4 Metre Band

Equipment
1

Yesterday, in a moment of madness, I picked up a 4m rig. At around 850 Grammes, it’s surprisingly light!

I know there are some very keen 4 Metre chasers who don’t see too much SOTA activity, so I thought I’d give it a try.

I’ve never used the band before, so I’m looking for antenna ideas. My initial thoughts are a simple dipole which should work quite nicely from G/SP-004 Shining Tors 559m/1836ft ASL.

Any other suggestions/comments welcomed…

73 Mike
2E0YYY

2

Hi Mike

Loads of ideas here;

I started with a 1/4 wave ground-plane, then a J-pole but if I do use 4 metres I have a 5/8 wave vertical.

Carolyn

3

The J-pole makes a decent 4m antenna Mike. > http://www.summits.org.uk/tiki-index.php?page=4m+J-pole

It even flies like a kite on SP-004 if you don’t tie wrap it to the pole… :wink:

2 Likes
4

Carolyn and Gerald.

Hi Carolyn,

Plenty of ideas there! Thanks for the link.

Hi Gerald,

Thanks for the link. I like the look of this one, easy to construct and nice and light.

Cheers…

73 Mike
2E0YYY

1 Like
5

Sounds interesting, what is the rig, Mike?

6

Try a Slim Jim made from 300 ohm ribbon.

73

Brian G8ADD

7

Hi Adrian,

AKD 4001. Found this on youtube

73 Mike
2E0YYY

8

Cheers Brian,

Didn’t realise how popular this band is.

Received a phone call and 2 texts also!

73 Mike
2E0YYY

9

Hi Mike,
Thanks. I’ll try to listen out for you from home, and maybe sort something out for FM portable…

Cheers
Adrian

10

Cheers Adrian,

Will stick some powerpoles on it, knock up an antenna and I’ll be good to go.

73 Mike
2E0YYY

PS. Was going to try it on the A-99, then again, maybe not :wink:

11

Hi Mike
I did most of the 116 Wainwright outlying fells with a Woxon + end fed dipole (flowerpot).Because of the length I made top half telescoping for ease of transportation
Colin

12

Cheers Colin,

Just talking to one or two people, seems this band can produce some serious DX when conditions are favorable.

BTW, good to see you getting amongst the VK’s in the mornings…

73 Mike
2E0YYY

13

Hello, Mike.

I built this one element delta loop antenna:

http://www.gw7aav.com/main-index/antenna-index/antenna-design/4m-delta

I made portable version of the antenna:

73, Milos S57D

14

I’m with you Brian. 100% start with a 300 ohm ladderline slim jim.

15

Hi All

Thought I would recycle a thread, rather than start a new one.

I was activating Brown Clee Hill (G/WB-002) this Saturday (28/02/15) and the chasers wanted to know more about my set up.

So below are some pictures, it is a very basic setup.

The antenna is a Slim Jim, I use 450 ohm ladder feed and based the design from this page.

http://www.summits.org.uk/tiki-index.php?page=4m+J-pole

However, this link is for 300 ohm, I noticed that by adding about 30cm on the top of mine made it resonant at 70.45MHz, However David M0YDH has informed me that if you use the 300 ohm variant then the suggested dimensions are spot on.

The fishing pole is a 7m one, this photo shows the pole at about 5m - the wind prevented me from running at full height.

In terms of the rig, below is the set up

You have a Wouxun KG-699e, which is powered from a 2.2Ah LiPo, that then powers a battery eliminator (Traditionally used in cars to power up the Wouxun from the 12v supply) The LiPo performs very well and is far better than the provided 1.3Ah battery pack. Plus, it saves carrying two batteries as I normally take my 2m/70cm Wouxun as well, so all you do is swap the battery eliminator. I think at some point I will chop the cigar lighter section off and put on the standard DC connectors that I use

http://www.barenco.co.uk/radio-accessories/power-connectors/d-c-t-connector-2-pole-assembled-kit-160995

These DC connectors are cheap, if wired correctly, it is impossible to get them in the wrong

Hope that helps those that were interested, please have a go at 4m. A most rewarding band and a change from the normal 2m!

73

Matt G8XYJ

16

I think it needs to be said Mike that you are in prime 4m territory when you are on SP-004. You should not be short of contacts… and just wait for next year’s Sporadic E season. I must admit that my Wouxun hasn’t been out on the hills for a couple of years as there does not appear to be much activity north of the border, but of course I could be completely wrong! If I am, no doubt someone will enlighten me and give me cause to add the rig and J-pole to my backpack on the next outing.

17

Hi Matt,

Good to hear from you!

All noted on the antenna.

No problem on the joint activation, really looking forward to it!
I’ll be in touch to make the arrangements.

73’s Mike
2E0YYY

18

Hi Gerald,

As you pointed out, G/SP-004 Shining Tor, is VHF Shangri La. With the right 2m antenna and very little power, it’s possible to fill a log book up at an astonishing rate of knots.

I’ll keep an eye on Hepburn and maybe we’ll see a bit of high pressure and a little 4m action. At the moment, Sunday looks promising, but we all know how quickly things change :frowning:

GL
73 Mike
2E0YYY

19

Hi Mike
My best DX was from an outlying fell north of the lake District Coldbeck Saint Johns 500m asl .l worked the 4 kingdom’s of the UK using 5w FM very under used band ? Pleased you are working all the VK DX .
Colin RLI Hospital L
ancaster

20

Hi Colin,

Thanks for the info…

Very sorry to hear you’re Hospital/A. The VK boys will certainly be missing you!

Barry M0IML, Alan GW4VPX, Andrew VK1NAM and myself will be out in morning. Get well soon and back in the DX saddle.

73 Mike
2E0YYY