home brew 6m loops

How I built loops to get on the air for 6 meters.

When I went searching for information on 6-meter loops I found many many very well written construction articles but several of them had one thing in common: when it got to the antenna match they were often using old parts that were not weatherproof or not commonly available or the match would be built using something that the builder had in his junk box that wouldn't be duplicatable.

this was the basis for the loops I built, and provided the basic PVC support and loop dimensions.

https://www.qsl.net/kp4md/50_mhz_halo.htm

I finally came across a design that used aluminum fuel hose and had a gamma match that was very duplicatable so I synthesized that into what I built for my six meter loops.

http://www.hamuniverse.com/6mloop.html

I built three loops so I could use two at the home qth and have one portable and I devised two different mounting methods where the antenna mounts to a mast that goes to the center of the loop or can be built for mounting on the side of a tower.

I jokingly call this antenna the 99 and 56/100 home Depot loop because I don't want to get a cease-and-desist order from a certain soap company and because the only pieces that you can't get at Home Depot are the UHF connector, the segment of rg213 that you'll need, and perhaps the heat shrink tubing that I used.

The copper pipe mounts into some PVC that forms the support for the antenna.

I used ⅜” ID for the main loop.

 the gamma match is a segment of rg213 center conductor/insulation (braid and jacket removed) that slides into a smaller diameter (⅜” OD) copper tube.

 a copper pipe bracket is flattened and soldered to the loop and gamma match tube. This, plus the feed connector, provided mechanical support for the match tube.

  The UHF connector is bolted to wires soldered to the loop that emerge via slots cut in the pvc tee to support the antenna connector. I bent 1 wire to slide the wires into the PVC TEE, then bent it back.

once positioned, I cut the wires to length, and instaled a solder lug to bolt the UHF conenctor in place.

I used silicone RTV to seal and protect various pieces to keep moisture out and I also made a bit of a silicone plug for the end of each open tube such as the bottom of the mount or the end of the gamma match.

I also put silicone on the back of the antenna connector to protect the connection to the RG 213 center conductor.

the match is rather simple in that it is 14 inches of copper tube with a 14 inch piece of center conductor of rg213 with about 2 and 1/2 inches of the center conductor exposed.

using an antenna analyzer I tweaked the jumper from the gamma match tube to the main loop for best match and then soldered those in place with a plumbing torch. I used wooden clothes pins to hold the gamma tube in place during tuning as this allows the strap to be positioned for best match.  Once the match location is found, mark the tubes and remove the pin on the main loop and slide the match wire out. Then using the torch, solder the strap in place. Once this is cool, replace the coax center conductor and secure to the main loop again. Solder the strap to the main loop.

this solder joint plus the stiffness of the wire to the UHF connector provide adequate support for the matching component.

I built two 3/4 wave Length of 75 ohm RG6 coax so that I could stack the antennas 5/8 wave apart on a mast

The loops are simply hose clamp connected to the mast that goes through the center of the loop.

one downside is that this means that the loop is not grounded to the mast so you may want to leave a couple of feet of mast tube of the loop for any kind of lightning protection.

I've added several photographs showing the PVC support and the loop construction and also illustrating the sidemount method of mounting the loop (note that this loop is laying upside down on the floor.  I rotated the image to try to show the intent)

metal prices have risen so the antenna may not be as cheap as some of the other articles refer to.

I think I built these for maybe $100 total in materials.

The loops are currently on a mast I made with double wall construction consisting of 1-1/4 inch and 1-1/2 inch EMT metal tube.

I cut one piece of 1-1/4 inch EMT to five feet and put it inside so that the joints are offset 5ft within the mast. The mast is currently attached to the side of my house at about 14 ft and is 35 ft freestanding with loops mounted at 23 and 35 feet.

As always your mounting method is your choice and your mileage may vary

73 and gud luck!!

KI4US

about to try the 30/month t-mobile basic plan.
got a GSM motorola atrix HD on the way. this seems to support teh 4g t mobile bands.

the plan is to use VOIP with google voice and pbxes.org to make phone calls via data.

