Needs to be either in the attic, or on a metal patio cover.
A vertical on top of a 20 foot pole "might" be possible.

Currently I am using a 1/4 wave vertical mag mount on top of a metal patio
cover. I also have a half wave dipole in the attic.

So, any ideas for something better?

Wayne
W5GIE

On 6/27/2013 12:05 PM, Wayne wrote:
Needs to be either in the attic, or on a metal patio cover.
A vertical on top of a 20 foot pole "might" be possible.

Currently I am using a 1/4 wave vertical mag mount on top of a metal
patio cover. I also have a half wave dipole in the attic.

So, any ideas for something better?

Wayne
W5GIE
I built a 6 meter cubical quad for the June VHF contest. Wood frame with
real bamboo spreaders. Rotate with a TV antenna rotator. Worked great
till the rains started. Wires are resting directly on the bamboo. SWR
when wet is 4.9:1. Dry way 1.1:1. Weather getting hot and dry again, so
hope it returns to what it was.

Also fabricating parts for a 6 meter Moxon antenna.

Either antenna can be vertically or horizontally polarized. I prefer
horizontal for SSB.

Paul, KD7HB

"Paul Drahn" wrote in message ...

On 6/27/2013 12:05 PM, Wayne wrote:
Needs to be either in the attic, or on a metal patio cover.
A vertical on top of a 20 foot pole "might" be possible.

Currently I am using a 1/4 wave vertical mag mount on top of a metal
patio cover. I also have a half wave dipole in the attic.

So, any ideas for something better?

Wayne
W5GIE

# I built a 6 meter cubical quad for the June VHF contest. Wood frame with
# real bamboo spreaders. Rotate with a TV antenna rotator. Worked great
# till the rains started. Wires are resting directly on the bamboo. SWR
# when wet is 4.9:1. Dry way 1.1:1. Weather getting hot and dry again, so
# hope it returns to what it was.

# Also fabricating parts for a 6 meter Moxon antenna.

# Either antenna can be vertically or horizontally polarized. I prefer
# horizontal for SSB.

# Paul, KD7HB

Hadn't thought about the Moxon.

I hesitate to mention this, but some years ago a group regular was touting a
10 meter cubical quad using fractal elements. A 6 meter version might
almost fit in the attic.

You may have surmised by now that my possibilities for a decent antenna are
severely limited.

On 6/27/2013 12:43 PM, Wayne wrote:


"Paul Drahn" wrote in message ...

On 6/27/2013 12:05 PM, Wayne wrote:
Needs to be either in the attic, or on a metal patio cover.
A vertical on top of a 20 foot pole "might" be possible.

Currently I am using a 1/4 wave vertical mag mount on top of a metal
patio cover. I also have a half wave dipole in the attic.

So, any ideas for something better?

Wayne
W5GIE

# I built a 6 meter cubical quad for the June VHF contest. Wood frame with
# real bamboo spreaders. Rotate with a TV antenna rotator. Worked great
# till the rains started. Wires are resting directly on the bamboo. SWR
# when wet is 4.9:1. Dry way 1.1:1. Weather getting hot and dry again, so
# hope it returns to what it was.

# Also fabricating parts for a 6 meter Moxon antenna.

# Either antenna can be vertically or horizontally polarized. I prefer
# horizontal for SSB.

# Paul, KD7HB

Hadn't thought about the Moxon.

I hesitate to mention this, but some years ago a group regular was
touting a 10 meter cubical quad using fractal elements. A 6 meter
version might almost fit in the attic.

You may have surmised by now that my possibilities for a decent antenna
are severely limited.
Yeah, I kind of figured that. I was using a 160 meter horizontal loop
for 6 meters before the quad.

Google for "KG4JJH 6 moxon" and you will find a lot of references,
including a PDF of an April 2004 QST article.

KD7HB

Wayne wrote:
Needs to be either in the attic, or on a metal patio cover.
A vertical on top of a 20 foot pole "might" be possible.

Currently I am using a 1/4 wave vertical mag mount on top of a metal patio
cover. I also have a half wave dipole in the attic.

So, any ideas for something better?

Wayne
W5GIE

It depends on what you mean by "better".

A bowtie should fit in the attic, will have roughly the same gain as a
dipole, but will have a better SWR across the band.

A diamond loop would be about 6 feet tall, a square loop would be about
5 feet tall, and a hex loop a bit over 6 feet tall and all would have
a bit more gain than a dipole. My attic isn't that tall but yours may
be.

A HEN at 6M would have even more gain, but at about 10 feet tall would
likely have to go over the patio cover. The vertical pattern would depend
on how high above the patio cover you can mount it. EZNEC can easily
model that.

And of course there is always a 5/8 vertical directly on top of the
patio cover, which serves as the ground plane.



--
Jim Pennino

What do you want to do with it? If it is just for local nets and such
the vertical magmount should do the trick. For things like Dx you
will, of course,. want something more.

