How to Build Antennas from a Blind Hams Perspective, and if You are Not Blind, You Will Learn Something, Too!

by Trippy Brown, AC8S

Introduction:

According to Joe, W1JR,

"Antennas are all relative. If you can make contact with everyone you hear, your antenna works, BE HAPPY, and stay with what you have. However, if you cannot make contact with every station you hear, you need a better antenna."

Trippy's note--The antenna is THE MOST IMPORTANT part of your station!

I don't care what kind of radio you have, and if you have an amplifier or not, if your antenna is bad, you can have 1500 watts, and nobody will hear you. However, if you have the best antenna, you can have a 3-watt station, and you will be able to break pileups, like I did, to a dx station, on the first call, in the ARRL DX Contest, on CW, with 3 watts, and a half-wave 15-meter coax dipole!!!

That is my goal, for EVERY ham radio operator in the world!!! I want to make, or I want some ham out there, to make, an antenna that does 9 objectives:

1. Has to be portable. My burden is for myself and all hams to be able to have a portable ham radio station, along with an antenna, that they can put in a carrying case, so you can take it anywhere, and use it anywhere, not only at your home station.
2. Their ease of mounting and/or setup.

You want to be able to set up the antenna as quickly as possible. This way, people will not see you putting up the antenna and complain about it, if putting it up outside.

3. The antenna has to have no radials that I have to connect to it, because my hands don't work very well at all to have to connect radials to the antenna.
4. Has to work 160 through 2 meters.

Yes, I did say, 2 meters, because an antenna on 160, will REALLY work, on 2 meters, what a signal you'll have!

5. Has to have a natural SWR, (the SWR of the antenna without tuning it), of 3.0 to 1 or lower, because internal antenna tuners on Kenwood, Icom, and Yaesu, radios will not tune an antenna with an SWR of 3.1 to 1 or higher. Elecraft, or Xiegu, are the only companies, that at this writing, have a wide range internal antenna tuner for their radios, that will tune antennas with an SWR of 3.1 to 1 or higher, and no, they did not pay me to say this, I use their radios.
6. Be broadbanded, not narrow banded, as a matter of fact, be so broad-banded, that it works across the entire band, without having to retune the antenna every so many kHz. You don't want to have to retune the antenna every 10 to 20 kc.

Note: For numbers 5 and 6, there's ONLY 1 antenna that does this, and that antenna? The BBTD. If you want to know more about the BBTD, just ask, and I'll send you the article by Corey, KD3cr, about the BBTD antenna that he uses, indoors, and WHAT AN ANTENNA!

7. You should be able to use that antenna, running 100 watts or less.
8. Make a signal of a 100 watt station, so strong, the receiving station will think that that ham is running 1,500 watts that would give them a LOUD, signal as if they did have, that 100 foot tower, or the 200 foot wire, or longer feet of wire, or loop antenna. with that 1500-watt amp!

Note: Keep reading, and in this article, you'll find such an antenna, used by Randy, K5NJE.

9. Works indoors, because hams are leaving the hobby because they cannot put anything up outside.

This antenna is also needed for:

Hotel rooms, because they want to go on a business trip, and use an hf indoor antenna in a motel/hotel room.

Apartments.

Rooms to rent.

Condos.

Hospital rooms.

Group home rooms, and nursing home rooms

For hams, who want to get on HF, and have an antenna indoors.

Speaking of nursing homes, I will tell you a little story. In my town, there was a ham, put into a nursing home. People would go visit him, and he would be crying, EVERY TIME, hams and other people, would go visit him. He would be saying, "I want my radio, I want to get on HF."

When he died, the medical examiner, found severe heart damage. That ham, died, of a broken heart.

That almost broke my heart, and I prayed and said, "God, someone has got to do something for hams in these situations!" God put this thought in my mind, "Trippy, WHY, DON'T, YOU?"

So, folks in the ham community, here I am, we're going to get this done!

If you share the same burden, contact me, and let's make such an antenna.

And there are 4 kinds of antennas that work indoors:

1. The BBTD.
2. The end fed.

note--I'm still trying to find an end fed that will do numbers 5 and 6, mentioned above.

3. The dipole, or inverted v.

note--I'm still trying to find a dipole, or inverted v, that will do numbers 5 and 6, mentioned above.

4. Rhe snake.

note--I'm still trying to find a snake, that will do numbers 5 and 6, mentioned above.

Antenna building and testing is my favorite part of ham radio! As a blind ham, I've built:

Dipole antennas.

Inverted-V antennas.

End fed antennas.

Snake antennas.

And they work!

note--If you want to know more about the snake antenna, which you can also use, outside, or indoors, contact me, and I will send you the article about the snake antenna, at NO COST, I want to get you on the air, where you belong!

Instead of keeping what I learned to myself, I am passing it on to all the hams out there, blind, or not!

In this article I will also be:

1. talking about a different connection to ununs, and to antenna tuners.
2. Talking about an idea for an antenna QSO party.
3. Giving general antenna knowledge that I learned, and, how to make smaller antennas, not as small as they need to be, but smaller than they are these days.

First, here’s why I'm talking about making smaller, portable antennas.

Here's my second burden, this hobby, is not attracting younger people, and here's the biggest reason why. It's because if I talk about ham radio to a younger person, they tell me,

"I don't want to be in a hobby where I have to have a 100-foot tower, or a wire that's 200 foot long, and 1500 watts in order to have a loud signal to be heard, when I have a smart phone in my pocket with a built-in antenna!"

And you know folks, they're right.

We need that 100-foot tower, and all those beams, or, at least 200 feet of wire, but most hams have no place to put that high of a tower, up, or no place to string those kinds of lengths of wire all the way out.

However, I have great news, as for the length of wire being too long, not anymore, thanks to something called coiling. Keep reading, and you'll find out more about coiling.

And the smallest antenna possible, on all bands, 160 through 2 meters, and they WORK!

The only thing I hate about coiling is, it makes antennas narrow banded.

Besides, I love antennas, and I'm going to read every book, and every article on antennas I can get my hands on and learn even more.

First, talking about a different connection to ununs, and to antenna tuners, my fingers do NOT, work well, I cannot wrap wire around things, like binding posts, and lug nuts and wing nuts, because of my fingers.

However, great news, I can, for sure, push a wire through an eyehook, also called an eyebolt, and fold the wire over to touch itself. That's how I build the antennas I build.

All antenna tuners, and most of the ununs, and most baluns, use either binding posts, or they use lug nuts, or wing nuts.

The only ununs and baluns with eyebolts, (also called eyehooks), are made by Bob, at Palomar Engineering, and THEY, ARE, FABULOUS!I ask that all companies that build antenna tuners, or that build ununs, and baluns, to PLEASE, get rid of the binding posts, and get rid of the lug nuts, and wing nuts, and please, use eyebolts, also called eyehooks.

MFJ, (and no, I don't get paid for saying this), has a 918 balun, it's a 1 to 1 balun, with eyebolts, also called eyehooks, 1 in the center for hanging it, and 1 on each side, for each leg, and my fingers work PERFECTLY, with pushing the wire through, then hooking the wire on each hook of the balun, and pushing the rope through the eyehook in the center.

There is no other 1 to 1 balun.

Palomar Engineering, makes a 9 to 1 unun, and, it has an eyebolt, also called an eyehook, and that, is a FANTASTIC unun!

I make end feds, using that unun!

There is no other ununs with an eyehook.

Second, speaking of antennas, what about an antenna QSO party, or an antenna weekend?

I have the details if anyone wants to sponsor it and put it on.

This is truly needed, because then, hams could hear many different antennas, and see what kind of signal an antenna puts out.

As far as the above things, Leaders ask, "why not, we can do this."

I believe that we, in the ham community, can do anything, anything at all.

Let's think outside the box, not stay in the box, that we've stayed in for the last 60 years.

3rd. But now, on to the good stuff, building antennas that get us at least heading in the right direction, toward smaller antennas that sound good, EVEN INDOORS!

Here is that general antenna knowledge that I've learned, and how to make a smaller, antenna, to head the ham community in the right direction toward much smaller, more portable, antennas, so enjoy the rest of this article, and use the knowledge, you'll be glad you did, and you'll be amazed with the signal you put out on these antennas!

Part 1. Antenna questions you need to answer before building.

1. Where you live, can you put up an antenna outside, or only inside? This question is important, because that will tell you what kind of antenna you will be using.

Trippy's note--If you can only put an antenna up inside, I have an article, by Corey Ruth, KD3CR, about an indoor antenna, that works fantastically, with a natural SWR, without tuning the antenna, of 2.0 to 1 or below, on all bands, all the way across the band!!!

This antenna can also be put up outside, too.

Please ask me for the BBTD article, and I will be glad to send it to you, at NO COST, I want to get you on the air, where you belong! end of note.

Question 2. Whether outside, or inside, how much room do you have?

If you have enough room to stretch each leg of the inverted v antenna, or the end fed antenna, all the way out, then you can build it using coax, but if you don't have room to stretch the inverted v, or the end fed, all the way out, you'll have to use bare copper wire, or insulated wire.

note--If you don't have enough room to put up and string an inverted-V, or end fed, all the way out, I have FANTASTIC news for you, because of coiling, you now have the room for such a long antenna, as long as you want, using coiling, so keep reading to find out how to do it. I have done that, with inverted-V antennas, and got great results on CW, on all bands, with 15 watts, and, I have had great results on 40 meters, on SSB with 15 watts, and on all bands, with 100 watts.

I had an inverted-V, outside on my balcony, only 8 feet off the ground, and it got out fabulously.

For example, on March 26, 2021, in the CQ WW WPX SSB contest, I made a contact with a station 370 miles away, on 75 meters, on SSB, and he got me on the first call!!! This was on a friend of mines 100-watt radio, on a 34-foot-long balcony, using a 131.8 foot inverted v, and I did that, because of coiling!

And on July 3, 2021, I also, used a 1 wave inverted v, cut for 80 meters, that was hanging on my balcony, with only 15 watts, on my Elecraft KX3, and worked a station in Rhode Island, on 40 meter SSB from Michigan!!!

And on July 10, 2021, I worked 4 stations on 20-meter SSB in the IARU HF Championship, So keep reading, and you'll hear in a later section about coiling, that makes this possible

note--*VERY IMPORTANT*--You ONLY can do coiling, using bare copper wire, or insulated wire, you CANNOT, use coax, because when coax is folded back on itself, or when it's coiled up, it's an rf choke, and no RF power can get out of the antenna, and the SWR goes so high, it makes the inverted-V, useless. end of notes.

Question 3. What band or bands do you want to work?

Question 4. How much money do you have to spend on antennas, and on coax, and if you have to build the antenna because you don't have enough room to put up an antenna that is already built, if it's an inverted-V, or end fed, and a 1 to 1 balun, for an inverted v, or a 56 to 1 unun for an end fed half wave, and a waterproof cap for the SO-239 connecter on the balun, or unun, and on insulators?

Question 5. How much power do I want to run?

Pat Tice, WA0TDA, in the Handiham World weekly E-Letter for 23 February 2011 says, "you have to make sure that: your feedline, balun, external antenna tuner, SWR meter, watt meter, the antenna itself, can all handle the amount of power you want to use."

For example, I want to run 100 watts, using my indoor antenna. Can the above 6 items handle 100 watts? If not, I have to find out what the highest power each one of them can handle, and not go any higher.

Part 2. SWR

When building an antenna, you want the lowest SWR, and the lower the SWR, the more power the antenna will transmit.

For any multiband antenna, if you want to use the antenna on more than 1 band, and have the lowest SWR on each band, it is ESSENTIAL, to select a length for the antenna that is AT LEAST, a half wavelength on the lowest band to be used.

That way, you'll have a better chance to have a low SWR on each band.

Antennas that are half wave on the lowest band you're using, are easier to match on more bands than a quarter wave, how cool is that!

Clint Sprott, W9AV, told me, "Any antenna that is shorter than half a wavelength will not radiate as well."

Steve Ford, WB8IMY, in his book, Small Antennas for Small Spaces says,

"If you want an even better SWR on all bands, make the antenna at least a half wave on the lowest frequency band that you're going to operate."

Then he says, "if you make the antenna shorter than a half wave, it is very easy to run into combinations of antenna length and feedline length that result in low impedance loads at the tuner output on the lowest band.  Testing has repeatedly shown that this can result in excessive tuner loss.  So much so that tuner damage is likely."

Half wave inverted v, or end fed antennas whose length is approximately a half wave, have a radiation resistance which is much greater, closer to the characteristic impedances of available coax, and normally much larger than the resistance of the conductors, so that their efficiency approaches 100%.

Trippy's note--You want an inverted v, end fed, or dipole efficiency of 100%, or as close to 100% as you can get.

No wonder people use the formula for a half wave inverted v, or end fed for single band  or multiband use, more than the formula for a quarter wave inverted v, or end fed, when measuring antennas to see what frequency a footage for an inverted-V, or end fed, works at, because a half wave inverted v, or end fed, is MUCH more efficient, close to 100% efficient, and a quarter wave inverted v, or end fed is not nearly that efficient.

Trippy's note--I DO NOT, and WILL NOT, build, any antennas shorter than a half wave, because of the above information I just quoted.

If you're using coax, also called a feed line, between the radio and the antenna, or between the antenna tuner and the antenna, it is BEST, to make the antenna resonant at the lowest frequency you're going to operate on.

Then, choose the length for the coax.

We know that the velocity factor of rg213 coax is 0.66.

If you'll be using a half wavelength end fed on the lowest band of operation then use a 56 to 1 unun for the end fed and use your coax which is the 2nd leg of the end fed half wave, between the radio and the unun for the end fed, as a counterpoise.

Now, how to figure out the length of a counterpoise for the end fed?

The length of a counterpoise DOES, MATTER, oh yes it does, I found out, personally, that it matters.

I ordered from Bob, at Palomar Engineers, a 9 to 1 unun, it is my first 9 to 1 unun, without any wire on it.

So, I only have 17 feet of room, so, I hooked up my 17-foot 6 inch piece of copper wire to the 9 to 1 unun.

Now I have a 9-foot piece of RG-213 coax. So, I connected that to the 9 to 1 unun, and the natural SWR, before tuning, was 3.7 to 1, WAY too high, for a radio with a built in antenna tuner, because they only like 3.0 to 1 SWR or lower, unless you're using an Elecraft radio, with their wide range tuner installed, which I am, but I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing this for all the hams who don't have a radio with a wide range antenna tuner in it, and most radios are like that these days. I want them on the air, NOT off the air and not out of the hobby.

So, I found out how to measure the EXACT length, for a counterpoise, for ANY band, and I only build antennas, and counterpoises, for the center, of any band.

My thanks to different hams for telling me the formula for figuring out counterpoise lengths.

How to figure out the length for a counterpoise for a counterpoise, there are 2 formulas, that hams have used:

1. 180 divided by the frequency equals length for the counterpoise.

For example, 180 times 28.850 = 6.2392, so I'll round it down to 6.2 feet.

2. .05 times the band you're on, then, convert that answer to feet.

For example. .05 times 10, for 10 meters, equals 0.5 meters, then, when you convert that answer to feet, it equals 1 foot 7 inches.

To show you what happens when you use the correct counterpoise, I had a 17-foot 6 inch end fed.

I have a 14-foot piece of RG213 coax, with a pl259 connector, on each end, thanks to Jim, at the DX Store, where I bought the 14 footer, so, I said, "for the heck of it, let's disconnect the 9 footer, and THEN, connect the 14 footer, and see what the natural SWR is, before tuning the antenna.

I was HOPING, that this measurement would give me a much lower natural SWR.

So, I went to 14.175, and I checked the natural SWR of that end fed. I couldn't believe it. Folks, the natural SWR is? How about 1.4 to 1, that's right, 1.4 to 1, and to make sure, I went to another band, then came back to 14.175, tried again, and the hampod, my talking device said? 1.4 to 1!

Am I going to use exact counterpoise lengths with end feds in the future? You're darn right I am!

I'd love to build end fed half wave antennas, but I cannot find any 56 to 1 ununs that have eyebolts, (also called eyehooks). They all use binding posts, or lug and wing nuts, and my fingers don't work well enough to deal with those.

The antenna needs to have the lowest SWR on all bands, and the most effective antennas have a natural SWR, the actual SWR without tuning the antenna, that *MUST* be 2.0 to 1 or lower.

note--I use to be a real stickler about a 1.0 to 1 SWR, however, I read an article buy a contester, and he says,

"If you can get your SWR anywhere from 2.0 to 1 or below, you're fantastic, be happy, and get on the air!"

An antenna with an SWR of 1.0 to 1 transmits all 100% of your power out of the antenna.

An antenna with an SWR of 1.5 to 1 transmits 96% of your power out of the antenna.

An antenna with an SWR of 2.0 to 1 transmits 88.9% of your power out of the antenna.

An antenna with an SWR of 2.5 to 1 transmits only 81.6% of your power out of the antenna.

An antenna with an SWR of 3.0 to 1 transmits only 75% of your power out of the antenna.

note--internal automatic antenna tuners in radios only tune antennas with 3.0 to 1 SWRs or lower, but no higher than 3.0 to 1.

You'll know that, because if you try to tune an antenna with an SWR greater than 3.0 to 1 on a built-in antenna tuner on a radio, you'll get a message that says SWR. It is saying that message, because the SWR is above 3.0 to 1.

If you know the SWR will be higher than 3 to 1, buy a wide range antenna tuner. I will not use any other wide range antenna tuner, other than the tuners I recommend, and that is, the Elecraft antenna tuners.

note--Elecraft did not pay me to talk about their radios, or tuners, but they just work!

They work with Elecraft and non Elecraft radios.

Other third party automatic wide range antenna tuners other than Elecraft antenna tuners will only tune antennas with SWRs of 10.0 to 1, or lower.

However, my internal wide range antenna tuner in my KX3 tunes antennas and transmits using those antennas and makes contacts with a 22.0 to 1 SWR or lower on cw, I did it on 40 meters, and I have made sideband contacts with a 12.9 to 1 SWR, on that internal wide range antenna tuner on the KX3 on 10 meters, and got 57 and 56 signal reports in NH, and RI, from my location here in Michigan!

An antenna with an SWR of 3.5 to 1 only transmits 69.1% of your power out of the antenna.

An antenna with an SWR of 4.0 to 1 only transmits 64% of your power out of your antenna.

An antenna with an SWR of 5.0 to 1 only transmits 56% of your power out of the antenna.

An antenna with an SWR of 6.0 to 1 only transmits 49% of your power out of the antenna.

An antenna with an SWR of 7.0 to 1 only transmits 43.7% of your power out of the antenna.

An antenna with an SWR of 8.0 to 1 only transmits 39.5% of your power out of your antenna.

An antenna with an SWR of 9.0 to 1 only transmits 36% of your power out of the antenna.

An antenna with an SWR of 10.0 to 1 only transmits 33.1% of your power out of your antenna.

An antenna with an SWR of 15.0 to 1 only transmits 23.4% of your power out of your antenna.

An antenna with an SWR of 20.0 to 1 only transmits 18.1% of your power out of the antenna.

An antenna with an SWR of 50.0 to 1 only transmits 7.7% of your power out of the antenna.

However, what if you currently have an antenna up, and you don't know what the SWR is?

There are 2 ways to find out:

1. If you have a radio with a built in antenna tuner, or, if you have a radio and an external antenna tuner, you can find, the natural SWR.

What is the natural SWR?

The natural SWR is, just checking the SWR without trying to tune it for lowest SWR.

You know something, this is the first time, in my life as a ham, that I can do a natural SWR reading, of any antenna, because of the hampod, which is a talking box, and my kx3's

Built in SWR bridge!!!

