jason porter Posted June 12, 2015 Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 I finally finished my antennas, so far they work very well. A huge improvement over whips in the bag. I hit them with a coat of matte black spraypaint, so now they are 'stealth' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Miramontes Posted June 13, 2015 Report Share Posted June 13, 2015 total cost? Time involved? They look good. Great job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason porter Posted June 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2015 I think the antennas were about $30 each. Plus additional hardware (female BNC, rg58 cable, etc) another $5-10. The small L-brackets and nuts and bolts, another $5. Stand adapters were about $20 each, I believe. Paint-$7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Radlauer Posted June 13, 2015 Report Share Posted June 13, 2015 The fins themselves, did you make those? or purchase them and ad the coax etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason porter Posted June 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2015 The fins themselves, did you make those? or purchase them and ad the coax etc? http://www.wa5vjb.com/products1.html The top one (400-1000mhz) And then I added the coax, mounting hardware etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted June 14, 2015 Report Share Posted June 14, 2015 good job ! My home made pair has lasted just fine over 13 +yrs. philp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexQ Posted June 15, 2015 Report Share Posted June 15, 2015 This is the post I have been waiting for! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason porter Posted June 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2015 This is the post I have been waiting for! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Haha! Well, if you have any questions...feel free to ask. Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gus harris Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 Very impressed, nice work Jason! Hope to make my own one day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Radlauer Posted June 23, 2015 Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 Got mine today! They are nice! I have a dew parts to get, but I'll put them together this week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Buncher Posted June 23, 2015 Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 Hey Jason, The image of your finished antenna is no longer available. Could you post it again? Thanks, Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmassey Posted June 23, 2015 Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 Thanks for asking Robert...thought it was me! The fellow that builds the PC board antennas is a friend of mine. Want him to see how his stuff gets used...and build a couple myself..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Buncher Posted June 23, 2015 Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 The two PC board antennas I ordered arrived yesterday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason porter Posted June 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 I'll see what I can do guys. It may have to wait until I get back home this weekend ( to take a new photo) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Radlauer Posted June 25, 2015 Report Share Posted June 25, 2015 I finished mine this evening. I used RG174 to keep it light. I have Female BNC's on order so I'll change these SMA's out later. I mounted them with an old mic clip, using the existing screw and 2 rubber washers to take up space and to hold them snugly into place. They seem to work pretty well so far. I put an HM on the other side of the house and it had nice signal...I chose that to test because it doesn't have an external antenna..But I also tested with my LT and it worked even better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aural Fixation Posted June 25, 2015 Report Share Posted June 25, 2015 How did you "plug into" the printed board? It looks to me like you just ran the cable along the side of the fin. Doesn't it need to electrically connect with the circuit board? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Radlauer Posted June 25, 2015 Report Share Posted June 25, 2015 It does indeed need to be connected to work! LOL The coax IS soldered to the PCB. The angle does not show the solder joint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexQ Posted June 26, 2015 Report Share Posted June 26, 2015 Jason, I think your post may have caused a small spike in sales over at Kent Electronics. I just picked up two of the boards. Waiting for my connectors to come in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason porter Posted June 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2015 As promised...not the best pics, but I think they show the important details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Buncher Posted June 27, 2015 Report Share Posted June 27, 2015 Thanks Jason and Matt for the photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Cameron Posted March 1, 2017 Report Share Posted March 1, 2017 My DIY sharkfins. Super easy to make (thanks Ken Wilkenson for the encouragement). I took some aesthetic license and went with PC board green, wood and brass. I used commercial conduit for the crossbar, but I didn't figure the paint would adhere to the galvanized surface too keenly. And it didn't. I'll switch it out for aluminum eventually. I also got SMA disconnects for the cabling. Been using them for a while now, and they work great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark kirchner Posted March 1, 2017 Report Share Posted March 1, 2017 Great work Rachel! I have my DIY shark fins (log periodic) antennas on my workbench now. I would suggest in time you add a right angle SMA connector at the wide end of the antenna so you can store the antennas (see photo #15 Matts). Let us know how they are working. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Cameron Posted March 1, 2017 Report Share Posted March 1, 2017 Thanks Mark, for the suggestion. Currently, I'm working on a storage/quick deploy system for them. I've yet to figure out a way to hang the two splitters in a permanent, but out-of-the-way spot on the cart, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stacysound Posted March 3, 2017 Report Share Posted March 3, 2017 Question for those that know more about this than I do - Could you put a connector at the larger end of the Antenna? Looks like the trace runs from one end to the other. Scrape away the Epoxy (or whatever it is) and solder to the other end? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted March 3, 2017 Report Share Posted March 3, 2017 On 3/1/2017 at 10:15 AM, Rachel Cameron said: Thanks Mark, for the suggestion. Currently, I'm working on a storage/quick deploy system for them. I've yet to figure out a way to hang the two splitters in a permanent, but out-of-the-way spot on the cart, too. I mounted mine to a piece of aluminum bar stock by means of some hardware store L brackets, with the lower back corner of the circuit boards held in a sandwich of pieces of ABS plastic, bolted through. (With a "baby" receiver bolted to the center of the bar.) With the L brackets attached to the bar with a single bolt the antennas can pivot inward, so the thing folds flat--easier to transport--can even go in a case w/o being disassembled. You can for sure think of a more elegant way to mount the fins, and I must say that they've held up really well over 15 yrs of use. btw, what's inside the black fabric covering of an RF "Venue" antenna is basically the same "circuit board" type LPA. I would not recommend trying to move the connector to the back--you might ruin the antenna by removing the connector from where they put it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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