73 Dipole and

Long-Wire Antennas

by Edward M. Noll, W3FQJ

<~~?.~!,~~.:~,"~ ~~~!~~E,~~
IND I ANAPOLIS. IND I ANA 46268
 FIRST EDITION

THIRD PRINTING- 1975

Copyright © 1969 hy Editors and Engineers, Ltd., New

.-\ 111rns ta, Indian a. Printed in th e Uni te d States of America.

:\ II ri ghts r<'Sl' rvl'd . He production or u se, without express

p crmi ssion, of f'di torial or pil'!orial content, in any manner,
i' prohiliited. :"lo pat•' nt liahility is assumed with respect
lo thf' u se of the' information contained herein.

Lihrary of C on j!r rss Ca ta loj! Card N umber : 72-81301

 .

Preface

An ofte n-heard comment of th e p rei;ent is : " The (l ays of

a m a te u rs building an d o pera tin g the ir own equipm e nt a rc a
th in~ o f the past." To a grea t exte n t this i s tr ue, since the advent
o f sophisticated sin gl e-sideb a nd erJ11ipm ent h as con vinced m a ny
h ams that constru ction of their own gea r is no longer practical.
The one big excep ti on lo this a pproach to am a te ur rad io is in
the fi elcl of antennas. T h e a ma teur, a t very l ittle expen ~e a n cl wit h·
out the re(p1ire me n t of an R and D laborator y, ca n indulge in
ex pe r im enta tion an d b uild in!! an tcnn as- sometimes with st a rtlin g
rcsu lts.
'i."J Di pole and Long-Win' A nte1111as i s th e fi r st of a se ries of
b ooks which can make th e h obby o f a ma t eur r ad io m ore tha n a n
ope ra ti on al spec ta tor acti vi ty. Each a nte nn a described in this book
was con ~trn cted by the au th or, without assist ance, and a m i nimum
of too ls and equipment was u se(!. You can do the sam e, a nd use
th e wo rld as your testi n g 1"roun1l.
Man y of the antenn as d esc ribed in this b ook comp ete with, a nd
so me ti mes surpass, the pe r form ance of commercial bea ms. A nnm·
he r of ne w a pproach es in the con stru c tion of th e b as ic l on g-wi re
a nte nn a types are d et ailed.
The re are 73 individ ual ante nn as inclu d ed in an or de r th a t
bC'~in s w ith simple con stru ction a n d prol!re~ses in a seq u enti al
m a nn e r to more complex arran~e ments . However, if you a re in -
te rested in only on e pa rti cul a r type, you can loca te th a t t ype im -
m ediat el y, and fi nd t h a t eac h t ype is compl etely desc ribed .
7:1 Dipufo and Long-Wir<' A ntennas is a n invitation t o som e in -
expe nsive edu cation a nd fun. You will find it ve l"y edu cation al
and sa tisfyin l! t o put u p a c heap an tenn a that yon h ave cal cula ted,
e rec ted, a nd tun ed . You a lso gain a fringe be n efit- that in talkin g
to a m a te ur friends all over th e world, YOU can desc ri be your an -
te nna se t u p and reall y k n ow wh at you ~re t alk in g ab out. .

EDWARD M. NoLL, W:>FQJ

 •

Contents

SECTION 1. REGULAR AND MODIFIED DIPOLE

ANTENNAS
1. Half-Wave length Dipole.................. ....... .................... ........... 9
2. Dipole Antenna, Line Tuned ......................... .......... ............. 11
3. Dipole and Balun ...... ..... .... .............................................. ......... 14
4. NoYice-Band Dipol es ......... ................... ····················-···-····-····· 15
5. Aclvancecl and Ex tra-Class B and Dipoles ............................ 16
6. Lamp-Cord Dipoles ................................................................. 16
7. Twin-Lead Folded Dipole ................... ········ ············--··-········· 18
8. Folded Dipole and Balun .................... ................... ............ 18
9. Inverted Dipole ............... .......... ............. .................................. 19
10. rovice 15-40 Dipolt>s ............................................... .. ............ ..... 21
11. ~o,·ice 15-80 Dipoles ...................... ... . ................................. 23
12. :\'"oYice 40-80 Dipoles ..................... ................................ ........... 23
13. Novice 15-40-80 Dipoles ................. ......................................... 24
14. 20-40-80 :Vlaypole ....................................... ............... ................ 26
15. 20-40-80 C-W Special ............. ........... ............................. ......... 28
16. One-W avelenl!th Antenna . ..................................................... 28
17. 3/2-Wavelenl!th Antenna ........................................................ 30
18. Low-Band Segmented Dipoles, 40-80-1 60 .................... .......... 33
19. Middle-Band Sc1tmcn ted Dipoles, 20-40-80 ....... ................... 34
20. Open-Wire Two-Ban d Dipole ......... .. ..................................... 35
21. Extra and Ad vanced Open-Wire Inverted Dipoles ....... ..... :n
SECTION 2. INVERTED-VEE ANTENNAS
22. Center-Fed Monoband Inverted Lon:r-Wire Vees .......... ...... 41
23. Two-Band Inverted Long-Wire Vees- No Tuning ....... ..... .. 43
24. Two-Band lnve rt c«l Vee-End Tuned ........... ...................... 44
25. Lon:r-Wire In ve rted Vee- Sideband 10-15-20 ......... .. ......... 46
26. All-Band 6-160 inve rted Vee ......... ............ ........................... 47
27. 15-40 Novice In verted Vee ........ ......... ............................ ....... 49
28. 15-40-80 Novice Inverted Vee ........................ .. .. ................... 50
 29. 10-15-20 and 20-40-80 lnverte1l-Vee Trio ........... .................. 52
30. W3FQJ Inverted-Vee 6-Through-80 Sidebander ................ 52
31. Long-Wire Inverted Vees With Line Tuner .............. .......... 55

SECTION 3. LONG-Wl1RE ANTENNAS

32. Single Long-Wire Resonant Antennas-Center Fed .... ........ 59
33. Single End-Fed Monoband Long-Wire Resonant
Antennas .................................. .......................................... ....... . 61
34. 10-15-20-40 Long-Wire WAS Special .................................... 63
35. Single Random Wire With Line Tuner ........... ..................... 65
36. Resonant Antenna Plus Random- Wire Loading ................ 66

SECTION 4. VEE-BEAM ANTENNAS

37. End-Fed Monoband Inverted-Vee Beam .......... .................... 71
38. IO-, 15-, and 20-Meter Inverted-Vee Beam ........... ............... 73
39. Four-Band Inverted-Vee Beam With Tuner .. ... ...... ............. 75
40. Three-Halves Wavelength Horizontal Vee .......................... 76
41. 15-40 Three-Halves-Wavelength Vee ........... ......................... 78
42. 15-40 Conical Three-Halves-Wavelength Vee ... ................... 79
43. 15-40 Conical Vee With Balun ............................................. . 80
44. Short Horizontal Vee-Beam Antenna .................................. 81
45. Duo-Band Horizontal Short Vee Beams .............................. 82
46. Tilted Short Vee Beams .. .................................... .................... 83
47. 10-15-20 Short Vee Beam ........................................................ 84
48. 10-15-20-40 One-Hundred Footer .......................... ................ 85
49. 10-15-20-40 Short Vee Beam .................................................. 87
50. 10-15-20-40-80 Vee Beam and Inverted Dipole ..... .............. 88

SECTION 5. LONG VEE-BEAM ANTENNAS

51. Long Horizontal Vee-Beam Antenna ............................... ..... 93
52. Long Horizontal Vee-Beam Antenna, Two Bander ... ......... 96
53. 10-15 -20 Vee Beam \Vith Li11e Tuner ..... ............ .............. .... 98
54. Muhiband Vee-Beam Antenna With Antenna Tuner ........ 98
55. Sloping Vee Beam .......... ................... .... ..................... ....... ....... 100
56. 10-15-20 Sloping Vee Beam ....... .......... ............ ....................... 101

SECTION 6. RHOMBIC ANTENNAS

57. 10-15 Rhombic Antenna .........................................................107
58. 10-15-20 Rhombic With Line Tuner ...................................... lll
59. 10-15-20-40 End-Tuned Rhombic ...... ..................................... .113
60. Two-Wire 10-15-20 Rhombic .................................................. 114
61. Resonant Rhombic With Tuner and Open-Wire Line ........ 115
62. Terminated Rhombic .......... .................... ... ................ ............ .116
SECTION 7. VERY LONG LONG-WIRE ANTENNAS
63 . Two-Band Very Long Long-Wire Antenna .......................... 121
64. Eno-Tuned Very Long 5 DXCC Lon~ Wire ............... .........123
65. 5 DXCC Lonf!-Wire Special ...... ....... .......................................125
66. All-B and 6-160 End-F ed Very Lonr; Wire With Tuner .... 126
67 . Long-Path Short-Path Long-Wire Antenna ..........................128
SECTION 8. SPECIAL VEES AND RHOMBICS
68. 160-:.Vleter Two-Mas t Inverted Vee ........................................ 131
69. 10-1 60 End-Tuned Two-1\last Inverted Vee ......... .................132
70. Two-\Tast Vee Beam ....................... .........................................133
71. Three- and Four-1\Iast Switchable Vee Beams .................... 134
7'2. Tw o-:.\ ra~t Rhombic .................................. ..... ...........................137
73. Sh ort Squared Rh om bic ......... ......................... ........................ 138
APPENDIX I
Antenna ::\'oise Brid ge ............................................... ................... .. 143
APPENDIX II
How to :\feasure the Yclocily Factor of Transmission
Lin e \'\'ith a Noise Bridge .......................... ....... ....... ................145
APPENDIX III
Cuttinf! Half.,Vave Sect ions of Transmission Line
Using the A11 tcnna Noise Bridge ....................... ..................... 147
APPENDIX IV
:vreasurin::r the Resonant F r equ ency and Hesistan ce
of an Antenn a With the Antenna Noise Bridge .................. 149
APPENDIX V
Cuttin g an An tenna to Resonance Usin µ: an SWR Meter ..... .. .1 52
APPENDIX VI
T he Constructio n and Tuninµ: of a Line Tu ner ........................ 154
APPENDIX VII
Antenna Tune r for Lonµ:-W ire Vees a!Hl Hhombics .................. 159
 SECTION I

Regular and Modified

Dipole Antennas
1- Half-Wavelength Dipole
As a startin g poin t for the antennas discu ssed in this book, the
h alf-wavt> le ni.nh clipole is con sid ered to he the shortest long-wire
antenn a. Othe r lon:r-wire types stem from this fundamental an-
tenna dimen sion. In a dipole arra ngem ent the transmission line
is attached at the cente r (Fig. I ), and the re is a quarter-wavelength
conductor on each sid<! of the fee1l point.

Fig. I. H a lf-wavelength dipole

antenna.

In free space and at most prac tical antenna heights the feed-
point impeda n ce is a pproxima tel y 72 ohms. This can vary as a
function of antenna h e ight and the proximity of other conducting
m a terial.
The physical length of a dipole antenna is shorte r than the
calculated half wavelength o f its reson ant frequency. Thus the
physical le n gth of a dipole must be m ade shorter than the cal·
culaterl free-space wav el ength tha t corresponds to its resonant
frequency.
A h alf wavelength ( ,\/2) in space has the foll owing length :

492
)...f2 = /MHz

The physical len gth of the dipole antenna n eeded to establish

a resonant length for frequency ( /) i s shorte r than this value
9
b y app roximat el y 5 pe r cent. A p ractical equation for cal cula ting
the lcngt h o [ a h a If-wave length dipole is :

468
A./ 2 =
/MHz

This lcn;rt Ii is inOuen ced some by conductor dim ensions, h eight

abov e µ:rou nd, and n earby conduc ting objec ts.
The directi onal pattern of a dipole a nte nna is a figure 8 with
maximum radi at ion and sensitivity broadsid e lo the ant enna wire
( Fig. 2). The vertical radi ation patte rn for a hori wnta l antenna

LOOKING INTO
END OF ANTENN-6.

0
WI RE

H-PATTERN

H·PA TIERN

(A) H orizontal dipole.

........,u
LOOKlr..G DOWN TO
ENDOFV~

V- PAffiRN V-PAffiRN
(B) Vertical dipole.
Fig. 2. Free-space dipole radiation patte rns.

is circular. F or a ,·e rtical dipole, the horizontal patte rn is cir-

cular, while th e ,·ertical pattern in free space is a figure 8. In a
p ractica l ~ itnation the ,·ertical pa ttern is modified by the influe nce
of ground.
When a dipol e an te nna is fed with a 72-ohm line and the
transmitte r output load ing circuit can be tuned to an output
impedan ce of 72 ohms, the entire syste m is match ed, and the re is
efficie nt tran sfe r of powe r to the ante nna. The standing wavP. on
the tran smission line is minimum and there is minimum attenua-
tion of th<: sil! rial by the line. In thi s case the matching is un-
affectc<l by the ove rall length of the line. or course, losses increase
with line le n gth as a function of line a ttenua tion figures. Under
10
m a tche cl conditions and a good-quality line those losses can be
quite insi ~ nifi ea nt for surprising]~· l ong: l en gths of transmission line.
Chart 1 presents dipole antenna dim ensions for the radio
amateu r hancls from 10 m eters through 160 m e ters rel at ed to the
center of Pach band, center of the ph one segm ent, and center
of the c-w segment.
The antennn s clescr·ibed in this book we re constructed variouslv
of numbe rs 12, 14, ancl 16 wire, b are and insula ted, with no sig-
nifica111. clifferences in pe rformance. In fac t, insulated #14 w~s
u sed cx l<'nsi v!'l~·. Insulated wire provides an aclrlitional safety
factor, can he nm through trees, a nd is convenient for multi-
conrl11ct or ant Pmrn applications.

Chart 1. Dipole and Half-Wavelengt h line Dimensions

Band Band Center C·W Band Phone Band

in 0.66 0.81 0.66 0.81 Ant. 0.66 0.81
Ant. Line Line Ant. Line Line Line Line
Meters
160 256'5" 178'1" 218'1'' 256'5" 178'1" 218'1'' 256'5" 178'1" 218'1"
80 124'10" 86'8" 106'2" 128'3" 89' 109'-- 120' 83'4" 104'9"
40 65'5" 45'5" 55'8" OS-IT' --45'9" - --J.GT', 64'7" 44'10" 54'9"
20 33' 22' 11" 28'1" JJ l -1n•·- 28'3" 32'9" 22'9" 27'11"
15 22' 15'4" 18'9" 22'1" 15'4" 18'!0" 21'11" 15'3" 18'8"
10 16'3" 11'3" 13'10" 16'7" 11'6" 14'1 " 16'1" 11'2" 13'8"

2 - Di pole Antenna, Line Tuned

A dipole an tenn a a t resonance does not alwa ys present exactl y
72 ohms impedance to the transmission l ine. Also the ante nna
impedan ce off of the resonant frequ en cy is other than 72 ohms.
Antenna h e ight above ground a nd the presence of n earb y con-
ductin g o bstacl es influence the ant enna resi stance too.
Tranl'mission-line imped ances other th an 72 ohms are em-
ployed. Fifty-ohm coaxial lines are popular and the r e are a variety
of accessories d esigned for 50-ohm ope r a tion. Although the mis-
match o f 72 ohms t o 50 ohms is not great, such a mismatch p lus
other factor~ tha t influence a nte nna r esistan ce can cause a sig-
nificant stan<lin g-wave ratio on the line. Poor . r atios should b e
avoided becau se nrnny transmitte r s, especi ally m ode rn tran sceive r s,
are quit e c ritical as to loading.
A proper match a t the tra n sm itte r end of the line i s important
for t wo r easons-p rop er loading o f the t ransmitte r, a ncl e fficient
ope ration of the antenna srstem. A SO-ohm line can b e u sed with
a d ipole ante nna and quite ofte n pe rforms well ; however , it is
ad,·isa hl e lo ~ I.av away from reactive load in g o f the transmitter
11
if at all possible. This can be accomplished b y cutting the length
of the transmission line to an e lect rical half wavelength or a
multiple of one-half wavelength ( Fig. 3). In cutting an electrical

i--- -- - - '-12 DI POL£ - - - - --1

/.. f2 WAVELENGTH
OR INTEGRAL
MULTI Plf

TRANSMlnER

Fig. 3. Line-tuned half-wavelength antenna.

half wave le ngth of line, it is necessa ry to consider the velocity

factor of the line:

492 X VF
Line length (>.../ 2)
in feet /MHz

or course, the length of the transmission line can be any integral

multiple of the above l ength.
\.ha rt 2 is based on the velocity factors of 0.66 and 0.81
typical of 50-ohm and 72-ohm r egular and foam-dielectric type
coaxial lines respectively. This information can b e u sed to d eter-
mine the dimen sions of a le ngth of line that will best accommo-
date the separation between the transmitte r an d the antenna
feed point. For example, if ~·ou plan to operate a dipole on 7.1
MHz, and the a pproximate di stance between antenna and tran s-
mitter is 100 fee t, it is wise to use a le ngth of transmission line of
approxima tely 91 or 137 fee t corresponding to either 2 or 3 half
wavelengths of regular RG/ 58U or RGI 59U line:

650
Line length = 7 .l = 91.55 ft.

Line length -- 975

.l -- 137.3 ft.
7

12
Ch a rt l p:i,·es h alf-wave len gth line len gths of 0.66 a nd 0.81 velocity
fac tors for the various a m a teur hand:;.
A ve ry precise cut cannot alw ays b e made b~· ca lculation
alone for the reason that ve locit y factors a re not a lways e xactly
the stated values of 0.66 or O.Hl becau se of lin e discontinui ties
and othe r variables. The exac t vel ocity factor can be obtained
hy measu re m ent, or a lin r ca n be cut for a half-wavele n p:th con-
diti on o n ~o m e precise frcq uenc ~· · Tr clmiques and p rocedures are
p:i vr11 in Appe ndices I tluou id1 V.
For multihand oper a ti on . co m promise line le n p:th s are used .
Jn most cases a lenp:th can be found which proYid es a rt'ason able
match on each b an d. Exam pl t's will b e given for m a ny of the
multiband antennas in this hook .
A p:oo<l compromise len gth fo r 40-, 20-, 15-, and 10-me te r opera-
tion. n sin p: VF-0.66 line, i ~ a whole multiple of 45 ' 6" . If 80-, 40-,
20-, 15-, an1l 10-me te r ope rati on is ll Psire1l, u se a whol e multiple of
90'. Wh e n VF-0.81 line is used, a whole multiple of .56' provides
p:ood perform an ce on 10 throiqrh 40 m e te r s. }fa ke it a whole
m ultiple of 112' t o include 80 nwt e rs.
An alte rn a ti,·e plan is to empl oy a line tune r (fip:. 4 ) . Such
a tun e r can accommodate a random lcnp:th of lin e al though it is
r-till :uh·isa hl e to cu t th e line close to one of th e h alf-wavelenp:th

'--- - -- - - ->11z DI POLE - - -- - - ---1

RANDOM LENGTH
LI NE nJNER ~ COAX

I
TRANSMlffiR

Fig. 4. Use of line tune r .

figures. An added advant a:.tc o f the line tuner is th at it can b e u sed

to tun e th e line ove r an enti re a m ate ur b and or a group of b ands
by using t ap ped inductors and variable ca pacitors. Such a tuner
can be adjusted to presen t th e p ro pe r resistive loarl to the trans-
mitte r , and it tunes out rC'a~o nahl e reactive compon ents so that
they a re not r eflected to the transmitter.
13
 Chart 2. Dimensions of Half-Wavelength Line Segments
for Velocity Factors of 0.66 and 0.81

(V F= 0 .66) (VF= 0.81)

Line Segments Lin e Lengths in Line L engths in
in Wave lengt hs Feet Reg. RG / 58U-RG/ 59U Feet of Foam RG / 58U-RG / 59U
1/2 325/f 400/f
2/2 650/ f 800/ f
3/2 975/f 1200/f
4/2 1300/ f 1600/f
5/2 1625/ f 2000/f
6/2 1950/ f 2400/f
7/2 2275/f 2800/f
8/2 2600/f 3200/ f
9/2 2925/f 3600/f
10/2 3250/f 4000/ f
11/2 3575/ f 4400/f
12/ 2 3900/f 4800/f
13/2 4225/f 5200/ f
14/2 4550/ f 5600/ f
15/2 4875/ f 6000/ f
16/ 2 5200/f 6400/ f

3- D ipole and Balun

A dip ole antenna presents a resistive 72-ohm loa d only at its
resona n t fre qu ency. T h e idea lized va lue of 72 ohms can be affected
by surroundi11i.r;.. At points off the rt>sonant frequency, there are
alrn rcac ti 1·e compone nts present. Ne vert h eless, the p erforman ce
of tl1P antf' mia ~yste m ca n be optim ize cl using the proced ure cov-
ered in topic 2.
The dipole an tenna is a balanced antenna system with identical
a nd <' qu a l-lcnp:th el em en ts on <'ach sid e of the fee<l point. Con-
Vf' rSPly, th e com m only u s!"d coaxial t ransmission line constitutes an
1111lwla11c<'d feed system. Thus the re are u ne qual r-f curr e nts in the
cpia rt er-wa vt>le n p: th clipol e secti ons which can distu rb the radiation
pallN11 and prod uce un favor abfo line condition s which r esuh in
lirw rad iat ion ( Fiir. 5) .