It's wonderful, because you can get the natural SWR, (the actual SWR of the antenna before even trying to tune the antenna).

It makes the SWR meter like an antenna analyzer for me!

There are 2 ways to find out what the natural SWR is, for your antenna:

1. For me, as a blind ham, I use the hampod, a talking box, and it works with any Kenwood hf rig, and any Icom rig, and with any Elecraft rig.

If you have the Hampod, and you're in front of your radio with the antenna connected to it, or if you're by your radio with your antenna connected to an external antenna tuner, just press the shift key then let it go and right away press the 5 key on the hampod keypad, and hold it till you hear a beep and let the 5 key go, and it will tell you the natural match.

For example, I have an all-band inverted v, and I'm at 3.800, on 80 meters. I will now press the shift button on the hampod, then let that key go, then press the 5 key on the hampod and hold it until I hear the beep, then let that key go, and it's telling me my natural SWR without tuning the antenna is 4.7 to 1. That's way too high, so I will now have to tune it for lowest SWR. I will now press the tune button on the kx3, and the tuner is tuning the antenna, and the SWR is now, 2.0 to 1, I will not have to do any tuning for lowest SWR, because 2.0 to 1 is fantastic, so I'm now ready to operate!

2. Another way to find out what the natural SWR is, is using an antenna analyzer. This is a device that tells you what the SWR is as you move up or down the band, without pressing the tune button on your radio.

Trippy's note--I am looking for an antenna, with a natural SWR of 2.0 to 1 or lower, and, it must be 2.0 to 1 or lower, across the entire band, on the following bands:

160.

80.

40.

30.

20.

17.

15.

12.

10.

6.

and 2 meters.

Now personally, I don't use the WARC bands, but other hams do, and I care about those hams, and I want them on the air, as well.

I know of 1 antenna, the BBTD, but I cannot build it, due to working with heat shrink tubing.

If anyone has found, or built, an antenna that works like that, please let me know.

Part 3. Inverted v antennas, end feds, or dipoles, all are great antennas!

Question. what is the impedance of an inverted v?

Answer. 50 ohms.

Question. What is the impedance of a dipole?

Answer. 73 ohms.

Question. What is the impedance of an end fed?

Answer. 5000 ohms.

Question. Which of the 3 antennas is easiest to match?

The inverted v antenna is easier to match than the dipole, or the end fed.

No wonder my 330 feet 6-inch inverted v makes contacts on 160 CW, with only 12 watts using coiling, hanging on my 12 foot long balcony!

Question. Which antenna has more db gain?

Answer. A half wave dipole has more db gain than an inverted v, and unfortunately, I have no idea what the DB gain of an end fed is, I could not find that answer anywhere.

The dipole has even more db gain than a rectangle loop!!!

In chapter 17 of LB Cebik's book Antennas from the Ground up, he says,

"The db gain of a rectangle loop is 7.7, but the db gain of a half wave dipole is 8.0 db!

He also says,

"a rectangle loop is anywhere from 200 to 270 ohms, while a half wave dipole is, only 50 to 80 ohms!"

A dipole will outperform a loop at any height.

Trippy's note--I had a 3-watt station, and I was able to break pileups, of stations running amplifiers, to a dx station, on the FIRST CALL, in the ARRL DX Contest, on CW, with 3 watts, and a half wave 15-meter coax dipole!!!

In an inverted v antenna, each leg is connected to a 1 to 1 balun, then each leg is then dropped straight down, which is a 90-degree angle, or is sloped down at a 52 and a half degree angle, or at a 45 degree angle.

In a dipole antenna, each leg is connected to a 1 to 1 balun, then each leg is then horizontal straight to the right, for the right leg, and straight to the left, for the left leg.

In a half wave end fed antenna, the piece of coax, which is one leg of the end fed, also called the counterpoise, goes from the radio, or external antenna tuner to the 56 to 1 unun for the end fed.

The piece of wire is the other leg of the end fed, that piece of wire is connected to the unun and then is strung out as far as possible, and connected to an insulator at the end of the piece of wire.

I prefer the 56 to 1 unun, compared to the 49 to 1 unun, because Danny, from MyAntennas.com told me in an email reply when I asked him if he uses 49 to 1 ununs or 56 to 1 ununs,

"We use a 56 to 1 UNUN transformer which gives a slightly better match on low bands than the 49 to 1 unun."

Then, from his web page about the 56 to 1 unun, it says, "The antenna transformer is optimized for the lowest insertion loss 3.5-30MHz featuring three stacked cores and a transformation ratio of ~56:1 (~2800:50 Ohms).

The average loss of less than 0.4dB is unmatched by any other similar transformer on the market, proving our worldwide leadership in the design of high ratio-wide bandwidth RF transformers for 3-30MHz."

That, folks, is why I recommend a 56 to 1 unun, it gives you a better signal than the 49 to 1 unun, and you can buy it from Danny at

MyAntennas.com

3.1. Question. Do I need a balun, or an unun?

Answer. If you're building an inverted v, you absolutely need a 1 to 1 balun.

If you're building a dipole, you ABSOLUTELY, need a 1 to 1 balun.

If you're building an end fed, you *ABSOLUTELY* need, a 56 to 1 unun. I never build, and I will not build an inverted v, without a balun, or a dipole, without a balun, or an end fed, without an unun.

The only balun I will ever use for inverted v antennas, or dipole antennas, except for the slinky dipole, (and I'm not getting paid for mentioning this), is the

MFJ918 balun. It's a 1 to 1 balun.

I use this balun, because it has 3 eye hooks, one in the middle, to hang it up with, and one on each side for each leg of the inverted v.

I use this balun, because unfortunately, none of the other baluns on the market have the eyehooks, also called eyebolts, like this balun does, and my fingers do not work well enough to wrap wire around binding posts, or lug nuts.

For a half wave end fed, I only would use a 56 to 1 unun, but the problem is, nobody in the industry builds 56 to 1 ununs with eyehooks, also called eyebolts, they all are binding posts, or lug nuts.

3.2. For inverted v antennas, 4 to 1 baluns verses 1 to 1 baluns, which balun do I buy?

If you're inverted v, is balanced, meaning, each leg is the same length in feet, )for example, each leg of a half wave 80 meter inverted v, for use at 3.750 is 65.10 feet per leg, which = 131.8 feet, and that includes the extra 3 inches on the end of each leg of the inverted v, then a 1 to 1 balun is better, because it gives your antenna a perfect 1 to 1 SWR, and that is what you want!

On "the ham radio site", in an article called Off Center Fed (OCF) Dipole Antennas,

the author says,

"Some will argue that the 'openwire-fed/center-fed' dipole is the most efficient antenna there is, when you are looking to cover 5, 6, 7, or even more bands with 1 antenna.  I don't dispute this point."

And that is what we want, to cover as many bands as possible, with just 1 antenna.

However, I have GREAT news for you. Until now, people thought that if the antenna is not balanced, meaning one leg is shorter than the other leg of the inverted v, (for example, one leg is 10 feet long, and the other leg is 21 feet long), this is called an OCF, (stands for off center fed), inverted v, you needed a 4 to 1 balun.

The great news is, from NOW ON, because of coiling, it does NOT MATTER, if you have less room for one leg of the antenna than the other. You still can use a 1 to 1 balun, because you're going to be putting up an inverted v, or a dipole, that has the same length for each leg, so there is as of NOW, and in the future, NO MORE NEED, for an OCF, and a 4 to 1 balun, so keep reading to find out more!!!

Also, because of coiling, there is no more need to bend an inverted v, to make it fit into a certain amount of space, how about that!

3.3. Inverted v antennas, verses dipoles, which is better?

An inverted v is *MUCH*, better than a horizontal dipole.

The advantages of an inverted v are:

1. It lowers the feed-point impedance from the nominal 75 ohms of a dipole to just 50 ohms. This of course is ideal for matching the antenna to standard 50-ohm impedance coaxial cable, and makes for a better match, because your antenna tuner, and your radio love. You guessed it, 50 ohms.
2. The natural SWR is anywhere from 3.4 points, to 7.5 points lower than a dipole.
3. An inverted v is omni directional, but a dipole is less omni directional, and you want omnidirectional, because you want to make contacts from all directions.

There's nothing worse in ham radio than having to turn a beam to work a station, I should know, I broke 2 rotors, working 50 different stations in different directions. After I broke the 2nd one, I said to myself, "the heck with this beam and directional stuff, and breaking rotors, I'm going for omnidirectional, so I can work stations without having to turn an antenna."

That's what every ham should be doing, omnidirectional, not directional, unless all you want to do is, work stations only in 1 direction, all the time.

4. It has an excellent reputation for long distance communication on the lower-frequency amateur bands which are:

160 meters.

80 meters.

and 40 meters.

5. Where the installation of large verticals or high horizontal dipoles is not practicable, because of a lack of height, and/or, space, to string them out, it is better for portable operation than a horizontal dipole, or a vertical, because the two legs of the inverted v drop straight down, or slope towards the ground, requiring less horizontal room than a regular dipole, and, you don't have to have the antenna up so high, like you have to have, with a vertical.

For example, the inverted V performs VERY well at low frequencies and will give good results on the 3.5MHz ham radio band when the apex, meaning the center feed point, is only about 14 meters or 45 feet high, or less.

But the regular dipole does not perform well at 45 feet high, or less. This makes the inverted v a very attractive proposition for many amateur stations on 160, 75 or 80, or 40 meters.

3.4. inverted-V, and end fed questions and answers:

Question 1. Why should I use a half wave end fed, and not a quarter wave end fed?

Answer. If you're using at least a half wave end fed, the impedance is lower, why? because it is a half wave and not as a quarter wave.

However, if you make an end fed at least a half wave end fed on the lowest frequency band you will be using, and use a 56 to 1 unun, it also, will work on all bands, because the swr is lower.

After reading what I've read, I highly discourage using a end fed that is NOT, at least a half wave on the lowest frequency band you're using. I will only use half wave or larger end feds, with 56 to 1 ununs.

The manufacturer of

MyAntennas half wave end feds says, "Unlike commonly used End-fed antennas with 9:1 ununs and non-resonant lengths of wire, EFHW, (stands for end fed half wave), antennas are not prone to high common mode current and problems associated with it."

note--He did not pay me to say that, but he is absolutely right.

That is a good enough reason not to use them, and to instead, stick with only half wave, and not use less than half wave end feds.

But Trippy, I thought you wanted to make antennas smaller, more portable!

Answer. Yes, I do, however, so many hams use end feds that, are shorter than half wave end feds, and have problems with such high impedances, and they have rf problems, so I stay away from end feds that are not at least a half wave on the lowest band they will be used on.

Question 2. What about using parallel inverted v antennas?

Answer. I stay away from those, because they are a group of antennas, joined together at the center, and they are *NOT*, a single inverted v, and I don't want to mess with more than 2 wires, because the goal should be, you want to only have to use one antenna for all bands, not more than one antenna.

Question 3. How do I measure my inverted v, or my end fed?

Answer. For the inverted v you measure the entire antenna from end to end, then, if using porcelin insulators, ad 3 inches at each end of the leg of the inverted v, not at the balun end, but at the end where you tie each leg off at the insulator.

Then, for inverted v antennas, divide *THAT* total number for the length of the antenna number by 2, because that number is how long each part, (also called leg), of the inverted v will be.

For end feds you add 3 inches at the end where you connect the wire leg to the insulator, and 3 more inches where you connect the wire to the unun, and you measure the entire length of wire for your antenna leg, *MUST* equal at least a half wave.

note--I do NOT include the length of the coax counterpoise, in measuring the end fed, because when I tried it that way, connecting a 9 foot 8 inch piece of wire, then the 7 foot coax counterpoise, the natural SWR was VERY high, 6.3 to 1, so, I went back to my 7 foot coax counterpoise, and my 16 foot 8 inch end fed wire, and the SWR went WAY DOWN, from 6.3 to 1, to 3.2 to 1.

note--if using the antenna outside, use only porcelain insulators, because they, are immune to weather, and the sun, plastic and aluminum, are not.

If you're only using the inverted v, or the end fed, or the dipole, indoors, just use plastic, or aluminum insulators.

I have 2 examples, 1 for measuring an inverted v, and another example for measuring an end fed half wave antenna:

Example 1. A half wave inverted v for use on 75 meters, at 3.750 KHZ. So, we take 492, the number for a half wave inverted v, and divide that number by 3.750, and it equals 131.2, meaning 131 feet 2 inches, then, we add 3 inches on each end for the tie off insulator. So, the total length of the entire inverted v is now 131 feet 8 inches and now we take 131.8 divided by 2 legs = 65.10, meaning, 65 feet 10 inches per leg.

Example 2. A half wave end fed. Again, it's going to be built at 3.750. It's 131 feet 5 inches, but now, for an end fed, we're not as picky, about coax length for the coax leg.

So, let's say we're using 100 feet of coax.

So, take the 100 feet of coax, and the wire leg, will be 31.8 feet, which includes the 31.2 feet, which we needed to get us to 131.2, and add 6 inches, 3 inches for wrapping the wire around the insulator at the end, and the other 3 inches for connecting the other end of the wire to the unun, now we've got the 131.8 feet.

Question 4. What about connecting each leg of the inverted v to the balun, or the piece of wire to the 56 to 1 unun for the end fed, because I don't want to have to solder.

Answer. I have GREAT NEWS for the ham community, if you're using single strand bare copper wire, (and that is ONLY what I use, for outside antennas), you don't have to solder each of the legs of an inverted v ANY MORE, when connecting each leg to a balun, or if the unun has eyehooks, also called eyebolts on it, when connecting the piece of wire to the unun for end fed users. I don't, because, soldering just doesn't work for me.

Here's a 2nd reason not to solder from Nj2L, in an article about soldering,

"An antenna that depends solely on solder joints to handle wind stresses will surely fall down sooner than one that's made with good mechanical connections."

Here's a third reason why I'm glad I don't need to solder any more, I don't need to use sealant to protect the antenna connections at the balun, or the unun, and, at the end, or ends, where the insulator, or insulators, are. from being affected by water, or moisture, it's ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!

Instead, just use single strand bare copper wire for each leg of the inverted v, or for the piece of wire for the end fed and hook each leg of the inverted v onto each hook on the balun, or for the end fed, hook the piece of wire to the unun.

Make sure it's twisted really good, so it cannot come disconnected.

Anyway, it's just something for people to know, so you won't, any longer, have to solder the legs of the inverted v to the balun, or for the piece of wire for the end fed to the unun.

If you're worried it will become disconnected, what I do is, each time, before I turn on the radio, I always go outside, and check each leg of the inverted v to make sure it's still connected.

I live in a part of Michigan that gets high winds quite frequently, 70 mph, and I've NEVER, EVER, had an inverted v come down or come unhooked.

If indoors, I can do the same thing with insulated wire, and I do NOT need to solder either, and I LOVE THAT, it's awesome.

Question 5. Is there a best way for keeping my inverted v, or end fed, up so the winds cannot blow it down? What kind of rope should I use for hanging them?

Answer. When putting up an inverted v, or end fed, make sure the materials, and the supports are strong enough to withstand heavy winds without breaking. You can use rope, but instead of rope on each end, and in the center, I use copper wire.

I don't use rope, because rope can wear out in weather, I use pieces of copper wire, and it won't wear out in weather. Instead of putting a piece of rope through the opposite side of the end insulator from each copper leg of the inverted v, or through the opposite side of the end insulator from the leg of the end fed, I just put a piece of copper wire through it, and rap it like a piece of rope, to each end support for the inverted v, or end fed, and, I use a piece of copper wire instead of rope, for the top hook in the center of the balun, or the unun, where the piece of rope would go, as well.

But you can use rope, if you want.

Question 6. What kind of wire should I use to build my inverted v, or end fed?

Answer. If you're building an inverted v, or end fed, for outside use, use 12-gauge single strand bare copper wire, it's the best, for reception, and transmitting. I use 12-gauge, single strand, bare copper wire, and if they don't have 12 gauge, I use 14-gauge, single strand bare copper wire. I got it from the electrical department at Home Depot, because their copper wire does not spring back on itself, if you bend it, it stays where you bent it.

You can get it, as many feet as you want! That is where I get mine, because they will cut any amount of feet I need, and it's not springy, like other copper wire is.

note--If you want a whole spool of that wire, they have it in 1,250 foot spools.

Home Depot did not pay me to mention their copper wire.

12 gauge wire, that's what LB Cebik, W4RNL, the antenna guru, recommends, for gauge of wire which is my first choice.

In a Wikipedia web page article, it says, "thicker conductors have a wider operating bandwidth over which they attain a practical standing wave ratio."

Trippy's note--So, from that, we know that thinner wire is not as broadbanded, it's narrow banded, and you'll be retuning the inverted v, or end fed, more, and you want to retune it as little as possible on a band, because you want to be spending more time talking to people, and less time retuning. Why retune every 10 kc, when you could be retuning only every 100 kc, or more? That's what I'm talking about here, with regards to thicker copper wire verses thinner copper wire.

In the future, I will continue to build my inverted-V, or end fed antennas out of 12-gauge single strand bare copper wire.

I will even look at 10-gauge copper wire, if I can find it, and see if I can get that through the eyehooks, and if I can cut it with wire cutters, I'll use 10 gauge.

If you're putting it up indoors, use 14 gauge insulated wire, or coax, but if you're using coax for the legs of your inverted v, indoors, only use RG58, because RG213 is too heavy and could pull down the antenna. If outdoors, use rg213, that's what I will use for the legs.

note--hams have used insulated wire or coax, indoors, and have gotten out great, running 100 watts, or less, and there was no fire hazard.

Corey, KD3CR, uses an indoor antenna, using insulated wire. It's called the BBTD, running 100 watts, and it gets out great, on 6 through 80 meters, with a natural SWR of below 2 to 1, on all bands, 160 through 6 meters, but it doesn't work great on 160 meters, because it's only 135 feet, and for 160, you need AT LEAST 136 feet.

If you want to know about his indoor BBTD antenna, contact me, and I will email his article to you.

note--For using an indoor antenna, your power should be NO HIGHER than 100 watts.

note--Insulated wire does not receive as well, as copper wire, and insulated wire does not transmit as well, as copper wire or as coax.

If you don't want to put up a BBTD, an inverted v, or an end fed, indoors, either buy a snake antenna, from Jim, at the DX Store, phone 8668993947. Or buy the loop that Bob, VE3UK, makes.

When using coax for going between the antenna tuner and the inverted v, or end fed, or between the radio and the inverted v, or end fed, use RG213, because it is not foam, and the velocity factor of that coax is .66.

Do not use anything less than RG213, because it has a lower line loss than RG8 or RG58 does.

note--by the way, rg213 is a quarter inch in diameter.

For an end fed, I recommend MyAntennas.com. Danny is FANTASTIC, and his, get out, FANTASTICALLY, because of that 56 to 1 unun.

The only reason I don't order from him is, not the antenna, but he does not take phone orders.

If you're buying an end fed half wave from MyAntennas.com I asked Danny a question about coax length requirements for the counterpoise, and this is what he said in an email reply to me,

"You need any length of coax you need, there is no length requirements for the coax as a counterpoise."

Question 7. Do I have to use insulators?

Answer. Yes, you *MUST* use insulators. For an inverted v, you put 1 insulator at the end of each leg, and if you're using an end fed, you put 1 insulator at the other end of the leg, not where the unun is, but the other end.

If you're using coax, instead of wire, you also need an insulator at the center point where each leg of the antenna connects.

Question 8. When putting up an inverted-V, or end fed, is there a way that I could build an inverted v, or end fed where I would not need an antenna tuner?

