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| Reviews Summary for Buddipole Portable Dipole/Vertical |
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Reviews: 154
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Average rating: 4.7/5
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MSRP: $199.
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Description: It's a dipole... It's a vertical... It fits in your travel bag!. The Buddipole™ is
more than an antenna, it's a versatile system for launching your signal.
Optimized for transmit power and proven for DX work, the Buddipole™ is the
secret weapon used by HF portable operators all around the world.
Precision engineered for maximum performance using ultra light composite
materials and High-Q coils. Zero-loss balun with Quick-Connect feedpoint.
This antenna can be used to cover any band from 40M to 2M
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More info: http://www.buddipole.com
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write your own review of the Buddipole Portable Dipole/Vertical.
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ON4YVO
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 27, 2009 06:13
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Very compact.
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I got my buddipole second hand from another HAM. I read a lot about the antenna before I bought it. At home, I installed the antenna in my garden in Landen (JO20NR) in aprox. 15 min. I connected the FT-897 and the LG897 tuned the antenna in a few seconds on 40 meter. The first contact I made was on 40 meter. I drove the LG897 only with 50 watt and made a contact with an ON3-station located in Frejus (S-France). I got a S5R4.
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KB1QBZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 12, 2009 10:02
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Great Portable Antenna
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I'm revising my review because something I said in the review might give the impression that the Buddipole doesn't require any experimentation or tuning when setting it up. My revision doesn't change the fact that this is a great portable antenna and that the company provides excellent customer service.
I bought the Buddipole Deluxe used from another ham. I've taken it with me on vacation a couple of times with an Elecraft K1. I've also used it on ARES drills and Field Day with a Yaesu FT-897. When properly tuned, it's performed superbly.
With practice, assembly has become a 5 minute event (would have been 5 minutes the first time if I had read the instructions before trying to assemble it). With practice, tuning is typically another 5 minutes.
Tuning is easy, but you WILL have to tune it each time you set it up. It's a short antenna and it's (typically) low to the ground, which means that the type of ground you're on, your height above ground, objects around you, and even your length of coax, can have an impact on the tuning.
Buddipole provides suggested settings for each band, but they are very specifically presented as guidelines only. For example, in my backyard on 40 meters, the whip lengths that give me a good SWR and efficient radiation are considerably different than the guideline settings. However, when I go to the local Nature Center, the guideline settings are almost exactly correct.
I tune it by setting my receiver to the band/frequency I want to use and then slide the taps over the coils (one coil at a time) for maximum volume. That's the right coil location. Almost always, it's the coil tap recommended by Buddipole, but not always.
Once I've got the taps adjusted, I then adjust the whips for best SWR. Oftentimes, the whip lengths given in the instructions are give a low enough SWR that it's easier to just let the rig's autotuner deal with the mismatch. However, if the SWR is relatively high (say over 2.5:1), then you will want to adjust the whips.
If you do have to adjust the whips, the process that works best for me is: change one whip about an inch at a time (one at a time or you'll drive yourself nuts) and see if that improves the SWR. Keep doing that with the one whip until you've gotten the SWR as low as it'll go. Then do the same thing on the other whip. The first time I tried the Buddipole on 40 in my back yard, it took me about 30 minutes to get it tuned. Now it typically takes 5 minutes to tune it, although every once in a while it takes more than that. Tuning it would be even easier if I had an antenna analyzer.
The Buddipole web site has a document describing propagation characteristics of different Buddipole configurations. Note that the standard dipole configuration, when operated from ground level has a high take-off angle that will limit your DX but give you better local communications. Other configurations do better for DX but not as well for local. You have to work the antenna and play with it to learn how to use it to get the type of QSOs you want to get given the band and the surroundings in which you've set up the antenna.
Support and service are superb. The Buddiple web site has lots of good information. Budd and the staff are very good at responding to emails and calls (even though I bought mine used, I'm treated like a member of the family). And best of all, the Buddipole group on Yahoo Groups is an incredible resource that can answer pretty much any question you may ever have -- not to mention scheduling QSOs, QSO parties, etc.
I want to reinforce the idea that this antenna will require tuning every time you put it up. You should spend some time experimenting with it to learn how to efficiently and effectively tune it. If you're not prepared to play with it (especially the first 5 or 10 times you use it), then you shouldn't buy it. But then again, if you're not prepared to experiment with it and learn how to tune it, then I'm not sure that there is a portable antenna system that will satisfy you.
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VE4MM
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 25, 2008 10:38
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Pretty Good
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I am in Riviera Maya, Mexico now operating as VE4MM/XE3 and have the antenna set up on our patio.
Made a few contacts even though the sunspots are zero.
Easy to carry, easy to install and tune.
73
Mike, VE4MM/XE3
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KB3NSW
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 20, 2008 09:56
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Sturdy ,reliable , up in minutes es feather light
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I am very green in the hobby. I am a full time mom and the first Ham in our family. After researching for a great portable ant. I purchased the Buddi for the PA QSO party. I set out solo as a rover. It proved to be a great antennae !!Up quick (10 min) , sturdy ,with easy directions. I DX alot: at home I have the KLM 6,NVIS, Voyager, G5RV and Buddi.The Buddi allows me to be portable with this new passion. For me it operates phone es CW from 2M to 40M es 80M with a few modifications(wire). Feminine while walking on the unbeaten path I must be proficient and reliable. The Buddi is all that and more.Perfect for Emergency Communcations too!!Tip..I use a SWR Analyzer to tweak all ants..
