{"id":8091,"date":"2016-06-15T22:00:49","date_gmt":"2016-06-16T03:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sanantoniohams.org\/blog\/?p=8091"},"modified":"2016-06-15T22:15:08","modified_gmt":"2016-06-16T03:15:08","slug":"w2iks-ik-stic-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sanantoniohams.org\/blog\/?p=8091","title":{"rendered":"W2IK’s IK-STIC 2"},"content":{"rendered":"
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W2IK’s “IK-STIC 2”<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
DESIGNED BY BOB HEJL – W2IK<\/i><\/u><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
(PUBLISHED IN AUGUST 2004)<\/i><\/u><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
The “IK-STIC 2” is a vertical, all band, antenna that is over 25 feet tall yet\u00a0<\/span><\/u><\/b><\/span>weighs under 5 pounds\u00a0<\/span><\/u><\/b><\/span>!<\/u><\/b><\/span>Using a tuner it can easily cover the amateur radio HF bands from 40 – 10 Meters.\u00a0<\/span><\/u><\/b><\/span>\u00a0<\/b><\/span>No unsightly\u00a0<\/span><\/u><\/b><\/span>wires as the radiating wire is inside the telescoping mast!<\/u><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
TO CONSTRUCT THIS ANTENNA YOU NEED:<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
ONE\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span>SD-20 Telescoping mast (WorldRadio sells these)<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
ONE<\/b><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/b><\/span>6 foot section of 1 1\/2 inch PVC Pipe<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
50 feet\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span>of 20 or 22 gauge STRANDED, INSULATED Wire<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
ONE\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span>SO-239 Barrel Connector with washers and Nuts<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
ONE\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span>male and female push on connectors (see photos)<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
TWO<\/b><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Large (6 inch) Hose clamps (see photos)<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Electrical Tape, Epoxy, Duct tape and asst. hardware.<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n

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ANTENNA CONSTRUCTION<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

FITTING THE INTERNAL ANTENNA WIRE INSIDE THE <\/i><\/u><\/b><\/span>TELESCOPING MAST:<\/i><\/u><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
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Take the SD-20 telescoping mast and remove the bottom cap by unscrewing it.<\/i><\/span>Looking in you will see the sections nestled in place. Remove the rubber plug<\/i><\/span>from the next to thinnest section so now all the sections are “open”. \u00a0Carefully<\/i><\/span>take a 21 foot piece of 20 gauge, stranded, insulated wire and tie a very small<\/i><\/span>knot at the end. Take the knotted end and insert it into the smallest section of<\/i><\/span>the telescoping mast and using a straight wire made from a coat hanger, shove<\/i><\/span>the stranded wire into the section as far as it can go. Then take a small amount<\/i><\/span>of epoxy and glue the wire into place so it can’t be removed from the top section.<\/i><\/span>SLOWLY telescope out the entire mast, making sure that the wire slides inside<\/i><\/span>easily. When the mast is fully extended you will have almost 20 feet of wire<\/i><\/span>inside. Leave about 5 inches after the mast is fully extended and cut the wire.<\/i><\/span>This will leave a 5 inch “play” to connect the wire at the bottom. Now<\/i><\/span>CAREFULLY drill a small hole in the rubber base of the mast pointing out<\/i><\/span>SIDEWAYS. \u00a0Epoxy a push on connector into the hole. Solder another 4 inch<\/i><\/span>piece of that same stranded wire onto the connector on the INSIDE. On the<\/i><\/span>bottom cap of the mast, drill a hole that will allow you to half way insert, and<\/i><\/span>tightly secure, that SO-239 barrel connector. \u00a0Carefully epoxy it on the inside of<\/i><\/span>the cap so it won’t loosen. Next, solder the long wire that is in the mast onto the<\/i><\/span>inner part of the SO-239 connector. \u00a0Solder the wire from the push on terminal to<\/i><\/span>the outer section of the SO-239 connector. \u00a0Take the cap and give it about 7 <\/i><\/span>COUNTER CLOCK WISE turns so the two wires are twisted. This way, when you<\/i><\/span>screw the cap on, the wires will untwist in the mast. \u00a0Tighten the end cap, but do<\/i><\/span>not glue it.<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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WINDING THE PVC COIL SECTION:<\/i><\/u><\/span><\/div>\n