Answer. According to VE3BXN, a ham who has been a ham for over 40 years, "if you put up an inverted-V, or end fed, always if possible, have the apex, (meaning the center point which is the feed-point of the antenna where the balun, or unun is), as high up as possible, and do not let the center where the balun or unun is, sag."

Trippy's note--I never thought much about the feed-point being up high as possible, but oh boy did I learn how true that is! It's Sunday morning, June 25, 2023. It's field day weekend.

I am using a snake antenna, and the feed-point was laying on my table where the radio is. I could not make even 1 contact. So, I thought, let's see if raising the feed-point makes a difference, like everybody says. So, I raised it, ONLY 8, inches, that's it, 8 inches, and you know what? I made a contact, with New Hampshire, from Michigan!!! So, yes, it is TRUE, raise the antenna feed-point as high as possible, and you'll be GLAD that you did.

Then, VE3BXN goes on to say, "for the inverted v, you drop the ends of the inverted-V, where each end of the inverted v, is sloped at a 52.5 degree angle. Meaning, each leg of the inverted v, would be sloped at a 52 and a half degree angle, totaling 105 degrees, because the 105 degree angle is the angle between the two wires, totaling 105 degrees.

Each leg can be dropped at even more than 52 and a half degrees, and, if you can do it, drop each leg straight down at a 90-degree angle, which totals 180 degrees. For the end fed, the wire leg of the end fed, can be sloped at a 45-degree angle, or if you can get it, drop it straight down at a 90-degree angle.

If you do that, with your inverted-V, or end fed, when you check the natural SWR, you should see that it's at the most, 2.0 to 1, or even lower, everywhere on all bands, and you will not need to use an antenna tuner to bring down the SWR, because your SWR will be very low!"

If I am building an end fed, the wire leg of the end fed, should be lowered at no less then a 45-degree angle, or even better, at a 52.5 degree angle, or even BETTER, at a 90 degree angle, or even better, at the 105 degree angle.

I built an inverted-V for a ham who lives in an apartment, and we sloped the one leg at 45 degrees, and dropped the other leg straight down at 90 degrees, for a total for the 2 legs of 135 degrees, and his SWR on 80 meters is 1.7 to 1 or lower, across the entire 80-meter band, so he doesn't need to use the internal antenna tuner on 80 meters, it's incredible!

If you asked me how I was able to get the SWR that good, I have no idea, but I wish I could replicate it, with every antenna I build and put up!

If you cannot slope the inverted-V or end fed at a 105-degree angle, because you can't slope it that much, try 90 degrees, 52.5 degrees, or 45 degrees, but no matter what, just slope it the MOST, angle you can. If the angle is less than 105 degrees, do a natural SWR check, and if the SWR is higher than 2.0 to 1, use an antenna tuner.

Trippy's note--I haven't tried that yet, but that's what I will do when I build end feds, from now on. end of note.

Question 9. I don't have room to string out an inverted v, or a half wave end fed antenna, what do I do?

Answer. Oh, do I have good news for you! It's coiling, just like Barry, KU3X, tells us how to do it.

note--For inverted v antennas, see parts 9 and 10 of this article, but for half wave end feds, read answer 9A, for the steps, below, for how to coil the end fed.

However, don't just read parts 9 and 10, or this answer in 9A, keep reading the whole article, for other antenna knowledge!

Answer 9A. for end feds, if you don't have the room to string the end fed half wave all the way out, you do the following:

Step 1. still use the same length of wire.

Step 2. Now, hang the unun.

Step 3. Now, measure how much room you have to string out the wire starting at the unun where the wire is connected to it, from there as far as you can string it.

Step 4. Then, put some kind of marker at the 6 feet point, which is 6 feet away from the 56 to 1 unun where the wire connects to the unun.

You can use a piece of tape, or a tie wrap, or something to mark the 6-foot point away from the unun.

Step 5. Take the coil of wire and connect the one end to the 56 to 1 unun.

Step 6. Now, you will need the help of someone to take this next step. While holding on to the coil so it does not move from that 6-foot point, but loose enough so the end of the wire that's not connected to the unun can be gently pulled to the place where you cannot string any more wire, let the other person pull the wire, to that end place.

Step 7. Now, take a porcelain insulator, and there are 4 holes on the porcelain insulator, 2 on each end, and each of the 2 holes are across from each other.

You need to put the end of the wire through the 2 holes on the porcelain insulator, 1 hole on 1 side, then go across through the other hole, after you get the tip of the wire through the 2nd hole, the tip of the wire should be touching your thumb.

Step 8. Now, with your thumb on the one hole, and your other thumb on the other hole, move the insulator to the left, until there is enough wire to go from that right hole, along your right thumb until your right thumb meets your hand, and now you have enough wire.

Step 9. Now, keep the insulator where it is, with your left thumb and finger to keep it from moving.

Step 10. Take that wire on the right side of the right hole of the insulator and bend that wire to the left so it will touch the wire that is to the left of the insulator.

Step 11. Then, bend that little piece of wire to the right of the wire it is touching.

Step 12. Then, keep bending that little piece of wire, until you cannot bend it anymore.

Step 13. Then, move that insulator, and see if that insulator comes off the wire, and you want it not to be able to come off the wire.

If it doesn't, you're set, but if it does, do steps 7 through 12 again, and then try to move it and see if it comes off the wire. If it does not, you're all set.

Step 14. Now, take a tie wrap, and put it through the coil, and lock it tight, so the coil and the wire in the coil cannot move from that 6-foot point.

Congratulations, you have now, just put your wire leg on to the end fed!

note--see 10.2.1, found in part 10, for how to put up the unun outside, or 10.2.2, found in part 10, for putting up the unun inside.

Question 10. Is there a measured footage for an inverted v, or end fed that does work, and a measured footage to avoid for an inverted v, or end fed that doesn't work?

Answer. There sure is. The ones that do work are all the ones that are recommended by other hams that are marked with a star, a *, also called an asterisk, below.

note--If you want to only use it on 1 band, or use it on all bands, and you have the room to put up and string out a half wave inverted v, or end fed, instead of a quarter wave inverted v, or end fed, do it, and even if you don't have the room, do it, and you can use coiling, which is a new revolutionary way to put up inverted v, or end fed, antennas.

Remember that coiling, let's you put up inverted v, or end fed antennas, as many feet as you want to make them, where you have no room to put it up and string it all the way out.

So read on, and you'll see what coiling is, and how to do it!

note--If you want to avoid using vertical antennas with radials, you will need an end fed half wave and a 56 to 1 unun, and the coax as the counterpoise.

note--For your end fed, you also need to use at least 2 ferrite cores, also called ferrite chokes, also called common mode chokes, also called line isolators.

It looks like a doughnut with a hole in the center when it's snapped on to the coax.

You snap the one on right next to the pl259 connector at the shack end, and you snap the second one on the right next to the pl259 connector at the feed-point end.

note--the following lengths below, marked with a *, also called an asterisk,  including the 3 inches on the end of each leg of the inverted v, or the 6 inches, 3 inches at the end of the leg of the end fed, and the 3 inches at the unun, are lengths that have been tested by hams, and also work great as inverted v, and end fed antennas, as well.

The lengths not marked with a star, a *, also called an asterisk, not including the 3 inches on the end of each leg of the inverted v, or the 6 inches, 3 inches at the end of the leg of the end fed, and the 3 inches at the unun, are lengths that have not been tested by hams.

The reason 2 meters is mentioned with each of these links is, because, these antennas do work on 2 meters, and the longer, the better, and they not only work on 2-meter SSB and CW, but they also work, with repeaters and simplex, and here's an example.

When I lived in Plainwell, Mi in the 1980s, I had a Drake TR22C, a 2-watt 12 channel crystal controlled 2-meter radio. The only antenna I had was *NOT* a vertically polarized antenna, it was a halo, a horizontally polarized antenna.

So, you would think, this will not work on 2-meter repeaters or simplex. Nothing could be more wrong! I came in with a fantastic signal, into the Battle Creek repeater, 27 miles away, and, into the Benton Harbor repeater, 62 miles away! It blew my mind, because I thought horizontally polarized antennas don't work on 2-meter FM, and I'm so glad I was wrong!

note--If there are 2 stars, 2 *s, before a length, that means that the natural SWR, without using an antenna tuner is 2.0 to 1 or lower, across the entire band of 1 of, or all the bands.

note--If you see a # sign, a number sign, next to the length, that means, that's the length for a half wave, on a certain band.

note--Also, if you find that anyone of these lengths don't work on a band that I said that it works on, PLEASE, let me know, and I will correct that length.

For example, if I say that a particular length works on 160 or 80 meters, but you find that it does not, let me know, so I can correct it, and erase that length from the list that hams can use.

note--**VERY IMPORTANT*--My criteria for whether a length of an antenna works, or not, is, I, or other hams, used that length, and had to be able to work stations on CW and SSB, (not counting local stations), on a band, using only 15 watts or less, because that's what my Elecraft kx3 uses for the highest power levels.

If I, or other hams, could work stations on both CW and SSB, then I tell you it is a great antenna, but if I, or other hams, could *NOT*, work stations on CW and SSB on a band, then I tell you it is not a good antenna.

If it works great on 6, it for sure, will work great on 2.

The lengths are:

*#16 feet 8 inches is great, works as a half wave end fed on 10 meters, through 2 meters. The coax counterpoise was 7 feet.

I worked the ARRL International DX Contest, CW and made contacts all over Europe, on Saturday, February 18, 2023, using my 12 watts because the Elecraft KX3 does not put out 15 watts on 10 meters, and, on Sunday, March 5, 2023, I worked my first EVER, contact on SSB, out of town, at 13:54Z, in the ARRL International DX Contest, SSB, it was IK8UND, on 28.349, and the antenna was indoors, using the same 12 watts!

86 feet.

90 feet.

91 feet

101 feet.

105 feet.

106 feet.

108 feet.

**131 feet 8 inches works fantastic, tunes 80 through 2 meters. On 80, the SWR is 1.7 to 1 or lower, across the entire 80-meter band!

However, it doesn't work at all on 160.

*133 feet 6 inches works fantastic on 80 through 2, Randy, K5NJE who uses it as an end fed, told me people think he's running an amp, but he's only using 100 watts. He told me, “People tell me I'm 5 s units stronger than people running amps!"

You need 60 foot of coax as your counterpoise. However, if you want to work 160 with this antenna, it will not work there, other hams have told me that.

136 feet.

137 feet.

*141 feet 6 inches is fantastic, tunes 160 through 2 meters, and you can use it as an end fed as well. Clint, W9AV, reports that it works on 160.

157 feet.

168 feet.

170 feet.

*172 feet 6 inches is fantastic, tunes 160 through 2 meters, and you can use it as an end fed as well. Tom, W5KUB has one, and he uses it on all bands. It's a 5 8ths wave on 40, but you can use it from 160 down through 2 meters.

*173 feet 6 inches is fantastic, tunes 160 through 2 meters, and you can use it as an end fed as well.

186 feet.

188 feet.

*202 feet 6 inches is fantastic, tunes 160 through 2 meters, and you can use it as an end fed as well.

*203 feet 6 inches is fantastic, it tunes 2 through 160 meters, and you can use it as an end fed as well.

*204 feet 6 inches is fantastic, it tunes 2 through 160 meters, and you can use it as an end fed as well.

*240 feet 6 inches is fantastic, tunes 2 through 160 meters, I heard a ham on 160 using this length, not in my local area, and you can use it as an end fed as well.

269 feet.

271 feet.

273 feet.

274 feet.

*275 feet, different hams have used this length for a dipole for 160, and you should be able to work all bands through it, from 160 through 2 meters, and you should be able to use it as an end fed as well!

278 feet.

279 feet.

280 feet.

283 feet.

287 feet.

289 feet.

290 feet.

291 feet.

292 feet.

293 feet.

294 feet.

295 feet.

296 feet.

298 feet.

299 feet.

*300 feet is fantastic, tunes 160 through 2 meters, and you can use it as an end fed as well, but you have to use the mfj929, or 939 antenna tuner. NB4R says, he tunes the antenna with his MFJ929 antenna tuner, "I'm using the antenna tuner on a 300-foot horizontal loop. All frequencies I have tested on all bands have tuned to 1.4:1 or less. And most are at 1.1:1. I find that amazing."

301 feet.

302 feet.

303 feet.

305 feet.

306 feet.

307 feet.

309 feet.

310 feet.

311 feet.

313 feet.

314 feet.

315 feet.

316 feet.

317 feet.

318 feet.

319 feet.

321 feet.

326 feet.

327 feet.

329 feet.

*330 feet 6 inches is fantastic, tunes 160 through 2 meters, and you can use it as an end fed as well.

It's between 5 8ths and a 2 3rds wave on 160.

I used it as an inverted v, it works great, and only used it with 12 watts, on my 24-foot balcony, on my KX3, on 160 meters, only 8 feet off the ground!

I made 4 CW contacts in the ARRL 160-meter CW contest, 1 with VE3EJ, in Toronto, Ontario, he got me on the first call! And one with k3UL in eastern Pennsylvania, and a contact with KF3B, also in eastern Pennsylvania, and with K2XL in eastern New York state, on 160 CW, only using 12 watts, and my 330 feet 6-inch inverted v!

They were on 160-meter CW. The eastern New York state station was on 1.843, at 10:45PM, on Friday, December 3, 2021, these are my first, ever, 160 meter, contacts, out of town, from this apartment, on 160!

331 feet.

332 feet.

333 feet.

334 feet.

335 feet.

337 feet.

339 feet.

340 feet.

341 feet.

343 feet.

344 feet.

345 feet.

346 feet.

348 feet.

349 feet.

350 feet.

351 feet.

353 feet.

354 feet.

355 feet.

356 feet.

357 feet.

358 feet.

359 feet.

*360 feet is fantastic, the Johnson county radio club uses this length, and you can use it as an end fed as well!

362 feet.

365 feet.

367 feet.

370 feet.

371 feet.

372 feet.

373 feet.

375 feet.

376 feet.

377 feet.

378 feet.

379 feet.

381 feet.

382 feet.

383 feet.

385 feet.

386 feet.

387 feet.

388 feet.

389 feet.

391 feet.

392 feet.

393 feet.

395 feet.

397 feet.

398 feet.

401 feet.

402 feet.

403 feet.

404 feet.

405 feet.

406 feet.

408 feet.

409 feet.

410 feet.

411 feet.

412 feet.

413 feet.

*414 feet has been used as a rhombic antenna, but try it at 414 feet 6 inches as an inverted v, tunes 160 through 2 meters, and you can use it as an end fed as well.

415 feet.

417 feet.

419 feet.

420 feet.

421 feet.

422 feet.

424 feet.

425 feet.

426 feet.

427 feet.

428 feet.

430 feet.

431 feet.

433 feet.

434 feet.

435 feet.

436 feet.

438 feet.

439 feet.

441 feet.

443 feet.

444 feet.

445 feet.

446 feet.

447 feet.

449 feet.

*450 feet is fabulous, a ham reports he used it. Tunes 160 through 2 meters, and you can use it as an end fed as well.

451 feet.

452 feet.

453 feet.

454 feet.

457 feet.

458 feet.

459 feet.

461 feet.

463 feet.

465 feet.

466 feet.

467 feet.

469 feet.

470 feet.

471 feet.

472 feet.

473 feet.

474 feet.

476 feet.

477 feet.

478 feet.

479 feet.

481 feet.

482 feet.

483 feet.

485 feet.

486 feet.

487 feet.

488 feet.

489 feet.

*490 feet, works fabulous, a ham reports he used it. It tunes 160 through 2 meters, and you can use it as an end fed as well.

491 feet.

493 feet.

497 feet.

498 feet.

499 feet.

502 feet.

503 feet.

504 feet.

505 feet.

506 feet.

507 feet.

508 feet.

509 feet.

510 feet.

511 feet.

512 feet.

513 feet.

514 feet.

515 feet.

516 feet.

517 feet.

519 feet.

*520 feet is fantastic, WA5KRP and N4KC said they use that length for a loop, but try the length of 520 feet 6 inches as an inverted v, or an end fed, it should tune 160 through 2 meters.

521 feet.

522 feet.

523 feet.

524 feet.

525 feet 8 inches, including the 3 inches on the end of each leg.

526 feet.

527 feet.

528 feet.

529 feet.

530 feet.

531 feet.

532 feet.

533 feet.

534 feet.

535 feet.

536 feet.

537 feet.

538 feet.

539 feet.

540 feet.

541 feet.

542 feet.

543 feet.

544 feet.

545 feet.

546 feet.

547 feet.

548 feet.

549 feet.

550 feet.

551 feet.

552 feet.

553 feet.

554 feet.

555 feet.

556 feet.

557 feet.

*558 feet is fantastic, WA7ARK, used it as a loop, tunes 160 through 2 meters, but try it as an inverted v, or end fed as well!

559 feet.

*560 feet, Don, N4KC, uses this footage for a loop. But I think you can use this for a dipole, inverted v, or as an end fed as well.

561 feet.

562 feet.

563 feet.

564 feet.

565 feet.

566 feet

567 feet.

568 feet.

569 feet.

570 feet.

571 feet.

572 feet.

573 feet.

*574 feet is great, tunes 160 through 2 meters, and you can use it as an end fed as well.

The SWR for this length of antenna is very low!!

575 feet.

576 feet.

577 feet.

578 feet.

579 feet.

*580 feet is great, W6AM has this rhombic, tunes 160 through 2 meters, and you can use it as an end fed as well!

581 feet.

582 feet.

583 feet.

584 feet.

585 feet.

586 feet.

587 feet.

588 feet.

589 feet.

590 feet.

591 feet.

592 feet.

593 feet.

594 feet.

595 feet.

596 feet.

597 feet.

598 feet.

599 feet.

*600 feet, Jeff, NJ2US uses this, as a loop, and what a signal he has on 160 through 10, but I would say, try this as an inverted v, or as an end fed, and you can use it on 6 and 2 meters as well!

601 feet.

602 feet.

603 feet.

604 feet.

605 feet.

606 feet.

607 feet.

608 feet.

609 feet.

610 feet.

611 feet.

612 feet.

613 feet 614 feet.

614 feet.

615 feet.

616 feet.

617 feet.

618 feet.

619 feet.

*620 feet, N4KC uses this length as a skywire horizontal loop, but try it as an inverted v, or as an end fed.

621 feet.

622 feet.

623 feet.

624 feet.

625 feet.

626 feet.

627 feet.

628 feet.

629 feet,

630 feet.

631 feet.

632 feet.

633 feet.

634 feet.

635 feet.

636 feet.

637 feet.

638 feet.

639 feet.

640 feet.

641 feet.

642 feet.

643 feet.

644 feet.

645 feet.

646 feet.

647 feet.

648 feet.

649 feet.

650 feet.

651 feet.

652 feet.

653 feet.

654 feet.

*655 feet is fantastic, has been used as a rhombic antenna, but try it at 655 feet 6 inches as an inverted v, or as an end fed, tunes 160 through 2 meters, and you can use it as an end fed as well!

656 feet.

657 feet.

658 feet.

659 feet.

660 feet.

661 feet.

662 feet.

663 feet.

664 feet.

665 feet.

667 feet.

668 feet.

669 feet.

670 feet.

671 feet.

672 feet.

673 feet.

674 feet.

675 feet.

676 feet.

677 feet.

678 feet.

679 feet.

680 feet.

681 feet.

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684 feet.

685 feet.

686 feet.

687 feet.

688 feet.

689 feet.

690 feet.

691 feet.

692 feet.

693 feet.

694 feet.

695 feet.

696 feet.

697 feet.

698 feet.

699 feet.

