N2MH Information for Rovers

N2MH/R Photo Scrapbook - Tri-Cities Hamfest, Gray, Tennessee, October, 1999

Some views of the "Lighthouse Rover", N2MH/R, at the Rover Gathering at the Tri-Cities Hamfest in Gray, Tennessee, on October 16, 1999. There are also views of the three other Rovers who came to the hamfest and set up their stations:
N4OFA Photo
[N2MH assembling the 6 meter Moxon antenna]		 Karen and Mark, N2MH, assemble the 2-element 6 Meter Moxon Rectangle Antenna. The antenna is constructed from 3/4" aluminum angle stock.
The "Iwo Jima" shot... Mark, N2MH, and Karen placing the 2-element 6 Meter Moxon Rectangle Antenna mast into the tripod stand. To the right, on top of the Jeep, can be seen the 5 element yagi for 144 MHz, and the 8 element yagis for 222 and 432 MHz. N4OFA Photo
[Placing the Moxon antenna into its support]
N4OFA Photo
[The Moxon antenna is up and in the air]		 Success! The Moxon Rectangle is up and in the air! Notice the competition next door to the left.
Ooops... Need some more work! Stablilizing the 6m Moxon Rectangle. The parking lot had a slight slope and the antenna tended to tip over. Bracing it to a pole on top of the Jeep took care of the problem. N4OFA Photo
[Stabilizing the Moxon antenna]
N4OFA Photo
[TV ENG truck owned by KD4MYE] 		A used TV ENG truck can do wonders for a Rover! This vehicle belongs to Roger, KD4MYE. The 2m vertical is about 40 feet above the roof of the van. The rovers on either side look puny in comparison.....
How big is that thing really going to be??? N4OFA Photo
[Watching the TV ENG mast go up in the air]
N4OFA Photo
[Picture of Buttercup owned by KB4IDC]		 This is "Buttercup", the pride and joy of Robin Midgett, KB4IDC, one half of the NT4L Rover team. You should notice antennas covering 50 through 1296 MHz as well as a droopy dipole for HF.

As shown, the antennas are in their full upright position. When lowered, the mast telescopes together leaving about 6 inches spacing between antennas and providing enough clearance to go under overpasses, trees (mostly), etc.
A view of all four Rovers who attended and set up their wares. From the left, "Buttercup", NT4L/R, "Red Rover", N4OFA/R, KD4MYE/R, "The Lighthouse Rover", N2MH/R. N4OFA Photo
[Picture of Red Rover owned by N4OFA]
N4OFA Photo
[Picture of all 4 rovers who came to the hamfest]		 Another portrait of the four rovers who displayed their rigs.
Karen (YL of N2MH), Greg, KB4NVD, and another ham discuss various rover things. N4OFA Photo
[Karen, KB4NVD and one other ham chatting]
N4OFA Photo
[Karen, KB4IDC, and KB4NVD chatting 		Karen (YL of N2MH), Robin, KB4IDC, and Greg, KB4NVD discuss additional pressing Rover things.
Mike, N4OFA, in front of his "Red Rover". Red Rover covers 50 through 1296 MHz. N4OFA Photo
[Picture of N4OFA and his Red Rover]
K4AR Photo
[Picture of the Lighthouse Rover owned by N2MH]		 Another view of the "Lighthouse Rover", N2MH/R. All antennas are home-brew and are (from top to bottom):
  • A 6-Meter Moxon Rectangle
  • An 8-element "Elephant Gun" yagi for 432 MHz
  • An 8-element "Elephant Gun" yagi for 222 MHz
  • A 5-element shortened "Elephant Gun" for 144 MHz.

The 8-element yagis were measured at the Enfield, Connecticut, VHF conference on their Sunday morning antenna range to have 10.3 dBd of gain on their respective bands. K4VX originally designed the Elephant Gun yagi for 10 meters (where it was 55 feet long!). I took his design and his yagi software and scaled it for 222 and 432.

The Moxon Rectangle is constructed from 3/4" aluminium angle, 3/4" square lumber, and 1" PVC pipe, all from The Home Depot. Design ideas came from L.B. Cebik, W4RNL. The beams are constructed from 1x2 lumber and 1/4" copper tubing (straightened out), again from The Home Depot. The mast material is chain-link fence post tubing. The roof rack on the Jeep is made from 1x2 lumber and 3/4" square lumber. The 3" PVC pipes are used for transporting the wooden yagi booms and the 10 foot long masts. The tripod is a heavy-duty tripod stand from Radio Shack and was suitably reinforced to prevent sagging. Finally, the rotator is a Radio Shack TV rotator and is powered by an inverter in the Jeep.
[The Home Depot Logo] The Home Depot - my favorite antenna store!

Almost all materials for the beam antennas came from The Home Depot:

U-Bolts, rotator, and the foam wire for the gamma match came from Radio Shack.

This page last revised on September 7, 2000.
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