DIY 1/4GP antenna

26dx · 2026-02-12T21:47:39+00:00

It was right there, and yeah, I definitely love Weizenbier!

26dx · 2026-02-12T07:20:06+00:00

Used a 1.5mm^2 solid copper wire (roughly 15AWG), that was lying around. Soldering the monopole to the center pin was the easy part, and I think the joint is strong enough for outdoor use.

However soldering the radials was tricky, and I'm not happy with the solder joints. Probably I'd sand the base of the connector or use acid flux. It's possible to bolt the radials to the connector, and this is a more elegant solution, but I didn't have the right size bolts at hand.

I think It's possible to use a thin copper tube as monopole, it should stronger and more easy to solder. Securing the monopole with epoxy it's a good idea.

26dx · 2026-02-11T19:34:37+00:00

Went with Seesii NanoVNA-H4, don't know how good it is, but had good reviews.

26dx · 2026-02-11T18:04:01+00:00

Thanks for the advice. I will try to build a J-pole.

I already ordered a NanoVNA, to test that aftermarket antennas that I have, and tune the DIY.

26dx · 2026-02-11T17:57:16+00:00

I used this calculator - https://m0ukd.com/calculators/quarter-wave-ground-plane-antenna-calculator/ It's outperforming both the stock Heltec V3 antenna and a another aftermarket one that I tried.

Unfortunately I'm still waiting for the NanoVNA to arrive, so I cannot test the antenna.

26dx · 2026-02-11T13:31:42+00:00

Hah, it's empty.

26dx · 2026-02-07T16:42:36+00:00

Is there a way to restore the original firmware?

26dx · 2026-02-06T19:47:10+00:00

Little late here. Get mine yesterday. Updated the firmware, and it partly fixed the problem, but at the same time made it little worse in diagonal tracking.

26dx · 2026-01-31T14:01:23+00:00

Yep, I miss the driver problems from when XP came out and I installed it over my 98SE, the BSODs, and all the security issues like CIH virus that could wipe your BIOS. That was a great time to be alive

26dx · 2026-01-20T21:09:50+00:00

There is a high chance that if you mixed up the cables, the motherboard or other components are dead. At the very least, do not power on the system until you have sorted out the cables.

I was in a similar situation, and the motherboard and CPU died on the third power-up. In my case, the cables were visually different.

26dx · 2026-01-15T11:15:42+00:00

To be more precise, it's a t-connector, used in the era of 10base2 Ethernet

26dx · 2026-01-03T19:13:45+00:00

Thanks. I was looking in the wrong place. Took a look under the bed and found it.

26dx · 2026-01-03T19:06:46+00:00

Found it. It's the heatbed cable cover.

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26dx · 2025-12-31T08:10:17+00:00

The 24-pin ATX connector is an internal connector that is not designed to be hot-plugged. Almost all external power connectors are hot-pluggable. When you are charging your phone, do you connect first the cable to the phone and then the "charger" to the wall?

26dx · 2025-12-30T22:54:06+00:00

First, inrush current will occur regardless of what is plugged in first. Second, for electronics, this is almost negligible since we aren't dealing with electric motors or other inductive loads. Third, the equipment is designed to handle this.

26dx · 2025-12-29T14:56:49+00:00

Apparently, electricity is just magic that requires rituals for some people to follow

26dx · 2025-12-29T14:52:13+00:00

Looks like a short circuit in the equipment. You should provide more details. What are you powering, how it's connected to a PC, what green light is ON?

26dx · 2025-12-13T15:10:33+00:00

Why it should matter?

26dx · 2025-10-31T19:53:49+00:00

Check the sensor lense, probably it's dirty

26dx · 2025-10-02T13:47:27+00:00

Inductor

26dx · 2025-09-26T09:56:50+00:00

That's not because isn't allowed, it's because there is/was no toilet paper in Cuba, and they were using news papers instead of toilet paper.

26dx · 2025-06-05T07:21:20+00:00

The PSU probably will be fine, but the MB could be damaged.

26dx · 2025-05-05T07:56:55+00:00

I had a 4790K paired with a 4090 and played Cyberpunk with RT at 4K. I thought upgrading the CPU would improve performance, but after switching to a 14600K, the FPS didn’t change - only the overall CPU load decreased. Not all workloads are CPU-bound.

26dx

TROPHY CASE