Irv VE6BP

"Wayne" wrote in message
...
Needs to be either in the attic, or on a metal patio cover.
A vertical on top of a 20 foot pole "might" be possible.

Currently I am using a 1/4 wave vertical mag mount on top of a metal patio
cover. I also have a half wave dipole in the attic.

So, any ideas for something better?

Wayne
W5GIE

"Irv Finkleman" wrote in message
...

# What do you want to do with it? If it is just for local nets and such
#the vertical magmount should do the trick. For things like Dx you
# will, of course,. want something more.

# Irv VE6BP

I don't know of any local nets, and the only stations I've worked are local
hams on a very occasional basis.

So the goal is an occasional non-local contact.

During the recent 6 meter test, I heard just a few weak stations, and got to
switch between the two antennas. The attic dipole was slightly better.
And, after digging for stations in the mud for about 30 minutes, I gave up
on the contest.

I've only been able to receive one beacon (about 60 miles away), but it went
off the air in a forest fire a while back.

"Wayne" wrote in message
...
Needs to be either in the attic, or on a metal patio cover.
A vertical on top of a 20 foot pole "might" be possible.

Currently I am using a 1/4 wave vertical mag mount on top of a metal patio
cover. I also have a half wave dipole in the attic.

So, any ideas for something better?

Wayne
W5GIE

What do you plan on doing with it ? Working repeaters, working locals on
ssb, doing dx work ? Doing it all ?

On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 12:05:51 -0700, "Wayne"
wrote:

Needs to be either in the attic, or on a metal patio cover.
A vertical on top of a 20 foot pole "might" be possible.

Currently I am using a 1/4 wave vertical mag mount on top of a metal patio
cover. I also have a half wave dipole in the attic.

Are you doing CW and SSB at the bottom of the 6 meter band?
Or are you doing FM and repeaters in the middle of the band?
Or perhaps you are doing radio control at the top of the band?
Antennas for these purposes are quite different. For example, CW and
SSB is usually done with horizontal polarization, while FM and radio
control are done with vertical. I'll guess(tm) FM and vertical.

The most successful 6M FM antenna I've built was a simple center fed
vertical 1/2 wave dipole, with a balun at the feed point. Two egg
insulators at the ends. Cantilever supports projecting from a tower,
side of building, or tree to give some clearance. Coax run
perpendicular to the antenna wire. Distance from tower has a big
effect on the pattern, so I made the attachment point adjustable.

At about 9 ft in length, your attic might not be tall enough for a 1/2
wave dipole. You can bend the corners over and still have a usable
antenna. Loading coils will also shorten the antenna, but if you go
that route, do it symmetrically, with identical loading coils on both
wires of the dipole. If not, run it down the roof line at an angle.

The nice thing about this antenna is that it's very easy to build, and
then rebuild after you discover your calculations are not quite
accurate. Have a grid dip meter or antennal analyzer handy.

If you have the room in your attic, and you're always working
repeaters in one particular direction, you can build a "wire" yagi in
the same manner as the dipole. The driven element will look much like
the dipole, but the others are roughly 1/2 wave yagi elements. I've
build monsterious 2 meter rope yagis for transmitter hunts, but
haven't tried it on 6m.

If you do have a 20ft pole, and are concerned with aesthetics, try a
coaxial antenna. Basically, a 4.5ft large diameter 1/4 wave pipe over
the top of the 20ft pole for the counterpoise sleeve, and a stainless
4.5ft whip antenna on top. Use 75 ohm RG-6a/u coax to feed it, since
it's a 75 ohm antenna. The mismatch to your radio will be minimal.
http://www.belden.com/blog/broadcastav/50-Ohms-The-Forgotten-Impedance.cfm
http://www.solred.com.ar/lu6etj/tecnicos/En_75.htm

If a coax antenna is too much, try a 5/8 wave:
http://www.hamuniverse.com/6metervertical.html

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

"Jeff Liebermann" wrote in message
...

On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 12:05:51 -0700, "Wayne"
wrote:

Needs to be either in the attic, or on a metal patio cover.
A vertical on top of a 20 foot pole "might" be possible.

Currently I am using a 1/4 wave vertical mag mount on top of a metal patio
cover. I also have a half wave dipole in the attic.

# Are you doing CW and SSB at the bottom of the 6 meter band?

Yes.

snip

Thanks for the info Jeff.

I guess I wasn't specific on the interests. So far, just CW and SSB. I
have mostly been getting a HF 7-28 Mhz antenna set up. Now I'm looking at
6.

A rotary array would be difficult in the attic, but switched directive
arrays may be possible.

Otherwise, I'm mostly limited to antennas on the patio cover. A rotary beam
would be possible, but at a low height of about 15 feet.

Time to spend some effort with EZNEC.

Wayne
W5GIE
Redlands, CA