- - - - DI POLE - - - - RA DIATION

W;J _,------ -,~U NBAlANCEO

p / ·r·~~SJ~~,g~···
( ,.\) Ilalun equivale nt. (B) Unbalanced cond itio n.

Fig . 5. Plan o f a balun aurl cond ition wh ich it r e duces.

14
 A balun avoids these imbalances by serving as a balance-to-
unh a lance transform er (Fig. 6 ) . As ~uch, it provides an e fficient
transformation between the sin1dc-e ncl ed coaxial line and the bal-
an ced rlipole antenna. ln m a tchinl! a dipol e to a coaxial line the

1--- - - - - A/2 DI POlf- - - - - -1

BAWN

Fig. 6. Di pole antenna with l to 1

balun.
COAX

TRANSMlffiR

preferred b alun transforma tion is one-to-one. Baluns of four-to-

one and othe r ratios are feasible for matching higher antenna
resistances to a SO- or 72-ohm coaxial cable.
A balun ensures more favorable line conditions and less disturb-
a n ce of the antenna radiation patte rn, and h elps in establishing a
more favorable standing-wave ratio over a wider span of frequen-
cies, as compa red i.o the dipole-direct-to-coaxial-line m ethod of
connection.

4 - Novice-Band Dipoles
Dipoles can b e cut for optimum operation on the 80-, 40-, and
15-meter novice bands. Dimensions for novice-band centers are
given in Ch art 3. Optimum coaxial line l en gths for half-wave
seµ:ments of coaxial line a re also given. Line lengths which are

Chart 3. Novice-Band Dipole and Line Dimensions

>..12
>..12 >..12 Line Length-
Novice-Band Dipole Line Length- 0.81 Foam-Dielectric
Centers Length 0.66 Regular Coax Coax
3.725 MHz 125'8" 87'3" 103'11"
7.175 MHz 65'3" 45'3" 55'6"
21.175 MHz 22'2" 15'4" 18'9"

15
integra l multiples of these stated va lues may also be nsed . R efer
to topi cs 1 and 2.

5 - Advanced- and Extra-Class Band Dipoles

Some am ate ur s concentrat e their opera tions within the ad-
van ced - or extra-cl ass bands. Dipoles can b e cut with optimum
p erformance on these portions of the spect rum. Dime n sions as
1
cente red on the a<lvancerl a nd extra p o rtions or the frequency
spect ra are given in Chart 4. Line le n gths for op timu m perfor-
man ce are also su ggested. Linc l e n ~ ths which arc multiples of
the va lues given also provide optimum results. Refer to topics 1
an d 2.

Chart 4. Advanced and Extra-Band Dipole and

Line Dimensi ons

ADVANCED
MHz Band Center A./ 2 Dipole A./ 2 Line 0.66 VF
3.825- 3.9 3.8625 121'2" 84'2"
7.2 - 7.25 7.225 64'8" 45'
14.2 - 14.275 14.2375 32'10" 22'10''
21.275-21.350 21.3125 21'11" 15'3"

EXTRA
MHz Band Center A. / 2 Dipole "A/ 2 Line 0.66 VF
3.5 - 3.55 3.525 132' 9" 92'2"
3.8 - 3.825 3.8125 122'9" 85'3"
7.0 - 7.05 7.025 66'7" 46'3"
14.00 - 14.05 14.025 33'4" 23'2"
21.00-21.05 21.025 22'3" 15'6"
21.25-21.275 21.2625 22' 15'3"

6 - Lamp-Cord Dipoles
Comm on el ectrical l amp corrl can b e u sed to constru ct indoor,
portable, or em e rgency dipoles. The l amp cord can be divided
down t he middle, se ttin g o ff two dipoles of appropriate len gth
( Fig. 7 ) . T h e rem ainrle r of th e l amp cord then serves as the tran s-
mission line between a nten na and transmitter. Antenna resistance
of the rlipol e is 72 ohms an d the ch arac teristic imped ance of the
la mp co rd is usu ally not too much different from this value. To
aid in m a tchin g, the li ne segment i s m ade a multiple of a half-
wavel en f!th long:.
16
Fig. 7. Lamp-cord dipole.
T
DIPOLE
PWS
LI NE
DI POLE

LINE

In con structing such an ante nna u se a section of lamp cord

which has a total le nl!Lh co rrespo11din1?; Lo the dipole plus the trans-
mission line. Then it ca n be cut clown the middle to form the
dipoles. Elec trica l tape can hf' used to secu re the point of separa-
tion (Fig. 8). The insul ation neecl not be bared from the dipole
beca11 ~<· it (loes not hampe r the radiation of the r-f energy. The
ends of the dipol e can be fed through the eyes of the insulators
and sec ured with e lectri cal tapf'.

Fig. 8. Taping of lamp-cord dipole.

Such an antenna is serviceable for attic mounting. Since it is

very fl exible and con sists of few components, it can be pack ed and
stored conveniently, and se rves well for quick portable installations.
l7
 7 - Twin-Lead Folded Dipole
An inexp ensive and popular form of quick antenna construe.
Lion h as b een the twin-l ead folded dipole (Fig. 9). A folded
dipo le has a feed-point impedan ce of approximately 300 ohms
r a the r than 70 ohms. Con seque ntly it matches the characte ristic
imped a nce of the twin line from which it is made.

~·-- A12 ---

I BARE. TWIST, ANO SOLDER
OPEN

BARE.TWI ST, /
SOLDER ANO TAPE

WHOLE MULTI PL£ Of 1.. /2

Fig. 9 . Twin-lead folded dipole.

Some t ransmitte rs ha \'e enough output tuning r a nge to provide

a suitable m a tc h to a 300-ohm system. Again, matc hing he lp can
be obtained b~· ma king the le ngt h of 300-ohm transmission line a
11111ltipl e of a ha lf wave length.
Tlw ve locity fac to r of most 300-ohm lines a pproximates 0.82 and
is suhstitut ccl in de te rmining the physical l ength n eeded to obtain
a Iota ! lin e len gth that is a multiple of an elec trical half wave-
IC'np: th. Values a pproximate those given in Ch art 2 for foam·
<li t>kc tric coaxial line which has a velocity factor of 0.81. Refer to
t o pic ~ I and 2.

8 - Folded Dipole and Balun

I
A fo lded-dipole antenna with its resistance of 300 ohms can he
matc hed to a SO-ohm unbalanced syste m using a balun. T h e b alun
is atta ched to the feed point of the folded d ipole (Fig. 10 ) . The
balun ra tio sh ould b e 4 to I.
On ~ o f the commerciall y available wideb a nd t yp es ca n be u sed
or on<' ca n he constn1c te<l from a secti on of 72-ohm coaxial trans-
mission lin e as sh own in Fig. IOB. Don' t foqi:et to conside r the
vel ocity fac tor in cutting: the line that is employed in the b alun.
An alterna te plan is to positi on the b alun n ear th e t ransmitter.
Thi$ i ~ a m ore econom ical a rra nge me nt wh en the r e is a great
18
 4 TO 1
SAWN COAX
HAlF -WAVE
LI NE SECTION
COAX

(A) Balun at the a ntenna. (B) Balun constructed of coax.

( C) Balun placed near transmitter.

Fig. 10. B a luns and connection arrangem ents.

se para tion between folded dipole and tran smitte r. Of course, one
must be more careful in laying out the 300-ohm feed line so
that it does not come too close to conductinµ: surfaces. Stand-off
insulators must be u sed to hold 300-ohm l ine awa y from the mast,
while in a well-balanced and matched syst em, one can t ape coaxial
line to a mast.
It is a good idea to m a ke the span of 300-ohm lin e between the
a11tc>11na anrl balun a multiple of a half wavel e n ~th. The b alun can
h e posi tion ed within a few fee t of the transmitte r , or at any con-
ve ni ent point~perh a ps the position at which the line is to ente r
the house. R efe r t o t opics 1, 2, 3, and 7.

9 - Inverted Dipole
The inverted dipol e h a$ been and is a popular antenna b e-
ca u$<' o f its good results, ease of e rection, durabil ity, low cost, and
limited space require m ent. The in verted dipole is, in effect, a
convention al h orizon tal dipol e with its ends tilted down toward
the ground (F ig. 11 ). The a n1d e b etween the two legs is u su all y
betwee n 90 and 120 d eµ: rees, depending on apex height a nd leg
le n µ: th.
19
 I· 32' 4" ------1 ~
1- - 32' 4 . .,
,( 14 ,( 14

23411 ?:WI

(A) Horizontal dipole.

-{>,
>..

(B) Inverted dipole.

Fig. 11. Dimensions for 40-mctcr phone operation.

The leg length for a given resonant frequ e ncy is somewh a t

longe r than that of a ~traight h orizontal dipole. As a functio11
of ap ex angle and n e arness of the leg ends lo grou nd , the lengthen-
ing fa lls be tween 2 and 6 percent. The amount dq1cnd s on the a pex
an gle and th e n ea rness of the ends to g round. A n ante nna brid ire
or S\VR m e ter is he lpful in trimming th e ant enna to fre que n cy.
The work c an be done con veniently with the a n tenna ere cte1l,
b ecause the leg ends are accessible from ground. He fer to Ap pen -
dice s I th rough IV.
Antenna feed-point impedauce drops away frolll lhe impedan ce
va lu e of a h orizontal dipole, becoming lower a s the angl e be tween
the two wires i:s decreased. Usua lh· a h e ller lllatch is made to

20
SO- rather than 72-ohm line. Again, the most favorable conditions
e xist whe n the transmission line is mad e a multiple of a half
wave len:rth at the operating frequency.
The performance of the inverted rlipole is in gen eral more
11n iform tha n the pe rforma nce of a straight dipole. The hor izontal
pa tte rn is less directive. Gain is l ess by comparison to the broad-
side :rain of a horizontal dipole of the same height, b eca u se the in-
verted dipole h as its an tenna legs tilt ed down towa rd ground.
Howeve r, the p erforman ce of the in vertl'cl dipole, rel a ti ve to other
horizontal anid es, e qua ls or be ttns that of the straip;ht dipole.
Another advant age of the inverted dipole is its l ower angl e of
racliation anrl more vcr t ical polarization. Thus for long-dist ance
commu nica ti ons espec iall y on 7 MHz aiul hiirher, surprising results
a re obtained with the in verted dipol e.
Only a sinirle e rec tion mast or high mounting position for the
a p ex is n eeded. The in ve rted clipolf' r ncls can b e brought very
near to th e ground ancl ca n b e tied down to metal fence posts, the
sid e of a garaµ:e, shrd, etc. Dimensi on s for a 40-me te r phon e in-
ve rted dip ole are given. Optimum transmission-line le ngth is a
wh ole m ultiple of 45' 6". R efer to topi cs l and 2.

10 - Novice 15-40 Dipoles

More than one dipole can be attac he <l lo the sam e cen ter feed
point. If done prope rl y, ther e can b e min immn inte raction and
good oper ation on more than one b an d . For optimum results the
two <lipoles sh ould be se parated as mu ch as possible from each
oth er. It i s b est to ha ve the elements of one dipole perpe nclicular
to those of the otlwr, ra ther than parallel I Fig. 12A) . Thus, in
e rectinp; a 15- and 40-me ter combination , t he 15-meter wires sh ould
run broadside to the 40-rneter wires. A further reduction in the
inte rac tion b etween the two dipoles can be obtained b y u sing
diffe re nt pola rization. In fact, a good-performing combination
would b e a 40-mete r dipol e and a 15-me le r inverted vee (Fig. 12B).
This combination has the 15-mete r wires p e rpendicular to the
40-mete r wires, and the 15-meter p olarization has b een ch anged
awa y from that of the 40-meter dipole.
It has been said tha t the ordinary 40-meter dipole operates
as a three-halves wavelength antenna on 15 mete r s. It is true that
a 40-mete r antenna often l oads on 15 m et e rs, but seldom can per-
formance and standing-wave conditions on the transmission line
be made as good as those obtainable when u sing a sep a rate 15-
m e tcr dipole. The two frequen cy b a nds a re not rel a ted properly
for this optimum con dition. In fact, a dipole cut for the low e nd
21
 ( ....
..

\ .·.·

" --- ---- (A) Horizonta l-dipole placement.

..

(
\: ..
·:-:

" -- ---
~:.:

.........._ /
--
(B) Horizontal 40-meter dipole and inverted 15-meter dipole at center.

Fig. 12. 15- a nd 40-m eter dipoles connected to same f eed point.

of the 40-me ter b and is still too sh o rt for three -qu a rte r wavelength
o peration a t th e h igh end of the 15-me te r hand. This is becau se
eml <>ffect is a consider ation in ch oosing the len gth of the 40-meter
clipole, while it is less influential in de te r m in ing the overall len gth
o f a t hree-hal ves wavelen gth ante nn a on 15 m e ters.
T h e inve rte cl -cli pole combination of Fig. 13 is a goocl combina-
tion. Only a sin1.de m ast is requ ired and the advan t aires of low-
22
ang le radiation ca n be obtained on both bands. The 15-me te r
dipole wires should be at ri ght an1:des to the 40-met e r segments.
R efer to topi cs 1, 2, 4, anrl 9.

/
~ -
\
/ ,-i;

I "'""
----\'
\
MAST
'
\
----
( \ )
\
\
---
\.
--- ----- /
~ \ /
~ \/
---- -- -----
Fig. 13. 15-40 meter inverted dipoles.

11 - Novice 15-80 Dipoles

Just about optimum dipole ope rat ion can be obtained on 15
and 80 me te rs using two se parate dipoles attached to the sam e
cen ter feed point I Fig. 14) . T he re are three possible arrangements
that give good performance. Both d ipoles can be mounted hori-
zon t ally and at right angles to each oth e r ; both can b e mounted
in an in\'erted -dipole combinati on ; or the 80-me te r antenna can
h e e rected as a hori zon tal 1lipole, wi th the 1.5-me te r elements
coming off its center fee<I point as a n inverted dipole. Refer to
topics l , 2, 4, 9, and 10.

12 - Novice 40-80 Dipoles

N ear optim um ope ration can be obtained on 40 an d 80 meters
using two separate dipoles conn ect ed t o the same center feed
23
point. There are three arrangements that perform well (Fig. 14 ).
The 40- and 80-metc r dipole element!' can both be mounted hori-
zontally but at ri ght an gl.es to each ot: .!r; both can be connected
as inverted-vee dipoles; or, if the 80-m eter dipole can b e mounted

SOM

/
......
/ ' "\ l \
I
I
" '-.....
---- -
(A) 15 and 80 on same plane.
/
/
"-
'-.....

------ - ./

rn) 80 horizontal, 15 inverted.

I

", ____ /
./
I

(Cl 80 and 15 inverted.

Fig. 14. 15-80 meter dipole combinations.

hi gh enough, it is possible to run the 40-meter antenna wires off

th e center point as a n inverted dipole. Forty- and 80-meter inverted
dip ole leg len l!ths are 32' 3" and 59' 10" r espectively. Straight
dipole dim ension s are l!iven in Chart 4. R efe r to topics 1, 2, 4, 9,
ancl 10.

13 - Novice 15-40-80 Dipoles

Three-band o pe ration for the novice can b e obtained b y u sing
three separate dipoles conn ected to the sa m e center feed point.
The secret of multi-dipole operation is to kee p the various antennas
isolated from each othe r as much as possible. Stay away from
parallel runs of the antenna wires.
Two favo ra bll' arrangements are shown in Fig. 15. In example
A the dipoles are mounted horizontally ancl are 60 degrees related
in the ir physica l positiom. A simpl e and good performing arrange-
24
 (A) Horizontal d ipoles.

/
--.. . .<. .............
/
I ""' '\
\ \
\ )
-- -- --
<B) Inverted dipoles.

Fig. 15. Novice 15-40-80 dipoles with common fee d point.

/

25
rn ent usin g a single m as t is the ma ypole arran gem ent of three
inverted dipol es a s shown in Fi~s. l.SB and 16. The individual
rlipoles arc 60 rlcgrees rel ated to each other in terms of their
horizonta l po;:;itioninir a round the mast. Refer to topics ] , 2, 4,
9. and 10.

I
I

I ,,,/I
!J
-- --
I ~

(A ) Side vie w. Fig. 16. lnvertcd-vee multi-a ntenna

construction.

I
I ~
- 1-
I / i
11
,1
1/
\ I
\ I
I
/
""' ""
<B) T op view.

14 - 20-40-80 Maypole
Many radio amate urs confine their operations to 20, 40, and
80 m eters. Some tran smitters and t.ran sceivers function only on
26
these bands. A si11gle antenna that permits rapid band c hangeover
is a desira ble attribute for these ope rators. If done properly three
separate d ipoles can be attached to the sam e cente r feed point and
mad e to give optimum dipole operation on each o f the three bands.
The secre t of good pe rformance and low standin g-wave ratios is
to keep the dipol es isol at ed from each othe r as much as possible
e xce pt at the feed point. The inve rted-dipole style and its single
supporting mast (Fig. 17) provides a good-pe rforming arrange-
ment in a small mounting area. The three dipoles are 60-degrees
related re la ti ve to their physical positioning around the mast.
This affords a hi ghe r order of isolation.

OOM

/
I \
(- -- - --- )
\ / /
"" / /
\
/
~

--- - - --- /
Fig. 17. 20-40-80 phone inverted dipoles.