*700 feet is great, W6AM has this as a rhombic, tunes 160 through 2 meters, and you can use it as an inverted v, or as an end fed as well!

701 feet.

702 feet.

703 feet.

*704 feet is fantastic, has been used as a rhombic antenna, but try it at 704 feet 6 inches as an inverted v, tunes 160 through 2 meters, and you can use it as an end fed as well.

705 feet.

706 feet.

707 feet.

708 feet.

709 feet.

710 feet.

711 feet.

712 feet.

713 feet.

714 feet.

715 feet.

716 feet.

717 feet.

718 feet.

719 feet.

**720 feet is fantastic, W0IZ uses that length for a loop, with no tuner needed, but you can try it at 720 feet 6 inches as an inverted v, or use it as an end fed as well.

721 feet.

722 feet.

723 feet.

724 feet.

725 feet.

726 feet.

727 feet.

728 feet.

729 feet.

730 feet.

731 feet.

732 feet.

733 feet.

734 feet.

735 feet.

736 feet.

737 feet.

739 feet.

740 feet.

741 feet.

742 feet.

743 feet.

744 feet.

745 feet.

746 feet.

747 feet.

748 feet.

749 feet.

*750 feet is great, it's a rhombic at w6AM's antenna farm, tunes 160 through 2 meters, and you can use it as an inverted v, or as an end fed as well!

751 feet.

752 feet.

753 feet.

754 feet.

755 feet.

756 feet.

757 feet.

758 feet.

759 feet.

760 feet.

761 feet.

762 feet.

763 feet.

764 feet.

765 feet.

766 feet.

767 feet.

768 feet.

769 feet.

770 feet.

771 feet.

772 feet.

773 feet.

774 feet.

775 feet.

776 feet.

*777 feet 2 inches is great, one ham, W8JI, told me he used this length, it's a 1 and a half wave on 160, tunes 160 through 2 meters, and you can use it as an inverted v, or as an end fed as well!.

778 feet.

779 feet.

780 feet.

781 feet.

782 feet.

783 feet.

784 feet.

785 feet.

786 feet.

787 feet.

788 feet.

789 feet.

790 feet.

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795 feet.

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799 feet.

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801 feet.

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811 feet.

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815 feet.

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819 feet.

820 feet.

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825 feet.

826 feet.

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828 feet.

829 feet.

830 feet.

831 feet.

832 feet.

833 feet.

834 feet.

835 feet.

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837 feet.

838 feet.

839 feet.

840 feet.

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903 feet.

904 feet.

905 feet.

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920 feet.

921 feet.

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924 feet.

925 feet.

926 feet.

927 feet.

928 feet.

929 feet.

930 feet.

931 feet.

932 feet.

933 feet.

934 feet.

935 feet.

936 feet.

937 feet.

938 feet.

939 feet.

940 feet.

941 feet.

942 feet.

943 feet.

944 feet.

945 feet.

946 feet.

947 feet.

948 feet.

949 feet.

*950 feet is great, it's a rhombic at W6AM's antenna farm, tunes 160 through 2 meters, and you can use it as an inverted v, or as an end fed as well!

951 feet.

952 feet.

953 feet.

954 feet.

955 feet.

956 feet.

957 feet.

958 feet.

959 feet.

960 feet.

961 feet.

962 feet.

963 feet.

964 feet.

965 feet.

966 feet.

967 feet.

968 feet.

969 feet.

970 feet.

971 feet.

972 feet.

973 feet.

974 feet.

975 feet.

976 feet.

977 feet.

978 feet.

979 feet.

980 feet.

981 feet.

982 feet.

983 feet.

985 feet.

*986 feet is fantastic, it's been used by Bonnie, KQ6XA, as a loop, but try it at 986 feet 6 inches as an inverted v, tunes 160 through 2 meters, and you can use it as an end fed as well.

987 feet.

988 feet.

989 feet.

990 feet.

991 feet.

992 feet.

993 feet.

994 feet.

995 feet.

996 feet.

997 feet.

998 feet.

999 feet.

1,000 feet.

*1,008 feet has been used as a rhombic antenna, but you can try it at 1,008 feet 6 inches as an inverted v, tunes 160 through 2 meters, and you can use it as an end fed as well.

*1,035 feet 1 inch, which is a half wave on 630 meters, but it will be fabulous on 160 through 2 meters, and you can use it as an inverted v, or as an end fed as well!

*1,050 feet has been used by PA6Z and at W6AM's antenna farm, as a rhombic antenna, but try it as an inverted v at 1,050 feet 6 inches, tunes 160 through 2 meters, and you can use it as an end fed as well.

1,125 feet.

*1,160 feet, W8JI, uses this length for 2 beverage antennas, but try this length as a dipole, or an inverted v, and I bet it will tune 160 through 2 meters, and you should be able to use it as an end fed as well!

1,200 feet.

1,320 feet.

1,350 feet.

*1400 feet is fantastic, a ham reports that it works fabulous! It tunes 160 through 2 meters, and you can use it as an inverted v, or as an end fed as well.

*1500 feet is fantastic, it has been used as a rhombic, it is the largest rhombic antenna ever, Don Wallace, W6AM, had that rhombic antenna, but try it as an inverted v, at 1500 feet 6 inches, tunes 160 through 2 meters, and you can use it as an end fed as well.

*1,630 feet has been used as a rhombic antenna, but try it at 1,630 feet 6 inches as an inverted v, tunes 160 through 2 meters, and you can use it as an end fed as well.

1,650 feet.

1,652 feet.

1,680 feet.

*1,929 feet 10 inches has been used as a rhombic antenna, but try it at 1,930 feet 4 inches, as an inverted v, tunes 160 through 2 meters and you can use it as an end fed as well.

*2,300 feet, that length was used for the Duga-1 antenna array, but try it as an inverted v, or as an end fed.

*2,500 feet.

*2,640 feet, W8JI, uses this length for 3 beverage antennas, but I would say try this length for a dipole, inverted v, and I bet it will work fantastic on 160 through 2 meters, and you should be able to use it as an end fed as well!

*3,300 feet is FANTASTIC, Art Bell, W6OBB, used this as a loop, and had a FANTASTIC signal on 80 and 160. He said, "that loop made my 100-watt signal, as strong as if I ran 1,000 watts!"

But try it as an inverted v, at 3,300 feet 6 inches, and it should be able to tune 160 through 2 meters, and you should be able to use it as an end fed as well.

3,598 feet

*4000 feet, AB3CX, has 5 beverage antennas, 800 feet long, so I thought, let's take 800 times 5, and it totals 4000 feet! So, try that length, it should tune 160 through 2 meters, and you can use it as an inverted v, or as an end fed as well!

*4,200 feet, that's the length of an antenna that W7YRV used, and it really worked. He said about the antenna, "It was my first ham radio antenna, and it made me feel like I had a KW!"

You can use this length as a dipole, inverted v, or an end fed!

4,600 feet, that is the length of a zipline cable, and one ham told me, someone should try that at 4,600 feet 6 inches as an inverted v, or end fed, what a signal they would put out on all bands!

*5000 feet is fantastic, it was the length of the antenna for the east coast Marconi transmitting station in 1914, so try it as a loop, dipole, inverted v, or end fed, you'll be glad you did!

*5,280 feet is fantastic, the voice of America, has the biggest loop antenna on earth, 1 mile square in diameter, and it is mounted, horizontally.

So, try that as a loop, dipole, inverted v, or as an end fed, you'll be glad you did!

*13,200 feet, which is also 2 and a half miles, is fantastic, a ham had 2-and-a-half miles of space, and he used his 2-and-a-half-mile chain link fence as an antenna, and it was fantastic!!! Try that length for a loop, an inverted v, or as an end fed, it will tune up on 160 through 2 meters, you will be glad you did!

*26,400 feet, W7YRV, had that length for an antenna, it was 40 acres, that was the last one he built, after the 4,200 foot at his earlier QTH! Try that length as a dipole, inverted v, or end fed, you'll be very glad you did!

The following all band inverted v antennas, including the 3 inches on the end of each leg of the inverted v, and the following end fed, including the 3 inches at the end of the leg of the end fed, and the 3 inches at the unun, that have been tried, and do not work, are:

17 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

18 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

19 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

20 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

21 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

22 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

23 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

24 feet 6 inches did not work, it is not a good antenna.

25 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

26 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

27 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

28 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

29 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

30 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

31 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

32 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

33 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna, even though it's a half wave on 20, it didn't work for me at all.

36 feet 6 inches does not work, it is not a good antenna.

38 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

44 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

46 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

48 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

52 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

57 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

60 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

61 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

62 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

63 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

64 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

65 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

66 feet 6 inches did not work, it is not a good antenna.

67 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

68 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

69 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

70 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

71 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

72 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

73 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

74 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

75 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

76 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

77 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

78 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

79 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

80 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

81 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

82 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

83 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

85 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

87 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

88 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

89 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

92 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

93 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

94 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

95 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

96 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

97 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

98 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

99 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

100 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

102 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna, it does not cover the entire band on 80 and 160 meters.

103 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

104 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

107 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

109 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

110 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

111 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna, I, AC8S, tested it, and made no contacts, on it.

112 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

113 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

114 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

115 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

116 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

117 feet 6 inches did not work, it is not a good antenna.

118 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

119 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

120 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

121 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

122 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

123 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

124 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

125 feet 6 inches did not work, because it only works locally, not regionally, and not outside the region on 160, it's not a good antenna.

126 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

127 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

128 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

129 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

130 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

131 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

132 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

134 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

135 feet 6 inches does not work, it's not a good antenna, because it doesn't cover all of 160.

138 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

139 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

140 feet 6 inches does not work, it's not a good antenna.

142 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

143 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

144 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

145 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

146 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

147 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

148 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

149 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

150 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

151 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

152 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

153 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

154 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

155 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

156 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

158 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

159 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

160 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

161 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

162 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

163 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

164 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

165 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

166 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

167 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

169 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

171 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

174 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

175 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

176 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

177 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

178 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

179 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

180 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

181 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

182 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

183 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

184 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

185 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

187 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

189 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

190 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

191 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

192 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

193 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

194 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

195 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

196 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

197 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

198 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

199 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

200 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

201 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

205 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

206 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

207 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

208 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

209 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

210 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

211 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

212 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

213 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

214 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

215 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

216 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

217 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

218 feet 6 inches does not work, it's not a good antenna.

219 feet 6 inches does not work, it's not a good antenna.

220 feet 6 inches does not work, it's not a good antenna.

221 feet 6 inches does not work, it's not a good antenna.

222 feet 6 inches does not work, it's not a good antenna.

223 feet 6 inches does not work, it's not a good antenna.

224 feet 6 inches does not work, it's not a good antenna.

225 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

226 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

227 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

228 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

229 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

230 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

231 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

232 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

233 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

234 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

235 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

236 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

237 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

238 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

239 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

241 feet 6 inches did not work, it is not a good antenna.

242 feet 6 inches did not work, it is not a good antenna.

243 feet 6 inches did not work, it is not a good antenna.

244 feet 6 inches did not work, it is not a good antenna.

245 feet 6 inches did not work, it is not a good antenna.

246 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

247 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

248 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

249 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

250 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

251 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

252 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

253 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

254 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

255 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

256 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

257 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

258 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

259 feet 3 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

259 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

260 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

261 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

262 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

263 feet 4 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

263 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

264 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

265 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

266 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

267 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

268 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

270 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

272 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

276 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

277 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

281 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

282 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

284 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

285 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

286 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

288 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

297 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

304 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

308 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

312 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

320 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

322 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

323 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

324 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

325 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

328 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

336 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

338 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

342 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

347 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

352 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

361 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

363 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

364 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

366 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

368 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

369 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

374 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

380 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

384 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

390 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

394 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

396 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

399 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

400 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

407 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

414 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

416 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

418 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

423 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

429 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

432 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

437 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

440 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

442 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

448 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

455 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

456 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

460 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

462 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

464 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

468 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

475 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

480 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

484 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

492 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

494 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

495 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

496 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

500 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

501 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

501 feet 8 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

518 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

525 feet 6 inches did not work, it is not a good antenna.

666 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

738 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

984 feet 6 inches did not work, it's not a good antenna.

Question 11. Will a halfwave inverted v, or end fed, cut for 1 ham band, work on other ham bands?

Answer. Yes. My friend, Brian, N8MNX, has a halfwave inverted v up right now, and it's a halfwave on the lowest frequency band he uses, 80 meters, and it works on 40, 20, 15, 10, 6, and 2.

note--You can tune it using an antenna tuner, and see if it will tune, and it will, it did for me.

Question 12. What if I have to cut the antenna, to get the SWR down, at what inch intervals should I cut the wire?

Answer. Yours truly, just tried it, and 1 inch works great, so you can cut the wire, 1 inch at a time, but make sure, that you hold your thumb and first finger, very tightly to the wire, without hurting your thumb and first finger, or the wire will slip, and you will have to remeasure.

If you're working with coax for your inverted v, dipole, or end fed, you can only cut it 4 inches at a time, and no less than 4 inches.

Part 4. How long can my antenna be?

Your antenna can be as long as you want it to be, if it's a dipole, an inverted v, or an end fed, because of coiling.

*REMEMBER*, with antennas, the longer the antenna wire is, the better you will get out, and the louder your signal will be!

In the book 73 Dipole and Long-Wire Antennas, it says, "with every half wave added to the antenna in length, you add more db gain."

Now is that awesome, or what?

note--The problem is, if you make the inverted v, or the end fed, longer than a half wave, the antenna will get out directionally, and we don't want that, we want omnidirectional, meaning, transmitting in all directions.

However, there is a limit on how short your antenna can be, see the warning below, in part 5.

Part 5. Antenna formulas to use:

Here are antenna formulas I use to make antennas:

Formula 1. If you don't know what meter band a frequency is on, to convert frequency to meters, take 300 divided by frequency in megahertz.

For example, 300 divided by 3.750 = 80 meters.

If the band is a gigahertz band, take the frequency divided by 1000. For example 2400 MHz divided by 1000 = 2.4 GHz.

formula 2. If you don't know what frequency is on a certain band, take 300 million and divide that by the meter band you're on.

For example, 300 million divided by 80 meters = 3.750 million, or 3.750 kHz.

For gigahertz, take the number of gigahertz and times it by 1000. For example, 2.4 gigahertz times 1000 = 2400 mhz.

formula 3. If you don't know what the length or height should be for a specific antenna on a specific frequency, you take the wavelength formula number divided by the frequency and you'll have the length or height the antenna should be.

For example, if an antenna company advertises, they have a 12-foot half wave vertical which works on 40 meters, take the number for the wavelength, in this case a half wave, for example, 468 divided by 7.150 = 65.4545 feet, rounded up to 65 feet 5 inches. So, it's not a half wave vertical on 40, not even a quarter-wave length vertical on 40.

note--The number for a half wave is 468.

The number for a quarter wave is 234.

The number for a full wave, also called 1 wavelength, or whole wave, is either 936, 984, or 1005.

I put all 3 of these numbers in, because hams have used 936, 984, and 1005.

Formula 4. To find out how long, or, how high, the antenna has to be in feet, for the entire length, or height, from end to end, The formula is take the wave length number divided by the frequency = the entire length, or height, in feet for the antenna.

But if you're building an inverted v, or a dipole, then you divide *THAT* number you got by 2 and you'll get how long each leg of the inverted v, or the dipole, has to be.

For example, take the half wavelength number, 468 divided by 14.175 = 33.0159 feet, rounded down to 33 feet, for a vertical, but if you're using an inverted v, add 3 inches to each leg at the tie off end equals 33 feet 6 inches, divided by 2, because it's going to be an inverted v, = 16.8, meaning 16 feet 8 inches per leg.

If it's an end fed, take 468, the half wave number divided by 14.175 = 33.0159 feet, rounded down to 33 feet, and add 6 inches, 3 at the unun, and 3 at the end of the wire leg, = 33 feet 6 inches for the end fed.

Formula 5. If you don't know the number you want to work with, for the wavelength number, you take the 1 wave number, also called the whole wave number, which is 984 times the lower number of the fraction, divided by the highest number of the fraction = the wave length number.

For example, if we wanted to find the number to work with for a 5/8ths wave antenna, we take 984 times 5 divided by 8 = 615.

Formula 6. To get the antenna length in inches, you take the wavelength number divided by the frequency times 12 inches.

Formula 7. If you do not know the frequency an antenna will transmit on, take the number for the wavelength you're using, divided by the footage in length you have available for your antenna equals what frequency it will operate on.

For example, 468, the number for a half wave antenna, divided by a 24 feet long inverted v = 19.5, which is 19.5 MHz, which is not in any ham band.

Formula 8. If you want to know how efficient your antenna is, this is how to figure it out.

For verticals, take the length in feet that you have available, and divide that number by the footage for the wavelength you want, at the middle of the band you want to operate, and you will get your antenna efficiency.

For example, 1 I have 34 feet 8 inches of height available for my vertical, and I will divide that by 33.0159, which I'll round down to 33 feet, at 14.175, and I get an antenna efficiency of 1.0545, or 105%, now how's that for efficiency!

For end feds, take the length in feet that you have available, and divide that number by the footage for the wavelength you're using, at the middle of the band you want to operate, and you will get your antenna efficiency.

For example, for an end fed, 131.2 feet of available space for a halfwave divided by the number of footage needed for a halfwave at 3.750, the exact middle of 80 meters, which is 131 feet 2 inches, = 100% efficiency.

For an inverted v, you take the footage in length that you have available and divide that number by the footage for whatever wavelength you're using, at the middle of the band you want to work, gives you your antenna efficiency.

For example 3, for an inverted v, 131.8 feet of available space for a halfwave, because we had to add 6 inches, 3 inches on each end for the end insulator, divided by the number of footage needed for a halfwave at 3.750, the exact middle of 80 meters, which is 131 feet 2 inches, = 100% efficiency.

Formula 9. For figuring out how many watts your antenna will be transmitting, take the number of watts, times the antenna efficiency percentage, then press the percent key, then press the equals key, or, if you're using a calculator on a windows computer, press the enter key.

For example, if you're using a 100-watt radio, take 100, and times that by 67, then press the percent key, then press the equals key, or for a windows calculator, press enter, and it equals 67 watts.

So there is how many watts your antenna efficiency of 67% gives you.

So there is how many watts your antenna efficiency of 67% gives you.

Formula 10. What if you don't know what fraction of a wave you want to work with, for building an antenna?

If you have an Echo Dot, just ask it, what a certain number is, as a fraction.

For example, if you want to build a portable loop, less than a quarter wave, using my echo dot, I just asked it, what is 0.249 as a fraction?

It's 249 1000ths, that's as close as you can get, and be less than a quarter wave.

Formula 11. Since a capacitor is required for a magloop, (also called portable loop), with a circumference less than a half wave, What if you want to build a coax capacitor, because you're building a loop, that is less than 1 half wave, but you do not know how long to make the coax capacitor?

Answer. I will always recommend, RG213, because it's bendable, and has the lowest loss, in the coaxes you can bend.
rg213 is 30 picopharads per foot.

To figure out how long the coax capacitor has to be, take the number of picopharads you need, divided by 30.

So, for example, for 80 meters, you need 500 picopharads divided by 30 = 16.66666666666667, we'll round that up to 16 feet 7 inches, for the coax capacitor, and if you're buying the piece of coax, they'll probably round it up to 17 feet, which is fine, because the longer the length of coax, the more picopharads that capacitor has.

note--If your magloop, (also called portable loop), is at least a half wave, you do not need a capacitor, now how cool is that!
If your magloop, (also called portable loop), is more than a half wave, but less than a full wave, you will need an inductor for loops more than a half wave and less than a full wave.
end of note.

