My Hamstick Dipole for Portable Use
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| Above is my HF porta-pack in an aluminum case. Inside the pack is everything I need. My IC-718 HF rig, 17' of RG58, headphones, keyer paddle, microphone, wrench, pens and writing pad. I also have a 37 ah gel cell battery (not shown) that I keep charged with a small solar panel. | Above is my homebrew mount for the Hamstick dipole antenna. As you can see it can easily be clamped to the corner of a table for a nice hefty hold. The antenna itself is not heavy so this mount is more than adequate. Look closely at the bottom end of the 1" dowell...a screw protrudes to keep the notched aluminum mast from turning in the breeze. |
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| Above is my Hamstick dipole on the homebrew tripod. I had an old wooden tripod for a telescope I had as a kid so I modified that to hold the Hamstick dipole. The water jug hanging from it is to give it ballast against the wind. That crude setup is from spending too many years on the farm! :>) | Above is a closeup of the tripod. A 1" dowell is connected to the tripod which the aluminum mast slips over. I have a screw in the dowell that keeps the mast from turning in the breeze. The bottom of the mast is grooved to fit in the screw. However, a slight turn by hand will rotate the dipole. |
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With the exception of the 2 Hamsticks at $26.95 each and the
dipole adapter at $15.95, I had everything else so this was a cheap project.
This is similar to the Buddipole that is advertised for $399. This
setup requires 2 Hamsticks per band for the dipole configuration. So
for a total of about $60 you can add an additional band once you get this
far. I have already made a couple of contacts on this setup. One
to Edmunton, Alberta, Canada on 20 meter SSB and another to Terrell, TX. on
20 meter CW. I was running about 20 watts with both QSO's. To
add another band just disconnect these two Hamsticks and connect the 2 for
the desired band and you are ready to go. This is a fun project and
should be more fun to take to the field. UPDATE: 6/25/07 I used this setup for Field Day 07 from a park in town. It worked GREAT. I can't say it was as good as my full size dipoles at my QTH but for portable/emergency operations I was very pleased. I worked stations in California, Arizona, Illinois and others. Had a great time too! For pics and stuff click HERE |
| Above is my setup clamped to the table on my deck. Hook up the battery and I'm all ready to go...SSB or CW. The entire setup takes about 5 minutes to be ready to go for a QSO. The upper part of my deck-mounted Hustler whip can be seen in the background. |