I want to mount a 2 meter rig on my Honda Foreman ATV. I want a
high-gain antenna, either a 5/8 wave or possibly a collinear. I would
like to stay around 4 to 5 feet in length, but it is possible that a
collinear would be longer.

Any recommendations on this ? I know that an atv would not provide much
of a ground plane, so I think a 1/4 wave would be out of the question.

Any recommended "type" (wavelength, etc) and brand for this use ?

Thanks for any comments !!


73 de Jim K4PYT

I use a lakeview colliner at both my home qth and on my truck. It is rugged
but a bit long.
http://www.hamstick.com/9007.htm
Great 2m antenna..
Joe

"James" wrote in message
. ..


I want to mount a 2 meter rig on my Honda Foreman ATV. I want a
high-gain antenna, either a 5/8 wave or possibly a collinear. I would
like to stay around 4 to 5 feet in length, but it is possible that a
collinear would be longer.

Any recommendations on this ? I know that an atv would not provide much
of a ground plane, so I think a 1/4 wave would be out of the question.

Any recommended "type" (wavelength, etc) and brand for this use ?

Thanks for any comments !!


73 de Jim K4PYT

James wrote:
Any recommendations on this ? I know that an atv would not provide much
of a ground plane, so I think a 1/4 wave would be out of the question.

For optimum performance, a 5/8WL needs a better ground
plane than a 1/4WL. I once provided four radial whips
attached to the luggage rack on my motorcycle which
worked with a 1/4WL vertical. It performed well.

Any recommended "type" (wavelength, etc) and brand for this use ?

On my bicycle, I use a J-Pole made out of ladder-line.
It is attached to a fiberglass bicycle flag pole. It
doesn't need a ground plane. This should work well on
an ATV. You may even already have the fiberglass flag
as is required when riding on many beaches.
--
73, Cecil http://www.w5dxp.com

Hi Jim

Keep in mind that if you are doing a lot of off-road the high gain
antenna, normally optimized to radiate towards the horizon, ends up
skying or firing most of it into the ground. This is why for example a
1/4 wave is great in city "canyons" and mountainous areas. The "all
around" radiation has a better chance of reflecting off something above you.

You can always make a wire etc counterpoise for the 1/4 wave.

Any effective collinear is going to be big to do well. Its also going to
be somewhat whippy. A 1/2 over 1/4 or 5/8 over 1/4 you can work out how
big that will be. This kind of antenna will need a ground plane so maybe
you could look at a 1/2 over 1/2 voltage fed. This will be over 6ft long!

I saw a 1/2 wave voltage fed antenna once made up like a slim jim. It
had two parallel spring steel conductors about 4-5ft long and half n
inch apart. It was very effective. It was fed about 2" from the bottom
(the lower 1/3 of the antenna being the matching section - which also
raised the antenna height some) If you want to experiment (with
something that will eventually break) consider some 300 ohm ribbon
inside 3/4" plastic conduit.

Apologies for not giving any specific brand details. I tend to make my
own...

Cheers Bob VK2YQA

James wrote:
I want to mount a 2 meter rig on my Honda Foreman ATV. I want a
high-gain antenna, either a 5/8 wave or possibly a collinear. I would
like to stay around 4 to 5 feet in length, but it is possible that a
collinear would be longer.

Thanks to both Merlin and to Cecil. Well, I thought that a 1/4 wave
would rely on a good ground plane more than a 5/8 wave antenna would. I
will have to consider that.

As for a J-Pole, I really don't think that is a high-gain antenna , is it ?
My thinking has been that it is primarily a dipole, mounted vertically.


Thanks again !!


73 de Jim K4PYT

James wrote:
As for a J-Pole, I really don't think that is a high-gain antenna , is it ?
My thinking has been that it is primarily a dipole, mounted vertically.

A 1/4WL is not a high-gain antenna either. Neither
is a 5/8WL with a non-optimum ground plane. A J-Pole
has essentially the same radiation pattern as a
1/4WL ground plane but it doesn't need a ground
plane. If you want gain and are willing to provide
an optimum ground plane on your ATV, then there are
phased-array gain antennas available, e.g. the
Diamond 97 inch NR22L with an advertised gain of
6 dBd.
--
73, Cecil http://www.w5dxp.com

A good choice for vehicles without adequete ground plane would be the
!/2 wave end fed antenna that does NOT require any ground plane.

One such antenna he www.comtelco.net A1812A 44

Also can be orderd with the heavy duty .125 dia whip, The whip is about
39" tho.

The radiation pattern is the same as a 1/2 wave dipole and much the
same as the
1/4 wave whip.

Barry OGrady wrote in
:

On Sat, 18 Nov 2006 08:51:28 -0500, "James"
wrote:

I want to mount a 2 meter rig on my Honda Foreman ATV. I want a
high-gain antenna, either a 5/8 wave or possibly a collinear. I
would like to stay around 4 to 5 feet in length, but it is possible
that a collinear would be longer.

Which metre band is it for, and what are the meters used for?


Golly Gosh Barry! Mention meters, and you pop right up.


FWIW, from the Merriam Webster dictionary:


Main Entry: me·ter
Function: noun
Etymology: French mètre, from Greek metron measure
: the base unit of length in the International System of Units that is
equal to the distance traveled by light in a vacuum in
{frac;1;299,792,458} second or to about 39.37 inches -- see METRIC SYSTEM
table





Any recommendations on this ? I know that an atv would not provide
much of a ground plane, so I think a 1/4 wave would be out of the
question.

Any recommended "type" (wavelength, etc) and brand for this use ?

Thanks for any comments !!

Is there amateur TV on 2 metres?

73 de Jim K4PYT

dit dit dit dah dit dah dit dit good buddy.

Jim's a fairly new Ham, seems like he's asking legit questions to
me.

- 73 de Mike KB3EIA -

"Will" wrote in news:1163889515.013109.230270
@h48g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:

A good choice for vehicles without adequete ground plane would be the
!/2 wave end fed antenna that does NOT require any ground plane.

One such antenna he www.comtelco.net A1812A 44

Also can be orderd with the heavy duty .125 dia whip, The whip is about
39" tho.

The radiation pattern is the same as a 1/2 wave dipole and much the
same as the 1/4 wave whip.


That antenna is a pretty good choice. I'd add that if Jim wanted to
try a 1/4 wave it might work, because he could catch a ground plane through
the frame. That is where most mobile antennas get their "ground".

- 73 de Mike KB3EIA -

You might want to try a 1/2 antanna which does not require a ground
Adair
"James" wrote in message
. ..


I want to mount a 2 meter rig on my Honda Foreman ATV. I want a
high-gain antenna, either a 5/8 wave or possibly a collinear. I would
like to stay around 4 to 5 feet in length, but it is possible that a
collinear would be longer.

Any recommendations on this ? I know that an atv would not provide much
of a ground plane, so I think a 1/4 wave would be out of the question.

Any recommended "type" (wavelength, etc) and brand for this use ?

Thanks for any comments !!


73 de Jim K4PYT