Callsign	Required
Password

If you've forgotten and/or need to reset your password, please enter your Callsign and use the button below.

You *must* have a verified email address on the account.

If you are not a member of the eHam community

Please consider registering to e-Ham.

Manager

Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: Pacific Antenna Dual Band 20m and 40m Trap Dipole

Category: Antennas: HF Portable (not mobile)

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.

Review Summary For : Pacific Antenna Dual Band 20m and 40m Trap Dipole
	Reviews: 9	MSRP: 25
	Description: A trap dipole kit for 20 and 40 meters. Comes with wire, end insulators, center insulator with BNC, coil forms and shrink wrap for coil form.
	Product is in production
More Info: http://www.qrpkits.com/dualbanddipole.html
# last 180 days	Avg. Rating last 180 days	Total reviews	Avg. overall rating
1	5	9	5

NC0Q	Rating:	2024-11-09
Definitely worth a look!			Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This antenna would be a good solution for POTA or other portable operations, especially if the builder contrived a way to easily stow/pack it. A couple of really nice ideas are described in the reviews preceding mine. In my case, I already had the kit laying around, and found myself suddenly in need of a new base antenna, my old homebrew 10/15/20/40 sub-10 watt trap dipole having finally worn out and broken for the last time. I dug it out of storage, looked up the online instructions, (joy! it will handle 100W PEP!) and had the thing assembled in around an hour. The supplied caps measured very close to their designation, and seemed to be well-matched. I elected to add a turn to each of the coils to bring the resonance a little bit lower than the design frequency, in my case around 13.750 MHz. I checked the traps with a Heckits GDO and also my NanoVNA. If one simply builds the traps as designed, following the instructions, with no access to any sort of test equipment, I have no doubt they will perform perfectly. The feed point of my antenna is at about 23 feet, with the ends at around 10 feet. The mast supporting the antenna is probably 8 feet from the back of my single-story ranch home. It took me about an hour of tilting the mast up and down to get the thing tuned, which is not too bad. There was zero interaction between the 20 and 40 meter elements; I put the thing up fully assembled, tuned the 20 meter wires from the feedpoint end, and then tuned the 40 meter wires from the outer ends. While tuning the 40 meter ends, the 20 meter minimum SWR point did not shift at all! The 40m 1:1.6 bandwidth is about 100kHz. By the time you add the long run of coax down to my operating position, the bandwidth covers almost all of the digi/CW portion of the 40m band up to about 7.160 MHz. If I want to go higher, I can fold/twist the elements an inch or so to raise the frequency up into the General SSB portion of the band. The 20m bandwidth is about 2/3rds of the band, probably because of the thin, easy to handle, nearly invisible, and quite strong 24-gauge appliance wire provided. After shrinking the heat-shrink tubing onto the traps, I squirted some hot glue in the still-open ends around the wire elements, hoping to help keep out the weather. I am happy to report that the antenna does not shift in resonant frequency when it's raining! I did use my own feedpoint/current choke/balun. I expect the antenna to survive the impending winter, probably longer. I am very pleased and have ordered the 17/30m version. I think I can run the elements in different directions from the 20/40 after the fashion of a fan dipole. The Pacific Antenna Dual-Band 20 and 40 Meter Trap Dipole is cleverly designed, durable, works extremely well, and, considering the cost and ease of build, a no-brainer.

WS4Y	Rating:	2023-08-05
Can't go wrong with this one			Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Excellent design of small traps and center feed. Easy to build. I have the 20/40 version but plan to order the 30/17. I use this antenna portable for POTA. Run 100w cw. No problems. No tuner needed. It's a dipole. It performs. It is light enough I hoist it with a Zebco and lean the pole against a tree. When done poke the button on the Zebco and wind it up on a 1 x 2 about a foot long with v notches. $25 bucks..best bang per buck out there. I recommend.

K5MO	Rating:	2022-08-11
You need to buy one!			Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
This is a really great antenna, with a clever design and excellent performance. Did I mention that it's quite affordable and easy to build? Get one, it's a great deal.

