T2LT vs 1/4 Wave (home brew)

[MillSpec]

I have zero experience with CB and antennas. Just so everyone knows where I'm coming from.
I'm a project guy, when I saw the Classic Realistic Navajo base unit sitting on a dirty blanket at a garage sale, I couldn't resist. I purchased it.
I have been viewing videos on different Home Brew antennas.

What is my best option here?

I saw a video with a 1/4 wave built with a 102" whip and some grounding
I saw another video with some PVC and #8 solid wire around an 0S-239
both of them are 1/4 wave from what I understand. Both require ground wires coming off the mast at *45 angle.

Then I found this video of a T2LT made of RG58 and a 4.25" RF AIR Coil.
This antenna was built with no additional grounding. Looks like it's the simplest to get high in the air.
If an antenna like this was constructed for permanent use, would one want to ground the unit?

I can get the T2LT setup in the air about 37' to the top
the top of the 1/4 wave would only be about half that. I live in the city, so I don't have a lot of guide wire room.

Sorry for lack of terminology. I'm new. lol
Thanks for any help.
Joe

[-357Mag]

It is a solid & proven design I'd do it in fact I just might try one out, Remember height is might.

[MDYoungblood]

That antenna is very interesting, think it would make a good project, install it in some schedule 40 PVC to get it up in the air. YouTube has quite a few antenna ideas on it and the internet is full of them. Pick one that fits your skills and post your results.

3's

Greg

[Skipper 169]

Height is might when you want line of sight local or, you use a beam of some kind. but there is another proven way also, which depends on a working Ionosphere, which seems to have disappeared recently. Any antenna with a vertical takeoff will also get out and height is not always needed. Your 102" whip or a Half wave dipole in inverted V are both very good vertical takeoff antennas. The inverted V is good at anything from 18 feet or so at the high point on up to 36 feet. After that, it doesn't matter. And no ground needed at all with the Dipole. I have one and get out to EU and Australie and all of the US with it fine, when skip is running.

The 102" whip will need a ground, and there are several ways to do that. You can use angled gronnd plane rods off the base, or do what I did, cause I needed to be stealthy to hide it from the manager here. I cut 19 copper wires, [because that's what I had laying around] and soldered one end of each to a 5 inch circle wrap of 10 Ga, copper wires, formed around a coffee can. 6 of those wires were 9 feet, 4 were 8 feet, 4 were 6 feet and 5 were only 4 feet. Nothing exact, just close, and spread out like the radials of a spiderweb. Then I laid it out on the lawn and dug a hole about 3 inches deep for that center circle and buried it, with one ground wire sticking back up out of the grass. The 19 radials, I laid out and used a hatchet to whack some groves in the grass and poked those wires down a few inches. Four or five days later all you could see was that one ground wire sticking up. I then mounted the 102 whip over the center and used the ground wire to ground the steel mounting bracket it was mounted on.

I ran the coax inside and turned on the radio and got California right away and then France the next morning. SWR was close to 1:1. I did have to trim the whip in the normal fashion to get it exact. That antenna is stealthy and even I can not see it from about 15 feet way, and I know where to look. I have buildings all around too, but it works fine cause take off angle is vertical.

[MillSpec]

That antenna is very interesting, think it would make a good project, install it in some schedule 40 PVC to get it up in the air. YouTube has quite a few antenna ideas on it and the internet is full of them. Pick one that fits your skills and post your results.

3's

Greg

I'm going with the Mod 1/4 wave made out of 4- 5ft firstik's, as mentioned in the other thread "Home made ground plane.". Seems like the proper choice. Considering Skill set and Space.

[MillSpec]

Height is might when you want line of sight local or, you use a beam of some kind. but there is another proven way also, which depends on a working Ionosphere, which seems to have disappeared recently. Any antenna with a vertical takeoff will also get out and height is not always needed. Your 102" whip or a Half wave dipole in inverted V are both very good vertical takeoff antennas. The inverted V is good at anything from 18 feet or so at the high point on up to 36 feet. After that, it doesn't matter. And no ground needed at all with the Dipole. I have one and get out to EU and Australie and all of the US with it fine, when skip is running.

The 102" whip will need a ground, and there are several ways to do that. You can use angled gronnd plane rods off the base, or do what I did, cause I needed to be stealthy to hide it from the manager here. I cut 19 copper wires, [because that's what I had laying around] and soldered one end of each to a 5 inch circle wrap of 10 Ga, copper wires, formed around a coffee can. 6 of those wires were 9 feet, 4 were 8 feet, 4 were 6 feet and 5 were only 4 feet. Nothing exact, just close, and spread out like the radials of a spiderweb. Then I laid it out on the lawn and dug a hole about 3 inches deep for that center circle and buried it, with one ground wire sticking back up out of the grass. The 19 radials, I laid out and used a hatchet to whack some groves in the grass and poked those wires down a few inches. Four or five days later all you could see was that one ground wire sticking up. I then mounted the 102 whip over the center and used the ground wire to ground the steel mounting bracket it was mounted on.

I ran the coax inside and turned on the radio and got California right away and then France the next morning. SWR was close to 1:1. I did have to trim the whip in the normal fashion to get it exact. That antenna is stealthy and even I can not see it from about 15 feet way, and I know where to look. I have buildings all around too, but it works fine cause take off angle is vertical.

I'm going with a modified 1/4 wave antenna. Seems like the simplest setup to get 30 feet in the air. I'm in the city, South LA County. I need all the height I can get.

I read about the inverted V design. From what I have read, it's very directional. You actually need 2 of them. One V running N/S & another V running E/W.
IDK how I'm going to get two 9ft+ V's in the air 18 to 30 ft. Not to mention the design and fabrication.
I'm really new, so I'm just going to build this one out of off the shelf parts for now.

After I'm up and humming, I'm going to do some testing on the Inverted V Setups on the ground. Then work out a solution to get it in the air.

Thanks for all your help.
-Joe

[Skipper 169]

The inverted V is omni directional, that's why I used that configuration. I had already tried it as a flat horizontal and several angles of Sloper and it did not do well here. As soon as I went Inverted V, stations started coming in from all over.

[MillSpec]

The inverted V is omni directional, that's why I used that configuration. I had already tried it as a flat horizontal and several angles of Sloper and it did not do well here. As soon as I went Inverted V, stations started coming in from all over.

It's 108" of wire length for 1/4 wave on the 11m CB band, is that correct?

[Bluerunner]

This antenna is also referred to as a RFD - Reasonant Feedline Dipole in case anyone wants to do further research on it. I found using the original design close wound 5 turn 4" dia choke was far superior to using a string of ferrites, or ferrites over a scramble wound coax coil instead. My guess is the ferrites absorbed the energy over a significant linear length of coax meant to be a very particular shorter length, while the chokes higher impedance conformed with the original design distance from the center of the lower half end of the "element".

I made one and I can't tell any difference between it and my Starduster with both at 60" high either transmitting or receiving. I have it hanging way up from the top of a pine tree on a rope about 40' from the starduster, at the same height.

I read a report a guy did on it that was somewhat negative. However, if you read it you will see some "improvements" that he made that probably compromised the performance.

[Skipper 169]

I ordered the 102" whip and had to cut about an inch off of it, then it sits in a holder that adds about another inch or two to the overall length. I got is close to 1:1 SWR by cutting the original wire, but I also have a big manual tuner inside here and I can tune it to exactly 1:1. but the wire is the same one you would order for a truck or jeep mount. Mine is just out in the yard at ground level, over those radials.