Part 15 AM antenna
construction Base Loaded 3 Meter
Vertical Antenna
HOW
TO CONSTRUCT AN ANTENNA FOR 1700kHz
AM
Designed by electronics wizard Dr. Jack
Gittings, built by MLR
A simple animated gif file video
showing the construction process for the Manteca Magnum
Antenna is located HERE.

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Shopping List:
- (1) 4" Diameter 12" Length Schedule 40 Black PVC
pipe
- (1) Pound of #18 (18AWG) stranded and insulated
copper wire
- (1) PVC Pipe Cement (The blue stuff)
- (2) Flat 4" PVC End caps (not the rounded ones)
- (2) 7/16" threaded pipe mounts
- (2) 8" 7/16" heavy copper pipe threaded at each
end
- (1) Brass bolt long enough to go through the
7/16" heavy copper pipe
- (1) brass nut for the brass bolt
- (1) Hose clamp big enough to go around the antenna
mast
- (1) 9' ½" blue copper pipe (you can use red, but
it might bend in the wind)
- (1) Set of 2" mast mounts from Radio Shack
CONSTRUCTION:
- Starting about 2 ½" from the top of the PVC pipe,
wind the insulated wire 62 times tightly. Make sure
to leave about a foot of wire loose from the top.
- Drill a hole close to the starting point, and pass
the foot of wire through.
- Drill a hole near where you ended the winding, and
pass about a foot of wire through. (With both of
these, the closer to the beginning point you drill the
better as close as you can get without damaging the
insulation)
- Apply the PVC glue/cement to the wound wire
sealing it in. This should be completely weather
proofed.
- While the cement is drying, mount the threaded
pipe mounts to the flat PVC end caps.
- Apply the PVC cement to the inside and outside of
the bolts holding the pipe mounts to the end caps.
- Once the body of the coil is dry, cut any excess
length off of the bottom so that there is about 2 ½"
past the last turn of wire.
- Drill one hole in each end cap for the coil wire
to come through.
- Apply a liberal amount of PVC cement to the inside
of the end caps so that they will stay nice and snug
on the coil.
- Pull the wire through the hole in the end caps and
push the end caps down onto the coil as far as they
will go without squishing the coil wire.
- Place one of the 8" 7/16" threaded copper pipes
in the top pipe mount and screw in until its as
tight as it will go.
- Insert the 9' copper pipe into the 8" 7/16"
threaded copper pipe you just mounted.
- Drill a hole about halfway down the 8" threaded
pipe big enough for your brass bolt to fit through.
- Use whatever method you like to affix the wire
to the brass bolt so that it makes contact – cut off
any excess length from the wire.
- Insert the brass bolt and tighten the nut.
- Insert the 8" 7/16" threaded pipe you have left
into the bottom of the coil – this is your mount.
- Slide the hose clamp onto the mast
- File off any paint that may be at the top of the
mast 19) Mount the antenna to the mast using the 2"
mast mounts.
- Make contact with the mast using the wires
sticking out of the bottom. Use the hose clamp to
keep it in place.
- Don't forget to ground that mast to something
like a cold water spigot or a nice grounding plane.
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 Updating...
LPR Guy, Sep 16, 2012, 7:28 PM
LPR Guy, Sep 16, 2012, 7:29 PM
LPR Guy, Sep 16, 2012, 7:30 PM
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LPR Guy, Sep 16, 2012, 7:10 PM
LPR Guy, Sep 16, 2012, 7:27 PM
LPR Guy, Sep 16, 2012, 7:28 PM
LPR Guy, Sep 16, 2012, 7:26 PM
Ċ LPR Guy, Nov 10, 2015, 8:54 PM
LPR Guy, Sep 16, 2012, 7:30 PM
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