Building a simple, inexpensive Christmas Light Dipole Antenna.

 

Before you put away that bunch of tangled up Christmas Tree Lights, why not convert the wire to an easily-made 20 meter dipole antenna?

Chase (KI5IRE) shows us how his holiday light display became a fully functional, if unusual, backyard antenna.

If you can't see the video, please insert this title URL into your browser search box:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp9tYhhCkRw.

Here are some comments from Chase (KI5IRE):

Do mini Christmas light strands make a good HF antenna? Will they light up when you transmit? In this video, I built a 20m Christmas light dipole antenna using a strand of incandescent Christmas lights and then strung it up in my backyard and tested it on my Yaesu FT-891. I was a bit shocked by the performance! ⬇️You can build your own 20m Christmas Light Dipole with these items⬇️ PL-259 Connectors: https://amzn.to/479HgUw Terminal Rings: https://amzn.to/3tltVKM Incandescent Christmas Lights: https://amzn.to/3RKP2P1 Plastic Cutting Board: https://amzn.to/46ZL2Qc Music: https://artlist.io/ ⬇️GEAR I USE⬇️ 📻RADIOS📻 Yaesu FT-710 HF Radio (My Radio At Home): https://amzn.to/3RKO31h Yaesu FT-891 HF Radio (My Portable HF Radio): https://amzn.to/4aoDV6x Radioddity 25W VHF/UHF DMR Mobile Radio: https://amzn.to/3H53s7H Baofeng UV-5R 5W Handheld: https://amzn.to/3GJDF4r AnyTone 878UV II Plus: https://amzn.to/47XRcBn TYT MD-2019 5W Handheld (Discontinued): https://www.buytwowayradios.com/tyt-m... SharkRF OpenSpot 4 Pro: https://odoo.sharkrf.com/shop/srf-ose... Pi-Star Hotspot: https://amzn.to/3RIjOsW 📻COAX📻 ABR Industries 6 ft. RG-8X: https://amzn.to/48jC2Gv ABR Industries 25 ft. RG-8X: https://amzn.to/48nfgxF ABR Industries 50 ft. Ultra Flex 400: https://amzn.to/41oQxGM ABR Industries 75 ft. RG-8X: https://amzn.to/48hJCBu ABR Industries DX Starter Kit (3 ft. & 100 ft. RG-8X): https://amzn.to/4ahB1Rj 📻ACCESSORIES📻 $35 CW Key: https://amzn.to/3NqZgmb MFJ-929 Antenna Tuner: https://amzn.to/480U3JS 6 Pin Data Cable for the FT-891: https://amzn.to/3GKpGLP Cheap USB Sound Card: https://amzn.to/3RNTvSg 30 Amp BTech Power Supply: https://amzn.to/4apd8Y0 Fused Power Distribution Strip: https://amzn.to/476FdQS Powerwerx PWRbox MINI 10Ah: https://amzn.to/3RKIr8c Powerwerx Powerpoles: https://amzn.to/48ivqbA 🛠️TOOLS🛠️ Powerwerx TRIcrimp for Powerpoles: https://amzn.to/3uYe7y1 As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. #hamradio #hf #3916nets #cqsanta #santanet #hfradio #holiday #christmas #dx #mfj #mfjbigstick #amateurradio #ft8 #yaesu #yaesuft891 #mfj929 #btech #hamshack #youtubehams #pota #hamradio #amateurradio #christmaslightantenna

Chapters

Intro

0:00

Overview

0:21

Disassembly

1:17

Resonating

5:11

Backyard Setup

10:39

First Contact

11:52

SWR Sweep

16:12

Transcript

Follow along using the transcript.

KI5IRE Ham Radio

530 subscribers

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Thanks for joining us today.

Aloha es 73 de Russ (KH6JRM).