I had tried this with my sprint, and the result was OK. driving, handoffs would cause a but of voice drop, and wifi was spotty in some places at home.  I fixed that by taking a router and programming it with DD-WRT and making a repeater.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dual-Band-VHF-UHF-Ham-Commercial-MURS-and-GMRS-versions-Base-Station-Antenna/121096022040?ssPageName=WDVW&rd=1&ih=002&category=4672&cmd=ViewItem

just bought one of this antenna.  I plan to side mount this to a  tower as follows:
it will be similar to this but straight out.

the antenna requires 5' of 3/4 PVC and includes the pipe ends.

I plan to use 4 PVC Tee connectors to make standoffs to mount to the side of a tower.

the 5' of PVC will be shortened to  4' 6", and at each end, a TEE will be mounted, then short pieces of pipe will finish out the 5' length.
the other 2 tees will be cut so they can hose clamp to the tower leg.
I plan to make the standoffs about 2' each, and they will be sealed with RTV at each end to keep stuff from being able to get to the antenna parts in the main pipe.

4 stainless hose clamps will hold the assembly to the tower.

sort of like this dipole side mount:
http://www.w9cva.org/documents/Side%20Mount%20Dipole%20Antenna%20Support%20For%20Rohn%20Tower.pdf

standing to work

make a stand up desk:
I like the look and feel of a rough (and cheap...) work surface
historically, my workbenches have been a door on some shelve.
cheap and functional.

To make a stand up desk, I got 2 of these shelves from walmart:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sauder-Beginnings-3-Shelf-Bookcase-Oregon-Oak/13269114
These shelves are 35.25 inches high.
A door like this one
http://www.homedepot.com/Doors-Windows-Doors-Interior-Doors/h_d1/N-5yc1vZar1h/R-100034380/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051

and some 2x6 lumber cut to the width of the shelves.

Put the shelves into a wide vee shape, put the 2.x 6 on top of the shelves 3 deep, and put the door across the whole thing.  The work surface should be just below elbow level (44" for me. I am kinda short...)

This provides an awesome 30x80 work surface.

Of course, you can also look at ikeahacks if you want something more polished.

I have a 2nd desk that I wanted to raise as well.  This one if a (probably) Sauder desk made from veneered particle board.

It has 2 pedestals, one with a door, and 1 with drawers. the door side is narroweer than the drawer side.
Mine happens to be 29.5 inches deep, and the door pedestal is 12.75 wide and the drawer side is 15.25 wide.

I need to raise this by 8 levels of 2x2.  I got 14 8 ft 2x2 from home depot.
http://www.homedepot.com/Lumber-Composites/h_d1/N-25ecodZ5yc1vZbqpg/R-202518911/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=2x2&storeId=10051
of course, these are actually 1.5" x 1.5"

I plan to place them interlocking, so I will cut each side 1.5" shorter than the desk size.
the 29.5" depth will be cur 28", the 12.75 will be cut 11.25 and the 15.25 will be cur 13.75.

since I need to lift by 8 layers of wood, I will need 32 of the long length and 16 each of the short lengths.
I will run a small bead of white wood glue along the wood for some extra stability.

NO MORE OFFICE CHAIR!!!

well, it has sure been a while. all the running, 0 lbs off. no more running, 0 lbs on. and some off...

so, the reader's digest version of my weight adventure?

in the around 2000, went on atkins type low carb diet. dropped about 30 lbs. I got to right at 200, but got frustrated at not getting below, and eventually fell off the low carb. the weight slowly came back later (with friends.) atkins lifestyle was hard to maintain then, since I love roadhouse grill rolls.

since then, with lots of life stress, I got up to about 275 (278 is top on dr scales, fully clothed, after lunch)

with sparkpeople.com food tracking, I dropped to about 235 just by eating less (I joked that I developed a new exercise - pushbacks, as in "push back" away from the table.)

as time went on, and I again lost focus due to life and enjoying food, I got back up to and held right at 250.

then in August 2011, I used a very low calorie diet (think hcg, but without shots... 500 cals/day) to drop to about 220, then crept back up to and held for at 225 for Sept and October.

