At a rally earlier this year I acquired some surplus copper tape. It was a few pounds (Sterling) and seemed too good to not buy. It was promptly lost in the rubbish in my shack until earlier today when it surfaced for the first time in 8 or 9 months.
The tape is 33 mm wide and approx. 0.1 mm thick. The copper is covered with some plastic and only a narrow 5mm strip of copper is exposed which solders easily. The whole reel weighs 985 g and I guestimate there is at least 25 m on the reel, maybe quite a bit more.
Your mission over the Christmas and New Year holidays is to think of some kind of antenna that is worth building out this Copper tape because I canât!
Super easy to tune a foil antenna by folding the foil back. The holes are vital to make it somewhat stable in gentle breezes.
Coax has to be tied and glued down so it doesnât move at all or you lose break the foil at the connections.
Since yâall are stuck in some kind or arctic hell up there, trying to stay warm by looking at pictures of coal on 't internet, and no sane man would go outside his igloo (well anywhere above the tropic of cancer, truth be told) , you should just stick it to the glass on your biggest window, and tune it up as a mag loop.
Pro Tip: a 1m diameter loop on 60m is about the right inefficiency so that 100W TX power will give you 15W EIRP.
Also you can make the tuning cap by putting kapton tape over the copper tape, then running the other armâs foil over the top to make the cap.
Maybe, but this is the time of year we re-tune all our antennas. Any power reflected back makes it so hot in the shack, I have to yell out and make the old girl put down her bodice ripper, tuck the mamms back in, and bring me another pisco sour.
Andy will sell you some for 10 times what he paid for it. That will help him keep up his membership of the Scottish Club and secure his right of residency.
Certainly⌠need to renew the VED soon on my car. I thought it was dropping to £165 this year but it has a final year at £520 then drops. Then we will need 4x tyres before Summer at £800 for the set.
Hi Andy,
I built a collapsible VHF yagi (3 ele) and have the elements cut by the center to help with the transportation.
I used adhesive copper foil in the boom (wooden dowel) to provide the joint at the center point.
Look also for the Johnâs W6NBC book: Slot Antennas for Ham Radio - the VHF and UHF antennas are made out of 1 inch aluminium or copper band.
73 es HNY
de Greg DL3GJ
