Portable Antenna

I've used this antenna for Field Day and other portable applications. I've built them for all bands between 160 meters and 6 meters. You can make them easily using whatever wire you have available and make the insulators from scrap plastic. The original idea for this antenna comes from Eddie, K4UN. I pulled each antenna up into the air a few feet and then connected an MFJ269 analyzer through a short length of coax to trim each one to the desired operating frequency.

 
Click the small pictures to see an enlargement in a new window
 
The complete antenna and showing an extra center insulator. I built center insulators using both single hole mounted UHF connectors and BNC connectors. They both work equally well.
 
The center insulator was made using Kydex plastic but plexiglass or Lexan (polycarbonate) works fine. The connections between the stainless steel screws and the connectors are cut from thin brass and tinned.
 
Here you can see both the BNC and the UHF connectors.
 
Close-up of the connections.
 
These are the end insulators. I made mine from Lexan but use whatever you have. Note that I marked the edge of the insulators with the resonant frequency of the antenna.