Professional Soldiers ® - View Single Post

Hartley · 06-30-2015, 16:42

I've had good luck with a plain ol' dipole, fed with a 1:1 balun. You don't need a tuner, though one wouldn't hurt. Worked the world with 10W (PRC-74B) back in the day, and very seldom failed to get through.

End-fed wires are notoriously fickle - and VERY sensitive to the quality of your ground. I use them here on the boat (backstay & whip), but I have the entire Pacific Ocean as a ground plane. If you try it without a serious RF ground, you won't get far. Using a dipole removes the need for a ground, but you will need some coax.

06-30-2015, 16:42	#2
Hartley Quiet Professional Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Atlantic Ocean Posts: 137	QRP Antenna I've had good luck with a plain ol' dipole, fed with a 1:1 balun. You don't need a tuner, though one wouldn't hurt. Worked the world with 10W (PRC-74B) back in the day, and very seldom failed to get through. End-fed wires are notoriously fickle - and VERY sensitive to the quality of your ground. I use them here on the boat (backstay & whip), but I have the entire Pacific Ocean as a ground plane. If you try it without a serious RF ground, you won't get far. Using a dipole removes the need for a ground, but you will need some coax.
Hartley is offline