The Hicks/Moulder "Thunderbugle"
Broadband Windom Antenna
-- Copyright ©2005 Leamon Hicks (KD4KKR) and Richard Moulder (W4OXY)

Let's start with a little history of how this project got started.

The author's name is Dick Moulder and his call sign is W4OXY. He got into a discussion with a very good friend, Leamon Hicks, whose call sign is KD4KKR. Dick has been building all types of antennas since1955 and Leamon wanted an antenna that would cover the 80 and 40 meter bands. Dick thought that one over and suggested they build a Windom antenna, which is an off-center-fed dipole that would cover all bands seeing that they were harmonically related. Leamon said it sounded good, so construction started.

Dick and Leamon originally built the antenna using a single wire configuration, but it was pretty narrow-banded. Years ago Dick had built a 160 meter sloper that used 8 conductors in a cage configuration with a very low SWR from 1.8 to 2.0 MHz. He was pretty sure that it would work just as well with the Windom. Cage dipoles and verticals have been used since Marconi’s time. In fact, Marconi used one for the world’s first Trans-Atlantic communications.

It’s a proven fact that if you increase the diameter of a conductor, it becomes more Low Q. By doing this, it becomes more Broadbanded versus frequency. Effectively, by making an antenna in a cage configuration you have electrically increased its diameter. When Dick thought about this, that’s when he suggested to Leamon that they make the Windom into a cage design. He agreed and they built one using 8 wires with 8-in. diameter rings. It worked great, but the bandwidth didn’t quite satisfy them, so they built another using 12 wires with 20-in. diameter rings. Bingo! They had just built what they were looking for.

The finished antenna is about 133’ 6” long. It’s suspended about 45’ from the ground, but any height from 30’ to 50’ should be acceptable. If you have a space problem, you can let the ends droop to form an Inverted VEE as long as you don’t exceed a 45 degree droop from horizontal. You can also bend it in the middle. All locations will yield slightly different results, and any changes you make will change its characteristics. In other words, you’ll probably have to peak and tweak to get it to perform to your satisfaction.

About a month after Dick and Leamon had finished construction, there was an article published in QST entitled “Back To The Past”. It seems that the ARRL station, W1AW was having trouble changing frequency with their single wire dipole so that visiting hams could use the station. Their solid state finals either reduced power or completely shut down when they sensed a high SWR. To fix the problem, the ARRL team broad-banded their dipole. Perhaps they might consider publishing an article about the “THUNDERBUGLE”. Oh WOW! Once they see its performance, they might even replace their broadband dipole!

On-the-air tests proved they had an antenna that was a winner! Leamon has made contacts on 80 and 40 meters running 100 watts barefoot with S9 plus 10 or better signal reports nationwide, and Dick has done the same. The antenna acts like it is omni-directional. For instance, they have made contacts with hams in California, New York, and Texas at the same time for roundtables. Beams tends to reject signals coming from their sides or back, so if you use a beam and try to simultaneously QSO with hams in California and New York, you’ve got a problem!

Leamon and Dick are also publishing their results in the hope that this antenna will help all hams, especially the “Little Guys” who don’t have a lot of money to buy expensive towers, beams, tuners, and etc.

Incidentally, this material is copyrighted in order to prevent a large company from turning this idea into a commercial antenna for big bucks. If anyone has any questions or suggestions, the author's e-mail address is bbodini@comcast.net.

OK - let's get to the good stuff: the performance data.

SWR and Resistance readings for all covered bands
(measured using an MFJ-259 Analyzer)

Building the Hicks/Moulder Thunderbugle

For those who are not familiar with a Windom antenna, here is a short description: a Windom is an off-center-fed dipole fed with a 4:1 Balun and coaxial cable to the shack. RG-213 or RG-8 are fine. Bear this in mind as you begin this project.

List of materials:

• LOTS of 14 AWG wire – stranded, insulated wire. Solid enamel wire should work OK too. We used 18 AWG because I had a lot on hand. To get an idea of the quantity of wire you’ll need, read through the construction steps below.  

• 3 insulators.  

• One (1) 4:1 Balun. You can use a commercial one or make one yourself using coaxial cable.  

• 70 feet of 1/2" plastic tubing, 3/8" inside diameter. We used a Hot/Cold water type that was obtained at Home Depot. Do Not Use PVC! The kind we got came in 10 foot lengths. We found out later that it was susceptible to Ultraviolet rays and didn't like Sunlight; so we spray painted it Black. There are other types of tubing available; but make sure they can be bent into a 20 inch circle without collapsing!

