2 meter temporary beam
This four-element beam for 2 meters was installed on six stacked 5-foot TV antenna mast sections for the VHF contest. I don't have a permanent 2-meter beam yet. This was adequate for making contacts out to about 150 miles. The antenna was fed with about 125 feet of RG-8/U which dissipated 2/3 of the power. I measured 5 watts going into the line with a Bird Thruline wattmeter, which read 1.3 watts at the antenna. Rotation of the antenna was accomplished via the Armstrong method.
I recovered the antenna from the "trash" when it was taken down from a commercial installation and retuned it to the low end of 2. During testing prior to installation, the antenna fell over and the front director got bent. Trying to straighten it, the corroded aluminum sheared off, so I replaced the director with a straightened piece of 1/4 inch copper tubing such as is used for a refrigerator water supply.
