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KL7JR DUAL BAND
WIRE VERTICAL Here's a refined version
of a wire vertical that I've used over the years. Made
another for my next KL7 trip! 73- John
KL7JR
I’ve used dual band wire verticals before and
continue to be impressed with the results that a few dollars worth
of materials and an hour or two of labor yielded. You can make this
antenna with as many vertical radiators as you have room for, and
use a variety of insulating materials. You can even make it
quarter-wave, half-wave or a full wavelength in size! I chose ½
wavelengths for each of my favorite bands (17 and 20 meters) and
because I also wanted 40 meter capability. For ½ wavelength
antenna use formula of 468 divided by Frequency in MHz. For 14
MHz, the wire length is 33 feet long and for 18 MHz its 26 feet
long. My design concentrated on a "heavy duty" version to survive
the rigid winters up north and because I would run high
power. This antenna actually works 10-40 meters with an
antenna tuner! For 28 MHz it’s a full wavelength long, on 21 MHz it
is .75 wavelengths long, on 40 meters it’s a quarter-wavelength. I
plan to use quarter inch rope to hoist the antenna up a nearby tree,
or use my antenna
raiser (see OPAR by KL7JR) for support.
In the photos below, the two coiled wires on
top of the 6 inch square PVC tube (left over from an awning project)
are the vertical radiators. All other coiled wires make up the
ground radial system (put out as many as long as you can). I used
whatever scrap wire I had laying around for the radials. The PVC
pipe at top of photo is used to support the top of antenna. The
vertical wires are spaced about 18 inches apart to avoid any
interaction of the wire antennas to each other. I’ve seen a
commercial 5 band wire vertical that used 6 inch spacing but always
thought that was too close. You can decide on the spacing of your
antenna, size and the number of bands you want to work. Have fun
with your antenna experimenting!
 Note in drawing above that antennas are spaced 18
inches apart at top. An alternate method of hanging antennas is
shown with red lines which enables coax center conductor
connected to both antennas at one point on the bottom. Since the
spacing is 18 inches at the top, there should be very little
interaction if any using the alternate method. Strictly your
choice.
 The two coiled wires on top of the
6 inch square PVC tube in photo above, (left over from an awning
project) are the vertical radiators. All other coiled wires make
up the ground radial system (put out as many as long as you can).
Length of PVC pipe in the grass is the upper
support.
 See if you can untangle this
mess in less than 3 seconds! GRIN! 73 de Yukon John KL7JR
Editors Note: This nifty
idea of supporting antennas can not only be used in portable,
emergency or field day use but you can use it as a permanent method
to hang several antennas from a tower by using an extention bar
mounted out from the tower to hang the support from!

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