To free up the buddipole for HF, I wanted a 2M antenna for the ICOM 2200-H I could use with ease. I investigated making a copper J-Pole, or Super J-Pole to be more precise, to increase the gain and range. Having worked out the costs, which after equipment, tools and consumables came to almost £100 !

With that I took to the internet to search for an alternative and found the MOONRAKER WTZ-270 J POLE ANTENNA for £37.98p (including shipping & VAT). So I already have the coax/connectors and a flag pole for hoisting it up on.

First job was to check the S.W.R. (I punctuate S.W.R where I can after I got caught saying SWR rather the short for acroynm – I’m not on 27Mhz here ;). I connected up my analyzer, and sure enough right in the 2M and 70cm a stunning reading of 1.3 SNR.

The flag pole has a decent plastic top, so I bolted the antenna to that, giving it isolation from the aliminum pole.

Now I quite forget how tall this flag pole was, but its a heck lot talller than my buddipole is, so I made sure that the weights were securing it. For the moment this was ok as I was supervising and it wasnt windy. I gave the mast a really good tug and with my weight it wasnt falling over anytime soon. The antennas weight with the bracket was very light, so no concerns there.

With that I headed in to my trusty Icom and started going around the local repeaters. I was not disappointed ! Immediatly stronger signals and clearer reception. A tried all the local repeaters and gateways, no problems there… So i thought, time to really test how far I could get on 10W, and tapped in the Southampton Repeater… amazingly it worked ! I got someone on /M and we could both make each other out, whilst not 5/9’s it was good enough and the furthest I had ever got on 2M and 10W – I think height and the antenna really done well.

So forecast for the weather in the UK this weekend is for high gales, and whilst I the mast & antenna are a good distance away from the public and buildings, i thought why risk it, and have taken it completely down tonight.

Good news is that will mean pictures for the next post, and maybe even a video – especially if I can reach Southampton again on 10W which is a good 30+ miles away and with some big hills between us.