I understand many G5RV's are getting replaced with these antennas. I have the Grampy version, that is 100' long on each side, for a total of 300' of wire on each side, all in a 100' on each side package. Have had good luck with it. Their shortest is a bit over 70'.
http://www.k1jek.com/ - David Wilburn [EMAIL PROTECTED] K4DGW K2 S/N 5982 On Fri, 2008-01-04 at 09:33 -0700, David Yarnes wrote: > Shaun, Dohn, and All, > > Your proposal to wrap wire around pipe will probably end up being a "bust". > In essence, you would just be loading a coil, and it would be very > inefficient as a radiator. Some have tried to use a "helical" approach in > order to shorten the overall length, but again that doesn't work all that > well either. An example would be using the old "Slinkey" wire toys that we > all probably had at one time or another. Those can work, after a fashion, > but are generally poor performers. > > I disagree about the G5RV also. That is not a very good antenna, > notwithstanding the huge amount of use those antennas get. The problem is > that the G5RV was never intended to be an "all band" antenna, and it is a > performer on all but a couple of bands. Unless you use a tuner, you will be > very unhappy with the results you get with a G5RV design, particularly with > modern rigs that don't have the advantage older tube-type transmitters had > with pi-network coupling. The warts that a G5RV has is well documented, > and the latest thing I remember reading about it was in a recent issue of > Sprat--the Spring 2007 issue. Therein is a discussion by ex-ZS6BKW, who is > famous for originating much of the variations for the G5RV that are in use > today. Paraphrasing his own words, don't expect much from a G5RV unless you > at least use a tuner! > > Unless you want to put up some sort of trap dipole, or a multi-band > vertical, your best option is to get a decent tuner and put up a dipole with > balanced line feeders. The 88 foot antenna described by L.B. Cebik on his > website (www.cebik.com), is an excellent choice for a simple antenna that > will work well on 80 meters through 10 meter. You can shorten that to 44 > feet if you want to give up 80 meters. That will fit in just about anyone's > backyard, unless you live in a condo. The higher you get it, the better it > will work. Just don't use coax, or the losses will eat you alive! You can > coax feed an antenna that is resonant with good results. But when you try > to use it on a higher frequency (like using an 80 meter coax fed antenna on > 40 meters), the results turn to mush. The same antenna fed with balanced > line through a tuner will work substantially better at higher frequencies. > The resonant antenna (130 feet on 80) works better than the 88 foot antenna > does on 80, but the 88 foot version (or the 44 foot version) is intended to > standardize your radiation pattern, and is still a decent performer on 80 > meters. > > Another option would be a remotely tuned vertical on your roof. Dr. > Megacycle (KK6MC), suggested this to me not long ago when he visited my > shack. His advice was to put up a 22 foot vertical, remotely tuned, and > using balanced feedline. This would give you pretty decent performance from > 40 meters through 10 meters. You would need as many radials (random length) > as possible. This was a suggestion as an alternative to my R7 vertical, > which is a pretty good performer, but perhaps not as good as the suggested > alternative. I haven't tried that yet, but I'd like to. I'm sure the > suggestion is a good one. > > This may be more than you wanted to hear, but it seemed as if you were > struggling to come up with a solution. Hopefully it helps some in that > process. If wire antennas, or verticals, are just not practical for you, > you might want to try a mini-loop. These aren't nearly as efficient as a > good wire antenna, but they are quite small, and the results can often > surprise you. Besides, they are fun to build! > > Dave W7AQK > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Dohn" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "'Shaun Oliver'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; > <elecraft@mailman.qth.net> > Sent: Friday, January 04, 2008 2:50 AM > Subject: RE: [Elecraft] dipole antenna efficiency > > > > Shaun, > > > > For materials needed vs. radio theory, you just can't beat a G5RV antenna. > > IMHO I've used mine with my K1, K2 and several home brew projs and it > > works > > great time and again. Yes, you want to get the center up there a ways. > > Say > > around 35-40 feet, but the payoff was good for me. There are a number of > > sites out there that have good versions of a very old, classic antenna. > > Very few parts (all of which can be made with junk around the house. Very > > little investment for a sound payoff. > > > > Dohn N8EWY > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Shaun Oliver > > Sent: Thursday, January 03, 2008 9:20 PM > > To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > Subject: [Elecraft] dipole antenna efficiency > > > > Hi all, > > if I were to make a dipole, would coiling it round a piece of plastic > > piping decrease the efficiency of the thing? I intend on making one for > > 40 meters, one for 80 meters, and one for 10 meters. I've worked out > > that1 meter of piping will suffice for each leg of each antenna. > > thanks in advance. > > shaun > > _______________________________________________ > > Elecraft mailing list > > Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > You must be a subscriber to post to the list. > > Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): > > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > > > > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm > > Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Elecraft mailing list > > Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > You must be a subscriber to post to the list. > > Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): > > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > > > > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm > > Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com > > > > _______________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > You must be a subscriber to post to the list. > Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm > Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
