B-Square Engineering Information

Looking for the best antenna? You've found it! Terry Barnes, KD4TXF, and Tim Bowen, KE5DHE, based on forty years of experience in manufacturing, established B-Square Engineering to support local manufacturing industries with capital equipment, tooling solutions, and automation and mechanization contracting. As ham radio enthusiasts as well, they had developed a strong interest in antennas. It became clear to them that even though radios that were designed for amateur users had advanced to a high state of development, enhancements in antenna design had not kept pace with that technology. The two entrepreneurs set out to build an antenna with a design based on the features and functionality they most wanted for their own stations---searching for the efficiency, performance, and durability that they had not been able to find in commercially available units. Their first antenna was a simple VHF/UHF ground plane. With that antenna, they came up with several unique features, such as a universal mounting bracket that could be easily and securely attached to any size mast using commonly available parts. They also engineered a method for mounting radials that was far more secure than anything they had seen in other antennas on the market. Later, Terry and Tim developed a true dual band j-pole antenna for two meters and 70 centimeters. The result was a rugged stainless steel antenna with real gain on both bands and plenty of bandwidth to allow efficient operation anywhere in those bands without further tuning or sacrificing performance. They knew that the jpole could be a wonderful antenna but that it had a spotty reputation. It was a very popular but often misunderstood antenna, attractive because of its apparent ease of construction and promised performance. However, many who tried to build their own ended up with a tangled mass of twin-lead or useless aluminum, impossibly high SWRs, and a poorly performing antenna. But by using the best engineering practices and proven materials, Terry and Tim were able to take the ...