Field deployable 2m antenna.

[Prerunner1982]

Do you set up VHF radios at camp?
if so, what antenna do you use?
I am thinking of building a twin lead/ladder line jpole so that it is easy to string up into a tree for voice and/or APRS.

 

[Anak]

The Diamond NR770HB that lives on my rig has been all I have ever felt the need for.

Generally, if folks are setting up antennas it is for HF.

However, if you really wanted some extra gain I would suggest you look at some of the backpack style yagis. I have an Arrow that I have put to good use transmitter hunting. I believe Elk also makes one. A simple mast would be 3/4" PVC and some guy lines to tent poles.

 

[Prerunner1982]

I set up HF as well and have a ground plane 2m antenna that can go on top of the mast. I also have a yagi, but I want something I can get up higher than my 20' mast that can be separate of the mast and that I don't have to hold.

 

[Anak]

It sounds like the point is to get something lightweight high up in the trees.

To that end you could probably work with nothing more than a wire cut to the proper length. You could play around with half-wavelength or full wavelength or whatever other fraction seems to best suit your efforts.

Generally the biggest challenge is getting things up there in the first place. That is why you want something lightweight and simple.

I know a guy who was playing around with a better means of getting a line up into/over the trees. He has an attachment for an AR15 that launches tennis balls (simple way to get targets a decent way down range). He was working on making an aluminum slug for the purpose of launching a line for HF antennas. Getting the weight right was the trick. Just some food for thought. Of course legality may vary by locale. A fishing bow might be another thought, but I can see that getting stuck in the trees and not coming down as readily as would a block of aluminum.

 

[Sparksalot]

For fm I don’t really worry about it. The car has some good antennas on a great ground plane. For ssb, I have an arrow antenna 4 element yagi that Ive laid on the nonmetallic roof of my teardrop a few times.

 

[Downs]

I keep a small dual band mobile in my solar generator box and hook it to a roll up jpole I toss into trees that are nearby.

 

[WareWolf MoonWall]

I have a dual band roll up antenna from CountyComm that has allowed me to get some crazy range by getting it rigged up high, even indoors using vaulted ceilings!

 

[fotoexceller]

Do you set up VHF radios at camp?
if so, what antenna do you use?
I am thinking of building a twin lead/ladder line jpole so that it is easy to string up into a tree for voice and/or APRS.

I used a slingshot, zebco reel ,20# spyderwire with a 1 oz. Ball fishing weight. My ant. Is 55' in a tree hitting repeaters 65 mi. away on 45 watts. Works great stretched between two trees.