Hi Michael. The first 2 meter base station antenna was that antenna, up in a pine tree. I followed the ARRL pamphlet I got as a new ham. I only had 2 ground radials and the instructions called for a loop in the wire ends, formed by wrapping the end around a broomstick. I still use that antenna.

When we moved to our location in 1989 behind little parks I was concerned about all the metal 20 feet from my backyard for my ham antennas. I use a ButterNut vertical for HF and I placed it 75 ft from the back fence and, of course during stormy weather it is disconnected. For two-meter / 440 antennas I have two dual-band antennas mounted above my home, one vertical and one horizontal, and of course, it gets disconnected when storms come my way. To solve the storm problems associated with 2/m and 440m I built two 'coat hanger' ground wave antennas and placed them in my attic. They have been up there since 1989 and have had no problems. Love to make antennas for my hobby and for my friends. My next project is using 'rotor cable' cut to the ham bands and string it above my home. Right now I have a homemade dipole but I think the rotor cable will work better for my location, at the bottom of a valley. DE W9FPJ

I’ve watched this video a couple times now and finally got around to making the antenna this weekend. Wow! Super easy and quick to build. I wanted to get it built for the 2M Simplex Light up the night event on August 30, 2020. Can’t wait to use it.

Just built one. Works slick! Also I built another 2m antenna using just the 19 in vertical radiator soldered to an SO 239 connector. That one also worked well. It stuck it in the attic

This was exactly what I was looking for to do my first antenna project for being a new ham. Thank you.

You can put one end of the wire in a drill chuck and the other in a vise. Straightens it out and makes it less prone to bending

So easy an effective Michael, definitely going to build this! Thanks for sharing in such easy steps. 73

I made this antenna 3 years ago after watching this video. It was easy and super easy!!! If you are thinking about building this project, just do it. It is easy and works great!!

Soon to be new ham operator, saw this antenna, took down lots of notes. Video was VERY informative especially the formula aspect. Thank you for the video. Gonna give build a try, should be fun.

Awesome, as a new ham I will definitely be making this. I wish some store locally had SO-239 connectors. Wish Radio Shacks were still around. 73 - KM6VFM

Thank You. This is exactly what I need. I'll be sourcing the parts soon and put this baby together. Thanks again.

Excellent video - thanks. It's stuff like this that makes me love HAM radio.

You can also get SO-239s at Radio Shack. I just passed the test for Technician license and while I wait on my license I am making one of those 1/4 wave ground plane for the 2 meter HT (Yaesu FT-4VR) mono band radio I got from the local Ham club for passing the test. I can hit the local 2 meter repeater but that's about it and I have to be outside on the deck to do that. I think once I get my 2 meter ground plane built and get my SMA female adapter to UHF SO-239 so I can hook up a piece of coax I'll be good to go. Since my wire is so thin, I doubled it up and stuck it into my drill and twisted it all together for the radiator. That worked out well and now it sticks straight up without drooping.

I built one of these a couple years ago, slightly different than your video only in that we had extra PVC parts so we could take the thing apart and store it in the PVC to transport. Otherwise, it looked the same and is a great antenna.

I needed a 2 meter ground plane quickly and didn't have time to muck about trying to optimize a fancy design. I just copied yours and it works as well as anything I could have made if I had taken much more time to make it pretty. I just cut and bent and soldered per your design and presto, it works great. SWR about 1.2 across the band and I'm easily heard where i need to be heard. Thank you!!!! 73

Just built this antenna and it works well! It also picks up 70cm too. Thanks!

Hello MIchael. Will be getting my General in a few days and antennas are my weak spot, so appreciate your info! Keep it up! I will check out your blog.

Hi Michael!! I just subscribed and I'm proud to say I'm subscriber number 8454!! I look forward to watching your videos and learning ALOT from you!! Thanks for posting and giving us all a chance to learn and do it right. Norman.

I love your mission Michael!

Great little project for new and us old hams. Made one for 70cm and works great.

