How to make a sliding contact on the Buddipole coils. Quick and cheap DIY project.

Buddipole and Buddistick is the name for two portable shortened antennas by the same Buddipole company. Buddistick is a vertical , Buddipole is a dipole made of actually two Buddisticks. Both use the same loading coils. It's a good quality coil (to my mind) with just one weird thing (to my mind), that is the coil clips! It is so troublesome to fix and unfix these clips on the coil when there is a need to change the tap on the coil in order to change the resonant frequency of the antenna. I discovered myself dropping and even losing this coil clip nearly each time I make the antenna tune-up. Other manufacturers of similar antennas make a sliding contacts on their coils since many years now and their coils are quite popular. Since I had the Buddipole antenna and didn't want to buy another brand, I thought the only way out is to make a sliding contact on the Buddipole coils myself! It turned out to be a very easy project and my idea proved to be working and repeatable! So, if you, like me got fed-up with this mingling with the coil clips on your Buddipole dipole or vertical, this video might be for you!

Please leave a comment and say what you think of the Buddipole coils in general and the clips in particular.

If you would like to get familiar with how the Buddistick work together with my Icom IC-705 please find my other video on this channel here:

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Thanks for watching, 73! Linas LY2H

[alzeNL]

Spent a small fortune on buddipole, yet i hardly use it, one of the reasons was the tuning method and fiddly clips. I really like this idea and only wish it was incorporated in the design. Buddipole should learn from you elegant design and commercialize it, but I for one, will be willing to spend some time on the original kit to make it more useable. Thanks very much for this. 73 2E0FWE

[bjbackitis]

Labai ačiū!!! Been pondering something like this for a while but your approach is far more elegant and less complicated than anything I thought to try. I love that it doesn't modify the coil or the wiring in any way, and I have lower profile brass knurled nuts for the coil clips that I think would work. (Stripped out the plastic ones too often.) Brilliant solution, sir!! 73 de KM4RB (proud of my Lithuanian heritage)

[DLGKC]

What a great idea! Buddipole should have provided better clips if one is interested in fast band switching. But your solution works great

[jimpiper]

What a simple but incredibly elegant solution for the very reason I got rid of my Buddipole system! Bravo Zulu (Good Job) to you!

[echobot]

Fantastic idea and simple too! Thanks for sharing.

[MotoMike]

Thanks! I'll be doing this soon. Much needed improvement!

[bobseger]

I made a wire(x2) with a minigrabber test clip and a ring terminal wire connector on the other end. Replaced the original mini banana plug wire and did not have to modify any of the original parts. have been using it on all bands 40m-6m for over a year with no problems. K5RFS

[gsansoucie]

This would actually allow me to use my Buddipole kits. The clips are such a pain to get tuned, and then you have to keep moving them based on your location so I stopped using the kit itself.

[kristhompson]

Nice I always try to use the bright Red clips so I can find them in the long grass, Buddy pole needs to lift the game and do some more R and D on the coils for sure. Now I am lusting after one of their Hex Beams but more money out the door. 73's Kris from ZL1 country

[uwjtatsuya]

Great idea OM. 😃👍
I also thinking about coil clip problem in the field.
I try this great mod soon!!
TNX 73.

[dattadeogaonkar]

A great idea. Hope to make the modified coil soon. 73. VU2DSI. Datta Deogaonkar.

[Tom_EFUE]

Brilliant idea to build a coil and do it this way thank you for showing the edit Brilliant:)

[rodneyjohnson]

fantastic! i love stuff like this!
pac 7 (ex-usa, don't know where) had a metal slider on their coils.

[peterdekeles.]

laughed out load when you dropped the clip. "Sh*t" Great Mod

[josephhager]

I have built crystal radios with sliders similar to that another great video thank you

[larryjanson]

good dogs do not bark a lot. only when there is a problem. my molly bless her hart she had this tiny woof when she had to go outside. now this was a 95 pound rott. very loving to the end.
i love this mod, next time at the store i am going to get a short length of pvc to do this.
did you patent this? you must, then "rent" to the makers of the buddy pole/stick.

[kevinjohnson]

Have you tried making a 10 meter J pole with the Buddipole?

[HamRadioPortableOperations]

I've just taken delivery of an original second-hand one that I won. Not had any time to have a play with it yet. I like that idea though, looks good thanks. How high do you normally operate this on your tripod stand? - I have a 4 meters (13ft) tripod but will have to adapt the fixing at the end as it is a normal 1/4" 20 thread. 👍

[jmatonis]

That is a great idea! I have the large coil also and plan on giving this a go. 73 Jason KB2SDR

[danielzdanowicz]

Thank you for the great idea! 73's K1YPB