- For just a few cents
you can turn your Shark HF Stick into a multi-band antenna.
Keep watching and I'm gonna show you how.
(upbeat music)
Hi, I'm Michael, KB9VBR,
and I'm on a mission to inspire and educate
the amateur radio community.
And today, I'm gonna show you an easy and inexpensive way
to get multiple bands out of your Shark HF Stick antennas.
Now, I've been using the Shark HF Sticks
for a couple of years now
and they're my preferred antenna
for wintertime portable operations,
as I can set them up
and get them on the air with a minimum of fuss.
Once the whips are set for your chosen frequency,
there really isn't a whole lot you have to do.
Just, you know, screw the two pieces together,
slap on a magnet mount to the roof of your vehicle,
you're pretty much on the air.
But they do have a bit of a downside,
the 40 and 80 meter sticks are pretty narrow banded,
so you're gonna have to pick and choose
what frequencies you're gonna want to use,
if you're gonna be on the phone,
or the data and CW portions of the bands.
The sticks are also mono banded,
so you need a separate antenna
for each band you wish to operate.
But today, I'm gonna show you a simple trick
that can extend your bandwidth or give you multiple bands
to operate on with a single stick.
Now, Dave, KZ9V, shared the simple trick with me.
Dave's always one to find a frugal solution to a problem,
so I'm glad I'm able to share his simple method
with you here, today.
When we look at the Shark Sticks,
they comprise the two components,
the fiberglass section
with a wire wrapped around it into a coil,
and the steel whip.
The base creates a set amount of inductance
for the band that you want to operate on
and the whip here can be adjusted somewhat
for the chosen operating frequency
within that particular band.
Now, thinking about that,
Dave had the idea that,
well, maybe if we increase the length of the whip,
we can make this antenna resonate on other bands.
It's simple enough.
So with a bit of trial and error,
he came up with the lengths necessary
to turn the 10 meter Shark Stick into a 12 meter antenna
and a 15 meter Shark Stick into a 17 meter antenna.
To do this, all you need is a stiff piece of wire
and an alligator clip.
To make the whip extenders,
you need alligator clips and solid wire.
Dave uses 14 gauge solid, and I prefer the 12 gauge solid.
Both the clips and the wire are available
at your local home improvement store.
You'll also need wire cutters, ruler, and a soldering iron.
To make the 10 meter Shark Stick
resonate on the 12 meter band,
you'll need approximately 12 and a half inches of wire.
To use the 15 meter antenna on the 17 meter band,
use about 15 and a half inches of wire.
Remove the insulation from the end of the wire
and solder it to the alligator clip.
There's no need to remove all of the insulation,
just the bit for soldering is enough.
You can then crimp the wire to the alligator clip,
but I find soldering it a little bit more durable.
Now, these lengths are approximate
and they'll really depend
on the tuning lengths of the whips.
You may need a little less or a little more,
it just depends.
Using an antenna analyzer,
it will help you find that sweet spot
for the particular setup.
For example, initially,
the extender to get onto the 17 meter band
needed to be 15 and a half inches long.
Well, I found out from my 15 meter Shark Stick,
I needed 17 inches of extension, total,
to get down into the 17 meter band.
So the numbers are approximate,
just a starting point for your own whip extender.
Maybe cut 'em a little bit long when you start out,
and then when you're trimming them to tune 'em up,
you can just trim 'em back down.
You can also use the extender for other bands.
For example, you can make an extender
to use the 20 meter whip on the 30 meter band.
Or you can make an extender
so you can initially tune your Shark Stick
on the phone portion of the band,
and then use the extension to bring that stick down
to the 40 meter data and CW portion.
Same with the 75 meter whip,
if you tune that antenna to the phone portion of the band,
your 12 inch whip,
that extension that you made for your 10 meter antenna,
will drop the resonant point down
to the data and the CW portion of the 80 meter band.
So for a couple of bucks,
we've added four more bands and extended the bandwidth
of our Shark Stick antennas.
Which is a great deal
if you're like me and bought that five pack.
This little trick adds so much versatility
to your existing antennas.
Well, how do they work?
Well, last month I tested the 17 meter extender
on my 15 meter Shark Stick.
I had no problems making contacts
during a Parks on the Air activation
and received excellent signal reports
all around on the 17 meter band.
As for downsides,
well, the only thing that I can think of
is that these little alligator clips,
you know, they're not the strongest,
so they may pop off in windy situations.
You also certainly won't be able to drive with them.
Or if you take your Shark Sticks mobile,
this solution is intended for stationary operation only.
Well, there you have it.
Are you a Shark Stick user?
What tips do you have for these amazing antennas?
Leave your comments or questions down below
and if you like this video and wanna see more like it,
hit Like and Subscribe.
That's my indicator
to produce more of these types of videos.
But that's it for this time.
I'm Michael, KB9VBR.
Have a great day, and 73.