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Handmade Slim Jim Antenna's by N9TAX

Let me start by saying that since discovering the slim jim antenna design I have really come to respect these antennas. The design uses amatching system like a j-pole antenna. This is called the j integrated match (jim) the antenna itself is very slim hence the name Slim Jim.

Designs for these antennas date back to the early 1930's the best I can tell. I have found them in QST magazine as far back as the 1940's.

I started building these antennas and selling them because I saw no one else with a commercial product like this and I figured that I wouldhelp fill a gap. The antennas have become a great success thanks to a lot of hard work and some very dedicated customers. Before I getinto the specifics of the antennas I first want to thank everyone who has purchased or helped promote this wonderful product. Without

you none of this would be possible.

The basic Slim Jim is an end fed folded dipole. It has a radiation pattern peaking between 5 and 8 degrees above the horizon. It is thisand this alone that makes this one of the best terrestrial communications antennas I have ever seen for the price. The layout of the antenna

is as follows.

The top section is 1/2 wave the bottom is 1/4 wave matching section. The antenna is fed near the bottom and the feedpoint impedance is

50 ohms. Ladder line was an excellent choice for these antennas as it presented two well spaced parallel conductors and is virtuallyindestructable.

You can hang the antenna in many places. The only exception is near metal objects. They will interfere with the tuning and performanceof the antenna. Hanging it up against drywall or plaster as many people do will also affect the antenna but if this is your only option it will

still perform adequately. Open free space is the best of all options and as with all antennas will yield the best performance.

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Enter the Dual Band antenna.

After many requests for a dual band version of this antenna. I searched the internet and books high and low to no avail. I then beganresearch on what it would take to make this antenna perform well on 2m and 70cm. What I came up with was a trapped end fed folded

dipole. The antenna acts like a slim jim on 2m and a jpole on 70cm.

The secret formula I will leave for the history books. But this design yields excellent results compared to many other dual band antennas.The best I can tell there is no compromise to the performance on 2 meters in fact some claim it works better on 2 than the single bandvhf (I have yet to scientifically prove that). Some ask well dont j-poles resonate on the third harmonic of 145mhz anyway? First thisantenna is in the j-pole family but is not a true j-pole. Second J-poles will resonate on 440 without traps but realistically for lack of a

better term they suck. If anyone tries to sell you an un-modified j-pole and says it is a dual band antenna they are wrong they dont work, Ihave seen swr of 3:1 on unmodified j-poles on the 70cm band!

So what are my SWR's

Well I have a really nice meter that spits out some great charts to show the band sweeps on these antennas.Here is the 2m side.

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And the 440 plot

Just a little disclaimer here this plot was taken with N connectors throughout the system. Your mileage will vary a bit with otherconnectors. Dont get me wrong this antenna will perform fine with pl-259's but they do introduce impedance bumps at higher

frequencies.

The Bow

UPDATE 7/2/2012There have been a few customers lately that have broke their antennas by putting them in bow mounts under too much pressure. There

should be very little pressure in the antenna. This can be achieved a number of ways. 1st I always suggest the use of the thin (not sch 40)3/4" pvc. It is easier to bow and does not keep as much pressure on the antenna. The 2nd method is to pre-bend the bow. This can be

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3/4" pvc. It is easier to bow and does not keep as much pressure on the antenna. The 2nd method is to pre-bend the bow. This can beachieved by overbending the bow with string wire or rope and then putting it in the hot sun for a few days or using a heat gun to

permanently shape the plastic.

Here is a photo that one of my customers sent me about pre-bending the bow.

Original BOW info

One thing I get a lot of requests for is a way to rigidly mount this antenna for mast or tower mounting. Most people want to mount theantennas inside pvc. This makes them extremely hard to tune because the velocity factor of pvc is not predictable. I have developed a

solution that may not be the prettiest but is definitely usable. I call it the bow and anyone can build one. It consists of a piece of 3/4" pvcabout a 6" longer than the antenna two 90 degree elbows another foot of pvc and a few zip ties. Basically you drill holes in the ends of

the long piece of pvc and bow it to the length of the antenna and zip tie the ends to the holes you just made.

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Affix the elbows as on the bottom to bring the short piece parallel with the antenna and you have a rigid mount that will not interfere withthe antenna's tuning. Here is a photo of mine on my tower.

I'll tell you what that thing really talks up there I have worked repeaters over 100 miles away.

Introducing the flag mast

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It is kind of a bad photo but this is an atv flag pole with the antenna attached. This is still not the perfect answer to rigid mounting but it ispretty good. As you can see there is an SAE 1/2" stud with a nut and lockwasher at the bottom. This makes it very easy to come up witha mount for the antenna. You can also use a fishing pole the same way but if you want a permanent roof installation I would stay with the

flag mast. I purchased this mast at the local Honda ATV shop for $10.70

By punching hole pairs in the antenna like is done at the bottom to hold the coax in place we can get the fiberglass rod into the middle ofthe antenna where it can do the least amount of de-tuning to the antenna.

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the antenna where it can do the least amount of de-tuning to the antenna.

And now the bad news.....

Before (Antenna in open space) After (Antenna attached to flag mast)

As you can see we have lost our perfect tune to 146.52. This is not the end of the world as we still have a very good SWR on the entireband. As with everything in life there are tradeoffs. Lets look at 440.

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Before (Antenna in open space)After (Antenna attached to flag mast)

As you can see we have the same effect on 440. The antenna feels electrically longer as the mast has changed the velocity factor of theladder line. Still it is not that bad.

In conclusion, this is a workable mount for the antenna. Many of my customers want to purchase these antennas and putthem into PVC. I can understand as it is an inexpensive alternative to purchasing a $150 fiberglass dual band vertical

antenna. Please stay away from the insertion into PVC because if you think the rod has affected the antenna badly pvc hasabout 20X the affect. The bow remains the only non frequency altering method of roof mounting the antenna.

The antennas are available with an assorted connectors and with or without long coax cable.The VHF only antennas are custom tunable from 136 - 999 mhz at no extra charge. (Tuning from 88-136 are available with slight extra

charge for added material and shipping weight.) Antennas from 400-999 are made from 300 ohm ladder wire as they perform better withthe thinner wire.

Thank you for your interest in my antennas.

Joe N9TAX

The link below will take you to my webstore where you can buy one.