Can I use an Antron 99 CB antenna as an omni directional 2 meter antenna?

[VE3FMC]

I apologize if I offended anyone with my boundless ignorance brought on by obtaining my "crackerjack" ham license in an unsuitable way. I did learn some things however about antennas from my studies. I learned that there are 2 meter vertical antennas that are around 1.2 meters in length. They consist of a vertical wire or radiator and a connector for coax. I also know that the antron 99 has such a connector on it and is sectioned into elements that might approximate that length. In my infinite ignorance, I assumed that one of these sections could be used perhaps in a shortened fashion to give me the desired result. I suppose I assumed that the people on this forum were going to be more helpful than critical. More of my ignorance. I find it interesting that some would charge that one not interested in spending great sums of money for their equipment are somehow less of a true ham than themselves and then offer suggestion on how to build "cheaply" a home made version of the antenna I am asking about. It seems that some would rather brag on their accomplishments than to offer a reasonable explanation of why my idea is so woefully ignorant as to raise the ire of the more fortunate "Elmers". In the future, I will post on the CB forums any questions I might have. They seem to be a more helpful bunch and their ivory towers not so difficult to ascend.

Hi Scott

Sorry you were offended by some of the comments. I knew as soon as I read your first post that the "OLD TIMER EXPERTS" would crawl out of the wood work and add some insults.

That is not what ham radio is all about. Offering sound advice to new hams is what should be happening. However that does not always happen. So do not run away, and sorry to say that the CB forums will not be much help when it comes to amateur radio antennas.

You can make some pretty simple and cheap antennas for two meters because they do not require a lot of material. A simple 1/4 wave ground plane can be made from a SO-239 and some solid copper wire. Can't make them much cheaper than that! The photo of the SO-239 posted earlier and the antenna built from it is an easy way to get started. If you have repeaters close by you will be able to access them with that antenna. Use some RG-213 coax to feed it with and get it as high as possible.

Google Two Meter Antennas and you will find an unlimited amount of reading on different antennas.

Amazon.com has some used ARRL antenna books listed for $18.99 plus shipping. So you can buy one of those for your library. Or maybe one of the "Old Timers" here has one they can offer you for free, just to help out a new ham.

Please do not be discouraged by some of the remarks here. The majority of the hams who post here are very helpful. For those were only offered insults, shame on you. Why not offer some helpful advice, or stay quiet.

73, Rick VE3FMC

[K6CPO]

I think that what this person needs is a ELMER - not internet advice.

Ever since we have started giving out licenses in Cracker Jack boxes - giving license exams and then hanging them out to dry, we have prospered in the number of licensed people in the USA - but the intelligence level has gone way down.

The Antron A99 kind of works like a 1/2 wave 10 meters antenna and can be tuned up - even with the internal antenna tuner in my Kenwood TS 590 to work on 10 / 11 / 12 / 15 and 17 - but is electrically too short for 20 meters.

A two meter antenna can be anything from a old repurposed low band scanner antenna to a discone antenna.. Will not match up perfectly on all bands, but will allow you to squawk a little on the local repeaters...

The feed line is the most important part.
Even if you could modify the Antron antenna - the loss in the coax would probably be so great, that most of what it receives would be lost in the coax and half or more of the power applied on 70 CM would be lost in the coax.

AMATEUR RADIO IS VERY EXPENSIVE AND IT REQUIRES NOT ONLY A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF EXPERTEESE - BUT ALSO A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF INVESTMENT IN BOTH TIME AND MONEY.
IF YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DO THE MININUM AMOUNT OF WORK NECESSARY AND SPEND THE MININUM AMOUNT OF MONEY NECESSARY TO GET ON THE AIR AND SOUND GOOD - YOU ARE NOT GOING TO GO VERY FAR WITH AMATEUR RADIO.

At some hamfests - there might be someone with a cross polarization - QUAD - beam antenna, for two meters, and they usually sell for somewhere in the neighborhood of about $50.00
About the same price as trying to build your own antenna - J Pole excluded.

A J Pole antenna is a experimental antenna, which is used to teach theory and will allow you to squawk into the local repeaters - but will not get you adequate range to talk DX.

Most two meter repeaters are buddy groups - although if you do it long enough and cross your T's and dot your I's - you might find that when there is band openings - you can talk on repeaters 100 - 200 miles away - even with just a cheap mobile radio - 50 watts, about 40' of elevation above ground level and a decent gain antenna - Diamond V 2000 is what I use, but the Diamond X500 is a better antenna as far as gain goes.

When the band opening does appear, a computer - to look up the PL from the call sign and a transceiver that can easily be changed from one PL to another is key to working short DX paths.

My furthest has been Florida, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennesee, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Michigan - from Punxsutawney PA / on FM - not single side band / with my Yaesu 8900R and the Diamond V2000 or the repurposed droopy ground plane 2 meter - scanner antenna which I started out with.

The key is to have every possible frequency programmed into your transceiver, and to have the transceiver turned on and the coax connected to the radio and antenna. The coax needs to be as low loss as possible.

There is no way to cheat and save a couple of dollars if you want to make it as a real ham radio operator and not just some hillbilly that talks on the one local repeater...

This is quite a statement, especially the highlighted portion, coming from someone that, according to the ULS, hasn't been licensed two years yet. I'm curious... Did your "crackerjack" license come in a box or the new bags?

