Bugcatcher Antenna Coil for Amateur Radio Version 1

cults3d

Please take a look at Version 2 of this design at https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/tool/bugcatcher-antenna-coil-for-amateur-radio-version-2. Version 2 is 4 turns per inch vs. 6 for this design. I also added a bottom support that allows the installation of banana plugs to make attachments to the coil a bit easier. Parts from Version 2 and this design are interchangeable so if you want 6 turns per inch from this design and the banana plugs from V2, the final assembly will still work. This version's coil inductance measures 80 uh vs 40 uh for Version 2. The supports are designed to slip over a 2 inch piece of PVC pipe and glued in place. Pipe fittings can be glued into the ends of the pipe to allow attachment to the antenna mast and whip. The coil supports are numbered on the ends and should be arranged counter-clockwise around the supports as viewed from the numbered ends. This will allow the coils to be wound in a nice spiral. The supports are 100mm in diameter (about 4 inches) and the assembled length will be around 150mm (about 6 inches). The spiral is 6 turns per inch and the grooves should accommodate 14 or 12 gauge wire. Here are the results from preliminary testing: I used 14 AWG bare copper wire, a 4 ft. mast and 4 ft. top section made from 1/2 copper pipe. The coil barely covers 80 meters by shorting out only 1 turn on the coil. 40 meters is tapped at about 1/3 of the coil. So far so good as I find the proper places to tap for the other bands. At the feed point of the antenna I used a 1 uh matching coil as detailed here: www.k0bg.com/match.html