If you want to know what formulas for wave lengths you can use to make antennas, we'll go from a half wave up!

note--you have to start at a half wave, and you can go from there, up through infinity.

So, here we go with different antenna wave lengths we *CAN* use, because we *DO* know the antenna formula number we want to work with:

note--Since we now know, that with each half wave the antenna is longer, or higher, the higher the db gain, I will put a *, a star, also called an asterisk, next to it, because those are the antennas you want to build.

*a half wavelength is 50% of a whole wave, 468.

note--the db gain of a half wave dipole inverted v combo, is 2.15 db.

note--The problem is, if you make the dipole, dipole inverted v combo, or the end fed, longer than a half wave, the antenna will get out directionally, and we don't want that, we want omnidirectional, meaning, transmitting in all directions.

*a 1 wavelength, (also called a full wave), is 984.

That's if you're using 492, for the half wave number, but if you're using 468 for the half wave number, it's 936.

note--A full wave, also called a 1 wave antenna is 4 db gain which is an additional 1.85 db gain over a half-wave.

note--To figure out antenna length formula numbers for antennas that are more than 1 wave length long, you take the whole wave length formula number, (also called the 1 wave length, also called  the full wave length formula number, + the wave length formula number which is in addition to the full wave length formula number for the antenna you would like to make, and divide that number by the frequency you want to cut the antenna for, = the entire length of the antenna in feet.

For example, a 1 and a half wavelength antenna would be the full wavelength formula number which is 936+the quarter wavelength formula number which is 234 = 1170, however, I did the math for you, so the formula numbers are below.

note--If you're putting up a dipole or inverted v that is 1 wave or longer, your coax must be no longer than 59 feet or less between the radio and the antenna. .

If you have to use a longer coax than that, do not use coax, use open wire ladder line, because according to a ham on an antenna web page,

"A one wavelength dipole, or inverted v has a very high feed-point impedance, much higher than 50 ohms, if you decide to feed a 1 wavelength dipole or inverted v with sufficient impedance range, either of these 2 conditions must be met to avoid severe feedline losses:

1. If you're using coax, the tuner must be at the feed point.

If the tuner is in your shack, only a small fraction of your transmitter power will reach the antenna and be transmitted.

2. If mounting a tuner at the feed-point is not practical, (and for most hams it's not), then you must feed the antenna with open wire line, also called ladder line. It will have far less losses than coax."

For example, one ham had a 1 wave dipole, and another ham had a 1 wave inverted v for 75 meters fed with 60 feet of coax. Although their tuners perfectly matched the shack end of the coax at the radio end in the shack, on 40 their signals were very weak, so they had to run 600 watts to make themselves heard at all, in a round table with a group of friends. They finally gave up, because only 2 people heard them in this group, and only barely, and only when the noise on 40 meters was low."

note--I do not know, if that same rule applies for lengths over 1 wavelength, or not.

a 1 and a quarter, also called 5 4ths wave is 1170.

note--the DB gain for a 1 and a quarter wave is 5.2, it's higher than the db gain of a 1 wave!

*a 1 and 1 half wavelength is 1404.

*a 2 wavelength is 1872.

*a 2 and 1 half wavelength is 2340.

*a 3 wavelength is 2808.

*a 3 and a half wavelength is 3276.

*A 4 wavelength is 3744.

*a 4 and a half wave is 4212.

*a 5 wavelength is 4680.

*a 5 and a half wave is 5148.

*a 6 wavelength is 5616.

*a 6 and a half wave is 6084.

*a 7 wavelength is 6552.

*a 7 and a half wave is 7020.

*An 8 wavelength is 7488.

*an 8 and a half wave is 7956.

*a 9 wave is 8424.

*a 9 and a half wave is 8892.

*a 10 wave is 9360.

a 41 4ths wave is 10,086, which when divided by 1.900, the middle of the 160 meter band, = 5,308.4211, so we'll just round it down to 5,308.4 which is 5,308 feet 4 inches, which is just 28 feet 4 inches over 1 mile, how about that for an antenna!

You can use it as a loop, or try it as a dipole, as an inverted v, or as an end fed.

Here's why I came up with this measurement.

And on 160 meters that is 41 4ths wave long.

So, 5,308.4 divided by 2 legs of the dipole or inverted v = 2,654.2 feet, or 2,654 feet 2 inches per leg.

*a 10 and a half wave is 9828.

*An 11 wave is 10,296.

*an 11 and a half wave is 10,764.

*a 12 wave is 11,232

*a 12 and a half wave is 11,700.

*a 13 wave is 12,168.

*a 13 and a half wave is 12,636.

*a 14 wave is 13,104.

*a 14 and a half wave is 13,572.

*a 15 wave is 14,040.

*a 15 and a half wave is 14,508.

*a 16 wave is 14,976.

*a 16 and a half wave is 15,444.

*a 17 wave is 15,912.

*a 17 and a half wave is 16,380.

*a 18 wave is 16,848.

*a 18 and a half wave is 17,316.

*a 19 wave is 17,784.

*a 19 and a half wave is 18,252.

*a 20 wave is 18,720.

*A 20 and a half wave is 19,188.

* a 21 wave is 19,656.

* a 21 and a half wave is 20,124.

*a 22 wave is 20,592.

a 22 and a half wave is 21,060.

a 23 wave is 21,528.

*a 23 and a half wave is 21,996.

* a 24 wave is 22,464.

* a 24 and a half wave is 22,932.

* a 25 wave is 23,400.

*a 25 and a half wave is 23,868

* a 26 wave is 24,336.

*a 26 and a half wave is 24,804.

* a 27 wave is 25,272.

*a 27 and a half wave is 25,740.

* a 28 wave is 26,208.

*a 28 and a half wave is 26,676.

*a 29 wave is 27,144.

*a 29 and a half wave is 27,612.

*a 30 wave is 28,080.

* a 30 and a half wave is 28,548.

*a 31 wave is 29,016.

*a 31 and a half wave is 29,484.

*a 32 wave is 29,952.

* a 32 and a half wave is 30,420.

*a 33 wave is 30,888.

*a 33 and a half wave is 31,356.

*a 34 wave is 31,824.

*a 34 and a half wave is 32,292.

*a 35 wave is 32,760.

*a 35 and a half wave is 33,228.

*a 36 wave is 33,696.

*a 36 and a half wave is 34,164.

*a 37 wave is 34,632.

*a 37 and a half wave is 35,100.

*a 38 wave is 35,568.

note--You can continue to calculate even higher wave lengths than a 38 wavelength if you want.

The reason I stopped there is, that a half wave on 160 is just short of a 38 and 1 3rd wave on 2 meters, how about that for an antenna!

Part 6. Other antenna building questions:

Question 1. Which antenna is better, a dipole, a vertical, an inverted v, an inverted l, or an end fed?

answer. the best antennas are:

An inverted v.

A dipole.

An end fed.

The reasons are:

1. You don't have to use radials, with those 3 antennas, I never do.
2. Verticals, and inverted ls, which are a quarter wave vertical bent to fit into the available vertical height, need 32 radials, (my thanks to Joe, W1JR, for the number of radials needed for a vertical), and for me, radials do not stay wrapped tightly around the bottom of the antenna.

So, if you don't want to mess with radials, (and I don't), do not use a vertical, or an inverted l for an antenna.

Question 2. Is there any fire danger when using antennas indoors, or outdoors?

Answer. Yes their is, outdoors, and indoors, if you're using bare  copper wire for the antenna, and it will be touching combustible materials, do NOT, use bare copper wire, because when you're transmitting, the rf will catch things on fire if any of the antenna touches something combustible.

Instead, if the antenna will be touching anything that is combustible, use insulated wire, or coax, because there is no fire danger using insulated wire, or coax, but if the wire will NOT be touching any combustible materials, you can use bare copper wire.

And, if you're antenna is indoors, use NO MORE than 100 watts.

Question 3. What brand of coax should I buy for my antenna?

Answer. When you buy coax for the antenna, buy:

ABR.

Belden.

Davis RF.

DX Engineering.

because those 4 brands are better brands of coax, and they are used by more hams than any other brands of coax.

NOTE--Do not buy any coax that is not made in the United States.

When buying coax, ask where the brand of coax is made.

Question 4. Should I have them custom make a piece of coax for me?

Answer. if possible, do not have them custom make a piece of coax for you, just buy the precut lengths, because with the precut lengths of coax, the shield goes away from, and does not touch the so239 connecter.

However, if the length you need is not precut, then yes, you can have them custom make a piece of coax for you.

Question 5. Can I use hard line, or just coax?

Answer. Joel Halis, w1zr, told me, "do *NOT*, use hard line, because it does not bend, and if you try to bend it, you'll break it.

Question 6. What about using LMR400?

Answer. Joel Halis, W1ZR says about this,

"Do *NOT* use LMR400, because even though it has a lower loss than RG213, the pl259 connecter barely stays connected to the coax, without coming off the coax, and LMR400 only gives you 1 half s unit better signal strength when transmitting, so, I just use RG213 coax, and that's what I do."

Question 7. Can I use 7 8ths inch heliax for coax?

Answer. No, stay away from 7 8ths inch heliax, because water gets inside it.

Question 8. How should I feed, (meaning, connect my antenna to my radio, or external antenna tuner?

Answer. When feeding an antenna between the radio, or an external antenna tuner and the antenna, *ONLY* use coax, I only use RG-213 coax.

*DO NOT*, use ladder line, (also called open wire line), because if it touches any metal, it will short out the antenna, and the SWR will go way up.

I do not use ladder line, (also called open wire line), and I will NEVER use it, for that reason.

Question 9. If I Build an antenna by putting a piece of coax, or a piece of wire inside PVC pipe, will it work?

Answer. According to Emmett, w0qh, who works with antennas, "no, it will not work. But you can put a piece of coax, or a piece of wire inside an aluminum pipe, and it will radiate well, because aluminum is a great radiator!"

note--I tried using a piece of coax inside a piece of PVC pipe, and it did not work. The receive was terrible, and the transmit was terrible, I could not even key up a repeater a mile away from me, that I can always key up, on my rubber ducky.

Question 10. When it comes to coax connectors, should they be soldered, or not?

Answer. Buy coax with a connector already soldered, that's what I do.

But when buying coax, ask if the connecters are solderless, or soldered. You want the connectors soldered.

Question 11. How long should my coax be to connect my radio, or external antenna tuner to the antenna?

Answer. Buy the shortest precut length of coax you need, because the longer the piece of coax is, the higher the line loss, and your swr will be higher, as well.

However, don't buy the length of coax that is so short that it pulls on the radio, or antenna tuner the coax is plugged into.

You want to add 1 extra foot, so it won't pull.

For example, I have 12 feet between my radio and the balun outside, but I went with 14 foot of coax. And even though it didn't pull, it was still, too long.

So, I went with a 13-foot coax cable, and it was even better, it didn't even touch the ground on my balcony, and it still, did not pull on the radio, and since it is even shorter, more power will be going out my antenna, and the line loss will be even less!

But the coax *MUST*, be no less than 7 feet, because of rf exposure.

Question 12. What about using mag mount antennas for non-mobile use?

answer. Use mag mount antennas for non-mobile use, on only 10, 6, and 2 meters. They don't work on any other band; they never have for me.

If they do work for non-mobile use on any band from 12 through 160, please let me know, that would be FANTASTIC!

You can use them on a cookie sheet. The mag mount must be placed on galvanized steel, or on metal. Now if you use a mag mount on a vehicle, they work perfectly, on all hf bands, and on 6, and 2 meters.

You can also put them on the top of a refrigerator. You can also place them on the top of a metal filing cabinet. They also can be placed on a tin roof. Any plain of metal or steel is great, and it does not have to be grounded. A metal screen makes a great place for a mag mount, as well, and in all those places, other than a vehicle, they work fantastically on 10, 6, and 2 meters.

Question 13. What do you think of Windom antennas?

Answer. Stay away from them, one ham told me that, so I stay away from them, and just use:

An inverted v.

A dipole.

An end fed.

Question 14. What about power lines and antennas?

Answer. *CAUTION*--*STAY AWAY*, from power lines. Your antenna, and also your coax, *MUST NOT*, touch any power lines, or you will be electrocuted.

Question 15. How can I make sure that my so239 connecter on my balun, or unun, and, also, how can I make sure my coax, stays free from any water, or moisture?

Answer. LB Cebik, in chapter 20 of his book Antennas from the Ground up says, "cables become more lossy; very often because of moisture penetration of coaxial lines."

This is a problem that *ALL HAMS*, CAN AVOID! I kept hearing for years about hams having water or moisture, ruining their coax, their coax connecters, and their so239 connecters.

Nobody has ever thought of this. I kept hearing stories like that, and I thought, there has to be a way of preventing this problem!

Nobody does this method, but if they do it, they will NEVER again have water, or moisture problems with antennas!

First, for the so239 connecter on the balun, unun, or on any antenna, buy a waterproof cap, from the great folks at DX Engineering, (and no, they don't pay me), but I *LOVE* this cap, and use it, myself. It's a waterproof screw on cap to cover the SO239 connecter and keep water out of the connecter, when I'm not on the air, using it.

The part number, also called item number, is dmn31005.

It comes 1 in a package.

As far as the coax connector is concerned, my coax, if I use an outside antenna, is so short, (it's only 13 feet long), I just bring it back inside the shack when I'm not using it, and when I want to use it, on a non-rainy or non-snowy day, I take it outside, and unscrew the so239 cap which I just mentioned earlier, and connect the pl259 connector to the so239 connector on the balun, and in doing that, I never will have water in the coax or the coax connector, or the so239 connector, ever again.

However, if I'm using an indoor antenna, I don't have to worry about water getting into my coax, or PL-259 connectors.

You all now know how to avoid that problem.

Question 16. How long should I make the inverted v, end fed, or dipole?

Answer. As long as possible.

Here's why. The longer the antenna, the higher the wavelength you'll get, and the more db gain you'll get.

Also, on higher frequency bands, the same antenna of the same length, will be a longer wavelength on those bands, giving you a higher db gain!

This is VERY, EXCITING!!!

Here's an example, my thanks to Bob, W7SX.

"If you have a half wave vertical, inverted v, or end fed, on 40 meters, with a 1.6 db gain, if you run that same vertical, inverted v, or end fed, on 20 meters, the same length, it is now a 1 wavelength, with a db gain of 3.6!"

Part 7. How high can my antenna be, and what about wave lengths in height?

Your antenna can be as high as you want it to be, depending on how much room you have, and depending on how high the city, township, or county government will let you put it up.

We talked about wave lengths in length for wire antennas, which is very important for tuning your antenna. Now, we're going to talk about wavelengths in height. The higher the antenna is, the better the wavelength and the better signal you have, and that is what you want.

In the book 73 Dipole and Long-Wire Antennas, it says, "with every half wave added to the antenna, in height, you add more db gain."

Now is that awesome, or what!

According to the article called Ham Radio DB Gain, written by WA2OOO, "a long-standing rule of thumb: If you double the height of your antenna you will gain 6 db gain! That means if you had an antenna at 25 feet and decided to put it up on a small tower to 50 feet of height, you'll gain 6 db!"

Now THAT IS, INCREDIBLE!

If you have the height to do it, you want at least 1 wavelength off the ground in height. So, here is what 1 wavelength is in height for different bands using the 1 wavelength formula, 936 divided by the frequency for the exact middle of each band:

2 meters is 6.411, rounded down to 6 feet 4 inches.

10 meters is 32.4437 rounded down to 32 feet 4 inches.

12 meters is 37.5301, rounded up to 37 feet 6 inches.

15 meters is 44.0989, rounded down to 44 feet.

17 meters is 51.6613, rounded up to 52 feet.

20 meters is 66.0317, rounded down to 66 feet.

30 meters is 92.4444, rounded down to 92 feet.

40 meters is 130.9091, rounded up to 130 feet 10 inches.

80 meters is 249.6, rounded up to 250 feet.

160 meters is 492.6316, rounded up to 493 feet.

note--Since most people can't get above 60 feet in height, 40 to 60 feet is good enough.

However, LB Cebik, in his book, Antennas from the ground up, says, We think a half wave length is the best height to put up an antenna, on hf, not the case. A half wave has a db gain of 6.9, however, a 5 8ths wave, has a db gain of 7.9. Also, people think the higher, the better on hf, it's not so, because a 1 wave length antenna in height, which is even higher, has a db gain of only 7.8, compared to 7.9 db with a 5 8ths wave antenna in height, so, higher is not always better.

Here's an example of why the principle of the 5 8ths wave I just mentioned is so important to strive for, instead of an even higher height.

I'm so excited about this example!

I lived in Illinois, and I rented a room. That room had a piece of TV lead, I didn't know where it went.

I wanted to get back on hf, because I had no antenna to use, and I was off the air, since I left home to go to college, for almost 5 years, and I was very depressed.

Dennis, K0DB, one cold, January day in 1989, said,

"Trippy, I want to get you back where you belong, on the air. The Whites, have a TV tower that they're not using, with no TV antenna on it, it's up 40 feet!!!! The tower will be an all band vertical, with no radials on it!

You know the tv lead that's in your room?

That tv lead, (also called 300 ohm twin lead), goes out of the house, and connects to the tv tower, and I can take this end of the TV lead that's just hanging down in your room that you're renting, and connect it, to the binding post, on the back of your MFJ antenna tuner, and you, will be on the air, today, how about that!"

So he did that.

Here's the awesome part! I was able to get out on SSB and CW on 10 through 40 meters, and CW only on 80 meters.

I didn't know how good that tv tower would work as a vertical antenna, but I got my answer of how good it would work, oh yes I did, later that year, in the CW Sweepstakes in November, 1989, just wait till you read what he told me!!!

Sunday morning, I got on 20 to make contacts in the contest, and one of the stations told me, “You’re the LOUDEST signal on this band!!!!!"

That just blew me away, only 100 watts, a 40-foot tower with no antenna on it, and NO RADIALS on it, was the loudest signal on 20 meters!!!

Why was this station the loudest station on the band? Here's why, the tower was up 40 feet. The tower was just below a 5 8ths wave in height, on 20 meters, and a 5 8ths wave vertical antenna in height on 20 meters, is 43.3862, so we'll round it up to 43 feet 4 inches. That's MUCH BETTER, than a quarter wave!!! If it would have been 43 feet 4 inches, it would have been, a 5 8ths wave vertical!

I could not get out on 80-meter SSB. Why? Because the tower was only 40 feet, not even a quarter wave vertical for 80 meters. Now if it was 65 feet 6 inches high, it would have got out on 80-meter SSB, that is incredible!!!!

So, just put up a tower, with no antenna, as high as you can, and it can be a vertical for you.

Another way to use a tower for a vertical is, if you have a tv tower, or any tower, with no antenna on it, make a  snake antenna, which is just a piece of coax, which would have only 1 PL-259 connector, which would be at the shack end, and go from your antenna tuner in your shack, outside to that tower, then, go up one side of the tower, for the length as your tower is high. So, for example, if you have a 40-foot tower, and it's 100 feet from the antenna tuner in your ham shack to where the tower starts, make a 140-foot snake.

Then, go from the antenna tuner, outside with the snake, then, go up the side of the tower, all the way to the top, with the snake, and use a tie wrap, also called zip tie, every so many feet, (you can decide how many feet to put one), and I bet it will work!!! Now unfortunately, I don't live with a yard to put a tower up in, but if I did, I would do EXACTLY what I just told you to do, today, and I'd get on the air!

So try it, you might really love it, and if it works, let me know!

If you want to know more about the snake antenna, email me, and I'll send you the article about it.

