102" antenna fail

Well, the mirror mount 102 is a big fail... at least for 27.385.

Without the spring, the lowest SWR occurs at around 26.500 mhz. I'd have to chop quite a bit off to make it resonant for channel 38. I'm not going to do that just yet. I want to make a mount for the roof of my trailer and try it from there. There should be more than enough ground plane with a 8'6" x 53' sheet of aluminum beneath it.

 

Well it's up and running. Here's what the numbers look like...

I had to go with a ten inch Wilson shaft and no spring. With just the antenna, it was at 29.185 mhz. Added the spring and it came down around 28 mhz. The ten inch shaft put it right on the money for channel 19 and still good for 38 lsb.

 

I haven't had any time to mess with it since I first put it up. I bought a ladder which should make it easier to tweak. Got any idea how hard it is to screw a 102 into the stud while holding it by the base... one handed. Lol, yeah.

 

I think I could just wind an inductor and attach it at the base of the antenna, kinda like the extra wire on a Wilson Silver Tip. Then play with it to cancel out the capacitance.

 

Lol, yes, that's my trailer. No spring on that... just a ten inch Wilson shaft.

I only put it up if I'm going to be sitting.