J-Pole!

Most of the J-Pole

Antenna side of SO-239 soldered to the copper strapconnected to the long side of the J-Pole.

Note the screw connecting the body of the connector to the short side.

Socket side of SO-239 bolted to the short side of the J-Pole

With plans found here for a 2-meter j-pole my brother in law (the one with the skills) and I built this. We used the dimensions exactly as given except that the bottom extends about 5', rather then the 2' in the specs.

To test, we first took it outside, and supported it so it was vertical.  We connected a 9' length of RG58 coax to the SO-239 and to a meter, and the radio to the other coupling on the meter. On a simplex frequency on low power (1W), SWR was well under 1.2:1, so I tried a repeater about 12 miles away on high power (8W) . A member of my local club heard me and reported a good signal reception was strong but a little scratchy--I may need to fuss with that.

This was not at my house, so the next step is to find a place at my house where I can get a consistent signal and be heard consistently.

It's snowing now, so I'm on hold, but when it clears I will get to that.

Success! See this post  and this post for the process that go me here.