The Mystery Antenna

Found at a recent hamfest, the seller had no info and I can't find anything like it among currently sold antennas.  No markings other than a generic power line warning label. If anyone knows, please email me: kc2qfj at arrl dot net.

 


 

                                                        {Click on any image to enlarge}

Overall length:  9' 8 1/2"  3/4" tapering to 1/2" tubing; "plumber's delight" construction (all elements electrically connected)

Gamma rod: 3/8" x 8" spaced 1 1/2" from element

J-section stubs (my term for them- I've no idea what they're really called): 3/16" rod, 25" overall length, 12" single section, spaced 1 1/2"

The 4 radials were not included, so their length is my guess at 36"

Ground plane to 1st j-section feed point: 24 1/2"

1st to 2nd j-section feed point: 54 1/2"

2nd j to tip: 38"

 

Based on these dimensions, my guess is that it is some sort of 2 meter collinear, or possibly a 6 / 2 meter dual bander, but I don't have an SWR meter for 6, nor access to any sort of antenna analyzer. Testing on 2 meters showed a slight SWR dip at 146 MHz, but no adjustment of the gamma match yielded an SWR below 3.0. Changing the angle of the radials also did not help.

I reassembled the antenna based on the wear marks.  I couldn't tell if the j-sections should be on the same side of the main element as shown, or 180 degrees oppposed, but it made no apparent difference in SWR on 2 meters.