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Re: [IRCA] The "Pipe Dream" Traveling MW Monster Loop Antenna - a little OT
Gary,
Your mentioning of the psychedelic patterns from the "blue glue" gave me
an idea for the didgeridoo - tie-dying the pipe! That might be cool.
73,
Dave
-----Original Message-----
From: D1028Gary@xxxxxxx [mailto:D1028Gary@xxxxxxx]
Sent: Tuesday, May 05, 2009 12:10 PM
To: HASCALL, DAVID CIV DFAS; irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: The "Pipe Dream" Traveling MW Monster Loop Antenna - a
little OT
Hi Dave,
Thanks for your comments on the PVC loop experimentation, and when the
article comes out, I hope you will have fun building the size and design
of your choice.
Although I don't have any information on the painting of PVC pipe, I
have inadvertently made some weird psychedelic designs using too much of
the blue PVC glue in the fittings, when constructing the ten PVC loops.
That, plus the fairly stiff smell of the blue glue (which is for outdoor
use only), can almost make a DXer think he is back in the late 60's.
73, Gary
In a message dated 5/5/2009 8:09:47 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
DAVID.HASCALL@xxxxxxxx writes:
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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