Furthe rmorn, the 80-mete r wires stretch out more n ea rly hori-
zontal while the 20-me ter wires can be mad e th e most vertical.
Thu~. the re i ~ some additional isolation through diffe ring polari-
zation, and at the sam e time, the more favorc rl l ower an gle of
vertical radiation can be obtained with increasin~ frequency.
Dimen sion s for a 20-40-80 phon e antenna are 11;iven. Dipole ends
are brought n ear the ground fovel and antenna resonance can be
27
shifted al will toward the low end of an y b and by clipping on
additi on al. sh ort section s of antenna wire to the dipole ends (F ig.
18). R efer to to pics 1, 2, 9, a nd 13.

1S - 20-40-80 C-W Special Inverted Dipoles

The in ve rted dip ole constru ction of the pre vio us topic ( Fig.
17) i s ideal for the c-w h am who con centrates hi s o pe rations on
20, 40, a nd 80. The antenna occu p ies a relative ly sm all sp ace, is
low cost, a nd no ch an ges arc needed when switching b ands. The
quarte r-wa ve rlipole segments when cut to resona te in the special
and ad van ced c-w b ands are 63' 4", 33' 11 ' , and 16' 8" for the 80-,
40-, and 20-mc tc r b a nds r espective ly.
If you ope rate both phone an d c-w, an ideal a rran gem ent is
to use the rl imension s for p h on e ope ration given in the previou s
topi c. Cut cl ip-on ex ten sions for attaclune nt wh e n ope rating cw
( Fig. 18 ) . T hese le n gths a rc S', l ' , and 3" for the 80-, 40- and 20-
meter b a nds resp ec ti ve ly. R efer to t opics 1, 2, 9, 13, and 14.

F ig. 1 8 . Clip-on e x te n sio n to lowe r reso n a nt fre que n cy o f a nte nna s .

16 - One-Wavelength Antenna
A h a lf-wavele n gth d ipole anten n a is r eson ant on a sp ecific
freq uen cy . R eson a n ce on t h e sa me freque ncy can also b e obtained
by doubling th e rl ipole length to fo rm a " l ong-w ire" one-wave-
len gth ant e nn a (F ig. 19 ) . Su ch an an tenn a ca n be fed a t t he
cen t e r. How(Wf'. r, th e cen t e r is a max imu m-voltage/ m inimum-cu r -
28
rent, or high-impedance point. Therefore a high-impedance trans-
111 isi;:ion
line must he ll !<<'<l , or some sort of tune r is n ecessary to
make the transformation from the low-impertance lin e to the high-
impedance feed point.

900

A. 12
01POLE

<3 O>

~
+

( A) Half-wa,·e dipole.

!--- - -- -- - l ,( - - - -- ---1

<Bl Full-wave dipole.

Fig. 19. Comparisons in length and horizon111l pattern of horizontal d ipole
and one-wavelength anlennas.

Often this type of ant e nna is ca lled two half wavelengths in

phase as indi ca ted by th e polarities (in Fig. 19) . The fields of the
two hori zontal h alf-wave segm ents inte ract to form a cloverl eaf
h orizon tal radia tion p a tt e rn, instead of the figure-eight of a
~in gle half-wavelength dipole ante nn a (Fig. 19B ) . Note that
radiation maxima occur at 55 °, 125 °, 2:-!5° , and 305° instead of the
90° and 270 ° of a horizontal dipole. Each of the four l obes of
the one-wavelen11:th ante nn a show a slig ht improvem e nt in gain
ove r the two-lobe maxima of the dipol e. Of cou rse, each lobe h as
a some what na rrower beam an gle than a dipol e l obe.
29
 A practical one-wav elength ante nna is shown in Fig. 20. Di-
mensions are for 15-m e te r operation. Note t h at the feed point
h as b een moved away from the cen ter by a quart er wavelen gth.
In so d oing:, a lower-impedance fee d point is found ( one quarter
Wa\"e le n).(th on one side and three <Jna rte r wavelength s on the
other ) . T lwre is a sui table match to e ithe r 50- or 72-ohm coaxial
cable. Ant e nna feed- point impedance is only slightl y highe r (80 to
90 ohm ~) th an a conve ntion al dipole.

I1 23411
114'<.-f--- --
12011
- - - -- --314 ;. - - - - -- - - -----.

~ ~l----------------------~C)-

W' H ~; "'

Fig. 20. One-wavelength antenna.

In the e rection o f th e one-wavelength antenn a, the direc tion

of the ant enna wire shon l d be suc h tha t on e or m ore hori:wntal
lobes of th e pa ttern are o riented in pre ferred direction s. For an y
type of lon g-wire a nte nna, it is wise to choose a l en gth of trans-
mission l in e that corres ponds to a whole multipl e of an elec tric al
h alf waw•leng:th. Reff'l" to topics 1 an<l 2.

17 - 3 / 2-Wavelength Antenna

Ant e n n as ca n lw n ·sonate d t o a s pecific fre <J11e ncy by m akin g:

th e ir o ve rall electrica l lPng:th a wh o lP multiple of a h alf wavelen gth.
T h e re i ~ a ri se in 1-(a in with each h alf-wavele n µ: th addit ion. In
the case o f a horiz ont al ante nna, the an ten n a b e com es more
(lirectin• wi th an te nna len g:th .
T h e a ddition of IP)! IPn g:ths in odd multip les of a h alf wave-
len gth e nsures a l ow-impedance cent e r feed poin t b eca use e ach leg
of su c h a n ante nna is a n odd number of quarte r wave-len gths l ong.
Fo r Pxa rnple, the a nt e nna o f Fig. 2 1 is 3/2 wavel ength l ong,
and eac h leg is % w avelen gth l on rr, es ta blishing a l ow-impe d an ce
feed po int at the cente r. T h e d i rec ti ve pa ttern of a h orizonta l 3/2-
wavel eng th an te nna is shown in B. Note that two a dditional lobes
h ave been added as compa red Lo the on e-wave-le ngth an tenna of
F ig . 19.
30
 I A) Basic construction. IBl Radiation pattern.
Fig. 21. 3/2-wavclcngth l10rizon1al antenna un(I horizontal pattern .

Ch a rt 5 provides the necessa r y const ants fo r calcul atin g leg

IPngths that are an odd multiple of a qua rt e r-wavelength Jon i!. The
con stant for a quart e r wa\·e kn,!!th ( h alf-wavele ngth dipol e) is
co rrec ted for end e ffect. End e ffect ha~ a d<'cr easin,!! influ en ce
with an increase in thf' 1111111lwr of quart e r wavel engths on a l eg.
Ther e is some sh ol'te ninp: rc:qn ired. It is wise to cut t he antenna
l1·11µ:th ;,. slig htl y 1 011 ~ in acco rdan ce with th e cons tants given. One
ca n then trim hack to es ta blish th P desired reson ari t len gths. R e fe r
t o Ap p en d icP~ I t hrou gh Y .

Chart 5. Leg Le ngths in Quarter Wavelengths and Feet

Leg Length
Leg Length in in Feet
Wavelengths (f in MHz)
1/4 234/ f
3/ 4 738/ f
5/ 4 1230/ f
7/ 4 1722/f
9/ 4 2214/f
11/4 2706/ f
13/4 3198/ f
15/ 4 3690/ f
17/ 4 4182/ f
19/ 4 4674/ f
21/4 5166/ f
23/4 5658/ f
25/4 6150/ f
27/ 4 6642/f
29/ 4 71341f
31/ 4 7626/ f
33/ 4 8118/ f
35/ 4 8610 /f
37/ 4 9102/f
39/ 4 9594/ f
4114 10086/ f

31
 Two praclical 3/2-wavelenglh antennas are sh own in Fig. 22.
They h ave bee n cut for the 15-mete r phone band. When an
ante nna is mad e an odd multiple of a half wavelen gth long, it
can be fed e ither at the cente r or near on e end. End-feed does in-
flue nce the direc tiYity pattern as compared to the center feed. The
change is suc h that the lobes are of greate r m agnitude (more gain)
on the fi ve-qua rter-waYe side of the feed point as compa red to the
one·qn arte r-wa ve side.

720/( 720/f
~----- 3/4 ) . . - -- - - - l -- - - - - 3/4 ,\ - - - - -- .....

33' 4"

(A) Center fed.

'--- I
1/4 ---'---
,\ - -- - -- 5/4 ,l - - -- - - - - - - - - ---1

-<3>--1-0·- 1-1·- ·-'~·--------5-

5·-,-
.. ------------~C>-

( B) Off.center fed.

Fig. 22. 3/2-wavclcngth an tenna.

Antenna resistan ce rises to near 100 ohms. Again this is a

lheorelica 1 free-sp acc val n e. The practical val ne d e pends on
h eigh t a bove :rround and ot he r surroundin g conducting surfaces.
It is thi s inde finit e va lue for most ant ennas th a t makes the u se
of transmission line which is a wh ole multiple of a n electrical
h alf-wave len l!th a useful practice.
The hori:wntal lobes of a long-wire antenn a can b e oriented ·
in favo red direction s b y ch oosinµ: a favored angle for running the
an tenna wire'. Ap proximate an1d es for the 3/2 wavelength antenna
are 45 °, 90°, 135°, 22!1 ° , 270°, 315°. The 90-degree and 270-degree
lobes are weak t> r an d narrowe r than the four cl ove rleaf lobes. If
the a nte nn a wi re wer e nm 20-200 clegrees in the eastern U.S.,
the r e would be favorable lobes at 65 °, 155 °, 245 °, and 335°. As
32
shown in Fig. 23 these would be fa vorable directions for Europe,
North Africa, South America, Au stralia and New Zealand, and
J a pan and the Far East respectively. The two minor lobes would
be in the directions o f the western slates a nd South Africa. Mount
the antenna 0.5 to 1.0 wavelength ahove ground for good low-angle
ve rti cal radiation.
NORTH

t
00

EUROPE &
WESTERN NORTH AF RI CA
STA TES

AUSTRALIA
& AFRICA
NEW ZEALA ND

Fig. 2 3. Orie ntation of antenna in favored directions .

End-feeding on the 20-degree side favors the l SS-clegree and

245-dcgree l obe~ whil e e nd-feeding on the 200-degree side would
fa vor t h e 65- anrl ~35 -rleg ree l obes. R efe r to topics 1, 2, ancl 16.

18 - Low-Band Segmented Dipoles, 40-80-160

Three sepa rate dipoles for 40, 80, and 160 require con siderable
sp ace, antenna wire, an <l transmission line. As a result few stations
have optimum ant enn a syste m s fo r ope ra tion on the three low
bancls. Such operation ca n b e provided with a single ante nna if
space is ava ilable for 160-mete r dipole e rection. A si n1:d e antenna
and a sin gl e transm ission line can provide three-b anrl facilities.
The segmented arranp:ement with insulators and jumpers is
shown in Fig. 24. A sim ple hal ya rd arrangem ent at one end can
le t the ante nna down t o make the n ecessary jumper connects or
disconnects when operation on anothe r band is d esired. The
,]imen sions shown pe rmit operation as a dipole on 80 or 160 meters
a nd operation as a 3/2-wavel en gth antenna (three-quarter wave-
length legs) on 40 me ter s. Prefe rred transmission-line l en gth s
33
CLOTHES LI NE
HA LYARD
~l30'~
, IO"
ARRANGEMENT ~ 99

I 1 -60' 4"

JUMPERS

TRANSMIITTR 88' OR MULTIPLE

fig, 24. 1.ow-lrnnd s segmented clipoles-40, 80, and 160 p h one.

woul d be 176 fee l or an integr al multiple. Althoup:h a 160-meter

di pol e is u sed, tra nsmission-line lenl!ths of 88 fee t (or a multiple )
can b e u sed i[ t he 160-m ete r dipole is cut and resonated rather
carefull y for the p ortion of the 160-me ter b and in which opera-
! ion is desire<l. Rdn to t opics l, 2, ancl 17.

19 - Middle-Band Segmented Dipoles, 20-40-80

A single ant enna anrl transmission line can proYide optimum
dipole ope ra tion on these three bands u sing the segmented con-
~ • ruc tion of F il!. 25. T he one selcctecl depends on available space.
Ap:ain in su lators, jumpers, an<l a h alyard arrangeme nt provi <le
f'asv hand ch an p:cover.
60' 4"

11
At4 0N~ -.-,~--;
8
14 .{ON 20
~32'3"
I .{/4 ON 40

f Al O"crall length is used for ~O.

( B I Arrangement if mure space is a"ailable.

fii,:-. 25. Segm ented d i1wles for 20, 4-0, and 80.

34
 In a rrangem ent A the ove rall len gth accommodates 80-meter
dipol e ope ration. The antenna is also segm ented to provide 40-
mete r dipole ope ration. On 20 m e te r s the antenna ope rates as a
three-halves wavelength (three-quarte r wave length legs) .
If additiona l 5pace is available, antenna B can be ope rated as
a dipole on 80 m e te rs, a 312-wavelen gth lonir wire on 40, a nd a
S/ 2-wavelength ante nna on 20.
Ca reful conside ration of the direction of the antenna wire can
he lp you aliirn th e lobes in preferred DX direc tion s. R efer to
topics 1, 2, 17, and 18.

20 - Open-Wire Two-Band Dipole

Open -wire transmission line, suitably cut, can be used to con-
~trn ct
two-band antennas. T he 450-ohm type is preferable because
of the irreater ~e paration ht'tween condncton.

80 t--- - - -- -- - -- - - 124' IO" - - - - - - -- - - - ----;

40.---- - -- - - - · 65' 5 " - - - -- -- --<

I A ) 80-40 combina tion.

20 1~--------- 33'
" - - - -
-----------
- - - 22· - -- - - - -""

I BJ 20-15 combination .

I) f-- zz· - - --
1 lO

IC) 15-10 comb inati on.

F ig. 26. Ope n -wire two-ha nd dipoles, band-c e nte r dim en sions.

35
 1I___ --- --- --- I

\"" .:~~ /)
~
--
! /
~
-----
---- I

Fig. 27. Inverted dipoles (A) and four-band 15-20-4 0-80 dipole pairs (B).

36
 The 40-80 combinalion has long be<'n a popular duo. The longer
wi re serves as a h alf-wavele ng th dipole on 80 ; the shorter one,
serves as a dipol e on 4-0. Other pairs and appropria te dimensions
are gi\'C' n in Fi[!. 26. The dipoles can he cut t o a favored sec tion
of each band. It is prefPra ble to u se a le ngth of transmission line
which is a multiple of an e lectrical h alf wavele ngth. R efer t o
topics 1 and 2.

21 - Extra and Advanced Open-Wire

Inverted Dipoles
Open-wire line ca n he nsell in the construc tion of two-band
in verted dipol es ! Fig. 27A). Varions dipol e p airs, as <liscussed
in topic 20, can b e constru c ted. Dipole le ngths are shorte r than
formlll a values as a fun c tion of ape x h eight and nearness of the
antenna e nd to l!l'Ound. l'ractieal dimc•n sion s for HO- an rl 40-meter
phone band ope ration arc l!iven .
Two su ch ope n-wir<' inn,. rte<l dipol e:> mounter] pe rpendicu lar
to each other function we ll as a four-band a nte nna I Fig. 27B ).
The dimensions given in B are for c-w operation in the extra
and adv anced portions o f the 15-, 20-, 40-, and 80-meter bands.
Indi vidual antennas can of course b e cut for a specific portion
of any one of the bands. R efe r to t opics l , 2, 9, 13, 14, and 20.

37
 SECTION 2

Inverted-Vee Antennas
22 - Center-Fed Monoband Inverted
Long-Wire Vees
All antennas require a support structure and transmission
line. This expense is a part of each a nte nna syste m. To this must
be add ed the cost of the a nte nna prope r. If it is made of antenna
wire an d assorted insulators, it amoun ts to a low-cost a ntenna.
Su ch is the case for the lonµ:-wire inve rted vee's. Another economy
of this con stru cti on is th at only a single mast or hi gh point of
e rection is n eeded .
The invertc1l-vee construction is also less directional than the
horizontal dipole or straight long-wire antenna. As the l ep:s b ecome
more vertical, the horizontal radiation pattern becomes l ess direc-
tional. There is a loss in gain, too, as compared to the sensitive
direction of the horizontal long wire. However, even this is over-
come to some extent, especially for high-band operation and long-
distance communications, because of its lower vertical angl es of
radiation.

FEED LI NE IS
INTEGRA L
MULTI Pl£ Of
.<.12

TRANSM ITIER

Fig. 28. Basic 1>lan of a r e sonant and n111tchcd long-wire inverte d vee.

41
 Th e m a tc hin g: probk111s r elated to th e lon g-wire inv e rte d vee
can al so be minimized hy choosinµ; le,µ: lengths that correspond
to multip lcs of a qua r te r wa,·elengt h al th e opera tin g fr equencies,
and b,- u sing tra nsmission lin e lengths tha t correspond to multiples
of a h alf wa,·Plenµ: th at OfH' rntinµ: frequf'nci es (Fig:. 28).
Lenl,!ths are ~e l ect ed acco rdin g to a\'ai lable space an d apex
h e ig ht hy 11.si n p; Ch a rt 5 in to pic 17. Next the separa tion be tween
th e fee d point and the transmitter is e stim a ted. Ch a rt 2 is then
u ~c d to cl c t<' nn in e a preferred lenµ: th of t ransmission line. Refer
to topics L 2. 9. and 17.
A prac ti ca l 20-me ter d c ~ iiz:n is sh own in F ig. 29. A 25- t o 45-foot
vertica l mas t wa s assum ed. Fonn,pla le µ: lf' ngth for three-qua rter
wave opera tion i s:
738
Leg length -- 14.2 -- 52 feet

1
- 1111

TRANSM ITTER ~
- -- ~::

F ig. 29. Twenty-me ter long-wire inverted vee--3 / 4 wavele n gth on each leg.

An estimate indi ca tes that se paration b e tween feed point and

second-floor location of transmitter is approximat ely 50 feet. The
con s tants o f Ch art 2 indi cate tha t a fa vorable transmission line
length wou Id then b e :

650
Llne length = 14 .2
= 45' 9 "
It is s ip;nifica nt tha t an inverted-vee a ntenna is a sturdy eon-
strn ction. T h e mast itself does not support the antenna; rather the
antenna win~s contribute adrl itional µ:u y in ~ for the mast.
42
23 - Two-Band Inverted Long-Wire Vees-
No Tuning
By choosing prope r leg lengths for an inverted-vee antenna
a single pair of wi res can provide good pe rformance on two
b ands. For example the length of an 80-mete r inver ted dipole
is such that it will also r eson a te as a 7/2-wavelen gth antenna on
10 m ete rs. Using the informa tion of Chart 5, topi c 17, the followin g
formul a values a re obtained :

(80) Dipole leg length = ;~: = 60'

(10) Long-wire vee leg length = ~~~: = 60' 3"

In the practical situ ation the legs mu st b e shortened from this

va lue as shown in Fig. 30. In cu tting an tenna legs always use
the values calculated from the ch ar t. You can then shorten the
legs with the an tenna e r ec ted to set resonance on a desired fre-
qu en cy. In the case of two-band operation you must k eep close
wa tch on t h e resonan ce points in both bands. Inasmuch as the leg
le n gth h as a mo re decided influe nce on the high er frequ encies,
it is wise to h e conservative in trimm ing off the e n ds as you watch
the change in reson ance on the high er-frequen cy b and. The dim-

Fig. 30. Two-ba nd inve rted vee's.