• 1 box of square or round toothpicks. Don't get flat ones.

• 2 three foot 3/8” wooden dowel rods.

• 1 foot of 3/8” OD copper tubing.

How to Construct It.

Remember to reference the photographs of the antenna as you build it. These were included to help you visualize things when you’re not sure of something.

1. Cut the tubing in 5’ lengths. Measure 2-½” from each end and make a mark using a Sharpie pen or whatever makes a good visible mark. Now measure 5” from one of the marks and make another. Continue marking every 5” until you reach the 2-½” mark at the other end. Mark all the pieces the same way.

2. Drill a hole completely through the tubing at each mark, making sure you keep the holes in line. Use a drill bit that will let you make the holes large enough to feed your wires through without binding.

3. Cut twelve (12) 2” pieces of dowel rod. We used a tubing cutter, but a saw or whatever, will work.

4. Insert one piece of dowel rod 1” into the end of a tube and drill a small hole ½” from the end of the tubing completely through it and the dowel. Insert a toothpick and cut or break off the ends. Do this for the remaining tubing sections.

5. Bend a tubing section into a circle and insert the end with the dowel into the open end. Drill another hole ½” in, insert another toothpick and break off the ends. This completes the first ring. Do the same for the remaining sections.

6. Cut 12 pieces of wire 85’ 6” long.

7. Get a ring and pull the ends of the 12 wires a couple of feet through the 12 holes. Feed the wires through 7 more rings.

8. Strip 1-½” of insulation from the ends of the 12 wires, twist them together and solder.

9. Cut a 3” piece of the copper tubing.

10. Insert the soldered end of the wires 1-½” into the tube and crimp.

11. Cut an 8” piece of insulated wire into the other end and crimp it. If there is too much space around it, add some pieces for a better crimp. You could also use a piece of the rope that you will use to raise the antenna.

12. Slip the wire or rope through the end of an insulator and either twist or tie it.

13. Fasten the insulator to a tree, stake, etc. Lay the wires straight along the ground. Position the first ring about 2 feet from the insulator, then pull the remaining rings along the wires until they are equally spaced, leaving the last ring about 2 feet from the end. Use toothpicks to prevent them from moving out of alignment by wedging them in the rings wire holes. Four should be OK for each ring.
    
    

14. Strip 1-½” of insulation from the wires. Twist and solder them. This completes the long portion of the antenna.

15. Cut 12 lengths of wire 48' 1" long.

16. Repeat steps 7 through 14.

17. Fasten the Hot side of the balun to the long antenna section.

18. Fasten the Cold side of the balun to the short antenna section.
    
    

19. Connect your Coax feed line to the balun with a PL-259 or solder if you are using a homebrew coaxial cable.

20. Raise your antenna. We used tree limbs for the ends and a pulley on a tower for the center.(Before raising your antenna, please brush up on basic safety rules for hoisting up an antenna.)

YOUR HICKS/MOULDER THUNDERBUGLE ANTENNA LIVES!!

The authors realize that building this antenna is no small undertaking, but most hams tend to be pretty dedicated to building and experimenting - else they wouldn’t be hams, would they? Dick Moulder (W4OXY) is 71 years old - and still doing building and experimenting.

Now that you've built it, tt’s time to do some tests on your new creation. We recommend using a portable SWR analyzer for your SWR measurements (the MFJ-259 works great). If you don’t have one, we bet you know some ham that does!

Your new Thunderbugle, like any antenna, is dependent on its surroundings, like its height above ground, proximity to trees, buildings, etc. Each location is different, so your results will probably vary somewhat from our measurement table. You’ll probably want to peak and tweak the antenna to get the results you want. Dick and Leamon found that their original design had to be lengthened a little to get it to perform best in the areas they wanted. Distance from ground didn’t seem to be a factor in their case, but it’s possible in yours. Once you get it working right, it should give you many, many hours of happy QSOs. If for some reason, you have a higher SWR than you like on a band end, using a tuner is OK if you don’t want to make any more adjustments.

Well that’s about it. We hope to hear you on the air with a THUNDERBUGLE - you can often find us on 28.400 after 7 PM Central Time, give us a shout and let us know how it works for you!

73 and Happy Hamming from Leamon (KD4KKR) and Dick (W4OXY)!