valve of about 1910 ....
CW ( not code ) transmitter's replacing spark gap mid 1930's
YAGI Correctly a UDA/YAGI array or a beam to someone like you has been around since 1920's with only a slight improvement ......
AM again 1920
FM early 1930's
SSB mid 1940's You can thank Art Collijs for this mode

So next time you knock being old remember you using a radio that was old when i got into radio almost 50 years ago .......

 

DEFINE SWR'S ?????? Is this the sum of forward and reflected ??????

 

What? I can and do install and repair, have peaked & tuned, modded CB radios. And have done so for years. And I've noticed that you don't know much about CB radio at all. When you make false statements, you get upset when someone trys to tell you the truth. If you will take some time to learn about radios. Instead of just repeating what you heard over the air or what you may have read on some radio forum. Then you will not make false and misleading comments. I may be old but I give bad info. And radio has not changed in over 70 years. So whats NEW?

 

Yup has already said he's not a tech. I don't understand why he continues to refute actual science propounded by the actual technicians on here, unless he just like to troll and try to get a rise out of folks.
Seems like a need to yell *something* random instead of bothering to actually know the facts.

As Ben Franklin is reputed to have said, " 'Tis far better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."

And in the interest of a follow-up to my original reply to the OP's question:
Quality springs have a measured length of braid, kinda like the outer conductor from a piece of coax, that is fastened to the end plates on it. The braid keeps the electrical length from varying as the spring flexes, separating the coils in the spring. Without the braid, the electrical length of the spring would increase as it flexes.
Before buying a spring (new or used), I'd suggest flexing the spring far enough to see between the coils and see if you can see a braid inside. Some cheapie springs don't have them to start with, and some older springs have had their braid break. Either case renders them useless for anything more technical than serving as a shock absorber for marker whips like those used on truck bumper ends, or snow plow blades.

Quote: Yall keep yappin . . . . . on stuff neither have "CURRENT" working experience with.
Scary being old aint it ?,nothing left in there thats new,fresh or original (end quote)

Even though I've been doing this 40 years commercially and 50 years as a ham, I currently work on digitally encrypted P25 radios for "da gummint".

Sometimes being "older" can mean "more trainable based upon depth of knowledge".

So I'm pretty sure *I've" got "current working experience."
How about you? Oh, that's right, you've said you're not a tech.

Happy Memorial Day, everyone.
-- Handlebar --

 

Well said ....Have a great memorial Day and remember what it is all about .

Bruce WA4GCH
US Army 1968-1970

 

Troll? Why because I'm trying to open your eyes to fact, and not fiction? Let's see, one with no substance or relevence to back them up as well as straw man arguments, which he uses to simply avoid addressing the essence of the issue. Yep sounds like a Troll to me.

 

Springs can cause SWR to go up slightly if the antenna is already a touch too long. This is due to increasing the length of the antenna. Always recheck your SWR when adding products such as springs. Also depending on were the antenna is located and other objects such as exhaust stacks etc. The spring will let the antenna flex rearward going down the road. This may also raise the SWR due to the antenna getting too close to metal objects on the truck.

As far as quick disconnects. I have seen them and they tend to add a little length to the antenna also which changes the tune of the antenna. Again retune would be needed.

Not saying it can't happen but, I have never encountered a reason to run a spring on my antenna system on the big truck. I have encountered a few branches etc but nothing really low enough to cause my antennas to be damaged. But then I don't go banging through the woods with the big truck.

Now on my pickup, I use a mag mount. If I encounter anything that low then my mag mount lets loose before any real damage will happen to the antenna.

I don't want my antennas flexing back alot while going down the road. As Handlbar has mentioned, it screws up the radiating pattern of the antenna. On the truck I have the antennas bull horned just slightly to that they are standing straight up while moving down the road. That and it helps keep the antennas away from the stacks at speed which was causing my SWR to go up slightly while running down the highway.

Most of todays TS antennas are designed to be used without a spring. Although they are nto perfectly tuned they are pretty close to plug and play without a spring. Meanign you can install the antenna without a spring and have a close to exceptable SWR. Install a spring and you will most likely have to trim or shorten the antenna.

 

Springs are not needed in every operation. But they do have their place. They come in Medium, Hvy Duty, and Pot Belly. Two look alike one (MD) will flop around and one (HD) doesn't. And you can get a very good match with a spring.