43
ensions given in Fig. 30 provide a good combination for 10- and
75-me ter single-side band ope ration.
The 15- and 40-me ter combina t ion is a less favorable pair be-
ca use the cut must he such that it will provide 40-meter c-w
and 15-mc tc r ph one opera tion. Chart values are:

( 40) Dipole leg length = ;~; = 33'

(15) Long-wire leg length = ~:.~ = 33' 6"

l'iote that on l:i mete rs the antenna ope rates as a 3/2-wavelength

inYe rt e<l vee ( three quarter-wa vele n gths on a leg). A practical
rlim en sion which takes shortening effects into consideration is
l!ive n in Fig. 30.
A third possible combinat ion i s a 6- and 20-m e te r inverted-vee
an tenna. This lonµ:-wire ope rates with legs three-quarters of a
wa,·el ength long on 20 m e ter s and eleven qu arter wavelengths on
6 m ete rs. Formula calculations are:

738
(20) Leg le ngth = _ = 52'
14 2
2706
( 6) Leg length = 5 2 = 52'

Dimensions for the practical cut are given in Fig. 30.

Various othe r combination s for two-hand ope ration can be
found by u sinl! Chart 5, in topic 17. Le ngth selected depends on
tl csired bands and the avail able physical space for the er ection of
the long:-wire inv erted-vee ante nna. Sometimes a compromise
choice must he made with rega rd to the resonance spectrum
within each band, and it is not always possible to resonate at the
exact frequency desired in each band. R efer to topics 1, 2, 9,
17, nnd 22.

24 - Two-Band Inverted Vee-End-Tuned

It is possible to resona te n two-band long-wire inverted-vee
nn tcnna at some spec ific frequency in each of the two bands to be
covered s impl ~ h y e nd-tuning ench of the legs. A pair of alligator
clips and t wo short Se[!;m ents of nntenna wire permit optimum
r esonance on each of the two bands u sing the plan shown in Fig. 31.
44
 Jn the previous topic 23 it was sh own how a compromise l ength
p~ rmits two-hanil operati on. Exac t-resonan ce frequen cies can b e
obtained hy cutting on e len1J:lh of li n e to the d esired frequency
in one b and. Then, add on a short segment of line to establish the
desired resonant frequen cy in the second band. This requires
that the alligator clip b e either connected or discon n ected de-
pending on the d esired band of op e ration. This change-over, of
cm1rse, can be done ver y conveniently b ecause the leg ends are
t ic'1 cl own at n<'a r ground le vel.

Fig. 31. Two-ba nd inverted vee's, end-tuned.

Formula dime nsions were given in the previous topic. The

dimensions o f Fig. 31 we re planned for phone-band operation.
In the case o f the 15-40 ante nna, the alligator clip would b e open
for 40.me ter phone operati on. Closin g the two pairs of clips adds
an ad ditional l ' 11" to the antenna for optimum ope ration in the
I S-me te r phone band. If a 6-20 two-band combination is erected,
the alligator clips are not co nnected for 20-meter phone opera·
tion. However, an addition al 3" l ength is connected for operation
on the 6-mcter band.
For the 10-80 m e te r pair the dips are disconnected for 10·
me ter ope ration. For 80-mete r phone-band operation, the two
clips a r e connected.
The advan tage of this m a nner of two-band inve rted-vee oper-
ation is tha t the antenna can be p eak ed for optimum performance
at an y sp ecific frequen cy within eac h b and. The disadvantage is
45
that a short segm ent of line m ust be connected or disconnected
when c hanging over from one hand to the other. This really is
a very simple operation , because it can be done conveniently
(Fig. 32) . Refe r to topics l, 2, 9, 17, 22, and 23.

~I

F ig . 32. Alligator clips can be used to add length to an inve rted ve e.

25 - Long-Wire Inverted Vee-Sideband 10-15-2

Two attractive features of the inve rted-vee construction are
that the ends of the legs are n ear to ground where changes can
be made conveniently and operation as a resonant antenna can
b e accompl ish ed on more than on e h and with limited adjustments
in leg length. The 10-15.20 singl e-side b and antenna d e monstrates
this ve rsatility.
Preferred cente r frequ ency points we re selected at 14.3, 21.3,
and 28.6 megacycles. Reference to Ch art S and suit able substitu-
tions indicate that a practical inverted-vee can be operated as a
3/2-waveleng:th antenna on 20, a 5/ 2 wavelength on 15, and a
7/ 2 wavele ngth on 10. The required leg: lengths are:

(20) Leg length = J!.~ = 51.6'

(15) Leg length = ;~~~ = 57.7'
46
 1722 I
(10) Leg length = . = 60.2
28 6
Note that the diffe rence spre a<l is less than nin e feel. Appropriate
sec tions of wire for a tt ac h me nt to antenna ends ca n pe rmit multi-
band operation.
T his antenn a was con stru c ted, and ·resonances a t the desirecl
freque n cies werr ob tained with tl w d imensi on s p;iven. Each a n -
tenna e nd includes three insulators a nd app ro pri ate wire sections.
Alliga tor clips ( Fip;. 32 ), or oth<'r m ean s of inte rcon nection are
u sed to bridge ac ross the first two insul aton to pe rmit operation
on approp riate bands. Operation on 20 m e te rs is accomplish ed
h,· ope nin!! the clips ne arest to the center feed point. \\' ith clip
rlosed at the fi rst insul a tor and oprn a t the second on eac h leg,
it is possible to obt ain 15-me te r ope r at ion . Finall y wi th both pairs
of cl ip connec ti ons closed, 10-m ete r ope ration i s obtain ed. In thi s
latte r mode we also have a bonus in th e form of 7.5-me tPr sideb and
operation as a simple in verted-vec dipole.
Of course, wi th the p rop er sekrtion of freque ncies a ncl length s,
acceptable opera tion over eac h of th<' three b and s can b e obtained.
An alte rnate plan i~ to cut t o th e hi :.rh end of each bancl a nd use
sm all r l ip-on srr tiom to tune to a ny frequ en cy on any band as
shown in F ig. 18.
A lenp;th of tran sm ission l ine mui;t b e selected to accommo-
date the t hree banrk H e re again it is p ossibl e to com e up with
combin a tions th a t provide half-wavelength remnant le ngths on
thP various fre'l11Pncies. wh ich. a t th (· sa m e tim e, are very n ea r t o
eac h other in ovnall physical le ngth. Trial substituti on s usin!?
Ch art 2 loca te th e follo win:r possihilities :

(20) Line length = ~~~~ = 136' 4"

(15) Line length = ~i~: = 137' 4"

(10) Line length = 39oo = 136' 4"

28.6

Cuttin g the tran smission line to B7 feet provides fin e m atching

on all three b anrli-. R efe r to topics 1, 2, 9, 17, and 22.

26 - All-Band 6-160 Inverted-Vee

Additional bands can be ad d ed t o the b asic inverted-vee con-
struction of F ig..~3 b y providin:r additional l eg lengths. Top-band
47
160-me ter opera tion js feasible without requumg any additional
space by folding the legs back toward the mast (Fig. 34). This
return span to the ma~ t ca n b e matle at a h e ight above ground
of about 6.5 feet. This keeps all baud-changing positions within
easy reach .

TRANSMITIER

Fig. 33. 10-15-20 sideband long-wire inverte d vee.

176' TO
TRANS.

<12' 9"
29'

6' 6"
_j _
GROUND l£VEL
t--- - - -- - -- - -- APPROX 1 2~ ' -------------i

Fig. 34. 6-160 meter inve rted dipole and lo ng-wire inve rtecl-vee system.

Aclrlinµ; a le ngth o[ som e 40 feet pro vides an overal1 leg length

several in ch es more than 101 fee t- the rlimension for obtaining
48
three-quarter-wave len!!lh operation on 40 meters. (As a bonus,
this length also is a qua rter-wavelength multiple of the 6-meter
band ) . A further add ition of some wh at less than 30 feet provides
proper loading for 160-me ler operation as a dipole.
In sumniar y, all-band operation is p ossi ble with a single 35- to
-1.5-foot mast in a space under 1~5 feet. Only one transmission line
is n eeded , and no a ntenna tune r is required. T h e antenna operates
as an inverted dipole 011 80 m e te rs, a modified inverted dipole on
160 m e te rs, and as a lon g-wi re invert ed vec on the remainder of
the bands. IL is indeed a ve r y inexpen sive ante nna despite its good
aH-band performance. Be careful in cutting the lengths, and b e
patient in tuning on eac h band, starting on 20 meters (shortest
span ), an1l con ti nu inµ: on throu gh 160 meters (longest span).
R efer to topics 1, 2, 9, 17, 22, and 25.

27 - 15-40 Novice Inverted Vee

The novice segm e nts are so positioned in the 15- an d 40-meter
h ands, that it seems plausible for a 40-meter dipole to also load
on th e ] S-meter band, if dipole length can b e cut in such a man-
n er so that acceptable p erformance can b e obtained on each band.
This d oes not mean that optimum performance and the most

INSU IATOR
AND
/JUMPER

TRANSMlffiR
~;
~·~
' "- PlASTI C CLOTHES LINE

Fig. 35. Novice 15-40 inverted-vee antenna.

favorable line conditions can be obtained on each band. One can

either favor one b and or the other, or accept operation somewhat
less than optimum on each band.
49
 Th c i11 v 1 · rted - vt'1 ~ ron ~lrud ion, becau se the leg end s are n ear
ground p o l<' ntial , 1·a11 lw adj11st ed to e n sure top p e rfonnance on
e ach h a nd . T h e in n' rl <'<l-, eP dip ole of F i;r. :~s i s cu t preci;:f'ly t o the
cenl Pr uf th e .+U-rn e te r n o \·ice b a nd . Calc ulat e d d im e n s ions fr om
topie .+a n · :t2' 8". Th P kn ;rth of a th rcc-q uartt' r wave kn g th leg for
l :l->nPln o pN ation j,.: "li :..d1th· longe r if id<'al opprati on is desire d:

738
( 15) Leg length 34' 10''
21.17 5

It i,.: v<• n • e a;;y lo a1ld thi " additional lq! le ngth of approx i-
111ateh :2' :2" wht>11 chan:.!ing ov1·r from .+0- to 15-m C' tc r operation.
P raetiral IP11g th s I Fi g. :t)'I, a n ' ~O llH' what ,J10rte r a;: a fun c tion
o f h e i;..d11 a how· g ro11nd .
\.hart 2 can lw used t o calc11lat <' coaxial lin e le n gth " that are
fa,·orahl P fo r tw o-ha nd op Prali on . Half w ;n ·<'le ngth s of rep 1l a r
72-011111 co a x ial li11 C' arc' :

(40) Half-wave line length=

7~:~\ = 4;)' 4-"
( 15) Half-wave line length -
2 :.~~!) = 15' 4"
For a -"pan of Hlll!Pwhat l1•ss tlian 100 ft't't, an optimum line
lt-ngth wo11ld lw aho 11t 91 ' 6" t4:l' 4'' X ~ and l S' 4" X 6 ). R efer
to topi <'~ l.. ~- -L 9. 10. 17. ~2 . a nd ~:).

28 - 1 5-40-80 Novice Inverted Vee

The th ree novie<' h a11cls a r!' so situ a t ed frequ e n cy -wise that

the y d o 11 01 lend lh <' m :;;elve~ to th e u se of a sin gle a ntenna fo r
three-hand o pe ration wh f' n optimum p e rforman ce is to h e obtained
on e a ch cha111wl. Th <' r xccption is th e invcrte d-vee which can
be b a nd-changf'fl !'o n venie ntl y lwc au se it ~ kg en d s c a11 b e m a d e
reaclil ~· accP:-~ ihlC' frn111 the ground .
The i1l\·e rt e d-v1'1· a n te n na o f Fi g. 36 consists of ~egmented
40- a11d 80-me tc r i11 n-• r tC' cl rlipoles a n<l a JS-me te r lo ng-wire in-
ve rted Vt' <' with thn'<'·<]uart e r-wavele ngth legs. O nl y a single m ast
is n e1·dt'd 12.) to SO fep t ) an<l a singl e trammission lin e fee ds
fro m th P transmilt <' r t o th e cC'nt e r con11ce tio11 poin t al th e top of
the a p ex. Two lll <' ta l fe n ce p o"t" ca n h e th e tie point s for the
leg e nd s. It !:'h o uld b e p ossibl e to rdease th ese le g e nd s for con-
veniC'nt band changes.

so
 Dimensions for tli e qnarter-wa,·e sides of the dipole based on
hand centers (Chart 4 ) a re 62' 11 ", and 32' 8" for the 80- and

INSU lA TORS
ANO JUMPERS~

Fig. 36. 15·4·0-80 Novice-band inverted vee.

40-rne tc r novice hand s respectivelv. The thrcc-quarter-wavel cnµ:th

rlim en i:: ion for ].) -nw tc r operation is :

(15) Leg length 738 - '>4' 10''

21.175 - ·>

Tnvcrtc<l-vi>e op i> ratio n require!' some shorteninµ:, and the prac-

ti cal dimensiorn• for hanrl-ci>nte r resonances are as l!iven in Fiµ:.
~6 . Half-wavelen µ: th scµ:ments of line on th e three hand s h ave
t lte f ollowin µ: dim en sions:

(80 ) Half-wave line length = 3~;;5 = 87' 3"

( 40) Half-wave line length = 7~:;5 =45' 4"
(15) Half-wave line length 325 = 15' 4"
21.175

For a separa tion of somethinµ: less than 100 feet, a 91-foot trans-
mission l ine ( regular 72-ohm coaxial ) woulcl suffice (87' 3" X 1,
45' 4" X 2, and 15' 4" X 6). Rde r to topics 1, 2, 4, 9, 13, 17, 22,
and 27.
51
 29 - 10-15-20 and 20-40-80 Inverted-Vee Trios

This is a thrN'-section antenna that p<'rmits three-ba nd oper-

ation without r<'q11iring any antenna chan ges. Ope ration can be
selec te d on the lrn i:; is of the triples 10-lS-20 or 20-40-80. Two othe r
tripl<'s <'<111 h<' s<'l<'c tC'rl if <lPsi rccl. Thrsc ar<' 10-20-40 o r 15-20-80.
The a nt e nna is a co111hi11a tio11 of th e 20-.:1-0-80 inve rt ed dipoles of
. topi c 1-l an d lo ng-wire im·c rt ed ,·ccs. Any of th e three-band trios
list ed can h <' ·se t up using apprnpriate jumpe rs. No chanircs need
be mad e wh en ~w it c hing among th e three selected hand s.
Th <' antenna opnat es as invcrtecl rlipolPs on 40 anrl BO, three-
halvcs wa vrlen gth antennas 011 ].) anrl 20, anrl a ninc-hahes wave -
l ength an lenna 011 l 0 m etns. Prefe rred lengths of tran smission
line arc multiples of 45 feet for phone ope rati on and 46 feet
for cw.
l.al<'11l a ti o11s for phmw-hancl operation ar<' as follows:

(80) Dipole length = ~~: = 60'

( 40) Dipole length = i.~~ = 32' 3 1;2"

(20) 3 / 4-wave leg length 738 = 51' 9"
14.25
738
(15) 3/4-wave leg length - 1. = 34.' 6"
2 3
1722
(10) 9/4-wave leg length - .
28 6
=60' 4"
Actual dim ensions fo r a practical ve rsion are shown in Fi g. 37. Of
conn;(', fre qu en c ies ca n be selected and legs cut to meet your n eeds.
R efer to topi cs l , 2, 9, 13, 14, 17, and 22.

30 - W3FQJ Inverted-Vee 6· Through-SO

Sidebander
In maint a inin!! multiband schedules, n e t ac tivi ties, p a rticipating
in multihand sid eband c ont ests, and for iren e ral all-band operation,
it is c onvenie nt to have a good single ante nn a that re quires no
changes whe n changing bands. Such an antenna can b e constructed
u si ng the pri11 c ipk~ of the inverted dipoles and the long-wire
52
invertcd-vccs. Approp riate combin ations a11<l prope r cutting pro-
vides sideband operation on eac h band from 6 throu gh 80 meters.
~o tuner is needed.

\ / J
\ ./ I
~ ,/ /
~
Fig. 37. lnverted-vee trios.

Three inver ted vees (Fig:. 38) are connected to a common

feed point; a separation of 60° is maintained b etween legs. Two
vees are inve rted dipoles cut to resonate in the 40- and 80-meter
phone bands. Th e third element is a three-hal ves wavelength
long-wire (three-quarter wavelen gth on a leg) cut for the 20-meter
phone band. These three elements also provide operation on 6, 10,
and 15 meters. The 40-meter segment functions as a three-quarter
wavelen gth long-wire on 15 m eters while the 80-me te r ele ment op-
rates 7 / 2 wavelen gth on 10. The 20-me ter vee operates as an 11/2-
wavelength antenn a on 6 meters.
The length of the transmission line should b e a com promise
that approximates a l ength correspondin g to a whole multiple of
a half wavelen gth on each b an d. This is feasible using a length
of coaxial cable (velocity factor of 0.66) tha t is a whole multiple
of 90 feet in l ength. Inasmuch as matching is seldom a problem
with 80-mcter dipoles, a multiple of 45 feet is equally good.
53
 ---

Fig. 38. W3FQJ invcrted-vee sidcbander.

54
\ J
\ I
~ / /
Fig. 39. W3FQJ inverted-vee 6 through 80 sidcbande r.

Practical dimf'nsion s for the im·f' rtecl-vee constru ction are

i;o mewh a t short e r than the formula n ilnes. The dinlf'n ;:ion;: of
F i:r. :~9 esta b]i;:h th f' foll owin:r re~onancc ~:
80 meters-3. 9 MHz
40 meters-7 .2 MHz
20 meters-14.. 3 MHz
15 meters-21.4.2 MHz
10 m eter s- 28 .58 MHz
6 meters-51.4 MHz
R f' fe r to topici; ] , 2, 9, 13, 14, 15, 17, and 22.

31 - Long-Wire Inverted Vees With Line Tuner

A line tun er mounted a l the tran smitte r end of a tran smission
line h as as its major fun ction the optimum loading of the t ran s-
mitt<>r. Within se nsible ope ratin g limits, it is cap a ble of est a b-
lishin:r a stanrlin:r-wave ra ti o le;:s than l.S to 1 over a substan tial
frequ ency range. It pe rmits the transmitt e r to see this proper
loatl even th011gh th e sta nding-wave ratio on the transmission
li ne might b e quite hil!h. Two addi tional be nefits of the
lin e tune r is that optimum opera ting conditio ns can be f'Stablish e d
ove r an entire amat eur h and even th01 q.d1 the antenna is pe aked
55
on one segm cut of that band, and multiband operation of an
antenna is feas ible without makin g an y antenna c h a nges when
switchin g b ancls. T111rnr a1ljustments must. b e made hut this is done
right a t the opcra tinl! position. The u se of a line tune r is not a
cure-all, but it docs offer transmitte r protection and contributes
some conven ieucc and versatility. Rdc r to Appendix VI.

lUNER

Fig. 40. 10-15-20 long-wire inverted vee, line-tuned.

