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DIY Dipole Citizens Band

A dipole antenna may be constructed even inside a house or on heavily wooded property and will still pick up frequencies that can be heard using a citizen̵7;s band radio. A dipole antenna has two branches stretching perpendicular from a center cable. The total length of the branches is the size of one sound wave, or a fraction of that sound wave, such as one-fourth of a sound wave. The advantages of a homemade dipole antenna for ham radio use are it̵7;s made of inexpensive and easily found materials and it̵7;s relatively unobtrusive and mobile.

Things You'll Need

Aluminum pole, 212 inches
RG8X coaxial cable, 18 feet
Wire stripper
Soldering iron
Solder
Spade connectors, 2 male/female pairs
Liquid rubber
Heavy fishing line, 8 inches
Cable ties, 5 or more
Xacto knife
10- to 12-gauge copper wire, 2 pieces, each 106 inches long
Tape measure
1/4-inch diameter heat-shrink tubing, 3 inches
Nylon rope

Instructions

- 1
  Decide on the spot you̵7;d like to place the center of the antenna. Hang the 212-inch aluminum pole so it extends 106 inches to the left and 106 inches to the right of that center spot.
- 2
  Find the antenna end of the coaxial cable. Strip off a 3/4-inch long length of the cable̵7;s outer insulation as measured from the antenna end of the cable using the wire strippers.
- 3
  Find the shield and the center conductor inside the stripped area. Pull them apart. Twist the wire strands that make up the shield together so they̵7;re like one thick wire.
- 4
  Solder the male half of a spade connector pair onto the end of the shield. Solder the male half of the other spade connector pair onto the end of the center conductor. Crimp both connectors.
- 5
  Dip the coaxial cable into the liquid rubber at all the stripped and soldered parts at the antenna end of the cable. Allow the liquid rubber to dry completely. Peel the dried liquid rubber from the male spade connectors.
- 6
  Loop the fishing line in the middle and lay the loop on the floor. Place the soldered end of the coaxial cable on top of the loop, and arrange the loop so it extends roughly an inch or two past the soldered end of the cable. Secure the loop to the cable in that position using the cable ties.
- 7
  Strip a 1/2-inch of the outer insulation off one of the copper wires at the end of the wire. Measure 4 inches along the wire, starting from the stripped 1/2-inch piece at the end of the wire. Strip 3/4-inch of the outer insulation from the wire at that spot (roughly 4 inches from the end of the wire). Loop the stripped end of the wire up toward the rest of the wire so that exposed copper is next to the exposed copper wire 4 inches further up the wire. Secure it in place using a cable tie. Solder the exposed copper areas together.
- 8
  Cut the length of heat-shrink tubing in half. Slide each of the halves onto the soldered areas of the copper wire. Solder the female halves of the spade connector pairs onto the opposite ends of the copper wires (the ends that are not looped).
- 9
  Hang the coaxial cable, using the fishing line loop, so it̵7;s 10 feet above the floor. Touch the female halves of the connectors on the copper wires to the male halves of the connectors on the coaxial cable. Test the reception you get -- hold the wires in place when you are happy with the reception. Crimp the female connectors in place. Re-solder them, if necessary, to make sure they̵7;re secure.
- 10
  Stretch the copper wires to the aluminum pole so they extend along its entire length. Lash the wires to the pole using the nylon rope.

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