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Next take 25 feet of that same stranded wire and start to wrap it around the 1<\/i><\/span>1\/2″ PVC pipe at a point 14 inches from one end. (This becomes the top end.) <\/i><\/span>MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE 8 inches of “free wire” before you start the coil wrap.<\/i><\/span>Slowly wind the wire around the PVC pipe creating a coil, leaving a spacing of 1<\/i><\/span>1\/2 – 2 inches from each turn. As you wind it down the pipe, you may wish to<\/i><\/span>secure it every so often with electrical tape. The winding does not have to be <\/i><\/span>exact, but keep it as evenly spaced as you can. One foot before the bottom,<\/i><\/span>create a tight wrap of the wire, leaving no gaps on the turns. At the end, tape the<\/i><\/span>wire to the PVC pipe. When you are done,\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>wrap the entire coil in electrical tape <\/i><\/u><\/span>so the coil stays in place. On the top end, solder a mating end of a push on<\/i><\/span>connector so it can plug into the mast’s side connector.<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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Wrap several turns of Duct Tape to the very top of the PVC mast. This will serve<\/i><\/span>to offset the taper in the telescoping mast when it gets mounted to the PVC pipe.<\/i><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0Using two adjustable hose clamps, carefully mount the very bottom of the<\/i><\/span>telescoping mast to the top one foot of the PVC pipe. DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN.<\/i><\/span>\u00a0It takes very little compression to keep the mast in place. When you have done\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>this, you can extend the mast out it’s entire 20 foot length. To keep the entire\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>antenna up-right, slip it over a 4 foot section of appropriate thin wall steel tubing\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>that has been pounded in the ground about one foot. The lower coiled section of\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>the antenna on the PVC pipe will then be slightly “ground coupled”. This helps\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>with the antenna’s operation on 30 and 40 meters. \u00a0Plug in the lower coil (The\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>PVC pipe) into the male \u00a0connector on the side of the telescoping mast. The\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>SO-239 connector is where you screw in your coax cable to your radio. Make a\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>few windings of whatever coax you are using at the connector point and tape them<\/i><\/span>\u00a0tightly together to prevent RF from returning on the coax shield. Connect the\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>other end of the cable to your tuner and you are all set to go !!.<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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IMPORTANT: When you attach your coax to the antenna, make sure that the<\/i><\/span>\u00a0cable is dressed away and at as close to a right angle from the coil base for\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>at least 5 feet and NOT down along it’s windings. Doing this will help <\/i><\/span>prevent RF emitted from the coil from being radiated back on the\u00a0coax shield\u00a0<\/i><\/span>and also will prevent “RF bites” at your radio point….ouch! \u00a0The <\/i><\/span>pictures are merely for display and\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>do not\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/u><\/span>indicate the coax properly run.<\/i><\/span>This step is very important in it’s proper operation. Keep the coax away <\/i><\/span>from the coil assembly!<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
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\u00a0To dis-assemble the antenna, just remove the coax, loosen the hose clamps <\/i><\/span>and take down the mast after unplugging the PVC coil plug. \u00a0CAREFULLY retract<\/i><\/span>\u00a0the mast and the internal wire should slowly coil down into the masting. DO NOT\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>FORCE THE SECTIONS. A few gentle jiggles and a twist or two will do the trick.