Th e iu vcr t<'d -vt'r. antenna of Fil!. 40 is a1laptable to th e u se of a

simple li ne t111}('r. This i s a ve rsion of the inverted-vee antenna
disc ussed in d e tail in topic 25. ThP ante nn a has b een cut to i\s
l onl!est r1 im c 11 ~ i on o f S9 feet. The tmw r discu ssed in A ppe nd ix VI
whPn u se rl with thi ~ antenna permit s l ow-SWR ope ration on 10,
I S, anrl 20 m<'t <' r!'\ w ithout makinl! any ante nna ch a11 12:cs. Standin g-
wav<' rati o~ of lP~s than 1.3 to l arr. a ttain able ove r the entire
three h anrls. Tiu' antr.1111a also load s well on both 40 and 80 m e te rs
with standin12:-wa vc ratios of less than 1.5 to 1.
lf ;;pace is a vailahle, leir len irths can b e increa;;t>11. Fo r example
a l eir len irth o f 77.S feet will l oad well on 10, 15, an1l 20 m et ers
(lei! le ngths app roxima te 9/4, 7/4, a1Hl 5/ 4 wavel enirths resp ec-
tively). The a nt en n a will also load on 40 and 80 m e ters m:irnr the
line .tune r of App<' n rlix YI. Comm ercial m atch b oxes ca n b~ em-
plo~·e1l with th i::: ~ t ylc of antenna. R efe r to topics 1, 2, 9, 17, 22,
and 25.

56
 SECTION 3

Long-Wire Antennas
32 - Singie Long-Wire Resonant Antennas
-Center-IFed
Antennas can be resonated lo a specific l'rc<j t1e ncy by makin g
their overall e lec tri cal le n gth a wh ole multiple of a half wave-
leng th. A low-impedance feed poin t can be found by m akin g each
of the legs an oclcl multipl e of a qu arte r wa,·e len1?th long. LCl!S
can be equal or of unequal lengths just so each is some multiplC'
of an o<ld quart er wavel ength.
Whe n additional el ectrical length is nd<l c cl to an ante nn a,
chan ges are mad e in the rarliation patte rn. [n th e case of a h ori-
zont al lon g-w ire a n tenna, the g r<>ate1· its 1en1?th is, the higher is the
1?a i11, the ii; r·eater is the numbe r ol' h orizontal lobes, and the more
directional the antenna b ecom es in the directions off its e nds.

II II

(A) Center feed. ( B) End feed.

Fig. 4J, L o b es of 2 -wavele n g th long wire .

When such a n ant enna is cent e r-fed, the a nte nna lobes are
sy mmetrical on each side of the feed point (Fig. 41A ). When snch
an antenna i s feel at: a l ow-inqwrlance point n ear one end, th e
lobes on the lonµ;-l eg sid e become the stron g-er and orient them-
59
sdv <':> nearer to the direction of the ante nna wire as compar ed to
the sh ort-side l obes <Fig. 41B ) .
Some theor eti cal horizontal palle rn s are µ:ive n in Fig. 42 for
va rious l onµ:-w ire electrical wavelenµ:th s. Note th<' incr ease in
th e numbe r of lolws and e nd directivity as le n gth is inc reased. In
u sing su ch a n ant e nna at practical h e iµ:ht s above µ:round , the
nulls a rc less sh a rp, a nd the patte rn tencl s to fill in so that more
uni form rad ia ti on results.

312 ,(

4 ,(

Fig. 42. Influence of long-wire length on horizontal patte rn.

A practical lon g-wire antenna is shown in Fig. 43. Its dimen-

sions are attractive because they permit 10- and 15-me te r operation.
Le n gths are su ch that the ante nna operates as a 2.5-wavelen gths
radiator on 15 and 3.5 wave lengths on IO. In the practical version,
resonant frequ en cies we re found to be 21.32 MHz on 15, and 28.4

5/4 I. ON IS 5/4 I.ON 15

7/4 I. ON 10 ·I· 7/41..0N IO
56' 56'

COA XIAL LI NE

Fig. 43. Long-wire center-fed antenna for 10 and 15 m e ters.

60
MH z on 10. Direct connecti on to the transmitter without an y
inte rvening tuner i s possible if the transmission-line le n gth approx-
imates a wh ole m u ltiple of an e lectrical h alf wavelen gth. R efer to
topics l , 2, 16, a ncl 17.

J3 - Single End-Fed Monoband long-Wire

Resonant Antennas
Lon g-wire a nte nn as can b e fed conveniently a quarte r wave-
length in fro m one eud. By so doing th e len gth o f th e transmission
line b etween the transmitter and antenna ofte n can b e r educed
substantiall y. T he quarte r-wave displace m ent from the end locates
a 1ow-impe cl a11ce feed point, and for antenn as n o m or e than several
wavel en gths l ong, a suitable direct m a tch can be m ad e to a low-
imped an ce coaxial line (Fig. 44A ) . A four-to-one bahm m at ch es a
lonire r ant enn a (F ig. 44B ) .

.l/4 914 ,(
l---10• II" -~------- 102' ------~

(A) 15-meter long wire.

MOR£ THAN
[--1.. /4 - -+--- -- - - -- 3 I.. - - -- -- ---<

4-TO-l
BALUN

(B) Balun feed for long long wires.

F ig. 44. End-fed long-wire ante nnas.

Jn gen e ral, the impedance of a n e nd -fed lon g wire of a given

len gth is hiirh e r th an a center-fe el ver sion ( t opic 32) . F u r thermor e
the end-fed t y pe is m ore direc tion al in the direction of the long
leg as com pa red t o the short leg. B oth legs of the antenn a must
61
b e tri111111e <l ca re full y to e 5tablish resonan ce and to h ave the wave·
distribution positio n a l ow-impedance at the feed point. Each l eg
should b e made an odd multiple of a quarte r \\·ave le n gth long.
ot e tha t th1' a ntenna of Fig. 44A is ide ntical to that of
F iµ: . 43. H oweve r it is c n<l-fe<l rathe r than cent e r-fed. In so doing,
it b eco m es a s ing le -band I S-me t e r a nt e nna rather than a 10-1 5
c ombin a ti o n. It is more <lirC'ction al ( in th e di rectio n of the long
leµ: ) and , if Onl' t•ml is loc ated n e ar th f:' tran smitl e r-, only a s hort
le n µ:th of I ransrn ission line is needed.
A 20-m C' tN e nd-fe el lon:z-wire antenna is shown in F iµ:. 45.
Th e Ionµ: l etr of the antC'nna has an e lectric al le nµ:th of fo nr and
011 e-q11arl1•r wavcll'np:ths ( 17 / 4 ) . Usi11p; Chart .5 tlri s would l'a lculate
a i:. :

Long-leg length = 4182 / 14.2 = 294'

S hort-leg l e ngth = 234./14.. 2 = 16' 5"

~:~~~ __ _j _____________________1~~~-------------------L------
4-TO·l
SAWN

COAX LI NE

Fi~. 4 5. Twenty-meter long-wire nn tennn with tilt.

A~ ~h ow11 in 1-'i:.r . .f.') phy~ical leµ: lc n p;th s arc som e what sh o rter.
Th e lwsl pl a n fo r d c te nninin l! leµ: le n l!lh s i s t o first c ut the m ac-
cordin l! to fo rr1111la a nd 1lw11 trim b ack slowl y l o find e xa c t reso-
11a n c1'. \':' h e n r lw.:1· to r eso nan ct>, tlw ~ho rl lerr sh o nld b e t rimm e d
in ch h y in ch. B e c au st> thl' lon rr l ep: is of mu ch p;rea ter l e n µ: th. more
wire 11111st h f' lrim111 ed off In produ ce th e sam e chang:e in rl'son a nt
frequency. Jn lri111111in µ: tire ante nna of F iµ:. 45 th e l o n ir leir was
cut h a ek on e foot al a lim E> 11ntil resonance cho ppe cl into the band
and 1hc 11 c ul in 6-in ch steps.
For· dfec li ,·c l o w -a n gle radiatio n. tlw h e i:.rlit of a hori zontal
a ntC'11na shonld lw a h a lf wa vc>l c n gth on the ope ratinµ: hancl. In
rec en I ye a rs go od r<>su lts Ir ave been o hl a in e el hy tiltin g long-wire
ant enna ~ sli p:hth· in th e direction o f maximum pro paµ:ation to
ohta in mor·t> fa,·orahl e low-arqd P emio's inn whe n the ante nna h e ight

62
11111f"t b e madr le~s than a half wavt>length. The antenna of Fig. 45
harl it s ne ar a nrl far end!' 4S and :38 feet hi gh, resp ectivel y.
Trane:mi~!'ion-linc lt>ngth wa s nrnde a whole multiple of the
Pl t'c trical hal f wa,-r•l r n;!th at th r drsired frrr[11r11c y. R efer to topics
l. ~ - 16.1 7. and 12.

34 - 10-15-20-40 Long-Wire WAS Special

\'\' he n 11111ltihand operation i,; de sire d, hoth f' rHls of a long-wire
ante nna ca n be sr1nn entcrl I Fil!. -f6 ) . In thi ~ arrangem ent insula-
tors and a llil!alor-clip ju111pe n• arc emplo~· ctl in ch a nging bands.
The end s of ,;11d1 an antrnna can be dropprd toward p:ro1111<l mak-
ing th e hand-l'ha1t/,!P jumpers accessible from the l!rounrl or a ste p
lad <lf'r. The srp:111 e11te<l arrangeme nt is attractive be cause the an·
lt'1111a can he prrsc t o n f'ach hand to obtain optimum operation.
:\"o tun er is n c!'df' <l and a good match ean b e m ade to a low-
irnpcilan cc r oa xia l line u sinp: a · ~·to-1 balnn .

COAX
JO ~El
- - -- - -- 271' - -- -

Fig. 4 6. 10-15-20-40 s"gmented end-fed long wire.

The lon p:t> r th r lo ng leg i~. th e higher is the antenna gain, and
the more direc ti ve is the radiation pattern off its end. The uni-
d i rrctiona l c ha ractc ristic perm it ~ the favoring of a gi,·c n cl i rec tion,
whil e the mul tiplicity of sPco1Hlary lobes provides rea sonable
omniclirecti oua l pe rformance. If there is a cl11sle r of states that
gi,·r \'Oil tronhh-. poillt tlw a nl<'ll!Ja in their dire ction.
Ir o ne liYr;; alon g the pa ~• coast. the long le g can be pointe d
W<'!'I. \.onver se h -, fo r a we i;:t e rn ;;ta li on the lon g kg can b e <lirected
c ast. 111 the cen;ra l states you ma~· prcf~r a bidirectional cente r-fed
t.ypc, or pcrh a p~, the end-feed unidirecti on al characteristics if
you arc lul\·ing d ifficnlties with certain state s.
63
 The len gth o[ the short leg can he calculated u sing the regular
dipol e equati on. The lon:r leg mm·l he made some multiple of a
qu arte r wavelen gth.
246 X n
Long leg = /MHz feet

234
Short leg = /MHz feet

where,
n equals the m1mbcr of quartc-r wavel en:i;ths.
Th() an te nna legs mu st be trimmed carefully to fin<l resonance
arHl <~stablish a feed-po int impedance that can match the trans-
mission-line system. Short sec tions should be trimmed off the
qnart e r-waYc sc:rmenl to obtain reson ance just as y on t rim an
onliuary dipole. Becaww the lon:r lc:r is so very l on:i;, it is possible
to trim off laq!cr pieces of the antf'nna wire in movin ii: toward
the tlt-sired rf'sonant p oint.
F or DXin:i; the lon:i;-wire can h f' tilted sli:i;htl y in thf' direction
or thf' lon:r l<':r I '11' sh ow n in Fi:i;. 4S ) to improve the low-an :i;le
radiation in th<' fa vored di rection.
The arran:;r<'rnf'nt a n<l rlirn en sion:- of a practical antenna a re
givf'n in Fi:i;. 46. The quarter-wave 1lipol<' f'e:i;men ts a re easy to
set up a nd pNmit 10- 1hro11µ;h 40-mder operation. For 10-meters
the firi:;t j11111pPr is h' rt open. Fo r l S-meter operation, the first
jump<'r if' cl osNl atHl th <' !'econd jnmpn i s opened. Twenty m eter
operation has th<' first two jumper~ closed and the thirrl jumper
op<'ll()rl. For 40-ml'ter opPration, all jumpe rs arc conn<>cte<l.
The l onir foir of thP antenna iR 9/4 w avel engthR l onir on 40,
17 / 4 on 20, ~!i /4 on 1 !i. and 33/ 1 on 10. Formula vahi es a r e as
follows :

2214.
( 40) Leg length = """"7.2 = ~07 feel

4.182
(20)Leg length= _ =294.feet
14 2
6150
(15) Leg length = _ = 288 f eet
21 3
8118
( 10) Leg length = _ = 283 feet
28 6

After tri111111in:i;, the practical lc n:rths reduce to 297' 7", 271',

and 272' ]()'' rni:;pectively. Note that the Ram c l eg l ength can be
64
n secl for both IO- an cl 15-nietcr ope rat ion. Thus in changing opera-
tion betwee n the two high-frNJuency hancls, only the jumper s at
the fee<I end neecl he shifted .
Thr. IH•a rinµ: of the Ion µ: l<'µ:, as erec tNl in eastern P ennsylvania,
was set al 255 °. On 10 m e te r s whe re th e rlirecti vity is sharpest, a
stronµ:-siµ:nal b elt ran cliaµ:o n all y ac ross the continental U.S. At
the same time, µ:oml re port s wcr<' oht ain ed in the sonthnn states
ancl in north central stntl's, thanks lo the secondary lohes. Of
roursc, on the lowl"r harnh th e nmnhr.r of elec tri cal wavelengths
on the lcµ:s is not as µ:reat. aJHl the hori zont al ra1liation pattern is
less sharp, thus encomp assinµ: a larger area of major-lob!" coveraµ: r.
R efer to topics l, 2, 16, 17, 18, 19, 32, a111l 33.

35 - Single Random Wire With Line Tuner

Ouc of the mosl con venit"nl antenn as is a si111de le ngth of wire
in associa ti on with a tune r (Fiµ:. 47 ). The simple tune r of A ppenrlix
VI docs a fin e job. The random le nµ:th of w ire employed should
he at lrast one-quarter wave length at. the lowest operating fre-
qu ency. If 10- throu gh 80-mc te r oprration is <lesired , the total
length of the random wire shoulrl h t" a pproximatel y 60 feet.
Increase the l ength to a bout 123 feet if 160-rne te r operation i s
di" sired.

I~ ATLfAST '-l4AT
LOWEST FREQUENCY
~
I

~T_AA_N_sM_1_n_ER~~~~·~1~-ru_N_ER~~·r~~~-AA~ND_O_M--~-N-G-TH_W_l_~~~~--<C>-
Fig. 47. Random-length single-wire antenna anrl tuner.

The most favorable opc ralion is ohlaiued whe n the total l eng th
of the random wire is such tlwt its impedan ce at th e l\me r end is
l ow. A quarte r wave length o f a ntenn a presents su ch a low imped-
a nce to the tuu e r. Try to avoirl antenna le n gths that a re multiples
of a h alf wavele ngth heca11~ c they present a maximum impedance
point to the tuner. It is wisf' th en to u se random lengths o f w ire th a t
fall rath er close to those obtained u sing Chart S. Usually a com-
promise le ngth can be found that d ocs not present a high imped-
a n ce to the tune r on any one of the bands you wish t o operate.
For example, -10- and 80-me ter _ ovice-band opera tion would
indicate a random-wire l enµ:th somewh e re b etweeen 80 and 100
feet. Although a length of 60 feet presen ts a quarte r wavel ength on
65
80 m e te rs, this b ecomei; a half wave len gth on 40 m e ter s, and it
will refl ect a maximum imµ e<lance to the tune r.
L inc tune rs can of course b e e mpl oyed with a varie ty of an·
tenn as cut fo r single-b a n1l o r 111ult.iha ml opera ti on . The tuner p er-
m its su ch an ante nna t o be loaded as a random -wi re t yp e on other
b a nds. R em embe r tha t random-wire loadin g: m eans that the tr ans-
mission line a l ~ o b ecom es a part of the rad i a tin g: syste m . In most
instan c<'s the lo adin g im olves the inne r condu ctor of the coaxial
t ran smission line an d wh a teve r an tenn a wire is a ttach ed to this
in ne r condu c tor. Thus, in clc te rminin g: the r an d om-w ire loadin g
of a n o the r a nte nn a t yp e, the t otal radi ating l en gth is b ased on
the to tal len gth of the tra nsmission line a nd the acti ve antenna
leg. Hcfe r to l'opics ] , 2, 17, 31, 32, ::!3, and 34.

J6 - Resonant Antenna Plus

Random-Wire Loading
The antenn a o f Fig. 46 can be used as an example o f r eson ant
antenn a plus rarnlom -wi rc loadin g. Such an an tenna l oads readil y
on h ot h 80 a n cl ] 60 m ete rs as a r andom -wire m odel with the an-
te nna se t for 20-me ter ope ra t ion ( Fig:. 48). Furthermore, it load s
on 10 and l S nw te rs w ithout requ iring: any jumper ch an ge. Even
thou gh the t1111 f' r i ~ acti,·e, the ante nna l oads in n orm al fashion on
20 m <' te rs. On 80 and 160 m e te rs, it loads as a random wire, with
th e inne r con duc tor of the transm ission line b ecomin g pa rt. of the
ante nn a. On l 0, J 5, an d 40 m e te r s th e l on g: l e g i s active, a nd there
is som e ra di at ion from b oth the li1w a nd the sh c rt an tenn a l eg.
If you prefe r to k ee p th e S\\' R a t a minimum on the transmissi on
line, you can jum p in the a ppropri a l'e l eg segm e nts for each b and.

~-------- 271 ' - -- - - - - --i

4-TO-l
BAWN

lUNER TRANSMl nER

- -- - - - -- - ---""-

F ig. 48. Com bina t ion lon g-wire a n tenna a nd r a n d o m -wir e a nte nna with
line tune r .

66
 A l ine tuner in conjunction with th e antennas of Fig. 43 and
Fig:. 4-tA permit,- ope r ati on on both the 20- and -W-meter b ands.
T h e an te nna fun ctions as d iscussed in topic;; :~:2 and 33 on 10 aml
15 m e te rs. Howeve r, in conjunction with the tran smi ssion line, i L
ope r ates as a random-wire st~·le for 20, 40, and 80 me te rs. In fact,
if the transmission line itself is lonl! enough. it will also load on
160 me te rs (total l en p:th o f line plu s th e l Pni.t lh of th e l on g: l eg:
sh ouhl be at l easl 130 feet ) . Refer to topics 1, 2, 17, 31, 32, 33,
34, and 35.

67
 SECTION 4

Vee-Beam Antennas
J7 - End-Fed Monoband Inverted-Vee Beam
An inverted-vee ante nn a ca n be end-fe <l as shown in Fig. 49. A
low-impedance feed point is found by a ttac hing the transmission
line at a point one-qu a rte r waYP length away from one of the leg
<'ntls. The other leg is mad e much longer. The apex point is al the
cente r of the total ant e nn a span. ~o tune r is n ec1led wh en the
overall le n gth of the lo 11:z ~ pan is matl e a n odd qua rter wavel en gth
long. Low standing-wave ratios a rc possible without too-critical
a<ljustmcnts of the overall le ngth .

.-- __,.
MAXIMUM IMX MAX

COAX

Fig. 49. End-fed inverted-vcc Leam.

