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How to Make an 11 Meter Dipole

If you are a CB radio enthusiast interested in using your CB set at home, a homemade dipole is an efficient and straightforward antenna design to build. The common dipole antenna is constructed of two equal lengths of horizontal wire connected at a center feed line, forming a T shape. The antenna transmits signals from two directions, perpendicular to the orientation of the wires, and is called a dipole for this reason.

Things You'll Need

Speaker wire, 16-gauge, 9 feet long
Coaxial cable, 50-ohm with connectors, 10 to 20 feet long
Terminal strip, 2-position, dual-row
Wire-stripping tool
Utility knife
Screwdriver
2 Ring terminal lugs, 16-gauge
Pliers
Fishing line

Instructions

- 1
  Separate the speaker wire into two 9-foot lengths. Measure and cut each wire to 8 5/8 inches long. Strip 1/2 inch of insulation from one end of each wire.
- 2
  Cut the connector from one end of the coaxial cable. Remove 1 inch of insulation from this end. Slice down the side of the braided sheath, and twist the braid into a wire. Strip 1/2 inch of plastic insulation from the inner copper wire.
- 3
  Orient the terminal strip with the rows vertical. Attach the exposed end of each speaker wire to an upper screw. Connect the twisted braid and coaxial copper wire each to a lower screw.
- 4
  Crimp ring terminals to the free ends of the speaker wires. Spread the speaker wires out to form the top of a T. Hang the wires taut, using fishing line tied to the ring terminals.
- 5
  Connect the free end of the coaxial cable to the external antenna jack of the CB radio.

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