I've been licensed just about as long as you and it's statements like yours that prevent me from asking questions on this forum. I find I get far more respect and better answers from the members of my local club.

[KH2G]

For wd3d - Not sure where you got your expertise but the J pole is far from experimental. They have been used for vhf/uhf work for many years and I have made and used them in various Ham and Commercial activities. Just a FYI I have been licensed amateur since 1953 and commercial 1957. I suspect that while always learning, I may have picked up on a few things. #1 being, if you've not tried it, don't knock it or the people trying to learn.
Regards,
KH2G (With a variety of ex . . .)

[KC9VFO]

Also..dont worry about your coax starting off, use whatever you have. Someday down the road you will want to fine tune your station and maybe have a high gain antenna with some low loss coax. But for now whatever coax you own is fine. I wish I had $5 bucks for every time some poster on the internet had to beat the coax horse to death. A few db either way is not going to prevent you from getting into your local repeaters or talking around town and beyond on simplex. If anything is annoying to new comers it is the whole coax loss internet cliche, run what you brung and have fun.

[K8JD]

There are two problems using a HF vertical on VHF; One is the matching problem and SWR losses, the 2nd is that a long vertical (over 5/8 wavelength) has lobes in the pattern that are "end fire" meaning most of the radiation would be upward and minimal at the horizon where you want it on VHF ! There are ways to beat this but would require a very extensive modification , basically segmenting the radiating element with phase reversal stubs. not worth the effort.
DO save this antenna to get on 10-M and work some DX band openings !

A Ground Plane antenna made of stiff wiire on a SO239 connector and pvc support would only take an hour to build, a few $ worth of parts and be very effective !

The "expert" that said ham radio is very expensive should have met me when I was a teenager with no $ and a desire to get on the air ! I worked all over the country with my $ 0.00, home made transmitter and a Xmas Gift SWL reciever !
Yes ham radio can be expensive for someone with no desire to put in effort and wants to "plug and play"
Good luck and learn as you have fun.

[KA9MOT]

Don't worry about old Jerry WD3D. That is his SOP. He's been kicked off every internet forum he has ever belonged to except maybe eHam. He is banned on this site under his old callsign AB3NK.

He won't be here long enough to create too many more problems.

[W3WN]

I have a used antron 99 up on a pole that I used to use when I talked on the CB radio. I need an omni directional 2 meter antenna for use at my home. Instead of buying a new antenna for $125 and taking the old CB antenna down and putting the new one up, can I use the antron 99 for a 2 meter antenna by a. either shortening it to a proper lenght (I don't know what that length would be), or b. using an antenna tuner. Or perhaps both? I do have a MFJ versa tuner II that I recently got for another application but I have not ever used it yet. Just thought of this idea last night and wondered if it might work--it could save me some time and money if it would. I would appreciate any input.
Thanks-
Scott KF5OUP

Hi Scott,

First off, if you're not a member of one of your local clubs, look into it. You'll usually find a lot of "up close & personal" assistance and a lot of good advice... and sometimes that extra pair of hands to help on these projects.

The Solarcon A99, aka the Antron A99, is a good antenna for it's intended purposes. I have one on my chain link fence, about 15 feet from the shack. (It could use a little more height, which is coming, but that's another story)

I would recommend against trying to shorten it to act as a 2 meter antenna. Lot of effort that will end up in a poorly operating antenna, for many of the technical reasons already indicated. To be honest, you'd be better off getting an SO-239 panel mount connector and soldering 19" of clothes hanger to the center, and 4 19" lengths of clothes hanger to each of the screw holes to act as counterpoise/ground plane.

Also, check online. You can find a lot of article about building a simple 2 meter antenna, my favorites being the "copper cactus" J-pole antennas out of copper tubing that you can get at a Lowes or Home Depot for about $20. Often you'll find those for sale "pre-made" at hamfests for about $20 - 25. Well worth it.

Keep the 99. You can tune it to work on 10 meters with very little difficulty (mine is set that way), and with the MFJ antenna tuner, you can get it to load on 12, 15 & 17 meters without too much difficulty. It will load on 20 & 30, but it's touchy -- and really too short for those bands, but it can be done.

Feel free to email or PM me if you have any other questions. Don't promise to have all the answers, but I'll do my best!

73, ron w3wn

[KJ6BSO]

I think that what this person needs is a ELMER - not internet advice.

Of course, since you've only been licensed since 2010, perhaps you shouldn't be the one to be talking about who got their ticket from a Cracker Jack box.

[KB2CRK]

Jerry talking about Ham radio being expensive (It does not have to be) and people needing an Elmer (Jerry really needs one).
And While on the subject of Cracker Jack box Licenses, Jerry, dont you have one of those????? I beleive you were banned here before under your old call sign for stirring up trouble and being down right nasty to anyone who disagreed with your point of view......
My first station was less than $80. and I talked around the world with the set up. I had to pass Morse code, did you Jerry? Stop giving bad advice to people and knock the crap off.

[W4PG]

Many Thanks for the information. I will scrap my plans for using the Antron on 2 meters. I think I will try to build one of the ones mentioned in one of the replies. I learned much today and it is appreciated.

I've actually used a metal coat hanger hooked to an SO-239, shown in a picture in an earlier post, cut to the correct length with the 4 downsloping radials cut from more coat hanger and it worked just fine! You can't get much less expensive than that!

..............Bob