2m Horizontal Dipole Stack

Simple horizontally polarized antenna for 2m SSB. Two dipole stack 11 dBi at 5 degrees elevation (at 6m height). Build it in an afternoon..

Since I have an Icom IC-7100 in the shack which covers 2m and 70cm all modes, why not have a horizontally polarized antenna for some 2m SSB action? Most have Yagi's but with those comes the need for a rotator etc. This I built in an afternoon to try out with scrap items or stuff easily found at a hardware store - 75 ohm coax, some wire, screws, PCV tube etc.

An EZNEC model shows a horizontal dipole 6m / 20 ft above ground to have around 8 dBi gain with a bi-directional beam-width of 80 degrees, but it has a number of nearly equally strong high angle lobes which is a waste of energy going nowhere useful, and would also lower the SNR of desired signals.

I found stacking a second dipole 1m (1/2 wave length) above boosted the gain to 11.3 dBi and significantly reduced the overhead lobes. Feeding each dipole half way between with 75 ohm coax (0.5m each) resulted in a 44.4 J0 ohms match or an SWR of 1.12:1 where they meet in the middle, close enough for 50 ohm coax.

(not to scale)

Two dipole stack 6m / 20ft height above ground elevation plot

Two dipole stack 6m / 20ft height compared to a single dipole same height

Two dipole stack azimuth plot

Model file: 2m 2 Dipole Stack.

I built this antenna in a couple of hours using some scrap PVC tube for the vertical mast, copper wire out of scrap Romex cable, scrap 75 ohm RG-6, and some sheet metal screws and washers. I also put a pair of snap on ferrites at the feed-point of each dipole, and also over the 50 ohm line leading away at the lower dipole.

Seems to work alright, SWR meter in the IC-7100 reads 1:1 at the bottom of the 2m band, and rises slightly at the top/148 MHz.

On 440 MHz SWR around 1.6:1 works ok with the local FM repeaters.

Had a QSO with another station 20 miles away on 144.200, S9 each way. On the Comet GP-15 vertical which is a 2 x 5/8 on 2m they were S2.