The end fed dipole is a good solution for a portable antenna - it is relatively easy to get one wire up in the air - tie a line to a half filled (or more) water bottle and throw it over whatever support is available, tie the line to the antenna end and pull it up.

For the home station where there are more options for supporting the antenna, I prefer center fed dipoles over the end fed. The center feed maintains balance on the feedline (especially if the feedline runs perpendicular to the radiator for at least 1/4 wavelength) and greatly reduces the chances of RF in the shack - yes a balun at the feedpoint is still necessary to keep RF off the outside of the coax.

So while the end fed antennas will work and radiate effectively, they can be difficult to tame for RF, but with portable ops, that is usually not a big problem because low power is typically used.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 1/9/2018 5:51 PM, Lynn W. Taylor, WB6UUT wrote:
What part of life isn't a trade-off?

Another answer might be "don't feed it at the end."

I'd be thinking about a quarter-wave of ladder line if I was aiming at one band -- always liked J antennas.
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