So Ive made a few of these for my company, and just playing around with different things. Ive noticed that when I wrap the bare antenna section with Electrical tape it tends to clear the little static that comes in over the radio. I'm fairly new to the commo world (besides basic SINCGARS operation) and Ive been learning all I can. I'm not sure why this works, my only thought is that the tape provides a little shielding from atmospheric white noise? Theirs a good chance I'm way off but if anybody has any input Id love to learn
And here is the finished product cleaned, taped, and ready to hand out! Hope this helps.
-BB
TSE Inc manufactures these. They even put them into an RF test chamber to tweak them. Here is a brochure, call Big Ed at TSE Inc. The guys at TSE Inc are very smart about RF.
So Ive made a few of these for my company, and just playing around with different things. Ive noticed that when I wrap the bare antenna section with Electrical tape it tends to clear the little static that comes in over the radio. I'm fairly new to the commo world (besides basic SINCGARS operation) and Ive been learning all I can. I'm not sure why this works, my only thought is that the tape provides a little shielding from atmospheric white noise? Theirs a good chance I'm way off but if anybody has any input Id love to learn
That actually sounds about right. I've done the same thing, as far as he electrical tape goes, and I've never had any issues out of the "mantenna."
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Quote:
Originally Posted by commosgt
So Ive made a few of these for my company, and just playing around with different things. Ive noticed that when I wrap the bare antenna section with Electrical tape it tends to clear the little static that comes in over the radio. I'm fairly new to the commo world (besides basic SINCGARS operation) and Ive been learning all I can. I'm not sure why this works, my only thought is that the tape provides a little shielding from atmospheric white noise? Theirs a good chance I'm way off but if anybody has any input Id love to learn
1: Always cut a little long because when worn in the kit, your body's electrical field WILL drop the antenna's sweet spot by about 2-4MHz.
2: A VSWR meter of some kind is NECESSARY when figuring out your antenna length, and it needs to be tuned (trimmed down) while woven into the kit and worn on the body.
I do not know antenna theory but I have made, based on one made for me by a guy who did, about 30 antennas. Only difference from BBcommo's is the length, 12 ft of RG58, and I stripped all the insulation, exterior and wire mesh, from 9 inches behind the TNC connector. It relies on the center wire to send and receive radio waves. I never had a problem, and it gave me better reception and transmission than my RTO with his 1523 and long whip.
I recently used Norm's design during a field exercise and it worked flawlessly. It even worked better than my commo guy's setup of an ASIP with OE-254! It's nice being able to talk to the rear without having to haul all that gear. I'm passing this on to our EOD bubbas for their upcoming deployment.
Thanks again Norm!
No NSN yet the Company that makes them is RadioWavz. REF purchases them frequently. That is an avenue to look in to if you are having problems getting them through the normal channels.
Hope that helps. It is one assembly no sepate parts unless you want the BNC quick Disconnect. Or Coax extension.
I have on of these on my desk. It is a piece of shit and the VSWR on it is through the roof.
Four posts, one is the required intro and the other three relate to this antenna? Hmmm......Judging from your location and the location of the company, it would appear you are somehow related to the company.
eta*
He answered; his answers were not satisfactory as they were in direct contradiction to what he said here.
He has been BANNED - thread is open for discussion.
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Is there any reason why buying a pre-made RG-58 cable with TNC or BNC connectors already factory installed, and then cutting it to size and performing the other steps illustrated wouldn't be a good idea?
I can't find RG58 easily available other than on a 1000" spool, and it is just as easy to buy and RG58 patch cord online as it is to buy cable by the foot.
My idea was to buy a 10' patch cable with straight TNC connectors on each end and cut it in half, which would obviously give me two "mantenna" size pieces. It seems to me that since the cost difference between bare cable and a patch cord is fairly insignificant, the advantage of having a factory installed connector and strain relief would be worthwhile.
I could also get them with BNC connectors for quicker disconnect (I already have the TNC to BNC adapters for my MBITR's). The only disadvantage I can think of to that is one more connection leaking RF energy.
Is there any reason why buying a pre-made RG-58 cable with TNC or BNC connectors already factory installed, and then cutting it to size and performing the other steps illustrated wouldn't be a good idea?
I can't find RG58 easily available other than on a 1000" spool, and it is just as easy to buy and RG58 patch cord online as it is to buy cable by the foot.
My idea was to buy a 10' patch cable with straight TNC connectors on each end and cut it in half, which would obviously give me two "mantenna" size pieces. It seems to me that since the cost difference between bare cable and a patch cord is fairly insignificant, the advantage of having a factory installed connector and strain relief would be worthwhile.
I could also get them with BNC connectors for quicker disconnect (I already have the TNC to BNC adapters for my MBITR's). The only disadvantage I can think of to that is one more connection leaking RF energy.
Any thoughts?
You're only "leaking" RF with a poor adaptor or poor installation; there is loss though but inconsequential really for your purposes. If you didn't after all this time find an answer, RG-58 jumpers are all over the place from any of the mainstream cable suppliers with TNC's already on - google=friend.
RG-58 was/is used for 10base2 networking, so some network equipment shops may still have some smaller quantities floating around (I saw a few hits on Amazon for 50-100ft rolls). Additionally, as far as connectors are concerned, can you use the standard BNC compression connectors as used by CCTV systems(this way you could skip the TNC to BNC adapter)? Also, would RG-59 be suitable? It does have a higher impedance, but is usually available by the foot at Lowes and HD etc.
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Last edited by BOfH; 04-05-2012 at 13:47.
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