This was the first antenna I made.I was able to hit a repeater over 40 miles away with 5 watts !

Now this is an antenna ! i still have my radio shack 20-176 aka Sputnik in the attic

Hey thank you for this. I built something very similar after watching your video but much less "professional" so to speak, by sticking a 12 gauge copper wire into a female pl-259 connector and wrapping the radial wires around the outer part.

Thanks for the antenna info and good job on the video.

Thank you. That was quick and well done. That was my first home brew antenna. N0QFT

Outstanding video tutorial. Thanks for posting. Much appreciated.

I don't have my license yet (local governing body suspended examinations due to Covid19) but I built this for listening and it worked like a charm.

Wow. Awesome SWR. No tuning either. Personally, I would like to see more videos like this. My favorite was the Leixen 10w Radio in a Ammo Can. Built one myself.

Great tutorial and demo, thanks!

Hi Michael, thank you for sharing what can only be described one of the easiest but useful little antennas inexperienced amateurs like myself can build. I have built a similar type of antenna for portable days out but I used a slightly different calculation which offered me a slightly longer radial (2948/Freq = length). I note that my swr is slightly higher than yours so maybe I stick with 234/Freq. Thank you for sharing. M6KVK

Greetings from Sweden 🇸🇪 Great channel! You just got yourself a new subscriber 🤖 Thank you!

That’s a real nice and simple design, I’m going to build one, thanks!

The SO-239 that I got from HRO didn't have a good mechanical connector for the center solder point. I was more like a dimple with half a side. What I did to strengthen the connection was wrap some 14 gauge wire around a #6 screw, to get a coil about 3/8" long, nice and tight. I placed that over the center connector and filled it with molten solder and heated it enough to know the solder point was well connected, then embedded my 12 gauge center wire in that and heated it again to get a good solder connection. That joint is not going to fail.

Awesome kool project

Just made one of these antennas a little tip i got from a elder is to put one end of the wire in a drill then hold the other with pliers. Give it about 10 seconds. It straightens and strengthens

This was a great video. Thx.

This video is a must see for new hams great simple explanation. 73. David Byrd KN4BHS

Nice fast and easy antenna

This is awesome!! Thank you. Way easy

I enjoyed this video - i only operate in 80, 40, 20 m but I want to get a 2m radio and have been looking for ideas on homebuilt 2m antennas

Great content .

Im inspired to build. Was able to pickup most of the parts at my local hardware store. cable and SO 239 connector I had to get online. the cable coax was my biggest expense RG8U. Also find the right connector for the connection from the feed to the Radios antenna connection found a SMA female to the pl 259 female(so239) ...As of now I have no Antenna Analyzer... anyday now i hope to see my call sign on the FCC post. was able to program my first repeater here in Santa Rosa CA ..listening only ..Thanks

Thanks for sharing. This might be my first project. 73

Went down a major rabbit hole trying to figure out why it was 234 and not 246. Great video. I'm making this tomorrow thx! If I tune it for GMRS I get 6 inches. May try for both (I have both licenses.) Thanks!

I just made one having followed your video. I’ve just got to come up with a mounting solution. Thanks.

Thank you for your video.

Hi Michael!! I've got a topic for you: different materials for antenna building, ie: copper vs stainless steel vs aluminum; wood vs plastic vs pvc. Different conductive properties of each, strengths & weaknesses of each, etc. What do you think? Are radials, radiators & ground plane wires better in copper, stainless-steel or aluminum, and why. Also: can we mix them? I would love to see THAT video!! I'm sure you could produce a great video on all that!! At the beginning of the video don't forget to mention who the inspiration is behind that video!!😉. It might just inspire others to come up with other good ideas!! I can't wait to see it!! Keep on keeping on, brother!! 73, Norman in Montreal.