With renewed focus, I realized that I had been able to 'step' down a level and hold, and I decided to find a new diet to take weight off for the 'next step'

This is what I found with the help of Pastor Jason at therevolution.tv where we do church:

high protein diet modeled after http://www.trantiendiet.com/site/spip.php?rubrique28

where my basic formula is:

(half of body weight in lbs) = ounces of water per day. I usually try to get > 1 gallon

(half of body weight in lbs) = grams of protein/day. this is the harder part right now. (Damn, I miss potato chips...)

so that is a minimum of 110 oz water and 110 g protein. as little carbs as possible, and nearly zero sugar.

This is very much like atkins, but low fat as well.

my day will look like this when I am in the office and in complete control. Too many times, I lunch with customers, making this impossible...

breakfast

coffee with splenda

2 scoops protein powder (56g protein) in 16 oz water.

vitamin supplements fiber, probiotics, multivitamin, 3 g C (note: not mg...)

mid morning

32 oz water

lunch

caf free diet coke (24 oz) or tea with splenda

2 scoops protein powder (56g protein) in 16 oz water.

spinach salad with bacon bits, salad toppings, a bit of grated Parmesan cheese and Ken's light vidalia onion vinaigrette.

mid afternoon

32 oz water

dinner

2 scoops protein powder (56g protein) in 16 oz water.

spinach salad with bacon bits, salad toppings, a bit of grated Parmesan cheese and Ken's light vidalia onion vinaigrette.

steamed vegetable like green beans, broccoli, or cauliflower.

(sometimes) grilled steak or fish

evening

32 oz water

total water 3x32 + 3x16 + 8 coffee + 24 soda or tea = 176 oz water per day.

current weight: 220.4

I found body fortress whey protein (fortunately, I have no problems with this formula. Carol does and requires egg protein) in vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. Walmart has a nice price on 2lbs for 14.99

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Body-Fortress-Dietary-Supplement-Strawberry-Super-Advanced-Whey-Protein-32-oz/10322372

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Body-Fortress-2lb-Chocolate-Whey-Protein/10322406

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Body-Fortress-2lb-Vanilla-Whey-Protein/10322404

online, walmart also lists cookies and crema as well chocolate peanut butter

I also found this:

https://www.bodybuilding.com/store/true-science/clean-protein.html

in cookie-n-cream and banana creme each for $22/6 lbs

maybe this can help if you are looking for protein supplements.

1.79 mi at 140bpm is too slow...

oh well. this was almost too hard to jog to, but I still felt my stride length shorten as I tired.

back to 150bpm tomorrow...

1.5mi at 150bpm

trying to lengthen my stride.

the 1st 0.5 mile in the run was at 12:30/mile, then I dropped to 13:15mi, then other than about
50 yards of walk near the end, I hel at 13:00/mile to finish.

Next run will be slightly less bpm (145) to try to get longer stride again.

6 weeks off. 2 mi at 155 bpm

ran this evening at boling park. finished 2 mi, had to walk about 50 yds during last 1/4 mi.
really high humidity, and rather warm. yuck.

missed running since May 30th as wife had a couple of medical procedures that kept her from exercising. I found I do not seem to go by myself.

fewer, but better runs

due to a short hospital stay for my wife, I missed 1 full week of running. Was able to get back on it however, and had my best 5k time thus far. wanted to break below 40 mins, but 40:25 was all I could do.

I have run this week at 160 bpm. I plan to jump to 164 this week to see how I do.

My goal is 168 bpm.

updated 5 k times

Polar Bear 1-24-09 (moderate terrain)
Bill 49:37
Carol 1:02:59

Cherokee County Animal Shelter Scurry 1-31-09 (flat terrain)
Bill 44:21

Guns & Hoses 2-28-09 (hilly terrain)
Bill 49:46
Carol 1:01:36

Run for the Children 3-14-09 (hilly terrain)
Bill 46:31

Ole' Cotton Mill Classic 4-11-09 (hilly terrain)
Bill 43:30

GT Pi Mile 5k 4-18-09
Bill 41:35

Canton Historical Society Derby Dash 5-2-09
Bill 40:25 (flat, boling park)

Ga Tech pi mile 5k 41:35 156 bpm

great race. ate nothing, drank some homemade sport drink on the drive down, and felt really good the entire course.

Some rolling hills, but nothing nasty like other races. Was able to really stay focused
and keep a decent pace with the podcast.

Wed & Fri 3.6 mi, 156 bpm

actually, Friday was a bit short at 3.34 miles.

