This is the easiest antenna you will ever build. All you need is:
- speaker wire
- soldering iron and solder
- coax cable
- wire cutters.
This antenna will be used specifically for 2m (144-146mhz). If you have 10 minutes, go grab your material and lets get started.
Lets Build It
Start with two 20″ pieces of speaker wire. Strip off about 1″ to expose the speaker wire on both pieces of wire.
Grab the coax cable, strip off the jacket and peel back the outer braid.
Now, strip off the jacket from the inner conductor. Be careful not to cut off the inner conductor. Take the outer braid and twist it.You should have something that looks like this.
Solder the ends of the speaker wire to the coax. I would suggest to twist the coax cable and the speaker wire together and then solder. You want to do this with the other wire as well.
In order to hang your antenna, use some type of wire insulators. These will go on the end of your antenna. I ended up using some zip ties and make small loops. In the future I will show you how to obtain Antenna Insulators made in the USA practically for free in a future post.
That’s it. You can now connect it your radio, and try getting a signal report and see just how far your signal can get out.
Bonus Tips
- For best results, use an SWR meter and tune this antenna.
- Take some heat shrink or electrical tape and wrap the parts of the antenna that are soldered.
- Take some flat black or od green spray paint, and paint it to give it a “Stealthy” look.
- To hoist it up in tree, use small pieces of paracord or something similar with some zip ties.
You could essentially do this to the end of the dipoles for feild expedient antenna insulators.
The 2M Dipole Finished
Hopefully you guys will give this a try if you haven’t already. Come back again becuase I will show you how to make a Field Expedient Dipole in a Grid Down scenario. Be blessed.
Everyday Ready 
Are the measurements in cms or inches. For the speaker wire
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So, I’m assuming here. You took both the inner and outer braid of the first speaker wire, and soldered it to the inner conductor of the coax, and the inner and outer braid of the second wire, and soldered it to the outer braid of the coax? Sometimes, you have to state the obvious because people overlook it. 🙂
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Looking to build a dipole for my 11meter raido what length of speaker wire do I need to use.
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Divide the meters into 300 and this will give you the full wave length. Divide that in half and that will give you the half wave length. Cut the antenna wire exactly in half and and attach one end of your coax (the centre conductor) to one of the two wires then attach the braided portion of the coax to the other side. Attach the newly completed antenna to an SWR Meter and the SWR meter to your transceiver. Check the SWR and adjust the antenna accordingly. Have fun. Go to YouTube to see how to make a 1/2 Wave Dipole antenna. It explains it very well.
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Cool write up. But you didn’t show what to do on the radio side of the coax cable. Also, what length of coax cable did you use? Thanks for the info and dips!
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Time to reel em’ in boys. Thats to encourage people to ask questions. I used a coax that had a pl259 connector on it. I can plug that in directly to any mobile/base station radio or use an adapter and connect it to my handheld. The length of the coax was about 10ft maybe.
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You tricked me! I took the bait =( Thanks for the answers though!
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