Might hobble one together for Field day! may need to use 1/4 or 1/2" copper piping on the main element as I am trying to feed it to an IC746

I did this quarter wave ground plane antenna here in Philppines connected to SO 239 connector Radiator lenght 19.2 inch with 3 ground plane. I used RG58 coax 50 ohms. Oh yeah IT WORKS WELL with VHF Freq. Design for 2M. - DW3ZXC Philippines.

I made one of these, works great 💪

Good video, congratulations from UR1CDG

Excellent video. How well would this work indoors?

First antenna I built after I got my technician. Got it out of the ARRL Handbook. Not do sure you can get the SO-239 and other parts from Radio Shack.

Gonna try that for an FM transmitter. I did a dipole for it and it works but I wanna see if this will help any. And yeah I'll stay out of trouble lol

For us unlicensed radio hobbyists, cut approximately one inch form the vertical antenna to be able to use the ground plane antenna on unlicenced MURS VHS frequencies. MURS is on the 1.9 meter radio band. It is very close to 2 meter amateur radio band. Many amateur radio frequencies have unlicenced equivalent bands for unlicenced radio hobbyists and operators. 12 meter and 10 meter amateur radio bands are very close to the unlicensed 11 meter Citizen's Band. 6 meter amateur band is very close to the unlicenced low power 49 megacycle band. The 49 megacycle band is actually in 6 meters whereas the amateur radio 50 to 54 megacycle band is actually 5.8 meters. 2 meter amateur band is very close to the unlicensed MURS band that y is in 1.9 meters. 70 centimeter amateur radio band is very close to unlicenced FRS 64 centimeter band. 33 centimeter amateur radio band is shared with unlicensed radio operators also that use equipment that is low power and requires no license. I believe all these frequencies for unlicenced use are around amateur radio bands to stimulate interest for us unlicenced operators to perhaps get an amateur radio license.

You can build all of it with crimp connectors and a coat hanger or two if you want, use quick disconnects for the antenna and ground plane and you've got yourself a modular antenna

This was very good! Thanks for sharing it Michael! 73

good job

Thank you! I'll be trying this build with students at our school! KC1LUX

Thanks for this video. Does it matter when the elements are not totally straight? :)

Great Video... New to amateur radio VA3MFP Just got my license 5 days ago . Looking for a basic antenna until my Diamond Antenna X30A Dual-Band comes in.

I foresee some father/daughter bonding with this project in my future!

Thanks for the video! I built one but the radial ring terminals seem a little weak, they don't seem to hold the weight of the radials properly. I've seen some people go out about an inch before starting the 45 degree bend; if I were to do this, does the measurement of the radial begin at the point of the bend?

Could you use sections of roll up metal tape measure for the radials and radiating element?

This great for beginners but as your build more antennas you one van improve design stainless steel radiator & ground planes.

Nice easy build, how was the Db gain ?

Nice

is there a specific app that shows the map and the two points? with the distance line?

Thanks for the video, very straightforward. I'm hitting multiple repeaters. Coax is tape wrapped and runs through a pvc pole. Have tighten nuts on radials, but they have a tendency to sway with wind or other movement and need to be readjusted. Saw the comments on silicone sealant to help weatherproof. Should use the silicone on the soldiered point, well as as the radial connections to help stabilize and weatherproof? (Also a proud owner of your break-away copper j-pole).

Please show how you hooked it up to the coax and couldn't you simply silicon the adapter to the top of the PVC pipe?

I have made the 2m 70cm, my problem is I can’t get the solder to adhere to the copper wire and the so239 connector. So the main beam is the 2m, and then I attach the 70cm beam next to that. Can I move the 70 up a little bit to have its own connection to the 2m beam instead of having a big blob of solder at the 239. Like I said above need some direction to get the wire and solder to adhere to the 239 and be secure. Thanks Michael

I would like to put a small circle in the ends of the radiator and ground planes, to reduce the likelihood of poking my eye out. How would that that affect to performance and how would I measure the length. I there something blunt that can be put on the wire ends, that would not affect the performance?

