Mini Wire Winder for Ham Radio: Building, Testing, and Improving a Portable Wire Winder

I recently did a giveaway of about 40 BNC wire winders with BNC connectors as part of developing a new wire winder. This allowed me to gather valuable feedback from the ham community and offer a free tool to those without a 3D printer (only a $0.20 Etsy fee plus shipping).

In this video, I use the winder to build a dipole, not as a step-by-step tutorial but to test its functionality. I'll highlight any issues I encounter, suggest improvements, and discuss potential upgrades to make this tool even more effective for portable antenna building.

To me, this is my fun in radio: Learning, developing and sharing. The more we know are gear, the better prepared we can become. I am always learning my gear, and learning how to improve/modify and adapt my gear.

If you’d like to try out the design yourself, the new winder is available for download on Thingiverse: [Wire Winder](thingiverse.com/thing:6816173)

The newly designed end insulator is also available here: [End Insulator](thingiverse.com/thing:6816177)

In this video, I may have called this a FT50-43, that is not correct - the toroid i used is linked below and is a FT82-43

**Etsy Availability**

etsy.com/listing/1797736346/mini-wire-wind…

Please note, this is a Winder, BNC, and Insulator (2). There is currently no kit!

**Parts Used:**

• **Toroid 5943000601** - [Fair-Rite Ferrite Toroids / Ferrite Rings](fair-rite.com/product/toroids-5943000601/)
• **BNC Connector** - Available on Amazon: [BNC Connector (Affiliate link)](amzn.to/40wiHkD)
• **Wire** - DX Engineering 26 AWG Stealth Wire: [DXE 26 AWG Stealth Wire](dxengineering.com/parts/dxe-santw-250?srsl…)
• **Magnet Wire** - 22 AWG BNTECHGO: [Magnet Wire](amzn.to/4fe8Jcu)
• **Screws/Posts** - M3 screws
• **Ring Connectors** - #6: [Ring Connectors](amzn.to/48xfXpl)