For One and All,

My Thoughts on a Slinky Stretched-Out on an Eight Foot Long
PVC Pipe
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortw...a/message/6096

Think of (Imagine) an Eight Foot (8') piece of One Inch (1")
Copper Pipe as an Antenna Element.
= = = Looks like a 'Fat' Wire to RF.

Then think of (Imagine) an Eight Foot (8') piece of 3/4" PVC
Pipe with a Single Copper Wire stretched-out along it as an
Antenna Element.
= = = Looks like a 'Skinny' Wire to RF.

Now a Slinky is Coiled 72 Feet Piece of Wire.

Divide 72 by 8 and you have the Number "9".

Next think of (Imagine) the same Eight Foot (8') piece of
PVC Pipe with a Nine evenly space Copper Wires stretched
along it as Antenna Elements.
= = = Looks like a low resistance 'Fat' Wire to RF.

It is 'My Opinion' that a Slinky that is also stretched-out
along an Eight Foot (8') piece of PVC Pipe with the Coils
evenly spaced (72 Feet of Wire) along it as an Antenna Element.
= = = Looks like a high resistance 'Fat' Wire to RF.


iane ~ RHF

You gonna wear them Slinkys out messin around with them too much.
cuhulin

Cuhulin,

Speaking of Skinky's - - - Remember to . . .

Spring Forward -and- Fall Back !
[ Tonight Being the 'end' of Daylight Savings Time ! ]

Up in them there Mountings where I will be next week :
It is the "Autumn Leaves" and "Fall Colors"

But then of course "Spring Is Busting Out All Over"
somewhere in this Great Wide Wonderful World Everyday !

a reminder and the weather report from
- - - Retired, Heathy and Free ! ~ RHF

In article .com,
"RHF" wrote:

For One and All,

My Thoughts on a Slinky Stretched-Out on an Eight Foot Long
PVC Pipe
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortw...a/message/6096

Think of (Imagine) an Eight Foot (8') piece of One Inch (1")
Copper Pipe as an Antenna Element.
= = = Looks like a 'Fat' Wire to RF.

Then think of (Imagine) an Eight Foot (8') piece of 3/4" PVC
Pipe with a Single Copper Wire stretched-out along it as an
Antenna Element.
= = = Looks like a 'Skinny' Wire to RF.

Now a Slinky is Coiled 72 Feet Piece of Wire.

Divide 72 by 8 and you have the Number "9".

Next think of (Imagine) the same Eight Foot (8') piece of
PVC Pipe with a Nine evenly space Copper Wires stretched
along it as Antenna Elements.
= = = Looks like a low resistance 'Fat' Wire to RF.

It is 'My Opinion' that a Slinky that is also stretched-out
along an Eight Foot (8') piece of PVC Pipe with the Coils
evenly spaced (72 Feet of Wire) along it as an Antenna Element.
= = = Looks like a high resistance 'Fat' Wire to RF.


iane ~ RHF
.
.
All are WELCOME and "Invited to Join" the
Shortwave Listener (SWL) Antenna eGroup on YAHOO !
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortwave-SWL-Antenna/
SWL ANTENNAS GROUP = http://tinyurl.com/an6tw
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Some Say: On A Clear Day You Can See Forever.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortw...na/message/502
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I BELIEVE: On A Clear Night . . .
You Can Hear Forever and Beyond, The BEYOND !
With a Shortwave Listener SWL Antenna of your own making.
"If You Build It {SWL Antenna} You Will Hear Them !"

The slinky is going to be a stretched out coil and not behave the same
as a copper pipe.

Larger diameter antenna elements are more broad-banded. You can
electrically create a larger diameter element with parallel wires
separated with spacers.

--
Telamon
Ventura, California

How a piece of one or two inch (coiled or sort of straightened
out,press on it with a piece of wood 2 x 4 and roll it out straight on
the floor) long copper plumbing tubing for an antenna?
cuhulin

Telamon - Well to my way of thinking - - -

IMHO - Except at the Resonant Frequency that the
Eight Foot Long Stretched-Out Slinky would exhibit.

The Slinky effectively looks like a very thin hollow tube to the
RF along it's length : When compared to a single straight 8' Wire.

hey - i could be wrong cause - iane ~ RHF

Hello Everyone !