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>After several uses it will be easier to retract the sections as the internal wire will\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>have “memorized” how to coil up. You can even store the telescoping mast in the<\/i><\/span>\u00a0PVC pipe by making a small slot at the bottom of the PVC tube to<\/i><\/span>accommodate the connector that is on the side of the telescoping mast . \u00a0 The<\/i><\/span>antenna is very simple, light and works well when tuned properly. My first contact\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>was on 15 meters when I spoke to\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>Siberia<\/i><\/u><\/span>. I have used it on all the bands it\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>covers and have also made an adapter so it mounts on the ball hitch of my truck.<\/i><\/span>\u00a0This is great when you are parked and can’t make a hole in the ground. (<\/i><\/span>NOTE<\/i><\/u><\/span>:\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>If you wish to make an “IK-STIC 2” that covers 160-10 meters with a tuner, use a<\/i><\/span>\u00a0<\/i><\/span>7 FOOT PVC PIPE<\/i><\/u><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0instead of the 6 ft. PVC and coil \u00a0<\/i><\/span>35<\/i><\/u><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>feet of wire around it\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>using\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>1 inch\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/u><\/span>spacing between wraps and two feet near the end increase the\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>spacing until you run out of the wire and the end of the coil wrap is four – six<\/i><\/span>inches from the bottom of the PVC pipe. Any longer coil winding that this will<\/i><\/span>make it difficult to tune the antenna on 10 meters.) (Use the rest of the antenna<\/i><\/span>building dimensions as outlined above.)<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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A SPECIAL NOTE: IF YOU ARE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THIS ANTENNA<\/i><\/u><\/b><\/span>IT CAN USUALLY BE TRACED TO THE FACT THAT WHEN YOU BUILT IT,<\/i><\/u><\/b><\/span>YOUR INTERNAL WIRES TO THE CONNECTOR WERE EITHER NOT FULLY<\/i><\/u><\/b><\/span>\u00a0UNTWISTED OR YOU ALLOWED TOO MANY TURNS SO IT UNTWISTED<\/i><\/u><\/b><\/span>THEN \u00a0TWISTED BACK. MAKE SURE YOU DO AN ACCURATE COUNT SO<\/i><\/u><\/b><\/span>THE TWO WIRES ARE NOT TWISTED \u00a0IF NOT THE WIRES WILL BE<\/i><\/u><\/b><\/span>COUPLED AND THE ANTENNA WILL NOT WORK PROPERLY.<\/i><\/u><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
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AN ADDITIONAL QUICKIE MODIFICATION:<\/i><\/u><\/span><\/div>\n
Epoxy two 1 1\/4 inch thin wall PVC sleeves to the lower section of the <\/i><\/u><\/span>telescoping mast so they will prevent the telescoping mast from being<\/i><\/u><\/span>crushed by “over exuberant” tightening of the two hose clamps that hold<\/i><\/u><\/span>\u00a0the telescoping section to the other (coil) section.<\/i><\/u><\/span><\/div>\n
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REMEMBER…. it’s called the “IK-STIC 2” \u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
Designed by Bob Hejl – W2IK<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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This antenna has been used at Field Day operations, Special<\/i><\/span>Events Stations, JOTA Events and County Activations with great<\/i><\/span>results.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n

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W2IK’s “IK-STIC 2” DESIGNED BY BOB HEJL – W2IK (PUBLISHED IN AUGUST 2004) The “IK-STIC 2” is a vertical, all band, antenna that is over 25 feet tall yet\u00a0weighs under 5 pounds\u00a0!Using a tuner it can easily cover the amateur radio HF bands from 40 – 10 Meters.\u00a0\u00a0No unsightly\u00a0wires as the radiating wire is inside […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[22,10,349,737,4,14],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sanantoniohams.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8091"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sanantoniohams.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sanantoniohams.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sanantoniohams.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sanantoniohams.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8091"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/sanantoniohams.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8095,"href":"http:\/\/sanantoniohams.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8091\/revisions\/8095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sanantoniohams.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sanantoniohams.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sanantoniohams.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}