On Saturday, May 14, 2022, Kevin Spratt, a member of the B.C.R.A. demonstrated his new innovative approach to constructing a ½ λ Dipole. Meeting at the BCRA lodge parking lot, over 20 members of the Club converged with spools of 14 gauge wire, antenna analyzers, diagonal wire cutters, soldering stations, and naturally with Kevin’s PVC parts and the PL connectors. The BCRA hosted this group of Ham Radio hobby builders and during a 2 hour window of construction built a few 20 Meter Dipoles.
After computing the length of wire needed per leg of the Dipole and with construction completed on the first Dipole, it was ready for the test. The 32 feet of antenna stretched the better part of the parking lot suspended from extension poles supplied by the members. Readings on the analyzers demonstrated that although the measurements were correct based on the accepted formula and re-checked on the computer program supplied by West Mountain, it appeared that due to height and terrain the “legs” of the Dipole had to be shortened. After trial and error, the Dipole was finished giving a 1:1 match at 50Ω on a Frequency of 14.000 - SUCCESS.
Below are the photos of the event: