Making Antennas

[High octane]

I don't see a part number on the package.  That Grandt Line has a lot of stuff.

I believe it would be #139, according to the  photo.

[StevenGuthmiller]

I have two builds almost done and they both need antennas. I just received 3 SS Tubes to try sticking the .009" Insect Pins I have. They were 21, 26 and 27 gauge. The middle tube below with insect pin in it is the winner ... it's barely larger than the pin. It's a 26 Gauge, 0.01825" OD, 0.01225" ID, 0.003" Wall. The 27 gauge on bottom has a smaller ID but the pin should fit, if I can get my eyes to focus.

The pins are labeled with their size and are from Indigo Instruments

I looked at those Grandt Line nuts and washers and they are pretty cool with the hole already in them. They are 4"

 diameter washers in 1/4 scale so would be 2" in 1/24 (1/2 scale). This just seems too large for the cars I need antennas but probably don't look that far out of scale on the table.

I'm waiting for some photos of antennas with that simple base before trying it. The

Photos of the bases earlier in the thread.

 

Steve

 

[StevenGuthmiller]

I don't see a part number on the package.  That Grandt Line has a lot of stuff.

Yes, #139 is the correct number.

 

Steve

[StevenGuthmiller]

Just threw together a quick mock-up of an antenna with the 22 gauge tubing, the .02" wire & the Grandt Line bases.

Looks pretty good, but I think that I might go a little thinner with the upper half piece of wire.

 

Steve

 

[StevenGuthmiller]

Just ordered some .015" wire for the top half.

I think it will look better.

 

Steve

[crazyjim]

Man.  How do you find all this stuff?

[StevenGuthmiller]

Man.  How do you find all this stuff?

It's easy.

Both Amazon & ebay carry all of it.

I might even go thinner on both the tubing & wire down the road.

If you need any help finding any of it, PM me.

I'll help hook you up.

 

Steve

[crazyjim]

Maybe I'm just to old to keep up.  I was happy when the 21 gauge tubing showed up and now there's more and more changes to make an antenna.  I used to be happy with cutoff pins.

[Foxer]

Just ordered some .015" wire for the top half.

I think it will look better.

 

Steve

I'm sure it will ... it's approaching the .009" pins I'm using. They look pretty big in the closeup photos I took. I need to stick one on a car with the 27 gauge tube for reference.

 

What do you use to cut the SS tubes without deforming them, Steve?

[modelercarl]

Man.  How do you find all this stuff?

Jim,

I just found this thread today and was blown away.. I never really thought about antennas but looking at these pictures I realized they do make a difference and checked my built models and only (3) of them have antennas, so I need about 20 more.

I ordered the Grandt Line nuts #139 on ebay...(40) for $6.89 incl S&H.  I ordered .02 dia. music wire from Newegg..(25) pieces 36' long for $6.16 incle S&H.  I ordered 21 gauge stainless steel tubing and 22 gauge S.S.T. each 36' long (1) each from Amazon for $20.08 incl S&H.  I know I have enough material to make great looking antennae for all my existing builds and lots of future ones.

[StevenGuthmiller]

Maybe I'm just to old to keep up.  I was happy when the 21 gauge tubing showed up and now there's more and more changes to make an antenna.  I used to be happy with cutoff pins.

You don't need to make any changes.

What you have will work just fine.

I'm just thinking the scale might look a little better if they're thinner.

 

I agree, it wasn't very long ago that I built these, but as they say, time marches on.

 

Steve

 

[StevenGuthmiller]

I'm sure it will ... it's approaching the .009" pins I'm using. They look pretty big in the closeup photos I took. I need to stick one on a car with the 27 gauge tube for reference.

 

What do you use to cut the SS tubes without deforming them, Steve?

The only thing that I don't like about the insect pins is the ball on the tip.

It's a little large for my taste.

I'll be working on adding something to the tip of the music wire.

 

I use a Dremel tool with a grinding wheel for cutting both the tubing & wire.

It works well for grinding the ends flat also.

 

Steve

 

[Foxer]

The only thing that I don't like about the insect pins is the ball on the tip.

It's a little large for my taste.

I'll be working on adding something to the tip of the music wire.

I use a Dremel tool with a grinding wheel for cutting both the tubing & wire.

It works well for grinding the ends flat also.

Steve

Cool, I was considering a cutting wheel.

The pin ball does scale to almost an inch diameter. It doesn't look as gross as a 1:1 with a one inch ball on it seems. eheh  I guess the same as that 2" washer base that looks ok in your pics. Sometimes scale exaggeration is needed to look right when getting this small.

Edited August 19, 2017 by Foxer

[Andrew D the Jolly Roger]

Fantastic ideas, thanks for all the postings!

I'm a musician/music teacher, and in the classroom I use a metal-stringed guitar, and the high "E" string (smallest) is what I use for antennae, although I haven't done any telescoping yet like seen here. The E string is finer than a lot of the fine wire I'm seeing mentioned, and I use it for CB antenae. Once a year at least I change my strings, and I'm still on the first string for my builds; lasts through a huge fleet of builds.

[StevenGuthmiller]

Fantastic ideas, thanks for all the postings!

I'm a musician/music teacher, and in the classroom I use a metal-stringed guitar, and the high "E" string (smallest) is what I use for antennae, although I haven't done any telescoping yet like seen here. The E string is finer than a lot of the fine wire I'm seeing mentioned, and I use it for CB antenae. Once a year at least I change my strings, and I'm still on the first string for my builds; lasts through a huge fleet of builds.

 

I've seen 50 ft rolls of music string on ebay for as little as $10.00!

Just don't think that I'll ever use that much!

The last stuff I purchase was from K&S.

5, 36" long pieces for a little under $5.00.

That should take care of me for the next 30 years!

 

Steve

[MrObsessive]

Yeah, I'm a #11 guitar string user when it comes to my antennas. It never seems to fail that once I get the antenna on, it's gets bumped against something (usually the model case trying to get it in), and I need something to be "springy".

That's stainless steel tubing for the first stage of the antenna.

And yes, I like antennas on my models to make them seem more "complete". Especially if there's a radio in the dash!

[High octane]

I use # 12 guitar string for my antennas, and sometimes when I handle the car I manage to stick myself with the antenna. OUCH!

[Foxer]

Yeah, I'm a #11 guitar string user when it comes to my antennas. It never seems to fail that once I get the antenna on, it's gets bumped against something (usually the model case trying to get it in), and I need something to be "springy".

That's stainless steel tubing for the first stage of the antenna.

And yes, I like antennas on my models to make them seem more "complete". Especially if there's a radio in the dash!

The Insect Strings I've been talking about here are "springy", which is one of the things I love about them. They are .009" diameter, slightly thinner than an E guitar string, which is .01". The size is virtually the same but the insect pin flexes. I can move an installed antenna a good half inch and it springs back to where it was. Using a tube for a sectional antenna will reduce the effective flex, I'm sure. I am trying this so should have something to say later. 

I know some object to the ball end but they can be cut off and another method used for the ball. Personally, I like how the insect pin ball relates to scale and looks good to my eye.

I like the look of your bases ... are they metal? The rubber grommets look great.

Edited August 20, 2017 by Foxer

[MrObsessive]

I like the look of your bases ... are they metal? The rubber grommets look great.

Mike, I make my bases out of K&S 1/16 X .014 Aluminum tubing. I place a piece of it in my Dremel Moto-Tool, and form it into a bit of a cone shape. The rubber base is just some plastic rod of a similar size that I drilled a hole in first for the stainless tubing, and then sliced thin and painted Model Master Engine Black for a rubber appearance. 

The whole works is then epoxied into a pre-drilled hole in the fender. BTW, one habit I've tried to get into when I know I'll be putting an antenna on, is to drill the hole for the body very early on, long before any painting. Nothing's more frustrating after you get the body painted, then you try to drill a hole, and the drill bit "skips" putting a scratch into your paint. 

I know one can mask around the drilled area, but I've had the drill bit skip past the masked area and put a nick in the paint anyway.  

[StevenGuthmiller]

BTW, one habit I've tried to get into when I know I'll be putting an antenna on, is to drill the hole for the body very early on, long before any painting. Nothing's more frustrating after you get the body painted, then you try to drill a hole, and the drill bit "skips" putting a scratch into your paint. 

