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Reviews For: B&W BWD 1.8 - 30 Broadband Folded Dipole

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : B&W BWD 1.8 - 30 Broadband Folded Dipole
Reviews: 78MSRP: 200
Description:
Folded dipole antenna for 10 to 160 meters - 90 feet in length, #14 copper clad steel wire.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.bwantennas.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
14783.6
KG6JYK Rating: 2003-04-08
Don't waste your money Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
The so called terminator used in this antenna is a giant resistor which soaks-up about 2/3 of your power! My 80 meter receive is better on a 20 meter beam. Read the test done in World Radio magazine on this antenna. The artical exposes the truth about its compromised "all band no tuner" design. B&W didn't like it one bit.
N0OFG Rating: 2003-01-25
As-advertised allband antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
There's a love-hate relationship between these antennas and their owners: Either you love it or you hate it!

I'm involved with Civil Air Patrol communications as my Wing (State) communications engineer. We're using 4 BW folded dipoles across the state and are planning to buy 2 more. If they're installed per instructions they work well for their intended purpose. We use them with Motorola Micom 2 HF radios and no tuners. Our members are appliance operators in the purest sense and I needed an antenna that would work from 2 to 26 Mhz, was simple enough to install one of our cadets could put it up (and they do!) and would also be capable of ALE operation once our Micom 2E rigs came in. I can sacrifice an S unit and I get consistent loud and clear reports from all over the country on them. That's all I need in an antenna.

For better performance on the lower frequencies buy the terminator and the balun separately from B&W, make your own 12" spacers and double the length on each side.

These aren't your DX'ers antennas, but for RACES/ARES, field day, NVIS or low profile they work well.
WD5IWN Rating: 2002-10-28
Subjective: Works Fine Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
As this is my only antenna currently, this review is subjective only.
Best point: I can hear better than I can talk. This should be every Ham's desire. Unfortunately, it is not the case, as the amount of QRM one hears readily shows (deaf antennas).
Antenna is very quiet in the noise department. One quick test: receiving NDBs that to most antennas don't even exist.
Next best point: I can talk with most people I can hear. This with 100 watts maximum. And yes, in pileups, timing is important.
Setup: Feed point at 46 feet with ends ~20 feet above ground (inverted-V), 39 foot metal tower plus 5 foot metal mast with 2 feet of PVC isolation above metal.
Detractor (this is reason for the 4 rating): For best results, USE A TUNER. Admittedly, I don't know just what setup was used to justify the advertisements about "no tuner required."
I cannot comment on the power handling as I don't run an amplifier (never have needed one yet, since 1978).
W4YHD Rating: 2002-10-11
Not Suitable For Legal Limit Power Operation Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is an update to my earlier review.
Running just 200 Watts from my FT-1000 the antenna worked very well and was most exceptional in it's low noise receive performance. I placed an Ameritron AL-1500 in service and within 2 days the 600 Ohm terminating resistor turned Black and melted. After some research I uncovered the W4RNL antenna modeling web site where he had carefully modeled the "T2FD" terminated folded dipole of the B&W type. The NEC model result showed that it is possible to have 6 dB loss with this design, which means that 75% of the power input is lost into the termination (a -6 dB loss is dividing the input power by 4, or only 25% radiated). A 6 dB loss is not such a bad thing for receive and is only 1 S-Unit, which hardly matters in most applications. Problem is, this loss must also be supported in transmit, with only a 150 Watt non-inductive 600 Ohm load resistor. So those tune-ups at full power is where one can easily destroy the terminating resistor. Low duty-cycle 1.5 kW PEP SSB or CW might be OK, however this loss is still of concern when running legal limit power.

I have come to believe that this antenna is still a good choice for broadband receive applications, and for less than 200 Watt transmit applications where one is willing to accept a 6 dB (1 S-Unit) Loss in trade for no antenna tuner required performance. For legal limit power applications with the required amplifier tune-up times, an antenna with no resistive terminations would obviously be a better choice. And hey, you get that 1 S-Unit back in performance. This antenna does work and is well made, just be advised.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by W4YHD on 2002-01-21

I live in a typical community of 1/2 acre homes where antenna towers are definitely not accepted. I do have trees so wire was the way to go. I chose the BWD 1.8-30 Broadband Folded Dipole due to the excellent continuous coverage provided on the HF bands which will nicely support BOTH short wave listening as well as HAM band operations. The antenna is really built well, has a great reputation for durability, and most importantly for excellent general performance. This antenna has been used all over the world by military and government users for decades so it obviously works!!

