Measuring ("Knockoff" White Stick!) Antennas

[Macavity]

Sensing that *some* of you might be into (more general!) "radio stuff"
just put one of those Diamond "white stick" CLONES through its paces.
Yes, really was "as bad as rumoured"? Little evidence of good in-band
resonances and/or SWRs greater than SIX?!? (Sadder, but wiser etc.) 😔

BUT I see they have bigger/better versions of my Network Analyser. 😎
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B089D82D44/
The smaller NanoVNA's are also very useful. Better to know the truth?

Might even buy/make something like THIS (smaller!) "for experiment"...
[teasing] But will it fit on my HEQ5? Gotta love such things anyway? 🥳



https://www.antennas-amplifiers.com/1296mhz-largest-yagi-antenna-low-noise-eme-23cm





 

Edited August 19, 2021 by Macavity

[wxsatuser]

Going back a bit I had two stacked 55elements on 23cms, very sharp.

I hear there are fake Diamonds out there, buy from a reputable dealer to avoid disappointment.

[Macavity]

Heheh - I think I'll get out toolset (hacksaw) and use the external white stick "Radome"
and ground plane unit for some DIY project or other! Bought partly "with a mind to"! 🥳 

There do seems to be quite a few FAKE Diamonds. The genuine item works rather well.
Unfortunately, my (slow and steady!) "get a feel for the technology" Radio Astronomy,
got "shelved" due to Covid. 😐 But some (hopefully OK!) general Ham/SWL questions:

<Thinks> "White Stick" antennae are tuned vertical co-linears or off-centre dipoles?!?
Thus are vertically polarised?!? Most (UHF) activity would be horizontally polarised? 🤔

The 2m & 70cm bands are fairly well populated by direct/repeater Radio Amateurs.
Has anyone with an SDR (like my RSP1A) heard *anything* above the 70cm band* ???

Obviously(!) location (or proximity to a repeater!) plays a big part... but maybe 23cm?
This N.Wales QTH is around 200m asl. I think I might yet buy a modest multi-element
23cm YAGI and point it at Liverpool and Manchester (They are only degrees apart!)...
Might even put it on my HEQ5 (Add my NoElec pre-amp) point it at the Moon/Sun? 🥳

Edited September 14, 2021 by Macavity

[wxsatuser]

23cms is very quiet here in  south central Sussex, takes some tropo or a contest to get stations out.

I can just hear the Martlesham beacon near Ipswhich using a Create 21element logperiodic attached to my
ICOM 9700. It doesn't beam my way, it beams east and west, you may be able to hear it.
When I beam towards it I get the Gatwick radar over loading my receiver.

[Macavity]

Thanks, Mike. Might just get these ideas going again!

Since I have the "Mark I", I might buy bigger/better...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B089D82D44/
The "upgraded" ones seem to work upto 1.5GHz?!?

Got quite interested in making / measuring antennas.
"Saw a bit off" a 23cm Yagi for a first look 21cm? lol. 🥳

[wxsatuser]

I have the version 2 that goes to 3ghz they say.

Going to actually use for the first time as I took down my cobweb antenna to put new
coax on it yesterday and two bands are a bit high swr wise, after putting it back up higher.

Some reason my Icom 7300 is struggling to match 15 and 10metres but the swr is not that bad really, about 2.5-1
The other three bands are nye perfect no matching needed.

Had to get the cobweb up higher to make sure I'm within the new EMF regs, mine is very close to our boundry
with three neighbours. Putting it up to about 8metres should let me run my full 100watts no problem.