Was wanting to do a half wave wire dipole for 2 meters is this ok or should I do quarterwave

I like this project because it's cheap to build. New to the hobby. My two questions. If its outdoors what do you use to keep the rain out of the connector? What about lighting protection?

Hi, any coax cable un particular that You used? Thanks

Hi there.. I wanted to say that I'm a fan of your videos. I'm a fairly new ham and projects like these are just awesome. Thanks for taking time to produce these cool vids. I do have a question however, I currently have a vertical antenna for 2m and 70cm. I have it side mounded to my tower. My question is how far should it be? I have an swr of 1.3 on 146 mhz but on 446 mhz, it's an 1.8. What's your take on this?

Thank you. I'm trying to make one for my marine radio. I'm assuming I just need to make sure the length of the wire is right. I also live in the Milwaukee are and I plan on getting a ham license.

Would be fun to test this antenna vs your jpole.

Would like to get a copy of your plans in order to present it during an ARES class for new HAMS. It that possible?

You get any contacts in east central Wisconsin?

What connector is needed to attach cable to radio

Hey Michael, new ham here, thanks to your video you've inspired to build(instead of buy) my own very first antenna as I start to build my shack. Question for you; I live in an area that sees brutal winter conditions(80-100+mph winds, HEAVY snowfall). I plan to enforce all the copper elements with a wooden-dowel skeleton of sorts. Any special considerations I should make adapting this design to be more robust to withstand a brutal winter? I plan on mounting this in the very tip of a pine tree outside my window

Should connections at the bottom of antenna be water sealed? Mine got rained on n seems to be acting odd..

I'am curious if increasing the radiator wavelength e.i. 1/2, 3/4, 5/8 or possibly a full wavelength to the frequency would increase the gain of the antenna? Thanks for sharing!.

I want to build an antenna like this for my SDR tuned for the airband. I have a question: Can I replace the SO-239 chassis connector for a BNC connector?

how about improving an HT antenna by having a base loading coil, cant find any good info on that process. 5/8th wave loaded

My coat hangers keep falling out of the crimped connectors. Anyone know of a set type screw connector or anything that will hold?

Question, I have a limited space, let's say I wanted to use to meet her and 10 m can The middle let's say for 2 m and then the radio coming out 10 m? Will that mess up the SWR?

You didn't show connecting the coax cable. how did you do that?

Great video !!!!! thank you, but what would be your take on the voltage output, in other words would it handle 200 watt PEP ? thanks for reply in advance, Please keep the videos coming!!!

Hi, with my intentions to only receive aircraft & tower communications within the air band frequencies 118.000 MHz to 136.975 MHz, I need to make an external antenna for my scanner. In determining the length of the vertical rod and redials, will I still use the given 234 numbers? If so, what MHz frequency will I divide the 234 with?

This is incredible! Any reason it wouldn't be water proof for a more permanent outdoor install?

Hi KB9VBR, in the most simple way, how do I make a quarter wave ground plane (receiver only) antenna for aviation frequencies 108-137 MHz ? Thanks and hope to hear from you soon.

Dumb question - Does a coaxial version of this chassis mount exist? I googled search but could not find anything. I aleady have all the connectors and tools to crimp coaxial - not so-239.

New ham here. Would this work to lengthen all wires to 3/4 wave on 2m (around 1500mm) so I could use it as a 1/4 wave antenna for 6m (also around 1500mm)? 73, KK4FVZ

Hi Michael great video, can I ask a silly question please? What diameter are the blue Crimp Connectors please?

Can you do another talking about the cable you used? You kinda skipped over that completely. I know I will need a female SMA on my radio end and a male PL239 on the antenna end, but what type of cable do you need? How much loss do you get going from 12 feet to 50 feet for example?

I guess this also works for listening to airplanes and marines using mine antenna calculator should work?

awesome, can this be use to listen airband?

So I made one and it keeps blowing the circuit breaker as it's transmitting. Should I run a wire from the SO239 to the wood base for a ground?