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To make this dipole aerial, I used:
- 330mm of 22mm diameter PVC pipe
- 320mm of 1/4" diameter copper brake pipe
- Four cable ties
- Some gaffer tape
- Some RG58 coax cable and a BNC plug
- A stick
The copper brake pipe is cut into two pieces 160mm long. This was
done with some care using a tube cutter - the lengths are probably
comfortably within +/- 0.5mm of the target size.
The bits of brake pipe form the elements of the dipole and are
fixed to the PVC tube using two cable ties each. The cable ties
grip well while allowing adjustment of the position of the elements.
The elements are set reasonably close to collinear and the ends are
about 2mm apart.
Next, the feeder was connected to the aerial. I used a piece of cable
which already had a BNC plug fitted. The screen is soldered to the
lower element, and the centre conductor to the upper. Heat transfer
from the copper elements didn't trouble the PVC support pipe.
Finally, the aerial was attached to a mast using some strips of gaffer
tape. Note that the feeder is held in place by the tape as well, to
protect the connections from mechanical damage due to the cable moving
about.
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