[DISCONTINUED]aluminium/steel rod dipole ham antenna

thingiverse

UPDATE 1: I'm Still Unsure About This Design, It's a Total Mess! It's huge, ugly, and completely lacks any reason for being triangular. And don't even get me started on how frustrating it is to adjust with so many screws. So, I decided to go for another design that's surprisingly simpler than this one. Here it is: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3877369 UPDATE 4: After a Year of Use, It Fell Off Due to Strong Winds I was shocked when the dipole antenna box fell off my roof due to strong winds after only a year of use! But fortunately, it landed safely and didn't sustain any damage. I simply reattached it and it's still working perfectly fine. The PET-G material has developed a yellowish tint, but it seems to be holding up okay. UPDATE 5: It Works Amazingly Well with My Cheap Chinese Radio I'm thrilled to report that my dipole antenna box is performing incredibly well with a cheap Chinese 5W radio! I'll soon measure the SWR to get a better idea of its performance. For now, it's been working flawlessly for about two weeks and has withstood various weather conditions without any issues. Dipole Antenna Box (Center Piece) for 2m and 70cm Bands I originally designed this box to use 8mm rods, but my local store only had 3/8" rods available. So, I modified the files to accommodate the new material. To connect the elements to the coax cable, I drilled a hole and passed the cables through. Feel free to come up with a better solution! I plan on adding a connector fitting soon to make it easier to remove from the coax. I used 3/4 inch PVC pipe for securing it to my roof. Keep in mind that this is an amateur design by someone who's still learning about ham radio and antennas, so be gentle with your suggestions. Materials needed: * 12x M3 screws * 2x 3/8" (or 8mm) aluminum/copper/stainless steel rods/tubes - 490mm long each (for 2m band) * 2x 3/8" (or 8mm) aluminum/copper/stainless steel rods/tubes - 170mm long each (for 70cm band) * 50ohm Coax Cable (mine is rgc58) * 3/4 PVC pipes * Solder, soldering iron, pliers, tape, and all the usual DIY gear...