Bugcatcher Antenna Coil for Amateur Radio Version 1

thingiverse

Please take a look at Version 2 of this design at https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4277687. Version 2 is 4 turns per inch, compared to 6 for this design. I also added a bottom support that makes it easier to attach coils by installing banana plugs. Parts from both versions are interchangeable, so if you want the higher turn count and banana plug features, the final assembly will still work. This version's coil inductance measures 80 uh versus 40 uh for Version 2. The supports are designed to slip over a 2 inch piece of PVC pipe and are glued in place. Pipe fittings can be added to the ends of the pipe to connect to an antenna mast or whip. The coil supports have numbers on the ends, which should be arranged counter-clockwise when viewed from the numbered ends. This will allow coils to be wound into a nice spiral pattern. The supports are 100mm in diameter (about 4 inches) and the assembled length is around 150mm (about 6 inches). The coil has a 6 turns per inch design, with grooves that 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 just covers 80 meters by shorting out only one turn on the coil. 40 meters is tapped at about one-third of the coil. So far so good as I find the right places to tap for other bands. At the feedpoint of the antenna, a 1 uh matching coil was used as detailed here: www.k0bg.com/match.html