I know one can mask around the drilled area, but I've had the drill bit skip past the masked area and put a nick in the paint anyway.  

That's a habit that I have started as well.

I do the same for mirrors if the base is large enough to accept a locator pin.

 

Steve

[High octane]

Mike, I make my bases out of K&S 1/16 X .014 Aluminum tubing. I place a piece of it in my Dremel Moto-Tool, and form it into a bit of a cone shape. The rubber base is just some plastic rod of a similar size that I drilled a hole in first for the stainless tubing, and then sliced thin and painted Model Master Engine Black for a rubber appearance. 

The whole works is then epoxied into a pre-drilled hole in the fender. BTW, one habit I've tried to get into when I know I'll be putting an antenna on, is to drill the hole for the body very early on, long before any painting. Nothing's more frustrating after you get the body painted, then you try to drill a hole, and the drill bit "skips" putting a scratch into your paint. 

I know one can mask around the drilled area, but I've had the drill bit skip past the masked area and put a nick in the paint anyway.  

Hmmm, I haven't encountered that problem as yet as I do my drilling after the body is painted, cleared, and polished. Guess I'd better start doing it before I paint. Thanks for the heads up.

[Foxer]

I've continued working on antennas for a couple builds using all the good into in this thread. I used insect antennas because I liked the look and they have considerable flex compared to other metals.

I did a three section antenna using the insect pin, inserted into two SS Hypodermic tubes as mentioned above in this thread. The tubes were 23 and 27 gauge. The thin black paint on the insect tube stripped off when inserting into the tube. A close fit but it looks so good. I have to redo the chrome pin finish on this. The base is a 1/16" aluminum tube finished as Bill Geary mentioned.

I don't mind the size of the Insect Pin ball, but others said it was too big. So I cut one off and dipped the end in some Bondic. Bondic has a high viscosity and it formed a tiny ball very well. I did do two dips, after curing the first, and it could do with only one. I really like this finishing touch.

The E guitar string is only .01" diameter and does look like the best to use if you have no Insect Pins, which are .009" diameter. You might have to use a 26, rather than 27 gauge tube to receive it.

Edited August 29, 2017 by Foxer

[StevenGuthmiller]

I've continued working on antennas for a couple builds using all the good into in this thread. I used insect antennas because I liked the look and they have considerable flex compared to other metals.

I did a three section antenna using the insect pin, inserted into two SS Hypodermic tubes as mentioned above in this thread. The tubes were 23 and 27 gauge. The thin black paint on the insect tube stripped off when inserting into the tube. A close fit but it looks so good. I have to redo the chrome pin finish on this. The base is a 1/16" aluminum tube finished as Bill Geary mentioned.

I don't mind the size of the Insect Pin ball, but others said it was too big. So I cut one off and dipped the end in some Bondic. Bondic has a high viscosity and it formed a tiny ball very well. I did do two dips, after curing the first, and it could do with only one. I really like this finishing touch.

The E guitar string is only .01" diameter and does look like the best to use if you have no Insect Pins, which are .009" diameter. You might have to use a 26, rather than 27 gauge tube to receive it.

Rather than paint, you could try polishing your pins with a fine polishing pad to bring out the shine.

The wire that I'm using has a darker "steel" finish as it comes.

But with minimum polishing, it shines up to a nearly chrome like finish.

If I get the time later on, I'm going to put together a test piece.

I'll post some pics of what I come up with.

 

Steve

 

 

[Foxer]

Rather than paint, you could try polishing your pins with a fine polishing pad to bring out the shine.

The wire that I'm using has a darker "steel" finish as it comes.

But with minimum polishing, it shines up to a nearly chrome like finish.

If I get the time later on, I'm going to put together a test piece.

I'll post some pics of what I come up with.

 

Steve

 

 

I thought about stripping the pins and polishing. Just the end will need the pen then.

I'll be looking forward to seeing your antennas.

[StevenGuthmiller]

Here's just  quick example I threw together in a few minutes.

I will take a little more time when I'm ready to make one to install on a model.

This is what I got using one of the Grandt Line bases, a piece of 22 gauge hypodermic tubing for the lower half, a piece of .015 wire for the upper & a dab of Laser Bond for the tip.

I think I'll pretty much stick with this.

I may do a little refinement on the base.

 

Steve