I mounted the antenna horizontally at a height of 30 ft with the center supported as well as the ends. SWR is below 2:1 on all bands except 160 meters where it is 3.5:1. I just turn the rig on and go!

I have been able to work lots of DX on the 10, 15, 17, and 20 meter bands with ease including Japanese, South American stations, and European stations. Local contacts in the US and Canada on 40 and 80 meters are also no problem. Performance on 160 meters is very poor however and I have basically given up trying on that band with this antenna as it probably is just to small (short) and I most likely have it mounted to low. This antenna is not a DUMMY LOAD by any means. It clearly will on average be no better that a 1/2 wave dipole and I would say the performance sometimes seems to be a little worse than a 1/2 wave dipole by around 1/2 to 1 S-Unit. But hey, let's face it, you don't get something for nothing and given the nice broadband impedance match presented by this antenna design a 1/2 to 1 S-Unit penalty is not such a bad trade-off. I have noticed that the performace is perhaps most compromised on the 75/80 meter bands where there may indeed be a real 6-10 dB (1 to 1.5 S-Unit) degradation in performance compared to a larger 1/2 wave dipole. Signals are typically strong on the 75 meter phone nets so no great loss here.

I have noticed that in receive the antenna does sound really quiet in terms of low atmospheric background noise. This is really nice for SWL operations and is the best antenna that I have found for this use. Most receivers have plenty of front end gain to make up for the slightly lower antenna gain performance and the relatively strong signals from the international broadcasters makes it all easy anyway.

This antenna works! It is not any better than a 1/2 wave dipole, and is possibly up to 1 S-Unit worse in some instances.
The big selling points for this antenna are: (1) An antenna tuner is not required (big advantage IMO!) (2) Covers all HF bands 80 thru 10 including WARC bands (3) Built in a rugged time tested way for excellent durability (4) Excellent low noise performance for SWL uses (5) Good performance down to 80 meters with only 90 ft. of space required. The only disadvantage is the fact that some transmit power will be lost in the terminating resistor which is typically 820 Ohms and is the price to be paid for a well controlled input impedance over the entire HF band. I belive that this loss is rarely more than effectively 1 S-Unit (often less!) in performance and the casual rag chewer and SWL operator will never really miss it. This antenna is not for the contest operator for sure.

I will rate this antenna a 5 for its solid build quality, ease of use, NO antenna tuner required, lower noise operation in receive, and excellent performance achieved by this user. Probably the BEST one-size-fits-all HF wire antenna out there with NO antenna tuner required.
W4AN Rating: 2002-08-29
No problem - Good Antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Going in to buying an all band no tune antenna, you have to realize that you are compromising something. There is no fooling mother nature. So when I put my B&W antenna, I expected it would be down from other full sized antennas I have here at my home (stealth) station.

What I have up here now which formed my basis for comparison is:

40M sloper from 70'
20M 4-square of 4 verticals phased. Good ground.

My B&W antenna is up about 70' or so.

160M: Plenty of band noise, but no tests.

80M: Sounds like it should work fine. Nobody on the air to test it with.

40M: Exactly the same as the sloper 90% of the time. Europeans are louder on the sloper which figures. The sloper slopes to the NE and is vertically oriented (better for DX with lower angle).

30M: Good reports, but nothing to compare with.

20M: My 4-square almost always beats the B&W by 2 or 3 S-units on receive. The B&W has beaten the 4-square in some directions, which seems to make sense. It should have pattern at 14Mhz.

17M: Good reports, but nothing to compare with.

15M: Comparing with the sloper for 40M. To Europe there must be a null in the pattern. The Europeans are always louder on the sloper. To the west, the B&W beats it easily.

10M: Nothing to compare with here, but the CBers are plenty loud which indicates to me that the antenna is working. Plenty of band noise.

There have been plenty of times that I have worked people who were S4 on my meter and they give me S9 or better. I don't understand it. This is on 15M mostly.

All-in-all I would say this antenna does exactly what it is supposed to do. The negative reviews of the antenna seem to include no details of their installations, which should be questioned by potential buyers. Obviously, if someone puts the antenna up 15', it isn't going to work. The important parts of my review should be the comparisons with other full sized antennas, and on 20M with an array with gain.