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IZ1ELQ
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 28, 2008 11:01
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Airsosoft test Buddypole
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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On 13 september, at Praglia near Genoa in Italy, at 800 mt. s.l. during the airsoft national competition called "Jolly Roger" (200 people in competition), the belonging ones to the club "The Big One" IZ1ELQ and IW1PTX, responsible for the communications, have decided to try on field the buddypole, for security communication between headquarter and teams in competition, on 40mt, and to receive weather fax, with SCS Ptc II usb.
The assemblage of the antenna with mast has been easy and fast, and in 8 minutes inclusive the tuning with MiniVna, we were on air.
In two days, with terrible weather: cold with strong rain, wind, fog, has not had the least problem, assuring the communications 24 hours a day, and without the least problem to the buddypole.
The dismantlement has been fast even more, and despite the bad meteorological conditions, in which has operate, has been enough to dry and to clean the component parts the antenna to make to perfectly return her new and ready to be employed immediately.
We have been very satisfied from the practicality of use, from the simplicity of the assemblage, from the dimensions and from the weight reduced when is gotten off, from the sturdiness and facility of tuning, all characteristics that have convinced us to adopt her as principal antenna of station during our competitions.
We attach some photos of the test.
We make you our compliments for the good quality of your product, we are to your disposition for possible explanations.
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KG6WOU
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 20, 2008 21:51
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Very useful indeed
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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NOTE: BP now makes an adaptor from the Versa-Tee to a standard painters extension pole thread, which makes masts pretty easy and not too expensive.
Accepted as what it is: a very well integrated multi-band portable and free-standing antenna, I think it's an excellent product.
I have the BP deluxe package with the TRSB, 80 meter coils and long whips [$$$$!]
I have had decent results with mine for more than a year now, and have used it with both 20 watts and 100 watts. While many claim good results QRP, my experience has not been that good - and it may well be the operator, not the antenna.
At 100 watts, I find it works well. I have had good results both as a vertical and dipole configuration.
As noted, tuning is critical. I spent some time with my MFJ analyzer to nail down coil taps for my favorite bands and the necessary TRSB settings. With the 80 meter coils, the 20 meter band is full-band under 2:1, but at 40 it's a bit sharper and 80 is very tight, as is to be expected for an antenna only 24' overall. Since I normally operate a very narrow slice of 80 when portable, it's easy to get that setting down. I also use a small tuner to trim as required.
What makes the package sweet to me is the totally free-standing nature of the beast - you can be up and operating in 15 minutes once you have pre-set your coils, and nary a tree or other tall item needed.
I just got back from a trip to Yosemite and used the BP to make 80 meter NVIS contacts between 200 and 400 miles away, with the 8' mast. This is pretty much a sweet spot for Emcomm HF work, so will be helpful if I need to support this in my work with RACES.
Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not agree that the workmanship on the entire antenna kit is superb.
You certainly can spend less.
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KI4HSK
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 20, 2008 17:31
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The Buddipole Rocks!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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After I purchased my ft-817 I purchased a cheap Buddistick clone called a P1 portable. I tried for weeks to make a contact, any at all on hf. No luck. I sent it back. I then purchased a Buddipole. My first contact was at 10:00am est from my home in west central Florida. I was able to check in on the Cars Net 7.251 while driving a huge 5 watt signal (SSB) through my Buddipole. I was so excited I forgot to write down the call sign on the ncs but I believe he was in Tennessee. I was looking for an antenna that would fit in my backpack and could make contacts of the nvis variety. I wasn't looking for an antenna that would talk to the world but everyone I spoke with especially the old pros told me it was nothing more than a dummy load. Not one of them looked at what my operating needs consisted of or that maybe I wasn't looking to sit on my butt all day but actually wanted to get outside and and still make contacts as well as have a very nice nvis outdoor emergency antenna. The only thing that I think I will ad to my backpack shack is an amplifier like the HfPacker amp for when I need a little more push.
To all the old guys who told me that I needed to use 100 watts and get an antenna as high as the sky or if I really want to get on the air shut up and learn cw I have on thing to say. YOUR ALL POOPIE HEADS!
Thanks to Chris and the staff at Buddipole for being so helpful and for putting up with my constant barrage of questions. I have all the confidence in the world that as I learn more about Ham radio and my skills increase I will continue to say I LOVE my Buddipole.
VInce ki4hsk
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N0FPE
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 29, 2008 16:34
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Has worked fine
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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For what the antenna is it works fine. A very portable multiband antenna for field use. I have never found it hard to tune. A SWR meter or an antenna analyzer makes things a breeze. Mine has never tipped over using my homemade drive on mount. Customer support in excellent. Maybe a bit pricy but well built. I have used mine in both the portable setup and at a rental house for a while. Sure its not a 6 element tribander at 70 feet but it does work. wire is nice but not as easy to setup when u have limited mounting points.
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WA4JM
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Rating: 1/5
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Aug 29, 2008 15:20
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Save Your Money and Buy Wire!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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We used this antenna for FD 2007. Instructions were vague, tuning was a pain and we had to place sand bags on the mount to keep it from blowing over. The bottom line is, wire is cheap and works. Save your money. This antenna is a dud. Anyone pleased with the performance of the Buddipole has never used an antenna.
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K1OYQ
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 13, 2008 05:19
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Great System and Support
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've been using W3FF's Buddipole system for 6 years now. I started out with homebrew Buddipoles and eventually bought the commercial version. The antenna is versatile and work great. The support is outstanding and the product is top quality. The Buddipole Users Group is friendly and full of very useful information. The best part about this antenna system is the fun you have tinkering with different setups. I've built beams, colinear arrays, stacked dipoles, vees and more. I use them every field day. This one is definitely worth the money.
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