Wed run was hard after missing Monday.. Friday was GREAT. awesome weather, too.

1st domino again, but I recovered Wed and Friday

Was a bit sick and am on anti-biotic now. Really was not able to run Monday due to working on network at buddies new office. Was able to get back Wed and Friday. Oddly, I felt GREAT the entire run. That is od because today I have a sausage biscuit and diet coke for breakfast, 2 coffees at office, and water all afternoon. How can that be better for running than having lunch?

the GT Pi mile race is Saturday. I think when I get up, nothing but water. Maybe some homebrew sports drink. nothing to eat. we'll see.

ol cotton mill 5k in Lindale Ga

VERY hilly course. not big hills, just several.
being sick hurt my time as well. 44:20

3.6 mi 156 bpm 49.75 mins

Easier to run today. MUCH warmer, and no snow.

adjusted my run distance to the actual course. Had to run around the library parking lot
a couple times to finish, but it worked out fine.

was able to finish stronger as well.

after about 1 mile, I am warmed up and it feels much better. After that, I feel a more "running" feel than older runs. I am also able to correlate speed dips to course features, like the 1st long hil is just after the 1 mile mark, and I can identify other features as well. That certainly indicated that I am getting stronger since I can maintain a more steady pace and my speed on the hill is improving.

3.6 miles at 156 bpm, 50.5 mins!

COLD today and WINDY!! It is in the low 40' and damp and windy.
might even get some snow... in April...


Went back over to the Old Canton Rd from Library to 515 past 2 Brothers BBQ. First mile continues to be very hard, but after that very nice pace.

Old Dawson Rd was less traffic, but more hills. Tried to find a place near the Airport, but also very hilly, plus unpaved road as well. Still looking for a flatish stretch near home.

I have also determined that I get better feedback if I run a specific custom distance.

From now, I will run 3.6 mi on Mon Wed Fri and 3.15 on Sat morning. I was a bit disappointed that when I ran a 5k Saturday, the Nike+iPod gae feedback in km rather than miles. the web tools were miles but the active feedback and end of run summary were in mins/km. oh well.

5k time on flat terrain is below 40 mins!! 158bpm

told ipod to run 5k today. completed in 39'27" wow.

weight at new low of 255 as well. wow maybe it will start to continue to come off a bit more consistently.

While running, felt better than most runs. was a bit chilly (high 40's)

Due to family death last weekend, only got 3 runs this week not 4 like most, but oh well.

Still looking for a new road. Thought I had a couple, but more terrain than the maps indicated. I need more granular maps!

new course, worse than others. 3.2 mi at 156 bpm

moved to a different road, Old Dawsonville Rd from downtown Ball Ground and to the north. Smaller hills, but more of them and steeper. still looking for a 2-3 mile gentle stretch of road...
Might have something on the other side of I-575 behind the airport.

back to Boling Sat for a 5k with the ipod. I think I'll push to 160 bpm. On the flatter track, I should be able to power through.

weight was about 255 this morning. that would be ~ 15 lbs off.

3.4 mi at 158bpm

found that my run from the library to the stop sign at 515 is > 3 miles. No wonder it s tough. It is closer to 3.4 miles. I have also added almost another 0.1 by tweaking how I enter and exit the run area. good to know.

a new dream of a new run?

oddest 5k ever. it was in Canton, GA, BUT the terrain was so not Canton.

some cheesy fire engine ladder and slide to start (1 runner at a time... imagine the start of the race.) there was actually no crowd when I finally started. I had to kind of u-turn from about 25feet out to see what the time was that I actually started the race. I think the lock said something more than 20 mins. very oddly/poorly marked course. had to correct several times. Also, there were about 8 other festivals in progress simultaneously with the race. one asked who our leader was in a very sarcastic tone. I told her my leader was Jesus and she got a really out there expression on her face. for some reason, there were race people hiding things along the course DURING the race. I knew several from way past time in my life. The item being hidden was a small mini-dvd case with 3 mini dvd's of last year's race. They were very cagey about were these prizes we were supposed to find. I finally just grabbed one. I was trying to help a couple of friends find the case but they were not having much success. I never actually finished the race in this dream. When I woke, I was about 2/3 done, and had a bulky but light bag of stuff...