71
 Coaxial-Jinc feed can be used. However, the lowest possible
standin g-wave ratios are obtained over a greater span of fre-
quencies wh en a 4-to-l balun is employed.
When a long-wire vee antenna is end-fed, ther e is maximum
radiation off the ends (Fig. 49) . The longer the antenna is, the
highe r is its gain, the gr eate r is its directivity parallel to the wires,
an d the greater is the relative radiation off the long-leg end as
compared to the short-leg side. This type antenna combines the
feat ures of th e single long-wire resonant antenn a and the long-wire·
inverted-vee an tenna (topics 22 an cl 33) . In this case both the
feed point and the leg ends are near ground level. Quite often it is
possible to loca te the feed end of this antenna very n ear the
transmitter aml only a very short length of transmission line is
needed.

4-TO-I
SAWN

COAX LI NE
TO TRANSMITIER

Fig. 50. Twenty-meter inverted-vee b eam.

An example for 20 me ter operation is given in Fig. 50. The

long leg has been trimmed down from the calculated value for
11 /4 wavelength:

72
 Long-leg length in feet = 2706
14.2
= 190' 6"
234
Short-leg length in feet = 14.2 = 16' 5"
Actual dimensions for a practical version are given in Fig. 50. Apex
height was 45' above ground. Refer to to pics 1, 2, 22, and 33 .

38 - 10-, 15-, and 20-Meter Inverted-Vee Beam

Two a ttr active fea tures of the inverted-vee en d-feed arran ge·
ment are: that the leg ends and feed point are accessi ble from
ground level w her e ch an ges can be m ade conveniently, and oper-
ation as a resonant gain anten na can be accomplished on mo re
th an one b and with limited changes in over all leg len gth.
An antenna wi th legs prope rl y segmented for sideb and opera-
tion is shown in F ig. 51. R efe rence to Ch art 5 and suitable substitu·

4- TO-l
SAWN

COAX TO
TRANSMIITTR

F ig. 51. 10-15-20 inverted-vee heron.

tions indicate feasible dimensions for the long leg of 11 / 4 wave-

length on 20, 17 / 4 wavelen gth on 15, an d 23/ 4 wavelength on 10:
73
 2706
(20) Long-leg length = . = 190' 6 "
14 2
4182
(15) Long-leg length = 1. = 195'
2 35

(10) Long-leg length = 5658

. = 197' 8"
28 6

Short-leg l en g ths can be cut using the values (Chart l ) of

16' 6", 11', and 8' 2" for 20, 15, and 10 m eters respectively.
Practical dim ensions as constru cted b y th e author are given
in Fig. 51. lly pro pe r t rimming of the lon g leg a very minimum
stand ing-wave ra tio can be obtained on a given frequency or oper-
ating segme nt of each baml. However, the antenna is rel a tively
nou critical a::: to the prec i;;:e leµ: length once the overall len gth
i s brough t r easonably n ear to a given han<l. Operation on 10 and
15 meters is possible with the same le ngth for the lon g leg. Pre-
ferr ed transmission-line length is a whole multiple of an el ec trical
h alf wavelength ( multiple of 45' 6").
Operation on 40 m e te rs requires some additional l ength on the
feerl end of the an tenna (Fig. 52). Some l en gth must b e removed

IN S£RT AN
ADDIT IONAL
INS UIATOR

10
I

HO-I
/
BALUN
<V

!()" ADO-ON
FOR
COA X
LINE TO
TRA NSM ITTER

40METERS

Fig. 52. Adding 4·0 meters lo antenna of Fig, 51.

74
from th f' oppo,;itc en<l to permit an elec trical length of 5/4 wave-
length on 40. This places the jumper point rathe r high on the
long leg and con ve nien t facility must be included to release this
side of the a11 1c1111a to make 40-mete r ban<l cha nges. Refer to
topics l , 2, 17,-22, 25, 33, and 37.

J9 - Four-Band Inverted-Vee Beam With Tuner

A si111 ple tuner of the t ype described in Append ix VI can
be used conve niently with th e inve rted-vee style of antenna. Such
a tuner can be positioned at the transmitte r where its function
would be to make certain that the tran smitter operates into a
prope r load rcgardle,.s o f antenna resonance and standing-wave
condition s on the line. A more efficient plan of feeding is to locate
the tu11e1· at the antenna ft>ed point (Fig:. S3). Here its respon-
sibility woul d be to match the antenna to the transmission line ;
therefore, there is minimum $landing: w;l\·e cleYelopell on the trans-
mission line, regardless of the frequency of operation. The trans-
mitte r also sees the prope r load looking into its end of the trans-
mission line.

COAX LINE TO
TRANSMITTER

TRANSMITTER

Fig. 53. Long-wire inverted vee with tuner.

75
 No changes in the physical length of the antenna need be
made in changing bands ; however , the tuner must be readjusted.
Leg lengths correspond to the longest used for the antenna of topic
38 when operated as a 10-, 15-, or 20-meter antenna. The tuner also
loads the antenna on 40 meter s without requiring any additional
length on the feed si<le or change in overall length of the long
leg.
The tuner is adjusted on each band by first using a dummy
load to find the transmitter settings that represent optimum oper-
ati on into 50 ohms. Low power is supplied to the antenna system.
The tun er switch es and controls are now adjusted for a minimum
standing-wave ratio. Proper settings are recorded in a notebook
for ease in making band changes. Refer to topics l , 2, 17, 22, 31,
and 38.

40 - Three-Halves-Wavelength Hori.z:ontal Vee

The 3/2-wave length antenna as covered in topic 17 has a low-
impedance feed point at the center and 3/4-wavelength legs.
Instead of the two lobes of a dipole the 3/2-wavelength antenna
has four major ancl two minor lobes (Fig. 21 ). This antenna can
be m ade mori> directive by appropriate forw ard tilting of the
legs (Fig. 54 ).
When the legs are tilted forward horizontally, the antenna
displays a maximum directivity along a line that bisects the

___,.. IMXIMUM

4,.
'f'
COAX TO
TRANSMlffiR

(A) Maximum-radiation direction. (B) R adiation pattern.

Fig. 54. Basic 3 / 4.-wnvelength vee,

76
include<l anl!l f'. l\Iinor side and back lobe~ rema in ; therefore
the ant enna has omnidirectional cap ability as well. The included
angle betwee11 the two legs should be approximately 90° and
m ay he as high as 110° .
Leg lcn~ths ar e based on the 3/4-wad ength value of Chart
5. In most cases the h orizontal-vee type antennas requi re some 4
to 6 1wrcent shortening from the chart formula values. Calcula-
ti ons for 10, IS, and 20 m eters are:

(20) Leg length = ;:.~ = 52'

6 percent shortening redu ces length to 49'.

(15) Leg length = ~{.~ = 34' 6

11

6 pe1·cent shortenin g results in a leg length of 32' 6" .

(10) Leg length=~:.~ = 25' 10"

6 percent shorlt!ning r esults in a leg length of 24' 3".

----
__,. Ml\X. SIGNAL
\
)
\

\
COAX TO TRA NSMIITTR

/
/
- ---
Fig. 55. 15-40 horizontal vcc .
77
 Cutting the legs down 6 pNcent from the formula values pro·
duced resonant points quite near th e frequ encies substituted in the
above equa tions. Cu t your transmission-line length to an even
multiple of an electrical half wavel en g th. Refer to topics 1, 2,
16, and 17.

41 - 15-40 Three-Halves-Wavelength Vee

T he fre quenc~- relationsh i p be tween the 15- and 40-meter
bands permits two-band opera ti on, as a dipole on 40 and as a
3/ 2-wavelenp:th ante nna on 15 (Fig. 55). A wise choice of leg length
permits goocl two-ba nd operation . Such an antenna has a rea·
sonably om11idirectio11al pattern on 40 and 15 me ter s plus a maxi·
mum 15-me ter directiv ity in a line that bisects the inclu ded angle
1 Fig. 55).
In the practi cal antenna the optimum leg len gth was found
to be 32' 6", producing a ve ry low SWR on 40 meters and a some·
what highe r ,·alue on 15, but no greater than 1. 5 to 1 at any fre·

----
I \
I
\
)

\
COAX TO
TRANSMIITER /
~ /
~ .......___
- --
Fig. 56. 15-40 conical vce.
78
quen cy on the two ba nds. Cut your t ran snuss10n line le ngth to
a whole multiple o f a n electrical h alf wavelength. Refer to topics
1, 2, 16, 17, and 40.

42 - 15-40 Conical Three-Halves-

Wavelength Vee
Ant e nna resistan cP. can be r aised an d hanclwidth incr eased by
attaching additional legs to the h asic vee style of antenna. Th e
antenna of Fig. 56 u ses four legs ( two on each side of the center
feed poi n t ) . A leg le n gth of 32' 6" was found to be optimum for
15- and 40-m eter bancl opera tion as a dipole on 40 and as a 3/2-
waveleng th antenna on 15.
In th is arrangeme nt a very low SWR was attained 011 15 me te r s
and a somewhat hi gh e r fi gure on 40 m ete rs (the conve rse of the
antenna of topic 41 ). The inc hul erl an gle was 90° and transmis-
sion-line length was an eve n multiple of an electri cal half wave-
length. Refer to topics l , 2, 16, 17, 40, and 41.

~
\
)
\
\ COAX TO
TRANSMITIER
/
~ /
- - -----
Fig. 57. Conical vee with b alun.
79
43 - 15-40 Conical Vee With Balun
A u11ifor111h· lower S\\;: R ca11 be attained by using a balun in
a ssociation witi1 the coni cal style ante nna (Fig. 57). The b a lun
whc11 used with the h a!' ic ante nn a of topic 42 provides lowe r and
more unifo rm S\\"R rf' adinµ:s OHT the two hands.
The pre>'Pnct~ of Llw balun has an influence 011 the resonant
point~. In gcrwral the antenna lq!s mu st be cut som ewhat lon ger
to P!<lahl ish the san w rPsonant points. \\.ith the wid e b and b alun
n sccl b y th e author, it wa" found that th<' leg l ength ~ fell ve ry near
to the formula \'alues of Ch a rt .'i. In fac t, on occasion, o ptimum
result s were obtained by m akin!-( le !-( l enµ:th s som ewha t l onger than
cal culate<l va l11 P~. The I<'µ: 1e nµ:th of :!5' 8" was foun<l optimmn for
two-ban d o pe ration wlu•n the balun was added t o the an tenna
of to pic 42.

Fig. 58. Conical-vcc antenna s howing antenna wires, balun, transmission

!inc, and center support ntast.

The conical constru cti on is sh own in the pho toµ: raph of Fig.
S8. The two pairs of anten n a wir<'~ conn ec t to the balanced hi rrh.
impedance sirl t~ of tir e b alun . A coaxial tran smission line
links the balun lo the tran smitt e r. Plastic clothesline supports the
bod y of the balun and al so establi sh es thP proper an1d e between
the two leg pair~. Thre<' masts or hiµ:h support p oints are n eed ed.
R e fe r to topi c~ l , 2, 16, 17, 40, 41 , and 42.

80
44 - Short Horizontal Vee-Beam Antenna
The vee-bearn ante nn a takes a<lvantagc of the directional char-
ac teri sti cs of a l ong ante nna wire. If two antenna wires are u sed
jointly and have the proper included an1d e, the radiation lobes
combine in such a m a nn e r that the ant e nn a di splays maximum
direc ti,·ity in a line th at bisects the inchul ecl angl e ( Fig. 59) . To
maintain this favorable combining of lobes, the re must be a proper
an:i;le between legs. The lon:i;er the an tenna legs are in w ave-
lengths, the smalle r is th e included an gl e. Ch art 6 relates leg le n gth
in odd multiples of a r1ua rte r wa velength to the optimum an gle.

--
~
\
I
)
\

\ COAX

/
~ ::;_
/
'""

-
..::::
";j ___

Fig. 59. Short vee beam for 20 m ete r s.

Inasmuch as n ecessar y mounting space, matching, and other

conside rations diffe r for a ver y-long vee antennas and shorter ones,
the two basic constructions are covered separatel y in this book.
An ante nna with l eg lengths shorte r than 100' or 11 / 4 wavel en gth,
which eve r is the shorte r, is considered a short horizontal vee
bea m.
81
 Practical dimensions for a short horizontal vee beam for
20-nH'tcr o pe ration can he obtained from the appropriate ch a rt.
Leg le ngths for 5/4-wavelength o pe ration from Chart 6 are :

(20) Leg length =1230

14.2
= 86' 6"
Using 6 perce nt sh ortening, the leg len gth r educes to 81' 5".
Chart 6 s11:.r:.rests a n antenna an1;le of 86 °. Such a n antenna
h as a ga in of 3.3 <lB.

Chart 6. Angle Between Wires for Short Vee-Beams

Leg Length in Angle Gain

Wavelength (i\) (dB)
3/ 4 i\ 100° 2.5
5/ 4 i\ 86° 3.3
7/4 i\ 76° 4.0
9/4 i\ 67° 4.75
11/ 4 i\ 60° 5.3

Antenna resistance ri ~es sl owl y with l eµ: len gth. It is also

influenced by the inclnrle rl angle. It h as been found that the short
vee-beam an ll'1111as ( two-wire t yp e) can be connected directly to
a low-impeda11 cc coaxial transmission line. No tun e r is n eeded
for m atch in:r. C nt your li ne to a wh ol e multiple of a n electrical
h alf wavele ng th. SWR ra tios are 110 greate r than 2 to 1 and
substa ntiall y lowe r ov<>r m ost of the b and. If this is a m atter o f
con ce rn to you, a simple l inc tuner su ch as d escribed in Appendix
VI can b e n sf'cl at the t ransmitte r f' ncl of the lin e. No tuner is
nee rl ccl a t the fce<l poin t. Refer to topics 2, 17, 31, 40, and 41.

45 - Duo-Band Horizontal Short Vee Beams

A proper ch oice of leµ: l en gth pe rmits two-band operation of
a sh or t vce bca111. In add ition to the 15-40 combination covered in
topics 41 and 42, other p ossible pairs are 10-15, 10-20, a nd 10-80.
Practi cal dime nsions are p:iven in F ig. 60.
The 10-I S a nte nn a wit h a l eg le ngth of 56' operates 5/4 wave-
length on 15 meters an<l 7 / 4 wavel ength on 10 m ete rs. The 49' l eg
len!!:lh is a comprnmi se ch oice for 5/ 4-wavelcngth operation on
10 a ncl 3/ 4-wavele n gth on 20. The 60' le:r l enp:th is a compromise
that provides ~ i mpl e 1lipole operati on on 80 m eters an d 7/ 4-wave-
l en p:th on 10.
A compromise apex a n1:de for the three antenna~ is abou t
80° to 85 °. lu :rcn eral, the smalle r the apex an gl e is, the grea ter
82
mu st h e the leg length for a given resona nt frequen cy. Leg shorten-
ing may only b e 2 to 3 p ercent of the formula values using Ch a rt
5, a nd in some cases leg l ength must be very n ear to the formul a
values. Refer to topics l, 2, 17, 40, 41, and 44.

--- ---
10· 15 'llJO
10·20 "IJO
10-'llJ 76°
\
)
\
\ J
~ /
Fig. 60. Duo -band short vee bemns.

46 - Tilted Short Vee Beams

The short vee b eam h as a reasonable omnidirectional char-
acteristic with a maximum directivity in a line that bisects the
an gle be tween the two l egs. Good low-angle radiation is obtained
when a horizontal anten na has a one-wavelength h eight above
ground (h eights b elow 0.5 wavelength give only marginal per-
formance). For l ow e r ec tion, some improvement in low-angle
propagation can be obtained b y tiltin g the vee-beam antenna so
that the leg ends are b elow the center feed point (Fig. 61).
A short vee b eam used su ccessfully b y the author had a feed-
point elevation of 40 fee t and leg-end h eights of 30 feet. Operation
in this manner improved the low-an gle DX ch aracteristics of the
antenn a but h armed the omnidirectional characteristics. Results
seem ed to indicate that the re was no grea t change in the hori-
83
zontal directivity pattern, but there was a possible increase in the
vertical angle in other than the forward direction. In the forward
direction, the low-angle radiation was improved. Leg lengths
employed were the same as given in topics 44 a nd 45. R efer also

----
to topics 1, 2, 33, 40, and 41.

/ -----
------ --- ODO I.. /4 -...,._

/ LOW MA.ST
)<
I HIGH MAST
Oo
"-c,., \
I COAX

)
\
\
~
LOW MAST
-- /
/
~
---- - ---
Fig. 61. Tilted vee beam.
/

47 - 10-15-20 Short V ee Beam

Three-band operation of a sh ort horizontal vee is feasi ble
usin:r two pairs of legs of diffe rin:r len gth. N o tun er is n eeded
and quick hand chan:res can he m ade. In a practical ve rsion of
this idea (Fi:r. 62) one pair of l egs i s cut for optimum two-band
opera tion on JO and 15 me ters. A l eg len gth of 56' was e mployed
as in topic 45. T h e oth r r pair of leirs of 51' 2" provide optimum
operation on 20 m e ters. The two pairs of legs span outward from
the center fee(l point reaching a t en-foot se paration at the leg
ends. Thus the antenn a has a conical appearance (Fig. 63) but
the l egs on each side a re of differing le n gths. Cut critically for
side band ope ra tion, the SWR can b e k ept below 1.5 to 1. The
compromise an1de is 80 °.
The short vee beam is a good all-around antenna and empha-
sizes a fa vored direction. This antenna erected along the east coast
with the bisec ting direction toward the sou th would give three-
84
band covera ge of South America, and at the same time good state-
side results would be possible. Refer to topics 1, 2, 7, 40, 44, and 45 .

-- :..__

\
)
\
\ COAX

I
~ /

48 -
~
-- --
Fig. 62. 10-15-20 short vee beam.

10-15-20-40 One-Hundred Footer

In this antenna book we have arhitra rily selected 100 feet
as the maximum l en gth for a short vee beam. In fact, this easy-to·
remembe r dimension is a good compromise value for 15- and 40-
m ete r operation . On 40 m e te r s, each leg is 3/4 wavelen~th long,
while for 15-meter operation, the elect rical l ength is 9/ 4 wave-
l engths long. On 15 meters the ante nna r esistance r emains low
enough to permit direct connection to a coax i al line (Fig. 64 ).
Formula valu es a re :

738
(40) Leg length = . = 102.5feet
7 2
2214
( 15) Leg length = 1. = 104 feet
2 3

85
(A ) Feed-point arrangement.

( Bl F ar-end view.
Fig. 63. 10-15-20 short vee.
86
The prac tical com promise value 1s 100 fee t. Suitable apex angles
fall between 67 and 75 d egrees.

\
)

~
/
~
TRANSMITTER
/
-----
Fig. 64. Multihand 100-footer.
/

This short vee-heam anten na also fun ctions on 10 ancl 20

m e te rs. If a coaxial tra nsmission line is cut rather carefull y to a
l en gth that is a whole multiple of an elec trical half wavelength
on 10 meters, the SWR is low in the active sideband sections of
th e 10-, Li-, am! 40-mcte r bamls. Lower SWR ratin gs for l 0- and
20-mc ter operation ca n h e obtained with the use of the simpl e
tune r rlescribed in Appendix VI. R efer lo topics 1, 2, 7, 31, 35,
44, 45, and 48.

49 - 10-15-20-40 Short Vee Beam

Two pairs of vee- bcam wires joined toii;ether at the feed point
and spanning out to a separation of te n feet at the far end can
provide multiband operation without the n eed for a tuner. T his
can be uccomplish erl b y cuttin ii; the two pairs of vee wires with
diffe rin g lengths as sh own in Fi~. 65. The 100-foot vee provides
87
operation on 15 and 40 me ters, while the sh orte r pair is 84 feet
and optimized for 10- and 20-me te r operation. The apex angle is
65 to 75 d egrees, an d the len~th of the transmission line is m ade
an op timum whole multiple of an electrical h alf wavelength. Refer
t o t opics l, 2, 17, -14, 45, a nd 48.

