How To Build A Portable 6 Meter Full Wave Loop For POTA / SOTA Activations

Like I said earlier, I chose to use the diamond configuration because you only need one support at the apex. To keep the loop in a diamond shape, I used two orange fiberglass driveway markers that you can pick up at the hardware store. I cut them each down to a length of 39 1/2 inches. By the way, use a hacksaw to cut them. Cutting fiberglass with any kind of wood saw will dull it before you finish cutting the fiberglass.

After you have cut the fiberglass poles I highly recommend taking some super glue and generously coating the cut end with it. Its real easy for the loose fibers at the end to get lodged in your hand – which is very painful!

Next I took a piece of scrap 3/4 inch thick wood and cut it 5″ long and 1″ wide and then drilled a 5/16″ hole 1 inch deep on each end of the wood. The holes are for sliding the rods into and the wood will be in the center of the loop.

Here is a photo of the piece of wood with the fiberglass poles inserted in each end.

You can also see that I have attached two velcro strips to the center of the wood block. this way I can strap it to the pole which helps keep this block from sliding down the pole and causing the loop to sag.

To attach the ends of the spreaders to the sides of the loop, I took the nock off the rear end of an arrow and attached it to the end of the rod that will support the wire. I happened to have a couple of arrows that were given to me so I already had some. You can probably get them at a sports store or if you know someone with some old arrows they don’t want anymore. To remove the nock, just grab it with a pair of pliers and twist & pull. They can be a bit tight, but they will come off.

Here is a photo of the end of the fiberglass spreader that shows the nock. To attach it to the rod, I just used heat shrink and then slid the cut ends of zip ties parallel with the rod inside the heat shrink. Then apply heat to shrink. Finally I added two zip ties around the outside. one to the nock, and the other to the rod.

In order to hold the nock at the right spot on the wire, I tied a knot for it to sit on. This point isn’t critical, so just measure down 1/4 the distance of the total wire length from the top and tie the knot. Do this before you proceed to the next step.

At the bottom, I took an SO-239 connector and soldered one end of the wire to the center, and the other end of the wire to one of its mounting holes as shown below:

Here is a photo of the loop fully assembled and about 20 feet above the ground. If you are planning on using a spiderbeam like I do I wouldn’t go much higher. If its even slightly windy, I would go lower. Its not easy to see the wires, but if you look closely, they are there.

The SWR is 1.2 to 1 at resonance. The maximum radiation is bi-directional perpendicular to the plane of the loop. For a quick and easy POTA activation on 6 meters, I am pleased with the results. Hope to catch you on 6 someday!

73’s WB8ERJ

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