NS3L	Rating:	2022-08-10
Simple and effective..!! Great performer and easy to build			Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just completed construction on the 20M/40M version. Everything went together as expected.. Tuned up perfectly right in the middle of both bands right where I wanted it. Handles 100 watts no problem. No more cheap unreliable qrp(guys) stuff for me. Now just have to build the 30M/17M version. You get more bang for the buck with this company.. Don't even think of going elsewhere for a comparable product. Steve NS3L

WS9K	Rating:	2021-10-18
Outstanding portable POTA antenna			Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
POTA has become my favorite way to ham radio this year. We usually end up with best results on 20m and 40m. A friend told me about this antenna. I ordered it and built it. It's an easy build, here are the instructions https://www.qrpkits.com/files/2040Dipole20200623.pdf I had to trim the 20m section a bit to dip the SWR, as I did, 40m came into line also. Took it out today and activated K-0998 Horseshoe Lake, across from STL. It worked wonderfully. I quickly ended up with a pile-up and made 60 QSO's. I much prefer resonant antennas over using an antenna tuner. This antenna is perfect for portable use. Very happy with this antenna, especially given the low price, under $30 shipped.

K6SDW	Rating:	2020-05-24
Nice, simple design and it works; super easy kit			Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I stumbled across this hf 40/20 meter trap dipole antenna kit and I'm really impressed with the kit, the instructions and how well it works. Pacific Antenna did a great job designing the antenna, I only had to trim the 40 meter legs for a low SWR. The instructions on winding the traps....easy especially if you use a bit of painter's tape to keep the trap wire from unraveling. The circuit boards are good quality boards. I like the fact that trap dipoles are a bit shorter due to the influence of the trap itself. I had a question regarding soldering the BNC connector nut to the circuit board and they were very quick to provide an answer. 73

K7TP	Rating:	2019-11-06
Simple and cost-effective			Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This was a most enjoyable build. One can't help but be impressed with the cleverness of the design. All the parts, not that there were many, were in the kit and the instructions on the web were nicely done. My friends expect me to build all my own antennas and I normally do, so why would I purchase a kit for a simple dipole? In short it's because the time and money that I would spend on sourcing the parts would just not be worth it. Here I have a proven design with all the bits and bobs. It's a quality product for SOTA operations - just keep the power at below ten watts (not that I need to tell the SOTA ops that)!

N6BOB	Rating:	2017-04-11
Great Inexpensive QRP Dual Band Antenna			Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Very easy kit to build, maybe 2 hours tops to get everything just right. Did a little trimming to get it just right for both 40 and 20 meters. Low SWR on both bands and works well at all heights. I usually run it as an inverted V or dipole but a slopper is possible too. I can quickly put up or take it down and it stores easily on a 4.5 inch by 20 inch cardboard with rubber bands to hold it down. I have had it up in parks on a pushup mast and a tree from 15 to 31 feet and flat top or inverted V. Works great with my KX3 at 10 to 15 watts. Very low noise and broadband too. Much easier to put up than my Buddy Pole and equal to my MFJ Big Ears. Works better than the BP because it is very broad-banded and requires no adjustments once tuned. So much easier and less expensive than some well advertised antennas.

KN3O	Rating:	2017-04-11
Easy to Assemble, Works Great!			Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Bought this antenna to simplify my SOTA experience. I was using an EFHW system, that required two wires per band, and only one band could be up at once. This antenna is two bands without a tuner needed. Mine works great, even at low heights. The kit is very simple to assemble and the instructions were very clear. Built in strain relief is smartly done. Great antenna for home or portable use!

Category:

Antennas: HF Portable (not mobile)

Product:

Pacific Antenna Dual Band 20m and 40m Trap Dipole

Summary:

Rating:	Time Owned:
Great! Good OK Needs Help Poor Awful!	0 - 3 Months 3 - 6 Months 6 - 12 Months More than 12 Months

Remarks:

Describe your experience with the Pacific Antenna Dual Band 20m and 40m Trap Dipole and tell us why you give it the rating you did (required). Other useful information would include your experience with similar products, infomation on a product that you would purchase instead of this one, and so on.