73

Bill, W4AN
KC0PA Rating: 2002-08-14
Outstanding General Purpose Antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have used the B&W 1.8-30 folded dipole for several years and have had excellent results. It works best (consistently low SWR across operating range) if installed flat, i.e., the feedpoint and ends are all at the same height above ground. SWR begins varying across the bands if you install it as an inverted vee. I have mounted it in the flat configuration as low as 20 feet above ground and still had excellent performance. It seems to have some small gain on transmit and receive over a standard dipole. To my surprise I have also found my antenna resonant on the lower (SSB) portion of six meters. If you need a good all-band general purpose antenna, this one can't be beat.
N3EOP Rating: 2002-08-13
Works well.. if installed properly. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
About two years ago, I bought the antenna. I live in an apartment complex with a flat roof, and the landlord lets me put up just about anything, with the provision it's not visible from the street. I can put up a 100' dipole about 10' high, and it blends in against the trees. I didn't want to mess with a tuner, so I got the B&W.

First of all, READ THE DIRECTIONS! Especially the part about not unrolling one half at a time. This was my first experience with Copperweld, and there are still a few kinks in the wire as a testament to my "do it myself" ways.

The high point of the antenna was about 9' above the roof, and the ends were within a foot of the roof. SWR was terrible on most bands. 40 was OK, as were parts of 15 and 10. 20 was unusable. It worked great as an SWL antenna, which is what I did most of the time, anyway.

After about six months, I took it down and boxed it. (It was replaced with a 100' nonresonant dipole fed with ladder line, connected to an SGC-237 Smartuner.)

This past Field Day, I was given the pleasure of running the digital station in our 3A effort. Our site had several street lights, and two of them were about 20' high and about 130' apart. Just perfect for the B&W.

I got the antenna up about 15' (top wire) from the ground, with some support in the center. SWR was under 2:1 from 40 on up; 80 was in the 3:1-4:1 range. The antenna worked quite well, and seemed to have some gain over a 1/2 wave dipole on 20-10.

Given that B&W recommends a 25' high minimum center height (12' on the ends) for 80-10, I'd have to say that it works "as advertised".

I recommend the antenna to anyone who can mount it as recommended (40' is the recommended height).
K6XD Rating: 2002-02-03
WORK THEM ALL FROM ONE END TO THE OTHER Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This antenna has been around longer then most have been hams! No it is not a no tune antenna any more with the solid state rigs. When it came out all rigs where able to load a 3:1 SWR. I have use it with the TS-830S with out a tuner but it will not handle a solid state rig on all bands without a tuner. My SWR is less then 2:1 on all bands except 160 where it is 3:1. Some bands it is lower 3.5-4 is 1.5:1. The best thing about this antenna is that you can work all modes anywhere MARS,HAM,CB, and it is an excellent SWL antenna. Can it hear and work them? I just got off of 17M noon EDT and worked ZS6AVM 58 and then went down on CW and worked S59ABL 589 running a FT-100D. 160 is the only band that comes up short but I have still worked a lot of stations there. I have worked the world on PSK-31 with less then 5 watts on 20M. I have the antenna in a flat top configuration at 36 feet held up with Radio Works Kevlar .075 500 pound line. The price seems high but have yoou priced an all band vertical that can't work everything! I have been on the air for 50 years and have used a lot of wire antennas in my days and yes this one may not be the best for a given band but it certainly operates very well everywhere with an SWR that can be handled by most internal tuners. You can also go to the ARRL web page for a review on this antenna.
KL7RSG Rating: 2001-11-18
DUMMY LOAD Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
BIGGEST AIR COOLED DUMMY LOAD EVER BUILT.
AB2EZ Rating: 2001-10-05
Works fine on 10-40 meters Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have mine installed as a sloper... with the high end at 50 feet and the low end at 20 feet. I do very well breaking through DX pile-ups on 40-10 meters. As others have found (and also calculated using antenna modeling programs) the radiation efficiency is down by about 10 dB (v a dipole) on 80 meters, and by more than 20 dB on 160 meters. The SWR is below 2:1 on 10-30 meters, and about 2.5 : 1 on 40 meters. The SWR on 80 meters is below 2:1 (but again, the radiation resistance is low on 80 meters, and therefore about 90% of the power ends up as heat in the ground on 80 meters).