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Re: [IRCA] The "Pipe Dream" Traveling MW Monster Loop Antenna - a little OT
Thanks for all of the hard work and great detail on these monster loops,
Gary!
I'm particularly interested in anything that says "foolproof." You'd
have to know me, to fully understand.
I have an off topic question (though it may be useful for DX'ers who
want their PVC loop frames to have some "color" to them). Have you done
much painting on PVC pipe? I have been reading up on building
Australian didgeridoos out of PVC pipes. Obviously a white one, with
the manufacturers codes and such on the side would work but not look to
good (and the codes sometimes show through paint). I've heard that you
should prime them and then use acrylic paint, others say sand them and
then use Krylon Fusion paints (for plastics and fiberglass). I've also
heard that one should avoid oil paints as they may break down the pipe.
So if you (or anyone) has any experience or guidance on painting PVC,
I'd like to know.
For those inclined, google +make +PVC +didgeridoo and there are dozens
(at least) of pages on building them but the painting info is all over
the map. I thought that building a didgeridoo would be a good
grandparent - granddaughter summer project, on the cheap (less than
$10).
73,
Dave in Indy
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Mon, 4 May 2009 19:50:45 EDT
From: D1028Gary@xxxxxxx
To: irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, ultralightdx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,
am@xxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [IRCA] The "Pipe Dream" Traveling MW Monster Loop Antenna
Message-ID: <bbe.4a42d13d.3730d955@xxxxxxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
Hello Guys,
In the experimentation here to develop huge MW loop antennas using
lightweight, tough PVC frames, I had often thought wistfully about how
effective
these monster loops would be on nearby ocean beaches-- if only I could
fit
them in my compact car. It seemed like an impossible dream-- or was it?
After building ten of these PVC loops from 18" up to 7.5' feet per side,
I
had lots of experience in PVC assembly. I recalled that the larger
diameter
of PVC pipe fits rather snugly in the fitting slots when fully
inserted,
with or without glue. There was also experience in using silicone
rubber to
"lock in" symmetrical coil windings, after pulling out all the slack in
the turns. Recalling these two facts made me convinced that a
collapsible,
fully symmetrical monster PVC loop could be designed that would easily
fit in
a compact car, for easy deployment anywhere a DXer wished to use it.
The project proceeded like a dream, and the first "Pipe Dream" 6 foot
(diagonal) collapsible PVC loop is now a reality. The system uses
silicone
rubber sealant on all four coil winding pipes, with two removable
spreader arms
and two removable coil winding pipes. The single remaining PVC pole of 6
feet (with the attached coil) can then be easily transported in a
compact
car, along with the removed parts.
Reassembly is a foolproof 30-second job, in which the spreader arms and
coil winding pipes are reinserted into their respective PVC fittings.
The
"Pipe Dream" Loop suddenly becomes remarkably rigid and symmetrical,
with gain
and nulling ability equal to a fully-glued 6' PVC loop. This size of
passive tuned loop antenna provides SERIOUS performance for any
receiver!
Of course, the design is not limited to the 6 foot dimension. The
collapsible PVC loops can be as large or as small as the DXer desires
(although 7
foot diagonal loops are probably the maximum size for compact car
owners).
Apartment and townhouse dwellers can use this collapsible monster loop
for
great DX at ocean beaches, state parks, or anywhere else they choose (it
will even fit inside a standard room, if your family can tolerate it).
Photos of the first "Pipe Dream" collapsible PVC loop have been
uploaded to the
"ultralightdx" Yahoo group site, and full construction information will
be
given in the upcoming PVC Loop article.
73, Gary DeBock
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