\
)

I
/
/
----- ---
Fig. 65. 10-15-20-40 short vee beam.

50 - 10-15-20-40-80 Vee Beam and

Inverted Dipole
It is possible to add 80-m e te r oper a tion to the antenna of
topic 50 i11 lwo ways. A 60-foot pair of ante nn a wires can b e
connected lo the vee beam. H owever, this requ ires a subst antial
additional span of plastic cl othesline or rope, or two separ ate
masts for t h e 80-me te r ele me nt. An effective a pproach is t o simp l y
add an 80-mcte r inve rted vee (Fig. 66) to the short vee-beam
constn1ction. Inasm uch as the 60-foot 80-meter segm ent al so r eso-
na tes in the 10-mete r band, the re is som e IO-meter omnidirectional
r adiation th at is b en eficial for local 10-meter operations. R efer to
topics l , 2, 17, 44, and 49.
88
 /
-- ..._____

/ '
I ""' \
I )

\ J
\ /
'
~
--.......__
--- ----- ~
/
Fig. 66. Short vee-beam anten1111 of Fig. 65 with an attach ed 80-meter
inverted dipole.

89
 SECTION 5

Long Vee-Beam Antennas

S1 - long Horizontal Vee-Beam Antenna
In this book, th e long horizontal vee-beam antenna is con-
sidered to ha ve a leµ: l ength in excess of 100 feet, or three-quarters
of a wave length, whicheve r is th e longer. As compared to the short
vee bea m there is a hi(!her (!ain and a sm aller a n gle between the
two vee wires. ::\Iaximum radiation is a(!ain along the bisector line
of the two wires. Orienta tion of a maximum lobe along this bi-
sec tor line requires a p roper angle as r el a ted to leg l en gth. Ch art
7 lists required ang les a nd l!ain vah1es as related to leg l engths.

Fig. 67. The basic long vee-beam

antenna .

A m a tching balu n is r ecomm ended for the lon g vee b eams.

R a tios of~ to 1 or 4 to 1 are suitable (F iii;. 67). The unbal anced-
to-balance rl (b alu n) coils ensure equal currents in the t wo leg
wires. This i s an important consideration for the long vee b ea ms
if the ma ximum lobe is to h e aligned precise ly along the bisector
direc tion. Tt is l ess of a conside ration for the short vee b eam b e-
ca me of the inherent b roa dness of th e maximum lobe.
An exa mple d emonstrates the plannin g process. Assum e that
a IO-m eter vee b eam is t o h<> e r ected with a possible gain of 10.7
dB. From Ch art 7 the leg l en:.i:th i s 39/4 wavelengths and the
93
rccommcn<l c <l angle t s :t~ 0 • The for m ula value of the leg l en gth
from Chart 5 is :

9594
(IO) Leg l en g th = . = 335.4 feet
28 6

In a prac ti cal ve rsion or this ant enn a with the feed point 50 feet
in the air an d the two ends 45 fee t h igh, l eg len gth had to b e
reduced to 329 fee t to obtain resona n ce at 28.6 MHz (Fig. 68).
A 4·to-l b al un was e mplo yed , and the over all l ength of the 50-
ohm transmission line wa;; a whole multi pl e of a n electrical half
wavelPn~th.

Chart 7. Angle Between Wires for Long Vee Beams

Leg Length in
Wavelengths Angle Gain
p... ) (dB)

11 /4 A 60° 5.3
13/4 )-.. 56° 5.8
15/4 A 52° 6.3
17/4 A 48° 6.8
19/4 A 46° 7.2
21/4 )-.. 44° 7.6
23/4 A 42° 8
25/4 )-.. 40° 8.4
27/4 :\ 38° 8.8
29/4 A 37° 9.2
31/4 )-.. 36° 9.6
33/4 A 35° 10
35/4 A 34° 10.3
37/4 A 33° 10.5
39/4 )-.. 32° 10.7
41/4 A 31 ° 10.9

H ow mu ch erecti on space is r eq ui red for the above antenna?

T his is a simple tr i ~on o m e tric calculation using th e sine natural
functions ( Fiir. 69 and Ch art 8). Each l eg o f the vee is the
hyp ote nme of a right triangle with the bisector line b ein g one
sid e. The in clud e rl angle is 16° ( 32/2 ) . Therefore the di stance
be tween o ne o f the lei! end s a nd the bi sec tor lin e (side A) is:

A = 329 X sin 16° = 329 X 0.2756 = 90.7 feet

T h e se para ti on be tween th e two end ;; of the vee legs is twice this

value or slightl y more than 181 fee t.
94
 \
I
4-TO·l
SA WN )
\ WHOlf MULTI Plf Cf ElfCTRICAL /.. 12 /
\_ /
/
/
Fig. 68. Ten-meter long vcc b eam.

Fig. 69. Vee-beam angles ancl sides.

As in the case' of th e short vce beam, the lowe r the frequency

of operation is, the longe r the leg: length must be, and the greater
the erec ti on space pe r a give n gain . Antenna h eight too is a con-
sidera ti on and ;;h ould b t> no le;;s th an one-half wavelen gth above
ground. This m ea ns tha t for a 20-mete r operation the vec-b eam
h eigh t sh ould be no l owe r than 35 feet (approximatel y 0.5 wave-
lC'ng:tl1 )_ while the b est low-angl" results are obtained b y using a
70-foot h eight (a pproximat ely one wavelen gth above ground).
Long:-wire antf' nnas arc subject to precipitation static and static
c harges during: drivin g rain or snow, an<l sh ou},] be disconnected
from equipment. Cap ability for complete disconnec t and grounding
i s essential during: thurnl e rslorms. Refer to topics l, 2, 17, and 44.
95
 Chart 8. Sin and Cos Functions

Degrees Sin Cos

10.0 .174 .985
10.5 .182 .983
11.0 .191 .982
11.5 .199 .980
12.0 .208 .978
12.5 .216 .976
13.0 .225 .974
13.5 .233 .972
14.0 .242 .970
14.5 .250 .968
15.0 .259 .955
15.5 .267 .964
16.0 .276 .961
16.5 .284 .959
17.0 .292 .956
17.5 .301 .954
18.0 .309 .951
18.5 .317 .948
19.0 .326 .946
19.5 .334 .943
20.0 .342 .940
21.0 .358 .934
22.0 .375 .927
23.0 .391 .920
24.0 .407 .914
25.0 .423 .906
26.0 .438 .899
27.0 .454 .891
28.0 .459 .883
29.0 .485 .875
30.0 .500 .866
35.0 .574 .819
40.0 .643 .766
45.0 .707 .707
50.0 .766 .643

52 - Long Horizontal Vee-Beam Antenna,

Two Bander
The 10 111! \'f'C-bea 111 anten na is attractive for u se on two bands
( particularl y 10 an d IS or 15 anrl 20 ) . Onl y a mat chin g balun is
rcqn irC'd. :'io tun e r is necessary wh en u~ing a proper leg length .
The example' of Fi:r. 70 demonst rates this possibilit y. In topic
5 1 a 10-mete r leg lcnl! th corresponding to 39/ 4 wavelengt h s was
e mp loyed. It is Lo h e noted th a t a le:r l e ngth of 29/ 4 wavelen gths
cut for IS-me ter opera tion is approxima tely the sa m e. Lei! le ngth
I S:

( 15) Leg length = 72134

1. = 334.9 feet
3
96
 o te how closely this correspoud s to the physical length for 10-
m e te r ope ration in topic .)1. Hence th e practical l eg length of 329
feet permits Lwo-h;:ind o pe ration. The recommended angle for the
] 5-me tc r cut is 37 ° . .l11 the practica I case a compromise angle of
34 ° was em ployed.

\
)
/
/
/

·-- --
Fig. 70. Two-band long vee beam.

The se paration between the l ef! en1l s is :

/ .F. 70

d = 2A = 2(329 x 0.292) = 192 feet

An attrac ti ve formula le n f!lh for I S- and 20-meler operation

is hase11 on31/4 for I S me ters an d 21 / 4 for 20 mete rs.

(15) Leg length =7626

1. = 358 feet
2 3
5166
(20) Leg length = l4.J = 361 feet

( ut your leg wires 2 pe rcent shorte r than 360 feel ancl trim back
to obtain desi red resonances. Use a com promise an fr le of 38°.
R efe r to topics 1, 2, 17, +.+, 4S, and 51.
97
53 - 10-15-20 Vee Beam With Line Tuner
A line tun e r in conjunction with a long horizontal vee beam
c;in hring the Maml ing-wave ratio down to a very low value over
an e ntire band (c-w and phone portions ). Furthermore the an-
tenna can bf' ope rat ed on lowe r fre qu enc y bands as well.
For exa mplf', the antenna of Fil!. 70 operates well without a
tun e r o,·e r the ,-irlc-band sqrn1cnt~ of the 10- and IS-me t e r bands.
The u se of a tun e r pe rmit s opti11111111 mat c hing to a transmitte r on
othe r segm f' nts of the two bands.
This ante nna al:'o fun c tions with a low standing-wave ratio at
the low end of the 20-mf'ter c-w hand. The addition of a line tun e r
p ermit s the ante nna to h e operated ove r the entire 20-me te r band.
The l ength o f the ant enna l eg:> arf' !'uch that they ope ra te as
C'lcctrical 19/ -l wa vf' lf'n11: ths on 20 m f' te rs:

(20) Leg length = 4674

_ = 328 feet
14 25

The rccommendl'd angl e for this length i s 46° whic h is greater

than that nsetl in th e antt-nna of Fil!. 70. Ievertheless reasonable
pe rforman ce ca n be t>xpecte d becan ~e of th e broade r main lobe.
The tun er can b e positioned at th e tran smitter or just below
th e feed point of thr an tenna (Fig. 71 ) . In the latter a rran µ:c m ent,
a -l.'i-foot len gth of coaxi a l line ca n llf' connected b e tween the feed
point and the tune r, thu s pennittinl! the tuner to b e mounted at
th e base of th e 111ast. The tun er a t thi s point minimizes the loss
011 th e tran smission line that must run between the tune r and
tllf' transmillt>r. This is particularh the case when the l e ngth of
tlw lin e i s ve ry long. A disadvantagr of the plan is the fact that
rf' tuninµ: is nPce~~a n· when chan gin g banrl s or tunin g from one
<'1111 of the hand to tl H· other. Also a wf'a th erproof h ousing is
necessary. R efC' r to topics l , 2, l i , 44. Sl. and 52 .

54 - Multiband Vee-Beam Antenna With

Antenna Tuner
The lon g horizontal n:'e-beam antenna, when loa de d properly,
also fun ction s we ll on lowe r frequ enc ies, h c cause of the lon g le ngth
o f its legs. An ant<'11na tune r t Fig. 12 ) a ttac he d to the a nte nna
of topic 52 can prov ide loading on 20, 40, and 80 u sing the re la tively
~implc tun er desc ribe d in Appendix VTT.
The tune r art s as an unbalance cl-to-balancerl tran sforme r which
mat clws the low impcrlance of a coa xi:il transmission line to the
98
 ~

BA WN
\
I
)
\ TUNER
)
~ /
~ /

---
TRANS MIITT R
/
(A) Tuner al the transmitter.

\
)
45'
)
\
TUNER TRANSMIITTR
/
/

(B) T uner at base of mast.

Fig. 71. Use of line lunc r with vcc-bcam antenna.
--- /

99
som ewhat higher impedance of a long-wire antenna. Such a
tun e r can b e mounted in a weatherproof box at the base of the
mast. A 50-foot section of open-wire 450-ohm line links the feed
point of the Yee antenna to the bala nced output side of the tuner
(Fig. 72 ). Coaxial l ine b e tween tuner and transmitte r is made
a whole multiple of an e lectrical half wavelength. Refe r to topics
1, 2, 17, 31, 52, and 53.

450-0HM
\
OPEN\Y IR£

I
)
ANTENNA TU NE R TRANSMITIER

~
COAXIAL
LINE
/
/
~ /
~
--- -- /

Fig. 72. Use of antenna tun er with vee-beam antenna.

55 - Sloping Vee Beam

A sloping vee-beam ant enna is a modified version of the hori-
zontal vee b eam in whic h the far wire ends a re n ea re r ground
l evel than the feed point I Fiµ:. 7:1). As compared to the horizontal
vee b eam, there is some what less gain at the maximum-gain
freque ncy but a more uniform p:a in ove r a wid er span of frequen·
cies. Furthermore the lcg-s slope toward ground, whi ch permits a
simplr far-e nd mast, or ~ npp o rt struc ture, and irreate r ease in
makinp: ante nn a reso11<ll1Cf' and angle chan ges. Furthermore with
a <l<'qu a te space an<l prope r positi onin g of se,·eral fe nce posts, it is
possible to orie nt the an tenna for max imum gain in a number of
pre fe rred direc tions.
100
 Dime nsions are given for the 10- and 15-m e t er t wo-band an-
tenn a of topic 52 . . · otc that the ends of the two vee wires can
b e k ept at a desired h eight above ground b y u sing an appro priate
l eng th of plastic clothesline (nonme tallic core) between the
insula tor a nd the fence posts. Slope angl es of 5 ° to 10° are em-
ployed. R efer to topics 1, 2, 17, 44, 51, and 52.

--- ---- -- -- PlASTIC

WASH LINE
...........

JIS'_____ _ y~"
329'

c~K~ \i'Jcl. FENCE

POS T \

I 4-TO-l
SAWN

)
\ r;;
FENCE

----
Fig. 73. Sloping vee-beam antenna.

56 - 10-15-20 Sloping Vee Beam

Space pe rm ittin ;:r, the Ionµ: vee beam is a fine DX ant enna. A
sin ~lc ante nna can prov id e' optimum operation on the three pop-
ula r DX b ands. Furth erm ore, this opera ti on can be accomplish er]
without the u se of a tune r, which is a d efi nite inconvenience in
ch a11irinir freque ncy of o pera tion and hands. You can u se one of
t wo app roac hes in obtaininir three-band facility.
If only a single pair o f antenna wire~ i ~ to b e emplo~· ed , these
can be e nd-tuned as sh own in Fiir. 7-1-. Dim en ~ i on s for 10- a nd 15-
mc te r operation arc the same as those iriven in F ig:. 70. Formula
le n:rth for 20-me te r ope ra ti on as a 19/ 4-wavelength ant e nn a is:

4674
(20) Leg le n gth = 14_ - 328 feet
25

Practical length was found to be 322 feet. Optimum angle for

101
 -~329·-
r----- 322'-

\",\
SWI NG OVERTO
OU Tf R POSTS FOR
- --- , - - - 20-METER OPERATI ON
)
I /
AOOI TIONAL POSTS FOR
OTHER 01 RfCTI ONS
I I
/
- --- -
- -------
Fig. 74. 10-15-20 sloping cnd-londed vee bcnm .

322' ---

329' ' ;>

~

I
\
BAWN

)
\ I
~
--
Fig. 75. 10-15-20 four-wire sloping vcc beam.

20-mete r ope rat ion of a lon g vee anten n a or this len gth is 46°. T o
ob tain this an :zl e th e sepa ration b e twt>en the end wires should be:
102
 d = 2A = 2(sin 23 : X 322 ) = 252 feet
Four se para te fen ce posts can be clriven into the !!round at ap-
propriate 1listan ces. T h e inn e r two are usecl for 10- an<l 15-meter
opcrn lion with the insula tor jumpers closecl. For 20-mcte r opera-
ti on, the two a n tenna wire's ends a r e connected to the outer posts,
an d lhe jumpe r;. a re ope rat ed in th e open position . Don't fo r ge t
tha l addit ional pos l ~ in oth e r po;oitions pe rm it you to orie nt the
n ·r· h eam in oth e r rl ircc ti on s.
An alt Prn ali ve plan usin µ lwo pairs of wirf' i~ ~h own in Fig.
75. Thi R a rrani:t<'m ent pr·ov id e, sirl Pbanrl operation on three banrh
wilhou l ;111,· antenna ch a n i.rcs ancl without the nRC of a tu ner.
Three b ancl c-w operation is possible by making approp r iate
a rlj11 ~ 1nwnl R in th e le i:r lf·n i:rth u sing the eq11aLio m o f this topic
a ncl l op i P~ Sl a n d :>2. Rc•fe r to topic!' 1, 2, 17, 44, 4.), Sl , 52, and SS.

103
 SECTION 6

Rhombic Antennas
 S7 - 10-1 S Rhombic Antenna
A rhombic is a dia mond-sh a ped lon g-wire antenna (Fig. 76 ) .
For a given len gth of antenna wire it has a gain approximately
3 dB higher than a long vee-beam antenna. The space requirements
are longer and n a rrower than a re n eeded for the vee an tenna. An
additional support m ast is r equired by the rhombic.

-J.~\ I
---;~---
FEED END
----- Tl LT
ANGLE I -----...::: .......__.......__
' A -......_:
/
MAX IMUM
. . . , _/.:_ _ - -
1
APEX- - B-
I
• -- + - - - -- - -- - -
MAXloW.l~
- - _ ___,.
DIRECTION ANGLE I DIRECTION

I ' \
( I
I
)
\ I
/
\ /
~
~
-----
Fig. 76. R esonant rhombic.