If you want to know more about a tower being used as a vertical, if you can get your hands on it, get ahold of the book Low Band DXing.

It's by John, ON4UN.

I hope you can get it; I cannot find a copy of that book.

7.1. using a tower for an antenna:

What you want is, you want to be able to use the tower as an antenna on all bands, 160 through 2 meters.

Jim, N5NSN has a 58-foot tower for a vertical, with 60 wire radials, anywhere from 35 feet long to 70 feet long.

Pat Tice, WA0TDA says, "I remember Don, W0DN, who is now a silent key, wanted to work CW on 160 meters.  He had a windmill tower - the kind you used to see on farms across the country, and he used it as a vertical antenna!"

The best way is to use the gamma match, not the omega match.

VE3VN says, on his web page, with pictures of how to do it, at

http://ve3vn.blogspot.com/2020/11/160-meter-shunt-fed-tower.html

"A shunt fed tower is pretty simple: run a wire parallel to the tower, attach it to the tower where the resistance part of the impedance is 50 Ω and use one (gamma match) or two (omega match) capacitors to tune out the net inductive reactance at the base of the gamma rod (or wire).

High voltages may exist across the capacitor, so a vacuum variable capacitor is recommended.

Another ham, told me, "A shunt fed tower has the coax shield connected to ground but the center part of the coax connects at a point somewhere along the vertical section of the grounded tower where the impedance is near 50 ohms. A capacitor is needed to cancel out the inductance presented by the gamma arm."

note--go to number 11, below, in this subsection, it's a video, where Steve, VE6WZ, shows you how to find the 50 ohm point on the tower.

You then, have to bring it into line with the capacitor.

One cautionary note. If the tower is short, say 30 feet, some inductance will probably be required to resonate it on 160M. This can complicate things because if the inductance is added at the bottom, the tower has to be insulated from ground and the inductor connected from the bottom of the tower to ground. If the inductance is added between the top of the tower and the top hat (beam), the beam has to be insulated. While this is feasible for a small beam, I wouldn't want to try it with a big one.

Trippy's note--I wouldn't even put any antenna on the tower, remember my story earlier I shared? There was no antenna on that 40-foot tv tower.

Jerry, K4SAV says,

"For operation on 160 and 80 you will probably require two shunt wire matching networks. The shunt wire for 160 will have to go to the top of the tower if the tower is shorter in height for 160, which would be 136.7 feet.

The shunt wire for 80 will attach at a lower point. The matching network at the bottom will be different for these two bands.

Trippy's note--I wonder if you'll have to put a shunt wire for each band, and a matching network at the bottom of the tower for each band? I've never done it, so I don't know.

A vertical with the combination of capacitive top loading and shunt feeding has two desirable attributes:

1. The tower can be grounded, minimizing possible lightning problems.
2. The capacitively loaded vertical has a desirable antenna current distribution. Compared to inductive loading, capacitive loading increases the radiation resistance of the antenna which is very important since the radiated power (PR) is given by PR = I2RR where I is the antenna current and RR is the radiation resistance. Of course, there is no substitute for height.

It is straight-forward to model the antenna in NEC2 (I use EZNEC), with a few cautions:

1. Align the segments of the tower and gamma rod (wire)
2. Use MININEC ground and place resistance loads in a one segment wire connected to ground to emulate the loss due to the tower ground and radial system

Trippy's note--Any tower I have in the future for an antenna, will not have radials.

3. Rather than include yagis in the model it is easier and equally effective to measure the electrical length of the tower and make the tower that height in the model

Jerry, K4SAV says,

"I have had very little success at calculating an accurate matching network for a shunt fed tower using EZNEC or any program using the NEC2 engine. NEC2 does poorly with large variation in wire diameters in the same model. It will make large errors. A modeling program based on Mininec will do better."

The short wires connecting the tower and gamma rod should be one segment.

Put the gamma capacitor and source at the bottom of the gamma rod.

Connect the bottoms of the gamma rod and tower with a one segment wire, and do connect them in the built antenna.

The guidelines on how to proceed are addressed in ON4UN's book.

I recall that I measured the resonant frequency of the tower to be in the vicinity of 1200 kHz.

This is an electrical length of about 62 meters, which is 135° or ...oeλ at the low end of top band. Although this is quite a bit more than 90° (λ/4) the pattern does not sprout any lobes at high elevation angles.

I was successful replicating the tabulated data from the book with the model I developed in EZNEC. The initial height estimate for tapping the tower with a wire spaced 1.5 meters, (4 feet 11 inches), is about 25 meters, or 82 feet.

Perhaps the largest uncertainty is the diameter of the tower which, as a lattice structure, is typically equivalent to a wire somewhat less than the tower face dimension and depends on the structural details. Gamma wire diameter and insulation are other variables with an effect.

For simplicity in getting to a first measurement I used the boom of the lower 5-element 20-meter yagi that is ~22 meters, 72 feet 2 inches, high. A clamp holds the wire in position along the boom and the wire is bonded to the tower metal by scraping away the paint around a hole in the adjacent tower girt. I did not rely on continuity between boom and tower because there's a layer of paint between them. I scraped the paint off the galvanizing at the attachment point.

It was no fun to lean out from the tower on a face with no climbing horizontals to clamp the wire out 1.5 meters (4 feet 11 inches') from the tower center. I couldn't get it quite that far without additional acrobatics, an unwarranted effort since the tap would almost certainly have to be moved.

That was indeed the case. After cancelling the inductive reactance with a capacitor (low voltage capacitors are suitable for analyzer measurement) the resistance, at 122 Ω it was far wide of the mark. Part of that was due to the mess of clip leads but nowhere near 150% error's worth. Apart from the high impedance the antenna seemed to work okay. I am using the same set of 8 × 30 meter, 98 feet, radials from my earlier antenna.

It was a windy day during the first trials and the periodic billowing of the long gamma wire during the analyzer's scan made for peculiarly wavy SWR curves. It is worthwhile to place insulating arms at several points on the tower to hold the wire in place to avoid impedance swings and wire fatigue. I have not yet done so since, with the antenna incomplete the positions were subject to change.

I returned to the computer to re-calibrate the model based on what I learned. It turned out that the error was not as bad as I feared. I estimated that the 50 Ω tap could be found 3 to 5 meters, 9 feet 10 inches to 16 feet 5 inches, lower. I split the difference and used the available tower girt about 3.5 meters, 11 feet 6 inches, lower (~60 feet above ground).

I built an extendible arm to suspend the gamma wire from the tap point. A length of angle steel and an ABS pipe are joined with hose clamps. The outer end of the ABS pipe is notched to hold the wire in place. The bolt that connects the arm to the tower doubles as the electrical bond to the tower. The end of the wire is a tinned loop that fits on the bolt and minimizes galvanic corrosion when sandwiched within the galvanized hardware.

Minimal acrobatics are required to adjust the telescoping arm. To change the distance, I disconnect the wire on the ground, loosen the hose clamps and slide the pipe to its new position. A retractable steel tape measure can be extended out to the end of the pipe to set the wire separation.

The separation between the gamma wire and tower was not constant. The wire was farther at the bottom than at the top. Although this is not ordinarily discussed in the literature there is no reason for the two to be exactly parallel. All that does is improve predictability. The effect of the angled wire is that of a parallel wire with a separation between those of the top and bottom.

The reasons for the non-parallel wire were to avoid more tower acrobatics and because the radial hub is not easily moved. I only moved the radial hub, along with all 8 radials, when the antenna was approaching completion. The general layout of the antenna base is shown in the photo below.

Pictured are the final positions of the components, after all the experiments and final adjustment. A wood stake has a wood platform for the plastic container with the gamma capacitor and an insulator for the gamma wire.  This keeps the capacitor and feed point off the ground and safe from snow, puddles and even small animals.

This is a high voltage point so beware of the presence of incidental conductors. Insulated wire is recommended for the vertical gamma rod (above the capacitor). A wire snakes along the ground between the tower lightning ground rod and the radial hub (ABS pipe next to the stake) to prevent the high loss of a return path via the soil. A short length of RG213 runs from the main Heliax transmission line to the feed point adjacent to the capacitor. The Heliax is buried in a trench along with all the other transmission lines and control cables.

It is important to check for continuity between the gamma wire and the tower ground. Despite the many splice bolts between tower sections, it is possible for paint to insulate tower sections. A friend in the business once explained that the metal ridges I found on several of my used commercial tower sections are evidence of the tower having been the radiator of an AM broadcast station. After installation all the legs at each section splice are spot welded to ensure continuity and no resistance loss due to high RF currents.

Returning to the tuning discussion I have to say that we got lucky with the second trial using the lower tower tap. After tuning out the inductive reactance with the capacitor the impedance was almost exactly 50 Ω. This is what I call hitting the bullseye! Unfortunately after tidying the site -- changing connecting wire lengths and location of the radial hub -- the impedance dropped to 38 Ω. Further adjustment of the gamma wire got us back to 50 Ω.

I drew a diagram of the adjustment process for the gamma wire. Coarse tuning to get to 50 Ω is done by changing the height of the tower tap. Higher is higher impedance and lower is lower impedance. Once you're close -- 35 Ω to 65 Ω range -- you can fine tune the impedance by changing the separation of the wire and tower. Closer is lower and farther is higher impedance. There is an effect on bandwidth in different combinations of the two, however it is small enough that I solely focused on achieving a match.

Since the radials are difficult to move you can either run a wire from the bottom to the radial hub or fix the gamma wire position at the bottom and extend or retract the tower arm. I performed trials using both methods. Do whatever works best in your situation. The extra wire on the ground for the former method changes the tuning and that can be tuned out with the gamma capacitor.

For 160, I centered the match at 1840 kHz. This is 10 kHz higher than for general DXing, for which most top band operators aim for 1830 kHz. Because contests are a primary interest of mine and the activity in top band contests can spread quite a lot higher in the band, I centered the antenna higher. Alternatively, the antenna center can be moved higher just for contests, easily accomplished in a few minutes by adjusting the gamma capacitor.

The 2:1 SWR bandwidth is a little more than 75 kHz, as predicted in ON4UN's book and in the software model. This is narrow though typical of an electrically long shunt fed tower. Better than 100 kHz bandwidth can be had with a wire cage for the gamma wire. I'll consider doing that next year if I decide to keep this antenna.

With the gamma capacitor value and range determined once the 50 Ω impedance was found for the final antenna layout I proceeded to select a gamma capacitor from my ample junk box. The gamma capacitor has a high voltage across it due to the large inductive reactance it must cancel. By large I mean thousands of volts. The greater the inductive reactance the smaller the capacitor value required to cancel it and the higher the voltage it must withstand. For the 145 pf capacitor measured and modelled it is more than 2500 volts for 1000 watts.

A variable capacitor with the required range and voltage rating is large. It is better and cheaper to use a small value variable capacitor in parallel with a high voltage fixed capacitor. The smaller range of the variable capacitor is also easier to tune, and this is important because the capacitor value is critical: a tiny change has a large impact on the feed point impedance.

My first attempt was a split stator capacitor with 50 pf per section in parallel with a 100 pf ceramic doorknob capacitor. The approximate range is 100 to 200 pf, plus stray capacitance in the wires connecting it to the gamma wire and feed point.

The plate spacing is not enough to withstand 3000 volts, which is the minimum recommended in this application. Air requires at least 0.12" to survive 3000 volts, and that is for dry air with no margin for humidity and particulate contaminants. To determine the actual flash over voltage I followed the advice from an old joke:

To determine the load rating of a bridge drive heavier and heavier trucks over it until the bridge collapses. Rebuild the bridge as before and put up a sign with the load limit as the weight of the last truck that made it safely across.

I gradually increased power until the capacitor arced. This occurred around 650 watts. I had no difficulty operating at 600 watts. The load data in EZNEC tells the story.

Load #3 is the capacitor. At 600 watts it sees a little over 2000 volts. It is reasonable to assume from this (and a measurement of the plate spacing) that the capacitor is rated for 2000 volts. The box the capacitor comes in does not specify the voltage rating.

I rebuilt the capacitor by adding a 30 pf ceramic doorknob and wiring the split stators in series. The range of the assembly is now 130 to 155 pf. Recall that series capacitors of equal value result in a capacitance half that of each, which is 25 pf for the two 50 pf section. These act as a voltage divider with a combined rating of 4000 volts. Should you use different value capacitors in series the voltage division will be unequal and you may not eliminate arcing.

I added less than 10 pf to the range with a few inches of scrap RG213, which is 2.1 pf/inch and has a voltage rating of at least 3000 volts. The braid is trimmed near the edges to prevent arcing through the air.

For weather protection I put the capacitor in a margarine container. There are holes for the external connections and bottom holes to weep water and moisture. A scrap piece of wood on top reduces UV damage and, with a stone, keeps it from blowing away in a high wind!

Returning to the load data you'll see the 3 resistance loads for the radial system and the lightning grounds of the shunt fed tower and the similar tower 60 meters away. Ground loss has been reduced compared to my previous wire vertical and that of a wire vertical adjacent to one tower or between the two towers.

It is difficult to know whether the efficiency increase is true in practice. For now, all I can say is that the antenna is working very well and is certainly at least the equal of my previous winter 160-meter antenna. Cumulative experience over the coming winter's DXing and contests will provide additional performance data.

I'll close with noting a couple of issues, one that I ran into and one that may arise:

1. After tuning the antenna and testing it in the shack I found that the resonant frequency shifted from 1840 to 1855 kHz. That may not seem a lot but for a narrow bandwidth antenna on 160 meters it is an almost 1% change that pushed the SWR over 2 at the bottom of the band. Scale this to 20 meters and it's equivalent to shifting resonance from 14.100 MHz to 14.220 MHz. Most hams would notice that!

The cause was the connection to the main transmission line. It is buried 20 cm below grade and behaves as an additional radial, one that is longer than the other 8. There is no common mode choke on the transmission line to defeat this behavior. The gamma match provides a modest amount of common mode attenuation and the ground around the Heliax provides a degree of common mode choking because, by being buried, the common mode field loses strength along the way. However, this choking effect is not enough to prevent it acting as a radial. With a small radial count there can be a current imbalance due to its different length and depth, but imbalance is almost certain in any case with just 8 radials.

To compensate for the shift, I tuned the antenna to resonance at 1825 kHz. With the transmission line attached the resonance shifted 15 kHz to 1840 kHz, which is where I want it.

2. The other concern, one common with shunt fed towers, is RF into electronics on the tower and heating of common mode chokes on yagis. At a minimum all control lines requires bypass capacitor or RF chokes, and even then there may be effects. I will be watching for problems with my home brew stack switches when they are installed in the next week or two. Since I use air core coax chokes there are no ferrite cores to overheat and damage. At least that's the theory. Again, I will have to see what happens.

Most often these problems do not manifest themselves. When they do occur, they can be difficult to cure. Opting for a wire vertical adjacent to the tower rather than shunt feeding the tower itself can help but not as much as you might think since the coupled energy is almost as great as in the wire itself. More separation is needed to lower the risk.

There is no easy way to predict which installations will suffer from these problems. I will try it and see and take action if necessary. One reason I chose the tower with the 15 and 20 meter stacks is that it's less likely I'll be on those bands at the same time as 160 meters than 40 or 80 meters.

Bob, N6TV, uses 1el shunt-fed tower. The entire tower is loaded up as a big vertical, with the Omega match at the base and a tap at the 25 foot level but ask the ham putting up your tower if you can put the tap at a higher foot level, or not.

What I'm going to do, is, put the tap at the highest level of the tower, (see what ON4UN's book recommends for the location of the tap.

About Bob, N6TV’s tower, he says, "My tower has no guys because it is a self-supporting motorized crank-up.  The concrete base for the tower is about 4.5 feet long by 4.5 feet wide, and it is 8 feet deep., or 6 cubic yards or about 12 tons."

A 199-foot self-supporting motorized crank up tower.

Now N3JT, has his tower in 36 tons of concrete, so it does not need to be guyed.

Questions:

1. What is an omega match? Not sure what that is.

Answer. For a shunt-fed and grounded tower, Steve, VE6WZ says, it's best to use a gamma match.

Bob, N6TV says "I use an omega match, which uses two big capacitors at the base and run a shunt wire from one side of a capacitor, straight up and parallel to the tower, to a certain point up on the tower, then bring it straight over with a metal cross arm and attach it there.  So, it's sort of like a really big, long and straight inductor.  I guess it works kind of like a big gamma match. so I can't really explain how the shunt wire works.  I just tried what others had done before me."

2. You mentioned it is at the 25-foot level, If you moved it to 50 foot would it get out better?

Answer. "ON4UN's book has some formulas about the optimum height to attach the shunt wire compared to the total height of the tower.  The location in his book says that is apparently well above 25 feet, but since I have a motorized self-supporting crank-up tower with moveable sections, it is not practical to locate it anywhere but the top of the fixed section, otherwise the wire would get all tangled up when I lowered the tower.  What I have now works well enough, so I haven't bothered to do any more experimenting."

Trippy's note--If you can have a motorized self-supporting crank-up tower with non-moveable sections, do it, that way, ON4UN's book has some formulas about the optimum height to attach the shunt wire compared to the total height of the tower.  The location in his book says that is apparently well above 25 feet.

3. Would I need a mast on the top of the tower?

answer. no, it's obvious that I didn't have a mast on that TV tower.

4. Would I need beams or some kind of antenna on the tower?

Answer. No, because I didn't have any beams or any antenna on top of the TV tower in Il.

5. Do I need to use radials for my tower?

Trippy's answer, no, because I had no radials for my TV tower in Il.

However, in Pat's story, about W0DN, he says, "and he found some cheap surplus wire to lay down as radials under the tower.  There must have been close to a mile of wire in the ground."

note--Steve Ford says in his book Small Antennas for Small Spaces, "If you are using it for just 1 band, you need no less than 16 radials for that band, but if you want to use it for multiple bands, you have to have no less than 16 radials for each band you want to operate." And Ward Silver, N0AX says about verticals with radials, "you need no less than 30 radials for each band you use."

And Steve Ford, in his book I mentioned earlier says, "each of the radials need to be 12 feet less than the footage necessary for a quarter wave radial."

6. What about protection from lightning, and how do I do that?
7. A video telling how to shunt fed a tower

This is by Steve, VE6WZ. I disagree with him on 1 point. He says you need an antenna on your tower. The TV tower I used in Il., did NOT have any antenna on it, and it was the loudest signal on 20 meters, it was just amazing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHlc5MTGTFM

8. Then, there is a Wikipedia article titled:

Mast radiator

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mast_radiator

9. Basic Anatomy of a Shunt Fed Tower, what it looks like. Now Steve tells you that you need an antenna, but I did not, but you get to see what a shunted tower looks like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHlc5MTGTFM&t=140s

The gamma match is the best way to do it.

Pat Tice says about W0DN's tower, "W0DN fed the tower with a Gamma match.  Man, could he work the stations on the old windmill tower!  The nice thing about the Gamma match when used on a Yagi or on a vertical is that you can use "plumber's delight" construction, which means that everything can be bolted together with no need to use insulators to isolate the tower from the ground system.

10. How to gamma match your grounded tower

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHlc5MTGTFM&t=201s

11. Then, Steve shows you how to find the 50 ohm spot on your tower

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHlc5MTGTFM&t=351s

12. calculate the Required Series Gamma Capacitor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHlc5MTGTFM&t=1199s

13. Gamma Capacitor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHlc5MTGTFM&t=180s

14. figuring the Voltage across the Capacitor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHlc5MTGTFM&t=1435s

15. Using all parameters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHlc5MTGTFM&t=741s

16. Then, Steve shows you how to put the shunt arm on the tower.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHlc5MTGTFM&t=554s

17. varying the wire space from the tower, and we want 50 ohms, he shows you how to get that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHlc5MTGTFM&t=1147s

18. Add a Second Shunt Wire, to give you more band width.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHlc5MTGTFM&t=1314s

19. In an article, written by KD9SV, he says, "Tired of having your tower just sit there using up valuable real estate just to support a beam? Put it to work on a few more bands and keep it real busy.

