cory Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 I have a buddy about to do a gig in Denver tonight (not from Denver, so unfamiliar with the area) who is the unfortunate situation of having received a 411 and um400 with no antennaes. 1) anyone know of any places out there that he can purchase these from easily? 2) if not, does anyone have any RadioShack DIY suggestions? Keeping my fingers crossed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian albritton Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 paper clips Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cory Posted October 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 paper clips Can't tell if you're joking? If not, can you explain? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 no joke. put a paperclip - or any suitably sized bit of conductive metal into the antenna sockets and you'll get some signal. perhaps put some blutac or something similar around the paper clip to make it a little harder for the paperclip to fall out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben lowry Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 Take some coax cable (w/ bnc ends for the RX, SMA for the TX), cut it to 1/4 wave length. Strip off the jacket and braid/foil, keeping the core conductor in its insulation as your whip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryF Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 Take some coax cable (w/ bnc ends for the RX, SMA for the TX), cut it to 1/4 wave length. Strip off the jacket and braid/foil, keeping the core conductor in its insulation as your whip. Perfect suggestion by Ben. Quarter wavelength in inches = 3000 divided by frequency in MHz, i.e., for 600 MHz then 3000/600= 5 inches. Best, Larry F Lectro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cory Posted October 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 Thanks Ben/Larry-- y'all are the best! C Take some coax cable (w/ bnc ends for the RX, SMA for the TX), cut it to 1/4 wave length. Strip off the jacket and braid/foil, keeping the core conductor in its insulation as your whip. Where would he find the coax with SMA ends? Radioshack? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toy Robot Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 Now this is the kind of information I just love. Thank you Larry and Ben. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Wong Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 I've bought coax with Sma ends in computer shops before. You have to be careful sometimes the connector has the reverse sma on it, meaning no centre pin in the connector. Also I've used paper clips. Good luck to your buddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cory Posted October 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 Larry/Ben-- RadioShack guy is suggesting this stuff-- do you think it'll work? http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103324 RG58 PL-259 Cable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bralleput Posted October 25, 2014 Report Share Posted October 25, 2014 wow, we are talking 'McGyver' here: very good suggestions (will keep them in mind!)!(Maybe the SMA part will be tricky?Cory let us know how it worked out for your friend in Denver! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mulluysavage Posted October 25, 2014 Report Share Posted October 25, 2014 I had tried BNC coax one time with no good results. Next time I'll try removing the jacket and braid! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cory Posted October 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2014 Update: he couldn't find a SMA connector that fit the transmitter at RadioShack. Unfortunately the folks there generally know more about retail than their stock these days. I'd be curious to know if anyone knows an item that can be easily found at RadioShack or home depot that would work... But we did find luckily find an awesome fellow soundie to help him out with a 411 + um400 kit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlw Posted October 27, 2014 Report Share Posted October 27, 2014 Gordon recently uploaded this video showing the details of making an antenna out of coax cable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bralleput Posted October 27, 2014 Report Share Posted October 27, 2014 Gordon!Another Lectro hero! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cory Posted October 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2014 Pretty awesome YouTube! Where can I easily source those cables from when we're on the go? Would it be available at Home Depot? RadioShack? My buddy in Denver couldn't find anything useable on the fly... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian albritton Posted October 29, 2014 Report Share Posted October 29, 2014 Pretty awesome YouTube! Where can I easily source those cables from when we're on the go? Would it be available at Home Depot? RadioShack? My buddy in Denver couldn't find anything useable on the fly... that's why I mentioned paper clips as you can find them just about anywhere. if you can source cables and make better antennas - great! but if you can't ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonicBoomPole Posted October 29, 2014 Report Share Posted October 29, 2014 I love this forum! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soundwil Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 Gordon recently uploaded this video showing the details of making an antenna out of coax cable. This video is great however I'm a bit concerned about the 'bare' core not being covered by heat-shrink. I've never seen an antenna without a plastic/rubber cover and I'm wandering whether there's a reason for this i.e. the bare wire 'shorting' on skin or some other slightly conductive surface. Are my concerns justified? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent R. Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 This video is great however I'm a bit concerned about the 'bare' core not being covered by heat-shrink. I've never seen an antenna without a plastic/rubber cover and I'm wandering whether there's a reason for this i.e. the bare wire 'shorting' on skin or some other slightly conductive surface. Are my concerns justified?just durability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soundwil Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 just durability. Thanks Vincent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 Wil: " Are my concerns justified? " feel free to cover yours with heat-shrink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soundwil Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 Thanks Mike. I would feel happier with it covered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnpaul215 Posted November 3, 2014 Report Share Posted November 3, 2014 Radio Shack has some sort of SMA stuff. Offhand i bought right angle adapters and crimp on SMA ends. I was able to get the parts to make a BNC-SMA cable (including the cable itself) and it worked fine. Maybe stock varies store to store, but they should have the parts. If not, FedEx from a proper dealer is the backup plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Feeley Posted November 3, 2014 Report Share Posted November 3, 2014 I dig DIY and Macgyver solutions. And totally dig Gordon's diy dipole. But I'm also lazy so I carry a couple Remote Audio pre-made uncut Miracle Whip antennas. Clip to length for you particular block. Available with BNC or SMA connectors: http://www.remoteaudio.com/antennas/ Glad someone was able to help out your pal, Cory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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