It's starting to happen . . .
my Atomic Clocks are resetting themselves to PST from PDT.

fall back,,, Fall Back... FALL BACK ! ! ! ~ RHF

wrote:

.. Myself , I wouldn't use a slinky for any antenna.
It's a substandard material, and a funky design anyway. A short loaded whip or element will be more efficient using a high Q loading coil, than a long helical winding using a slinky.
Also, the current distribution will be better with a center loaded whip, vs a continuous loading coil as an element. A continuous helical whip also needs some capacitive loading at the end, if you want a decent performing antenna. IE: a "stinger", or "hat", etc...
Otherwise, it will be very lame. Might as well use regular wire...It's
as good as anything else... MK


Yodar responds

If it's so funky howcum hams use it on field day? That's how it became
known to hams is from Army usage

If its so substandard material howcum even the ARMY used it in the
field as an expediency antenna? In Florida we have hurricanes and rain
almost daily. The cadmium plating or whatever it is plated with has
shown no corrosion.

Yes, for transmitting you do need a cap or a stinger, but for receive
only a SLINKY works fine. I have dozens of citations of people
successfully using them for SWL.

The SLINKY is a NICHE-market antenna and is a successful product IMO
which is why they appear in various forms on Ebay.

Mine suspended up with a 13' fiberglass telescoping pole outside for
more'en a year with a 9:1 balun works fine and is idiotproof.

Everything you say about the benefits of wire are true for those that
can string it. I cant.

What you say about a center loaded whip being suiperior to a slinky is
true to YOUR application.

But I have used verious Hustlers and find them too narrow banded and
that is because they are designed for transmitting. I dont do that.

I want broad band.

The SLINKY's inherent resonance peaks within the 40M band so it
decreases performance-wise till 18 Mhz where it's dead (usingDX 398 and
RX 320)

For apartment dwellers, It IS an good expediency antenna unless you
choose a active antenna which I am using now.

Yodar

Yodar responds

If it's so funky howcum hams use it on field day?

I've never actually seen a ham use one on field day. I know
for sure, *I* would never use one on a field day.
Wanna see one antenna I use for field day?
http://web.wt.net/~nm5k/fd01-1.jpg
A view from above.... That is at a fire training facility...
But....I would be glad for more hams to use slinky's on
field day. That way I'll remain with the usual higher scores.
And we *won* 10m with this antenna that year... I bet no
slinkys *won* their band of choice...
How do I get all that to a site? Like this...
http://web.wt.net/~nm5k/fd2.jpg
I carry the tower and beam on a motorcycle trailer...
BTW, it will also brown the food on 20 and 15 meters.

That's how it became
known to hams is from Army usage

So? That makes it good?

If its so substandard material howcum even the ARMY used it in the
field as an expediency antenna?

I dunno. You would have to ask them...

In Florida we have hurricanes and rain
almost daily. The cadmium plating or whatever it is plated with has
shown no corrosion.

But is this plating a good surface for rf? I'd prefer copper myself.
I bet that stuff is fun to solder to also...

Yes, for transmitting you do need a cap or a stinger, but for receive
only a SLINKY works fine. I have dozens of citations of people
successfully using them for SWL.

Ditto for a piece of straight wire...

The SLINKY is a NICHE-market antenna and is a successful product IMO
which is why they appear in various forms on Ebay.

Crap...People have been using slinkys as antennas since at least
the 50's. They have always been a compromise antenna they way
most use them.

Mine suspended up with a 13' fiberglass telescoping pole outside for
more'en a year with a 9:1 balun works fine and is idiotproof.

So? My present dipoles have been up since 1994... Wow...Dang let me
try that backwards...Wow...

Everything you say about the benefits of wire are true for those that
can string it. I cant.

Well, ok then.

What you say about a center loaded whip being suiperior to a slinky is
true to YOUR application.

It's true in any application. All antennas are reciprical between
transmit
and receive properties. I do realize current distribution when
receiving
may not be a big issue though... But...The efficiency will be the same
,
transmit, or receive.

But I have used verious Hustlers and find them too narrow banded and
that is because they are designed for transmitting. I dont do that.

Hustlers suck too. I hate those things. Hustler coils are some of the
lousiest junk I've ever used. Lossy they are... My mobile uses home
brew coils. I compared them with the hustlers coils, and it was ugly.
Adding a hustler coil to my mobile turns it into a dummy load on a
stick.

I want broad band.

Well, ok then...

The SLINKY's inherent resonance peaks within the 40M band so it
decreases performance-wise till 18 Mhz where it's dead (usingDX 398 and
RX 320)

Well, ok then...

For apartment dwellers, It IS an good expediency antenna unless you
choose a active antenna which I am using now.

I ain't no apartment dweller....So I don't need to use compromise
antennas. But, even if I did, I wouldn't use slinky's...But thats just
me.
Trust me, I could care less what anyone uses. If it works, it works.
But don't try to tell me they are some kind of great new design or
whatever. People have been using helical wound whips for ages.
Most use regular copper wire though. I know I would.
MK

Yodar,

Sometimes you do what you got to do
and hopefully that is good enough to . . .
Hear What You Got To Hear ! )

i be 'slinkying' on the side ~ RHF