This article describes the low-band antenna system at KD9SV's location. The 160-meter success with a tower only 70 feet tall could easily be applied to a shorter tower for 80 meters.

When I returned to the amateur radio ranks after some 15 years off the air, I bought a used, freestanding, 70-foot tower. After I installed a TH6-DXX antenna at 71 feet, I found I was in pretty good shape on 10, 15, and 20 meters, but I still needed something for the three low-frequency bands.

I wanted to give the new tower a clean, uncluttered look and avoid a lot of wire antennas which would detract from the appearance of my lot. To get on the low bands I fed the tower on 160 meters, used a half sloper (1/4 wave) on 80 meters, and fed a 33-foot-long rotary dipole loaded off center on 40 meters. This gave me all six bands with just one piece of wire in the air.

Design approach:

When we were given the new WARC bands, I started looking for a means to get on 12 and 17 meters. I decided to convert my 40-meter rotary dipole into a trap dipole for 12 and 17 meters using the tower as a vertical radiator for the three low frequency bands of 160, 80, and 40. My friend Lynn, WA9GFR, and I found it possible to make a very effective vertical antenna out of a 50, 60, or 70 foot tower with a beam antenna for top loading. This equipment is something many amateurs already have in their arsenal.

I took this approach mainly because a short tower of about 50 feet with a small triband beam on top is nearly 5/8 wavelength long on 40 meters and close to wavelength on 80 meters. The low angle of radiation from this system will do a much better job of working long-haul DX on those bands than an inverted Vee or dipole mounted at this height.

The KD9SV vertical radiator:

As with any vertical system, performance depends upon the thoroughness of your ground radial system and the efficiency of your antenna match. I recommend a minimum of 20 quarter-wavelength radials for the lowest frequency band but use a number that's practical for your location.

The 70-foot tower at KD9SV is grounded through several ground rods. It also has a ground radial system of approximately 20 radials 120 feet long, with 30 additional radials about 60 feet long. Fig. 1 shows details of my antenna system.

Fig. 1 - KD9SV antenna system.

As a result of past experience and new insights gained while working on this project, I came up with the following guidelines which I believe provide a logical approach to multiband matching of a single vertical tower:

1. The gamma arm must be less than 1/4 wavelength long at the highest frequency (in this case, 7.3 MHz).
2. It must work on the lowest band first, then proceed to the next higher band. Any "tricks" you use to help the lowest frequency will force changes in the higher frequency bands.
3. To prevent high-angle radiation lobes, make sure the antenna isn't electrically longer than % wavelength at the highest frequency. (I had to put a 40-meter trap in a top-loading wire that had been added to electrically lengthen the tower on 160.)

I used a Vector impedance meter, which took the guesswork out of determining the tower's feed-point impedance. I made the gamma arm out of 5/8 inch copper pipe. The arm is attached to the tower at a height of 27 feet and spaced 30 inches from the tower. I began matching at 160 meters by tuning out the gamma-arm inductive reactance with a series capacitor. The feed-point impedance resistive component was only about 15 ohms. Although my TH6-DXX triband Yagi provided some top loading, I added an additional top-loading wire (see fig. 1) to make the tower electrically longer and raise the feed-point impedance.

I tuned out the reactance of the final configuration with a 600 pF capacitor. The resulting impedance was closer to 25 ohms than to 50 ohms. This was within a 2:1 VSWR of 50 ohms, and it looked as if either additional top loading or a 2:1 transformer would give me what I wanted on 160 meters.

Because I wanted to be able to feed the tower on the three low-frequency bands from a single feed-point, I decided to investigate matching on 80 and 40 meters before finalizing the 160-meter match. Experience told me that approximately one quarter of the capacitance, or about 150 pF, would be the starting point for matching at 80 meters. A 120 pF series capacitor presented an impedance of 25 ohms at 3.8 MHz.

As both 160 and 80 meters seemed to match easily to about 25 ohms, Lynn and I decided to keep what we had and finish the match on both bands with a 2:1 broadband transformer. We found the perfect solution in W2FMI's book Transmission Line Transformers. (1) I constructed a 2.25:1 transformer consisting of 6 turns of #14 wire trifilar wound on an FT240-61 core (see fig. 2). A shunt coil of about 100 microHenries at the feed-point (67 turns of #20 insulated wire on a T200A-2 core) fine-tuned the input impedance on 160 meters.

Fig. 2 - The 2.25:1 broadband transformer.

If you attempt something similar on your tower, you must match the resulting resistance when the gamma-arm reactance is tuned out. For example, if your impedance is nearer 12 ohms than 25 ohms, a 4:1 transformer would be appropriate. An unbalanced-to-unbalanced transformer is essential for this application. Do not use a balun transformer.

Adding a 40-meter match through the same gamma arm and transformer presented quite a challenge. Initial impedance measurements indicated that the O was extremely high, and that a simple match wouldn't be possible. I also suspected that the 160-meter top loading would make the tower electrically longer than % wavelength. We made a few on the air tests using a crude preliminary match. Signal-strength comparisons from several contacts indicated high-angle radiation.

Our final 40-meter solution involved placing a 40-meter trap in series with the top-loading wire which had been added for 160 meters (see fig. 3). The original top-loading scheme is still in place on 160 and 80 meters, but now the effective radiator on 40 meters is comprised of just the tower with the top loading of the TH6-DXX beam. The impedance I needed to match boggled my mind. WA9GFR came to the rescue once again with a clever, but simple, matching network.

Fig. 3 - The 40-meter trap.

Matching feed-point impedances

WA9GFR did all the impedance matching using a Smith Chart impedance-matching computer program he had written called SCHART.

(2) After you enter the impedances, you wish to match, the program lets you experiment with all possible types of matching elements. It also permits cascading sections. The resulting impedances are listed in tabular form and can be plotted on a Smith Chart. (You can use your computer for plotting if you have a graphics card.)

We discarded several Intermediate approaches, but the final system was easy to match on 160 and 80 meters. A simple series capacitance brought the impedance to approximately 25 ohms; the broadband transformer did the rest. After optimizing the system for the lower frequencies, we faced a real challenge with 40 meters. The Smith Chart matching program proved invaluable in finding an easy solution to a mind-boggling set of impedances.

The computer-generated results of the 40-meter matching network are shown in Table 1 and fig. 4.

Highly active impedances with magnitudes of over 1000 ohms seemed to indicate that a broadband match would be impossible. Experimentation with physical networks would have been prohibitively time consuming. However, playing "what if" with the computer yielded an answer in just a few minutes.

Fig. 4 - Plot of SCHART results for 40-meter match.

Table l- SCHART results for 40-meter match showing impedance listings.

Freq (MHz)   RS (ohms)    XS (ohms)

These were your load Impedance Inputs:

7.000    1169.000    -675.000

7.100    766.000    -643.000

7.200    614.000    -430.000

7.300    634.000    -296.000

I then added 45 inches of series transmission line of 50-ohm impedance and velocity factor of 0.66, and then I got the following results.

7.000    22.273    -178.240

7.100    23.474    -166.363

7.200    30.914    -157.990

7.300    37.222    -158.127

Then, I added a series inductor of 3.79 micro-Henries, and then I got the following results.

7.000    22.273    -11.108

7.100    23.474    3.158

7.200    30.914    13.918

7.300    37.222    16.168

I then added a step-up transformer of impedance ratio 2:1, and got the following results.

7.000    44.546    -22.215

7.100    46.948    6.316

7.200    61.828    27.837

7.300    74.445    32.337

Choosing a 30-inch length of coax, we "rotated" the impedances on the Smith Chart to the point that a simple series inductor could tune out capacitive reactance for a good 50-ohm match. However, we ultimately chose a 45-inch length of coax because I wanted to use the transformer on all three bands.

Now a series inductor of about 3.7 microHenries presented an impedance of about 25 ohms, which was transformed to 50 ohms through the transformer.

Fig. 5 shows a VSWR plot across each band. We achieved a good broadband match on 160 meters and most of 40. Although the bandwidth is narrow on 80 meters, a remotely controlled motor-driven capacitor provides easy matching from the station on that band.

Fig. 5 - VSWR plot for the three bands.

Mechanical description:

Because my tower is freestanding, I added top loading by connecting a wire near the top of the antenna. If you have a typical guyed tower, you can use your uppermost set of guys for top loading by placing insulators in the appropriate spots. Insulate your bottom or middle guy wires from the tower.

Remember that good ground connections are essential for successful vertical radiators. Details of my ground clamp are shown in fig. 6.

Fig. 6 - Ground-clamp mounting details.

Be sure to bring all coax cables and control cables down to ground level before running them into the station. I run a TL922 amplifier and don't have any RF in the shack.

Summary and results:

A single gamma arm is used to feed a 70-foot tower on 160, 80, and 40 meters. All three matching networks described for the three bands are mounted at the base of the tower in a waterproof box and are switched with Jennings RB3 vacuum relays. Due to the narrow bandwidth on 80 meters, I use a motor-driven capacitor on that band (tuned from the station). The 80-meter matching capacitor performs double duty as part of the total capacitance on 160 meters. Individual matching networks for each band are shown in fig. 7; the combined networks with relays and transformers are shown in fig. 8.

Fig. 7 - Matching networks for each band.

Fig. 8 - Final configuration of three-band matching network.

The VSWR is deceptively low across the 40 and 160 meter bands. After all, a dummy load has a good VSWR. One factor that influences the bandwidth of any antenna is its length-to-diameter ratio. My antenna tower is 42 inches wide at the base, which helps increase its bandwidth, so make the diameter ratio as wide as possible at the base of the tower.

The proof of any antenna system is how efficiently it radiates. My 40-meter performance stateside is exceptional, with good DX results as well. My tower is electrically too long for optimum performance on this band. A 50 or 60 foot tower with a typical tri-bander on top should give better DX performance. My 80-meter performance is very good; I've made many solid contacts into Europe and Africa. This system was also used to work Bouvet Island (3Y5X) on 160, 80, 75, and 40 meters.

My goal was to have an efficient antenna on 160 meters, without my lot looking like an antenna farm. This system really radiates on 160. Although I'm not an experienced contester, I finished in the top 10 worldwide in the 1989 CQ WW 160 Meter Contest. If you're looking for an improved low-angle radiator on 160, try my approach. By using a shorter tower you should get similar results on 80 and 40 meters.

Part 8. Info on what antenna tuner to get:

If the built in antenna tuner doesn't tune your antenna, buy the kat500. It's made by Elecraft. It's an automatic external antenna tuner that works with 500 watts, or less.

Part 9. Coiling, a new revolution in dipole, inverted v, and end fed, antennas!

note--my thanks to Barry, KU3X, for giving me this new, revolutionary idea, called coiling, which will change how dipole, inverted v, and end fed antennas, are put up, FOREVER!!!

For many years, hams have been able to put up dipole, inverted v, or end fed antennas, because they had room to string the antenna, all the way out. But recently, more and more hams live in antenna restricted areas, either space restrictions, where they have very little room to string a dipole, inverted v, or end fed, all the way out, or, because they live in an HOA, situation, where antennas cannot be put up outside, because they were complained about as unsightly, or, so many hams were in nursing homes, group homes, or hospital rooms, and they could not put up an antenna, because they had no room to string the antenna all the way out.

So many hams, unfortunately, had to leave the hobby because they had no way to get on the air, because of those situations.

Well, thanks to Barry, KU3X, who gave me this idea, THINGS, ARE, CHANGING, AS OF NOW, for the better for hams in those situations.

So if you know of any hams who had to leave the hobby because of these situations, tell them that as of now, that things have changed, so they should come back to the greatest hobby, ham radio!

What has changed is, something called, coiling.

Coiling, lets you build a dipole, inverted v, or, an end fed, the full size, even though, you don't have the room to string it all the way out, but the antenna works as if it were strung all the way out, it's incredible!!!!!

So beginning RIGHT NOW, I'm THRILLED to say, a ham with those situations as mentioned above, does NOT, have to have a compromise antenna!

Because of coiling, as long as you have at least 15 watts, you'll get out, on all bands, 160 through 2 meters, on CW, and on 40 through 2 meters, on SSB!!!

Trippy's note--I found a length that you can get out, on all bands, 160 through 2 meters, with the antenna outside on cw, using only 15 watts. I'm still trying to find a length for an outdoor antenna where you can get on ssb on 160 and 80 meters, and I'm still trying to find an indoor antenna, that you'll get out on all bands, 160 through 2 meters, on cw and SSB, only using 15 watts, but haven't found it yet, I'm still experimenting.

9.1. How does coiling work?

With coiling, you still have 2 legs on the dipole, inverted v, and the 1 leg, on the end fed,  that hasn't changed, but what has changed is, you have a coil exactly, half way between the balun, and the end of each leg of the dipole inverted v combo, or 6 feet away from the unun on the wire leg of the end fed antenna.

*VERY IMPORTANT*--With coiling, you do NOT, add the coil of wire, you make the coil out of some of the wire that's already included for the antenna.

My friend, Brian, N8MNX, who has been a ham, since 1990, has never been able to be on the air, doing what hooked him to becoming a ham, and that is, getting on 80 meters, and checking into nets.

I put up a halfwave dipole inverted v combo on 80 meters for him. It's 131.8 feet, including the 3 inches on each end of each leg of the antenna, however, I had only 43 feet of room to stretch out the antenna, horizontally, on his balcony.

So, I coiled the rest of the wire, which already was part of the antenna, I could not use, at each end of the antenna, up, and the coil was at each end of each leg of the antenna, but don't do it that way, that way was wrong.

I was running 100 watts on his Kenwood TS-570.

So, I got on 80-meter CW, and made several contacts, but then, I got on 80-meter SSB, running 100 watts, and answered a CQ from a ham in 5 land somewhere. He said,

"I hear someone in there, but I cannot pull you out, you're too weak."

So, I posted my situation and where the coils were located, to the antenna forum on qrz.com and Barry, KU3X, posted, this FABULOUS, response, and it changed this ham's antenna restricted situation, forever, and all hams antenna restricted situations, forever, for the better, at least for fixed antennas.

Those of you who want to, try the below idea out in portable use, and let me know how it works as well!

He told me, "Trippy, you never want a coil  at the end of an antenna, when you shorten an antenna.

The wire closest to the feed point of the antenna is the current portion of the antenna and that does the most work.

Instead, you want the coil right in the middle of each leg, halfway between the balun and the end of each leg of the dipole, or inverted v.

The very first shortened one I ever made many many years ago was done just this way and it worked great.

The middle of the antenna leg is the best place for a loading coil. You should get out a lot better after each coil is at the halfway point on each leg, between the balun and the end of each leg."

Trippy's note--NO WONDER why the 80 meter trap dipole a friend of mine had, worked so well, because the coil was halfway between the balun and the end of each leg, but it wasn't added to the antenna and placed there,, it was included in the wire that  was part of each leg of the antenna.

Now my friend’s dipole inverted v combo is on a balcony.

So, yours truly, and my ham friend, Rick, WO8M, went out on the balcony to where the antenna was, and measured the length of the left leg between where it connected to the balun and the end insulator, and made a mark with tape, right at the halfway point on his aluminum balcony railing, between the balun and the insulator end of the left leg.

Then, I unhooked the end of the left leg from the end insulator, and started making a coil, and I kept coiling to the right until I got to the halfway point, where the tape marker was.

Then, keeping my hand around the coil so the coil would not get away from me, but still had enough looseness, I had Rick, pull just enough wire, back to the left so he could again, wrap 3 inches of wire around the end insulator at the end of the left leg.

Then, I got out a tie wrap, the tie wrap was 2 feet long, and put it through the hole in the middle of the coil, and pulled it tight, and now, the left coil, was complete.

So now, it was time for the coil on the right leg to be made.

So, yours truly, measured the length of the right leg between where it connected to the balun and the end insulator, and made a mark with tape, right at the halfway point between the balun and the insulator end of the right leg.

Then, I unhooked the end of the right leg from the end insulator, and started making a coil, and I kept coiling to the left until I got to the halfway point, where the tape marker was.

Then, keeping my hand around the coil so the coil would not get away from me, but still had enough looseness, I had that same friend, pull just enough wire, back to the right so he could again, wrap 3 inches of wire around the end insulator at the end of the right leg.

Then, I got out another tie wrap, the tie wrap was also 2 feet long, and put it through the hole in the middle of the coil, and pulled it tight, and now, the right coil, was complete!

9.2. Would it work?

Then, I plugged the coax into the so239 connector on the balun, then I plugged the pl259 connector into the radio.

I got on 80 meters, at the exact center of the band, 3.750.

I checked the natural SWR without trying to tune the antenna, to see what it was, and to my amazement, it was 1.7 to 1.

I went to 3.501, and checked, and the SWR was 1.1 to 1, then I went to 3.600, and it was 1.2 to 1, then, I went to 3.800 and it was 1.7 to 1, then at 3.900 it was 1.7 to 1, then at 3.999, it was 1.7 to 1, it was ABSOLUTELY, INCREDIBLE, low SWR, across the ENTIRE, BAND!

Now, to try to make a contact with that same 100 watts!

Fortunately, it was the weekend of the CQ WW WPX (the WPX stands for worked all prefixes), contest, so I knew there would be a lot of stations on that weekend.

So, I went down to 3.600 and went up the band, and I heard the first station, it was ND8DX, he was on the Ohio Kentucky boarder! My heart was racing, would he hear me, and my hundred watts?

I called him, and on the first call, to my amazement, I heard "Alpha Charlie 8 Sugar"

He got me, on the first call, and gave me his report!

This antenna got out over 300 miles and made a contact.

I cannot tell you the joy Brian, and I, felt, when ND8DX said my call sign back to me and gave me my report!

note--If you want me to send you the contact so you can hear it yourself, just email me, at the email address on my qrz.com web page.

It's a half wave dipole inverted v combo on 80, but would it work on other bands?

I went to 40, and I heard KB0EO, he was in south central Minnesota, he got me, took 2 calls, but he got me, so now, I knew it worked on 40, but what about 20 meters, kilowatt alley, and me and my 100 watts on Brian's 570?

So, I went to 20 and it was about 9 o'clock that Friday night, on March 26, 2021.

I heard NM7C, he was in Oregon City, Oregon, but would he hear me?

I called him, and he got me, on the first call!!!

It WORKED!

I made a contact on 3 bands, but would it work on 10?

I went to 10, 28.850, the exact middle of 10 meters, and pressed the tune button on the 570 and it tuned the antenna, below 3 to 1!

I now knew that this antenna would work, ABSOLUTELY, wonderfully, on 10, 20, 40, and 80 meters!!!

The only band where the SWR is above 3.0 to 1 is 15.

So now, what about making a dipole, inverted v, without soldering?

Also, what about making one if you're blind? Can it be done?

Yes, it can, I've done many of them, and I will show you how to do it, step by step, in the next section!

Part 10. How to make a dipole inverted v combo

It's time to make a dipole inverted v combo!

The first thing we have to do is, answer those questions that I asked in part 1:

Question 1. Where you live, can you put up a dipole inverted v combo antenna outside, or only inside?

For this example, antenna, yes, I can put one outside, as long as it's just on my balcony.

So, this antenna will be on my balcony.

