ON6MU home made VHF 5/8 vertical antenna http://users.belgacom.net/hamradio/schemas/on6muvhf58verticalantenna.

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VHF 5/8wave vertical antennas

By Guy, de ON6MU

Schematic fig1

The 5/8-wave antenna

At VHF, both the 1/4-wavelength monopole and the 5/8-wavelength monopole are widely used. The
5/8-wavelength vertical monopole has long held the reputation of providing about a 3-dB gain
advantage over the 1/4-wavelength vertical monopole. The foundation of that reputation rests upon

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ON6MU home made VHF 5/8 vertical antenna http://users.belgacom.net/hamradio/schemas/on6muvhf58verticalantenna.htm

theoretical calculations that show the longer monopole to have the derived gain increase when both
monopoles are set over a perfect ground.
A second factor contributing to the reputation of the longer monopole for higher gain is the current
distribution along the element. Next Fig shows the distribution for both the long and short monopoles,
with the ground plane elements omitted for clarity. The 1/4-wavelength antenna presents its
"half-dipole" current distribution curve, while the 5/8-wavelength antenna provides a "half-EDZ"
distribution curve. The peak current at a position well above the top of the short antenna is said to give
the longer monopole a lower-angle of radiation and additional gain.
The third reason you may want to use the 5/8 wave vertical is to obtain a lower angle of radiation.
Dissadvantage: needs a matching device at the base to match it to the coax, it cannot be attached
directly. This antenna has about 1.2 db gain over the dipole antenna and 1/2 vertical.

Parts list

Type 1:

alu or copper tubing of 1 meter 15mm tube and 1 meter 12 mm diameter tube

3 times 5 mm alu or copper tube of 22 cm

1 female PL 259 chassis

some silver wire of 1 mm

A robust PVC box of approx 30x50x18 mm and 1,5mm or more thick

a piece of hard insulating material that snuggly fits inside the base tube, like:
fiberglass, nylon, hard pvc, hard wood, bamboo etc... as long as it's very strong, stress and
weather resistant.

and a few innox hose clamps

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ON6MU home made VHF 5/8 vertical antenna http://users.belgacom.net/hamradio/schemas/on6muvhf58verticalantenna.htm

Type 2:

alu or copper tubing of 1 meter 15mm tube and 1 meter 12 mm diameter tube

3 times 5 mm alu or copper tube of 22 cm

+- 30 cm 2,5mm electrical installation wire

a piece of hard insulating material that snuggly fits inside the base tube, like:
fyberglass, nylon, hard pvc, hard wood, bamboo etc... as long as it's very strong, stress and
weather resistant.

some 50 ohm coax

and a few innox hose clamps

Note:
there are many ways to build your antenna and I'm sure some can come up with better mechanical
designs then described here although the design and material used here is cheap and easy to find.
Both types of 5/8 wave antenna's described here has the same radiationpattern and gain, but type 2
has the advantage of being electrical (and DC) grounded and can disipate more power.

The antenna type 1

The antenna:

- saw the 1 meter 15 mm alu tube in half. One part (50 cm) will be used as a boom and the other
as the first part (also 50cm) of the antenna.
- saw some grooves (approx 1,5 cm) in the both halves of the tube to allow a hose clamp to
tighten everything up.
- the 1 meter 12 mm alu tube is fitted inside the 15 mm base tube and can be hold tight with a
hose clamp. Measure from the base up 1,3 meters. You can alwyas tune the antenna to its best
SWR by sliding the top tube in or out.

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ON6MU home made VHF 5/8 vertical antenna http://users.belgacom.net/hamradio/schemas/on6muvhf58verticalantenna.htm

- saw a piece of that hard insulating material of your choice and fit it 10 cm in the antenna and
boom part and leave a gap of 3 mm between them.
- hammer down one end of each of the 3 radials ( 3 x 22 cm) so it becomes a bit flatten. This will
make things easier to screw tight with the hose clamp. These radials are fitted on the boom
section.

The coil:

Wind 3,2 turns of silver plated copper wire of 1mm thickness with an inside coil diameter of 8
mm (outside 10mm) and a the coil has a little spacing of approx. 0,2 mm.

Connect the coil to the antenna and the other end to the centre of your 50 ohm coax cable.
I used a little plastic box where I placed the coil and the PL connector.

Specifications antenna type 1

centre frequency: 145 Mhz

bandwidth: 2 Mhz

maximum tunable frequency range: 142...150 MHz +-

impedance: 50 Ohms

Gain: 4,1 dBi

maximum power using described components: 150watt +-

heigth: 1,25 m

The antenna type 2

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ON6MU home made VHF 5/8 vertical antenna http://users.belgacom.net/hamradio/schemas/on6muvhf58verticalantenna.htm

The antenna:
- saw the 1 meter 15 mm alu tube in half. One part (50 cm) will be used as a boom and the other
as the first part (also 50cm) of the antenna.
- saw some grooves (approx 1,5 cm) in the both halves of the tube to allow a hose clamp to
tighten everything up.
- the 1 meter 12 mm alu tube is fitted inside the 15 mm base tube and can be hold tight with a
hose clamp. Measure from the base up 1,3 meters. You can alwyas tune the antenna to its best
SWR by sliding the top tube in or out.
- saw a piece of that hard insulating material of your choice and fit it 10 cm in the antenna and
boom part and leave a gap of 3 mm between them.
- hammer down one end of each of the 3 radials ( 3 x 22 cm) so it becomes a bit flatten. This will
make things easier to screw tight with the hose clamp. These radials are fitted on the boom
section.

- Fit the braid of the 50 ohm coax to the boom section

The "ringostar" based coil:

Is made out of 26 cm of 2,5mm installation wire. Remove the isolation of the wire and tin with a
soldering iron the entire wire. The coil is 1,2 turns and has a diameter of 5 cm. One side is
connected to the antenna and the other side to the boom.

Find the 1:1 SWR position of the connection the centre of your coax should be soldered to. Half
way the coil is a good place to start. Be sure your antenna length is measured up to 1,25 m.
When you found the "sweat" spot solder the the centre to the coil. You can alwys fine tune the
antenna for best SWR by sliding in or out the top tube of the antenna.

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ON6MU home made VHF 5/8 vertical antenna http://users.belgacom.net/hamradio/schemas/on6muvhf58verticalantenna.htm

Specifications antenna type 2

centre frequency: 145 Mhz

bandwidth: 2 Mhz

maximum tunable frequency range: 143...149 MHz +-

impedance: 50 Ohms

Gain: 4,2 dBi

DC grounded (no static buildup)

maximum power using described components: 250watt +-

Height: 1,25 m

Be sure to seal everything up to avoid moisture, corrosion etc...

Home

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