But if you're only able to put up an antenna inside, you can put up a dipole inverted v combo, using insulated wire.

question 2. Whether outside, or inside, how much room do you have?

For this example, I have 24 feet of room on my balcony, and I have a hook where I can hang the apex, the center point, (also called the feed-point), of the antenna where the balun is, right in the center of the balcony, so I have 12 feet for each leg of the antenna.

But remember, it doesn't matter how much room I have, because I'm using coiling, so I can make it as long as I want, even if I cannot string it out all the way!

question 3. What band or bands do you want to work?

Well, for this example, I want to work 80, 40, 20, and 10 meters.

10.1. What things you'll need to buy for the antenna:

Question 4. How much money do you have to spend because you will need the following things:

1. A precut length of rg213 coax, with a pl259 connector on each end, and you can get that where I get mine, from

Jim, at the DX Store

phone 8668993947.

Jim is a great guy!

Tell him that AC8S, sent you.

Before you call the DX Store to order the coax, you'll need to know how much coax you'll need.

You need enough to go from your radio or antenna tuner, to the balun, or if it's an end fed, from the radio or antenna tuner to the unun, or if it is a vertical, from the radio or antenna tuner to the vertical, but it cannot be too little either, because you don't want it pulling your radio, or antenna tuner, off your desk or table, where your radio or antenna tuner, is sitting.

I would make the length of coax 1 foot longer than you need it to be, that's what I always do.

So you'll need to know where the balun, if you're putting up a dipole inverted v combo, or where the unun, if you're putting up an end fed, will be located, is it 5 feet away, 10 feet away, 100 feet away? You will need to know that distance, whatever footage that is, and then add an extra 1 foot.

For this example, I have 12 feet from my radio to the balun, so instead of getting only 12 feet, I bought a 13-foot precut piece of coax, that way, no pulling will happen, and no coiling of coax will happen.

You might be asking, what difference does it make, how long the coax is between the radio, and the antenna, or between the antenna tuner, and the antenna?

Well, here's an example. I used to use a 14-foot piece of coax to go between my radio, and my indoor antenna, and the natural SWR on 20 before tuning the antenna was 11.9 to 1. However, on Friday, November 25, 2022, I got my 9-foot piece of coax, the same RG-213, but it was only 9 feet long, and I unplugged the 14-footer, and plugged the 9 footer into the so239 connector on the balun, and the natural SWR before tuning the antenna was? It was 4.9 to 1!

What a difference!

1. You need an MFJ918 balun for your dipole inverted v combo.
2. You'll need 2 Porcelain insulators, and if you're building an end fed, you will only need 1, because you only have 1 wire leg, the other leg, is coax.
3. You need a waterproof cap for the S0-239 connecter on the balun, or, if you're building an end fed, on the so239 connector for the unun, when you're not using the antenna, that way, you can bring the coax back inside when it's raining or snowing.

You can get that from DX Engineering. The phone number is 800-777-0703. The part number, also called item number, is dmn31005.

You want to do it this way, because I don't know about you, but I am terrible at ceiling the coax connector from water.

1. You need wire cutters, because you're going to be cutting that copper wire, or insulated wire.
2. You will also need either a tape measure, or a yard stick.

If you're blind, you can buy a braille yard stick from American Printing House for the blind, and the phone number is: 800-223-1839.

1. If the antenna is going to be outside, you'll need 12-gauge single strand, bare copper wire, from Home Depot.

If it's going to be inside, you need insulated wire, 14 gauge, or 12 gauge.

But how much wire do you need?

Step 1. First, we need to do that math and find out how long a halfwave dipole inverted v combo is on 80 meters, because that's what I'm using in this example.

We will use the exact center of the band, 3.750.

You ALWAYS, want to use the exact center of whatever band you're using, because it will match better that way. However, if you're just using CW, or if you're just using SSB, use the center of the CW band, or the center of the phone band.

So, for this example, we'll take 468, the halfwave formula number, and divide that by 3.750 and it = 124.8, or 124 feet 8 inches.

but remember when I said that we have to add 3 inches on each end, so we have enough wire to wrap around the end insulator? So, we'll do that now, so instead of 124 feet 8 inches, it will be 124 feet 8 inches plus 6 inches = 125 feet 2 inches, because that's the length for the entire antenna.

Step 2. Now, we need to figure out how long each leg will be.

For this example, even though I only have 24 feet of room on my balcony, because of coiling, I'm putting up a 125.2, 125 feet 2 inches, (and that also includes the 3 inches on the end of each leg at the insulator), of the dipole inverted v combo. So, I divide 125.2 by 2 legs, and it equals 62.7 foot, 62 feet 7 inches, per leg, and I'll need 2 of those pieces of that wire, 1 piece for each leg. Unfortunately, they will not cut it the exact length you need, in foot and inches, for example, 62 feet 7 inches, they only cut it per foot, so it would be 63 feet.

You'll have to cut the other 5 inches off yourself, to get down to 62 feet 7 inches per leg.

So, for this example, I'm going to get 2 63-foot pieces of that wire.

note--The businesses I have mentioned above, have not paid me any money for mentioning them.

If you've bought all that, you're now ready to make the antenna!

10.2. Making the antenna:

10.2.1. Putting up the balun, or the unun, outside:

We will now put up the balun, or the unun for use outside.

1. You can put it up on a hook on a balcony outside.

You need a foot of rope, so you can pull it through the hook on the balcony, and tie it in a knot, so it won't come off.

Or you can use a foot of copper wire, and pull it through the hook on the balcony, and wrap it around, and around, so it won't come out.

1. You can hang the balun or unun anywhere else outside you can think of.

10.2.2. Putting up the balun, or the unun, inside:

If you're putting up the balun for the dipole inverted v combo, or the unun for the end fed, you can hang the balun or unun on a blind rod, however, you cannot hang a balun or unun on a curtain rod, because it's too flimsy, and will fall down, because it cannot support the weight of the balun, or unun, plus the wire, and coax.

You can hang the balun, or unun, on:

1. a nail, but the nail has to stick out 5 inches from the wall, and no less than 5 inches.

You need 5 inches of rope, or copper wire, to make the hanging of the balun, or unun, secure, at the center feed point, so it won't come down.

1. A blind rod, but you need 10 inches of copper wire, or rope, to support the weight of the balun, or unun, and the coax and the rest of the antenna.

Here's the steps for hanging the unun, or the balun.

Step 1. Measure your length for the rope, or for the copper wire, 5 inches for a nail, or 10 inches for the blind rod.

If you're blind, you put the piece of rope, or copper wire, at the beginning of the braille yard stick.

Step 2. Now, go to the right, till you get to the 5-inch mark, or if using the blind rod, the 10 inch mark. If you're blind, 5 inches, is the letter e, with a long plastic line behind it, or 10 inches are the letters a and j, right next to each other, with a long plastic line behind it.

Step 3. Cut your length for the copper wire, or rope.

Step 4. Now, put the rope through the center hook on the balun, or the unun, until the rope is even with the hook.

If you're using copper wire, put it through the hook at the center of the balun or unun, until one end of the copper wire is even with the hook.

step 5. Now, pull the rope through until your thumbs meet at the center hook, and each end of the rope is about where your left and right wrist are.

Or, pull the copper wire through until your thumbs meet at the center hook, and each end of the copper wire is about where your left and right wrist are.

step 6. Now, pull both ends of the rope so the balun or unun is hanging on the nail, or on the blind rod, and you have both ends of the rope in your hand.

Or, if using copper wire, pull the balun, or unun, so it's hanging on the blind rod, and you have both ends of the copper wire in your hand.

step 7. Then, if using rope, make a knot so the balun, or unun, will not come down.

Or, if using copper wire, fold it over, as many times as you can, so it will not come down.

10.2.3. trimming the wire down to the exact length for each leg:

I'm going to make the halfwave dipole inverted v combo, for 80 meters, and that's the one we'll make in this practice example, because I know it will tune on 80, 40, 20, and 10 meters.

Step 1. For this example, we next need to, cut 5 inches from the first coil of the 2 63 foot coils of copper wire, in order to get the leg down to 62 feet 7 inches.

So, we'll take the piece of copper wire, and lay it on the yard stick, so the tip of the piece of wire is also right where the yard stick begins.

Step 2. Then, we're going to hold the piece of copper wire, with a finger, or thumb, using your left hand, so the wire cannot move.

Step 3. Now, we're going to measure 5 inches. Slide the copper wire 5 inches to the right.

If you're blind, slide the copper wire to the right, till it says 5, it's the letter e with no number sign, and behind the e there is a long-raised plastic line.

Step 4. Now, pick up the wire between your thumb and finger, holding your finger, right there, at 5 inches.

We're now going to cut the wire, with the wire cutters, so we have our first 63-foot 7-inch leg for the antenna.

Step 5. We next need to cut 5 inches from the 2nd 63-foot coil of copper wire, in order to get it down to 62 feet 7 inches.

So, we'll take the piece of copper wire, and lay it on the yard stick, so the tip of the piece of wire is also right where the yard stick begins.

Step 6. Then, we're going to hold the piece of copper wire, with a finger, or thumb, using your left hand, so the wire cannot move.

Step 7. Now, we're going to measure 5 inches, so, slide the wire 5 inches to the right.

If you're blind, slide the wire to the right, till it says 5, it's the letter e with no number sign, and behind the e there is a long-raised plastic line.

Step 8. Now, pick up the wire between your thumb and finger, holding your thumb and finger, right there, at 5 inches.

We're going to cut the wire with the wire cutters so we will have our second 63-foot 7-inch leg of the antenna.

In the next section, I'm going to connect each of the 2 legs, and make the dipole inverted v combo!

10.2.4. Measuring for the halfway point for each leg:

Step 1. After you have hung the balun, you want to measure how far it is from the hook where each leg connects to the balun, to the end of each leg, as far as you can string each of the legs. You have to know how far you can stretch each leg, because you won't know where the halfway point is, until you know how far you can string each leg out.

Step 2. So, to do that, take your tape measure, or your yard stick, and measure from the left hook of the balun, all the way down to the place that the left leg is going to end.

Step 3. Now that you know how far the left leg can be strung out, put a marker at the halfway point between the balun, and the end of the leg. You can use a tie wrap, or a piece of tape.

Step 4. Now, we will do the right leg.

So, to do that, take your tape measure, or your yard stick, and measure from the right hook on the balun, all the way down to the place that the right leg is going to end.

step 5. Now that you know how far the right leg can be strung out, put a marker at the halfway point between where the leg connects to the balun, and the end of the leg. You can use a tie wrap, or a piece of tape.

For this example, my balcony has 14 feet for each leg, so I'll measure, and I get 7 feet, that's the halfway point between the balun and the end of each leg.

Now of course I don't have 62 feet 7 inches to stretch each leg, but coiling will take care of that problem, for sure!

10.2.5. connecting the Left Leg:

Step 1. Now, we're going to take the pieces of tape off of the 1st 63-foot coil, which will be the left leg.

Now if you can see, you see where the tape on the coil is, and you can just undo it. However, if you're blind, you have to feel the tape, and find where the tape begins, because when you find where the tape begins, then you can pull on the tape and it will come off. There are usually 2 pieces of tape on these coils of wire.

Step 2. We will now take the coil of wire, to where the marker is at the halfway point.

Step 3. Now, have someone hold the coil, right there, at the halfway point where the marker is, and connect the left leg of the antenna to the balun.

note--1 and 3 quarter inches, is how long you want the piece of wire, which is the left leg, to go through the left eyehook on the left side of the balun.

So, put the wire through the eyehook, until it is even with the eyehook.

Step 4. Then, push the wire until it is 1 and 3 quarter inches up from the eyehook, which would be where your thumb and your hand, meet.

Step 5. You now need to hold the wire, right there, don't let it move, and bend the little piece of wire until it touches itself, and after it touches itself, bend it a little more, so it cannot come off the balun, in a high wind. Mine have stayed up in 70 mile an hour winds.

Step 6. Now, you will need the help of someone to do this next step. While holding on to the coil so it does not move from that halfway point, where the marker is, but loose enough so the end of the wire that's not connected to the balun can be gently pulled to the place where you cannot string any more wire, let the other person pull the wire, to the left, till it gets to that end place where you can connect the end insulator.

Step 7. There are 4 holes on the porcelain insulator, 2 on each end, and each of the 2 holes are across from each other.

You need to put the end of the leg through the 2 holes on the porcelain insulator, 1 hole on 1 side, then go across through the other hole, after you get the tip of the leg through the 2nd hole, the tip of the leg should be touching your thumb.

Step 8. Now, with your left thumb on the left hole, and your right thumb on the right hole, move the insulator to the left, until there is enough wire to go from that right hole, along your right thumb until your right thumb meets your hand, and now you have enough wire.

Step 9. Now, keep the insulator where it is, with your left thumb and finger to keep it from moving.

Step 10. Take that wire on the right side of the right hole of the insulator and bend that wire to the left so it will touch the wire that is to the left of the insulator.

Step 11. Then, bend that little piece of wire to the right of the wire it is touching.

step 12. Then, keep bending that little piece of wire, until you cannot bend it anymore.

step 13. Then, move that insulator, and see if that insulator comes off the wire, and you want it not to be able to come off the wire.

If it doesn't, you're set, but if it does, do steps 7 through 13 again, and then try to move it and see if it comes off the wire. If it does not, you're all set.

10.2.6. Connecting the right leg:

Step 1. Now, we're going to take the pieces of tape off of the 2nd 63-foot coil, which will be the right leg.

Now if you can see, you see where the tape on the coil is, and you can just undo it. However, if you're blind, you have to feel the tape, and find where the tape begins, because when you find where the tape begins, then you can pull on the tape and it will come off. There are usually 2 pieces of tape on these coils of wire.

Step 2. We will now take the coil of wire, to where the marker is at the halfway point.

Step 3. Now, have someone hold the coil, right there, at the halfway point where the marker is, and connect the right leg of the antenna to the balun.

note--1 and 3 quarter inches, is how long you want the piece of wire, which is the right leg, to go through the right eyehook on the right side of the balun.

So, put the wire through the eyehook, until it is even with the eyehook.

Step 4. Then, push the wire until it is 1 and 3 quarter inches up from the eyehook, which would be where your thumb and your hand, meet.

Step 5. You now need to hold the wire, right there, don't let it move, and bend the little piece of wire until it touches itself, and after it touches itself, bend it a little more, so it cannot come off the balun, in a high wind. Mine have stayed up in 70 mile an hour winds.

Step 6. Now, you will need the help of someone to do this next step. While holding on to the coil so it does not move from that halfway point, where the marker is, but loose enough so the end of the wire that's not connected to the balun can be gently pulled to the place where you cannot string any more wire, let the other person pull the wire, to the right, till it gets to that end place where you can connect the end insulator.

Step 7. There are 4 holes on the porcelain insulator, 2 on each end, and each of the 2 holes are across from each other.

You need to put the end of the leg through the 2 holes on the porcelain insulator, 1 hole on 1 side, then go across through the other hole, after you get the tip of the leg through the 2nd hole, the tip of the leg should be touching your thumb.

Step 8. Now, with your left thumb on the left hole, and your right thumb on the right hole, move the insulator to the left, until there is enough wire to go from that right hole, along your right thumb until your right thumb meets your hand, and now you have enough wire.

Step 9. Now, keep the insulator where it is, with your left thumb and finger to keep it from moving.

Step 10. take that wire on the right side of the right hole of the insulator and bend that wire to the left so it will touch the wire that is to the left of the insulator.

Step 11. Then, bend that little piece of wire to the right of the wire it is touching.

Step 12. Then, keep bending that little piece of wire, until you cannot bend it anymore.

Step 13. Then, move that insulator, and see if that insulator comes off the wire, and you want it not to be able to come off the wire.

If it doesn't, you're set, but if it does, do steps 7 through 13 again, and then try to move it and see if it comes off the wire. If it does not, you're all set.

10.3. Do we need to tie off at the end?

If you are doing a dipole inverted v combo, you need the other 2 supports, 1 on each end. You can just let each leg hang straight down, that's a 90-degree angle, and tie it off. Now for me, I had to tie my dipole inverted v combo off at each end, because of the balcony, and I didn't want the copper wire legs touching anything.

Part 11. I tried the dipole inverted v combo, and the snake antennas, but they don't work. what about a portable loop?

Well, there's 1 more idea left. A portable loop. You can build your own, and if you're going to do that, build a rectangle loop. It has 2 advantages over all other shaped loops according to LB Cebic, W4RNL, the antenna guru, in his book Antennas from the Ground up:

1. "The rectangle loop, is among the most practical of loops, since you can build its precise dimensions to the space you have available.
2. The DB gain in the rectangle loop is the most db gain of any of the loop. In his book, it has a 7.7 db gain, while the square loop has only a 7.3 db gain.

If you're going to buy a loop, the only one I recommend is the loop made by Bob, VE3UK.

Bob, VE3UK, who builds the MagLoop, tests it out in his living room running only 15 watts, and works a station 113 miles away, on 40 meter SSB!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRxMYxul3a0

Bob, VE3UK, makes 2 more contacts on his MagLoop, indoors, on 40 and 20 meters, using only 15 watts, there is some silence between the first and the second contact.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZJgUYS_dsw

From his web page

www.magloop.com

It says, "Perhaps you just require a small, robust, effective, multiband HF antenna for fixed, remote, portable, or emergency backup use?

Or, like some, you understand how antennas really work, and are interested in having the most efficient antenna available that doesn't require a 150-foot-tall tower, or a gazillion ground radials to be effective!"

You can go on the last web page above that I just gave, and sign up and get his emails, and be, in the loop.

question, how far do I have to put the loop away from me, because of RF? For 5 watts, 6 feet. For 10 watts, 10 feet.

Steve, at Alphaloop, told me, "The minimum coax length Alpha Antenna offers for a 100 watt loop, is 15 feet, but the international recommendation is 16 feet, so that's what I would use for a distance away from you."

Part 12. RF Safety and exposure:

One thing hams have had to think about in the last few years is RF safety.

While I don't know much about it, I can say with certainty, 1 thing at least:

Paul, W1VLF, the head of the RF division, at ARRL, told me, "If using a snake, or an end fed, or a random wire, or any kind of antenna, like a dipole, inverted v, a beam, etc., and the feed-point is only 1 foot or less, away from you, or above you, you can go no higher than 50 watts."

If using 100 watts, the feed-point needs to be 7 feet, meaning 7 feet away from you.

If you're using 100 watts on any band, the feed point must be no less than 7 feet away from you, or above you.

I've heard that the lengths are different, depending on what band you're on, and other things, but just to keep it simple, that is the rule I use, for all bands, and 100 watts, and for all modes.

Part 13. Conclusion:

Because of this article, you have now just built, and hung, your end fed, dipole inverted v combo antenna, or, put up a tower, and used it, as a vertical antenna.

Or you contacted me, and I sent you the article about the snake antenna, and you're now on the air, using that.

Or you looked up Bob, VE3UK, and ordered a portable loop, so you're on the air, that way.

And what's revolutionary is, now, *ANY HAM*, can get on hf, using whatever length of dipole inverted v combo, or end fed, they want, because of coiling, or, because of using a snake antenna, or because of using a tower for a vertical antenna, or using the loop antenna, made by Bob, VE3UK!!! And *NOBODY*, has to leave the hobby, because of antenna restrictions, anymore!!!

Now is coiling great for portability? It's great for fixed operation, also called permanent operation, but if you want to try it portable, please do, and let me know how it worked out, and what kind of signal reports you got!!! I think you'll love it, portable!

Happy humming, and I'll see you, somewhere, on HF!

If you want to contact me, just email me at the email address on my qrz.com page.

73,

Trippy Brown, AC8S