Chart 9 relates the antenna leg le ngth to the apex angle and
gain. In discussing rhombic an tennas th e te rm tilt an gle is often
used rather than apex angle. These two angl es a r e shown clearly
107
in Fig. 76. You will note that the tilt angle is that angle made at
the side corners of the rhombic The right triangle set off by the
<lash ed lines indicate tha t the tilt angle is 90° minus one half of
the apex angle:

¢0 =90 o - ~o

One other angle important to long-wire antennas such as the

rhombic is the so-called wave angle. This refers to the vertical
angle of radiation of a h orizontal antenna relative to the horizontal
plane of the antenna. For example 0° wave angle refers to the
radiated r-f energy that comes off the antenna in the plane of
the antenna. A wave an gle of 90° would be the radiation rising
pe rpendic ular (a t right angles) to the plane of the rhombic. For
radio a m ateur a nd most commu nication application for long·
wire an te nnas, the desired wave angles fall somewhere between
0 and 15 d eµ: recs. Chart 9 is based on a 0° wave an gle.
The prefer red apex angle for a rhombic is the sam e as a vee
antenn a h aY i11 g the same leg leng th. It is important to note that
the leg lcnµ:th of a rhombi c refers to one of the four equal-length
si<les of a rhombic.
As in the case of a vee-beam antenn a o r other forms of long·
wire ante nnas, the selection of th e prope r leg l ength resonates
the ante nn a in snch a m a nn er tha t a low resistive impedance can
b e presentccl a t the feecl p oint. The total length of the wire that
makes u p each of the two sides must b e an odd multiple of an
electri cal qna rte r wavel enirth long or:

odd multiple of a
Leg 1 + leg 2 = leg 3 + leg 4 = quarte~ wavelength

Ch art 9 sup plies the necessar y info rmation for determining formul a
leg len gths. T h e far end o f the rhombic ante nn a wire can then
be trimmed to attain a desired resonant frequen c y. Again by
ca reful choice of leg le ngth, the rhombic, like the vee-beam
antenna, ca n b e resonated on more than one b and. Th e antenna
can be ma tched to the coaxial transmission line b y m eans of a
balun anrl no tuning is required. Low standing-wave r atios are
feasible. A lin e luner can b e used at the transmitte r if you wish
the transmitter to o pe r a te into the lowest possible SWR figure.
108
 Chart 9. Rhombic Data Chart

L,+ L,
Leg Length Side Lengths and Ap ex Ga in
In >-. in>-. L, + L. An gle e dB

1.125 9/4 2214/f 104° 5.2

1.375 11/ 4 2706/ f 94° 6.5
1.625 13/ 4 3198/f 86° 7.2
1.875 15/4 3690/f so• 7.8
2.125 17/ 4 4182/f 74° 8.3
2.375 19/4 4674/f 70° 8.8
2.625 21 / 4 5166/f 67° 9.2
2.875 23/4 5658/f 64° 9.6
3.125 2514 6150/ f 61° 10.0
3.375 27/4 6642/f 58° 10.3
3.625 29/4 7134/ f 56° 10.6
3.875 31/4 7626/f 54° 10.9
4.125 33/ 4 8118/f 52° 11.2
4.375 35/ 4 8610/f so• 11.4
4.625 37/ 4 9102/ f 49• 11.6
4.875 39/ 4 9594/ f 48° 11.8
5.125 41 /4 10086/ f 47° 12.0
5.375 43/ 4 10578/f 46.5° 12.1
5.625 45/ 4 11070/ f 46° 12.2
5.875 47/ 4 11562/f 45.5° 12.3
6.125 49/4 12054/f 45° 12.35
6.375 51/4 12546/f 44.5° 12.4
6.625 53/ 4 13038/f 44° 12.45
6.875 55/4 13530/f 43.5° 12.5

The r esonant rhombic has a bidirectional pattern (Fig. 76 )

with maximum lobes in a l ine bisecting the apex angle. A rhombic
can b e made unidirectional with a prope r termination.
A practical 10- and 15-meter r hombic is shown in F i g. 77. Total
side le ngths corrc~ poncling: to 39 / 4 wavelen gths on IO an d 29 / 4
wayc) eng:th~ on l :i art> approx imately the same :

(10) Side l ength = 9594

. =
28 6
-
335 feet

(15 ) Side length = 27134

1. =
3
-
335 feet

Each r hombic leg is one-half of this value or 167.5 fee t. Approxi-

m a te leg le ngth s on 10 and 15 are 5 and 3.5 wavelengths respec-
tivel y. Prefe rred apex a ngles for 0° wave angl e woul d be 48° and
56° respectivel y. A compromise angle of 50° is satisfactory.
The practical reson ant le ngths for the rhombic erected by
the author are given in Fig:. 77. R h ombic antenna height was 48
feet.
109
 I
I
4-TO·l
\ BA LUN

\ /
~ /
~
--- -- -----
Fig. 77. 10-15 rhombic.
/

Simple tri gonome try can now be used as an ai<l in locating

the poles and d e te rmining space requirements. The distance be-
tween the side pol es is:

,...,
d 1 = 2(sin 25° X 164.5) = 140'
Dist ance between the n ear and e nd poles i s :

d~ = 2(cos 25° X 164.5) ;; 300'

If add itional e rection space is available, the formul a values of
55/ 4 on 10 ancl 41 / .:t. wave l en gth ~ on 15 a re attractive:

(10) Side length = 13,530

.
28 6
473.1 feet

10 086
(15) S'd
1 e 1ength = •
21 . 3 = 473.5 f eet

These corresp ond to lei! len gths of 6.875 and 5.125 wavelen{!ths for
10 and 15 m cte1·s respectively. Pre fe rrefl a pex angles are 43.5° and
llO
47 ° : a compromise apex ang-lc of 45 ° it' appropriate. Space require·
m ent !' incrPai"f' ai:: follow:

cl , = 2(sin 22.5 ° X 236.5) ;; 182'

d" = 2(cos 22.5 ° X 236.5) ;; 440'

A 4-lo-1 hul1111 i~ used and the lenµ:t h of the coaxial transmission
line to t lw tra nsmitt<' r is made a n odd mul t iple of an electrical
half wav1·l1•11gth. R e fer to topics 1, 2, anrl S2.

58 - 10-15-20 Rhombic W ith Line Tuner

A lin<' tun<'r f ai" per Appendix YT) in conjunction with a
rhombic ca n hrinp: the S\YR dow n to a very low value over an
entire ha nd IC-\\· a n d phon e portioni:: ). Furthe rmore, the antenna
can b e ope ra tC'd 011 l ower-fre~1uc n n· hands as well.

4·10·1
BA WN
I
4S' COAX

COAX TO
SET
/
/
----- - - ----
Fig. 78. Rhombic anten n a with line tuner.

For e xa mpl e, the antenna of Fii!· 77 operates well without a

tune r ove r the sitlcband segmen ts of the 10- ancl 15-m ete r bands.
The u se of a line tun er permits optimum matchin g to a trans-
111
miller 011 other segme nts of the same two bands. This antenna
also functions with a low standing-wave ratio a t the low end of
the 20-metcr c-w baud. The addition of the line tun e r permits
th e ant e nna to b e operated over the entire 20-meter band (c-w
and phone).
The tota l Ien gt h of each 1'idc of the rhombic (twice the leg
lcn11;th) is ~u ch that eac h ~ id e is 19/4 wavelength on 20 m eters.

. 4674
(20) SIClc length = 14 .
25
= 328 f eet
The tune r can b e positiou ed at the transmitte r or just below
the feed point of the a11tc1111a ( Fi g. 78). In the latter arrangement
a 45-foot· le ngth of coaxial l ine was connected b e tween the feed
point and the tun er, permitting the tuner to he mounted ·at the
base o[ th e mast. This is a good plan b eca use it minimizes the
l oss on th e transmissio n line that must run he tv,reen the tuner
an d th e transmitter. A 1li~a<lvantage of the plan is the fact that
rctunin:r i s necessa ry wh en ch an:ring hands or tunin g from one
end o f th e han d to the o the r. Also a wea therproof housing is
n eed ed. R e fer to topics 1, 2, and 57.

~
::.---- ---
5' STAKE

4-TO· l
SAWN

/
/
---------
Fig. 79. 10-15-20 end-tuned rhombic.
112
S9 - 10-15-20-40 End-Tuned Rhombic
The rhombi c antenn a, like th e othe r long-wire types, can b e
end -tun ed u sing insulat o rs arn l associa te<l jumpers (Fig. 79).
Su ch multihand ope rati on ca n be accomplish ed without the u se
of a tun e r. The h a~ is for· the an te nn a is the 10-15 rhombic of
topi c 57. Ope rati on on 20 mt.> te rs is accomplish ed b y u sing some-
what ~horter ~id es. Formu la length for 20-meter operation as a
19/ 4-wan•le nµ:th antenna is:

. 4674
(20) Side l e ngth = . = 328 feet
14 2 5

Practical le n gth was fo1111d to be 322 fee t. The compromise a pex

an gle u sed is also sa ti~ fac tory for 20-me tc r operation. The band-
ch an ge point is m ade accessible by brin gin g the end points down
close to ground leve l as shown in Fig. 79 .
For 40-me te r ope ration an attractive formula value for total
si<le le nµth cor rc,;pmHI Rto ] ·1; 4 wav elen gth s:

( 40) Side length = ;:~ = 373 feet

I
f
\ 4-10·1
BAWN
I
SAME DIMENSI ONS AS flG. 79 /

\ EXCEPTFOR LENG TH NEEDED

FOR <Ul· MmR RESONANCE

~ /
~
--- - -- ----
Fig. 80. 10-15-20-40 end-tuned rhombic.
113
 Th e additi onal length of line needed lo resonate the rhombic
011 40 m e t e r~ ca n be a ttached al the te rmination end wh ere it is
brought nt>ar to ground Je, el I Fig. 80 ) . An added length of 40
fee t d ocs th e job. 011 40 m e ter;: the leg len gth is ju st about 1.5
wa ve le11 gt hs a11d th e a pex angle is subst a ntial! ~· smalle r th a n the
rceo111me n<kcl val11 e. This raises the wave an::de, which is not
altoge ther ohj ectionable for 40-me ter o pNa ti on and general per-
forman ee is q11 itP good. R efe r to topics 1, 2, :~S, a ncl 57.

60 - Two-Wire 10-15-20 Rhombic

T wo resonant sections, on e for 10- and 15-meter ope ration and
t lie oth e r for '.W m e te rs, ca n b e erected fo 1· t hrcc-band operation
withu11I th e use of a tune r. In a practica l ve rl' ion of thi s rhombic
idea (Fil!. 8 1 ) , a side length of ;{29 f<'e t wa;: u sed fo r 10-a nd
IS-me te r sid C' ha11d ope rati on , whil e sh orte r sides of .~22 feet estab-
lished reso11a11ce in th e ;:id eband secti on of 20 me te rs.

\
'.
J
I
/
- --- /
Fig. 81. Two-wire 10-15-20 r esonant r h ombic.

If desired , the sa m e idea ca n be u sed to cut the resonant sides

into the c-w poi-lions of the three bands. R e fe r to topics 1, 2, 47,
57, a111l 59.
114
61 - Resonant Rhombic With Tuner
and Open-Wire Line
\\' h en the l en gth of the tra nsmission line b etween the rhombic
feed point and th e transmitter/rece iver is more than 135 to 150
feet, it is advisa ble to employ open-wire tra nsmission line to
minimize line loss. '.\lore power is delivered to the rhombic, and
more signal i s delivered to the receiver from a distant station.
The 300-ohm and 450-ohm types are readily available. When the
line can b e brought into the shack, the antenna tune r of Ap-
pendix VII is ideal (Fig. 82) .

450-0HM
LINE

ANTENNA lUNER i===:::::i:t--.-TO

TRANSMITIER

ru~w m"'"'"'" /
\ ""- ~
\
/
---
OR BASE Cf TOWER

~
-- -----
Fig. 82. Rhombic with open-wire line and an te nna tuner.

The rhombi c ante nna whe n loaded prope rl y also functions

well 011 lower frequ enci es because of the lon g l ength of its legs.
Of course, it does not h a,·c th e ~h a rp directional characteristics
present on the hi gh e r-frequen cy ba nds unless it is m ade excep·
tion all y lon g. An an tenn a tuner is essential.
Ope n-wire line can also b e u sed to advantaµ:e with any of the
vee and rhombic antenn as when Ion~ lenµ:ths of t ransmission
line are a necessity. C:enter-fed long wires can h e fed in the same
mann er.
llS
 The ante nna tuner of Appendix VII could b e mounted in a
weatherproof housing at the base of the feed-point mast. A 50-
foot section of 450-ohm open-wire line links the rhombic feed
point to the tun er. In this latter plan, the re is some loss in the
coaxial lin e to the set if the line is very long.
Refer to topi cs 1, 2, 17, 44, 54, and 57.

62 - Terminated Rhombic
The resonant rhombic is a bidirec tional antenna. Howe ver the
rhombic can be m ade unidirectional by employing a resistive
te rmination at the fa r end o r the antenna (F ig. 83) . The charac-
t eristic impedance of the rhombic configuration approximates
800 ohms a nd if a resistive te rmination of 800 ohms i s placed
ac ross the far end, the rhombi c itself becomes nonresonant.
(This i s similar to the te rmination of a transmission line in its
characteristic resistance.)
I
I
I
I
I
I
Tl LT ANGLE :
' -' I
I
NONI NDU CTIVE
I TE RMINATION RESI STANCE
I
I
I
I MAXIMUM
FEED APEX ANGLE
I
I
POINT I
I
I
01 RECTI ON
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I

Fig. 83. Basic terminated rhombic.

W he n the rh ombic is terminated prope rly, the antenn a resis-

t a nce at th e feed point a l ~o a pproxim ates 800 ohms ove r a wide
span of frequ e ncies. The te rmi n at<'d rhombic h as m a ximum direc-
tivity ;don ~ tht> hi ~cct or line e xt endin g from the feed point
towa rd the te rminat ed e ncl as sh own in Fig. 83.
The te rmination must be resistive, and noninductive r esi stors
are required. The powe r that mu st be dissipated b y the resi stors
approxim ates one h a lf of the powe r applied to the input end of
the rhombic. For amate ur use it is usuall y economical to employ
a network o f rr sistors of low power rating. The n e twork u sed to
te rminate the practical rhombic of Fi ~. 84 consist ed of 20 five-
watt 600-ohm noninrln c tiv ~ resistors connec ted in a series-parallel
116
n etwork. The n et resista n ce of the n etwork is 750 ohms. Su ch a
n e twork displays a wattage r ating capable of h andling 200 watts
PEP with no difficulty. In fac t, the pulse n atu r e of sideband tra ns·
mission is such that considerably m or e power can b e h andled
safely by the n e twork .

I
I

---
600-0HM s-wA n NONI NoucnvE
Rl:SISTORS/ '

/
------ - -
Fig. 84. Practical terminated rhombi c.

The terminated rhombic can be fed suitabl y in a number of

ways. A reasonable ma tch is made to the 450-ohm op en-wire line.
A SO-foot section of this line ca n connect the rhombic feed point
to an an tenn a tun e r m ounted at the base of the m ast. The alte rn a·
tive plan is to continu e th e open -wi re line from the rhombic
feed point to the radio r oom a nd some poin t wh e re the antenna
Inne r can be moun ted con ven ie ntly.
Any l e~ l e n ~th is permissible provided the a ppropria te apex
angle is c mployf' cl. An an t<'nna tune r is advisable if you wish to
avoid some trimmin:? an d ~-o n are fu ssy about SWR. Refer to
topics 1, 2, 17, 54, 57, a nd 61.

117
 SECTION 7

Very Long
Long-Wire Antennas
6J - Two-Band Very Long Long-Wire Antennas
The single lo n g-wire antenna prope rly fed and very long in
length is an effec tive gain a ntenna and can often be er ected in
positions wh e re oilie r types of long-wire antenn as are n ot feasible.
Len gth for two-band operation can b e attained b y calculating
samples from il i111c11sio11 \.hart 10. Such an a ntenna also h as all-
band ca pabilities if end-tuned. It h as a h igh directivity in the
direc ti on or th e far end of the wire fo r the high-frequen cy hands.
Radiation patte rn s a re less directional for the low-frequ en cy bands.

Chart 1O. Long Long-Wire Lengths

Length Length
in Wavelengths in Feet
39 /4 9594/ f
41 /4 10086/f
43/4 10578/f
45/4 11070/ f
47/4 11562/ f
49/4 12054/f
51 /4 12546/f
53/4 13038/f
55/4 13530/f
57/4 14022/f
59/4 14514/f
61 /4 15006/ f
63/4 15498/f
65/4 15990/f
67 /4 16482/ f
69 /4 16974/f
71 /4 17466/f
73/4 17958/f
75/4 18450/ f
77/4 18942/ f
79 /4 19434/ f
81/4 19926/ f
83/4 20418/ f
85/4 20910/ f
87/4 21402/ f

121
 An excell ent 10-1 5 meter combination has an elect rical length
o f 55/ i Wa\·e l en ~ths Oil JO and .fl I .f wa vel e11~ths Oil 15 ;

13530 .
( 10) Long-leg le ngth - _ = 473.J feet
28 6
10086 .
(15) Long-leg length - 1. = 473.5 feet
2 3

The short sides are cal culated from the basic dipole equation:

234
(10) Short-leg lcn6>1h = • = 8.53 feet
28 6
234
(15) Short-leg length = 1. = 10.98 feet
2 3

Prac ti cal dim en sion;; fur· the a nte nn a arc g: ivc n in F ig. 85. It
1s wi se t o cut the ve ry I on~ long-wire antenn as eight t o t en feet
longe r than form ula Ya lu c aml 11·im back from this length. A

t - - -- -- - - - 481' 6" -- - -- - --1

4·f0·1
BA LUN

(A) Two-band, 10-15.

t - - - - - -- - 442'-- - -- --<

4- fO· I
BAWN

(Il ) Two-band, 40-80.

Fig. US. Practical dimen sion s for two-band very long long-wire antennas.

122
four-to-one b alun is used for matching, and the coaxial transmis-
sion lin e to the transmitte r is ma rle a whole multiple of a n el ectri-
cal h alf wavelen gth.
A lon:r lon:r-wi r<' ant enna can be ~rcc tcrl Lo obtain good direc-
tivity in some desired direction for 40- and 80-me ter operation.
Formula dim emions for 14/ -! wavelen:rths arnl 7/ 4 wavele ngths
for 40 ancl 80 m e te r s rcspcc ti v<'l y a re attractive:

3198
( 40) Long-leg length = _ = 441 feet
7 25

1722
(80) Long-leg length =""""3,9" = 441 feet

The sh orter leir le n:rths a re :

234
(40) Short-leg length= _ = 32.3 feet
7 25

234
( 80) Short-leg length = ""'3.'9 = 60 feet

A gain practical d imen sions are given in Fig. 85.

An attractive 20- and 40-mcter len:rth is a 21/ 4- and 41 / 4-wave-
length combin ation:

10086
(20) Long-leg length _ = 710 feet
14 2
5166
(40) Long-leg length= _ = 712 feet
7 25
Othe r Lwo-ba111l combinations can he found by samplin g the
len gth equ a tion s. R efer to topics l , 2, 17, 33, and 34.

64 - End-Tuned Very Long 5 DXCC Long Wire

T he ve ry l on ir long-wire ant enna can also be segme nted to pe rmit

operation on other ha nd ~. The add ition o f a pai r of insula tors
and assoc ia ted jumpers can add 20-mete r operation to the basic
10- anrl 15-m cte r ante nna of topic 63.
Formula valu e for 27/4 wavclcn:rths on 20 is:

6642
(20) Long-leg length = 14. 2 = 468 feet

123
The long leg can be broken as shown in F ig. 86. A 20·m eter short·
leg segment must also be added. However the far end jumper need
only be changed when making a changeover between 10- and 15· or
20-meter operation.
If an SWR no g reater than 2.5 to 1 is tolerable on 20 m eter side.
band (lower on C·W ), the long·leg length as used for lQ. and 15·
me ter operation can also be used on 20. In this case only the short
nea r·end jumper need be changed. The 40. and 80·meter bands
can also be added to permit five.band ca pability. A line tuner
can be used to further reduce the SWR at the transmitter if
desirecl.
Formi1 la calculations indicate a clu ster of resonant lengths for
all seven ban ds for a long-leg length of approximately 700 feet.
The encl of the long leg is brought down rather sharply from the
end suppo rt m ast fo r con venient band ch anges, permitting the
bulk of the Joni? leg to be kept h ip:h and clear as is advisable for
p:ood low·angle radi ation .
Formula values are:

20418
(10) Long-leg length= . = 713 feet
28 6
10086
(15) Long-leg length 1. = 710 feet
2 3
9594
(20) Long-leg length = . = 675 feet
14 2
5166
( 40) Long-leg length = . = 712 feet
7 25
2706
(80) Long-leg length =--"3,9 = 694 feet

1230
(160) Long-leg length= _ = 673 feet
1 825

It should be noted that for 10., 15-, an ll 40·meter operation, the

len gths are approximately the same, and one end-tuning position
h andles these three ban ds. Likewise 20- and 160-meter r esonances
a re about the same and only one length is needed. A separate
len p:th is re quire<l for 80 meter s. It should also be noted that
there is a I Q.mete r resonance near the 80-mc ter length.

19926
(10) Long-leg length = . = 696 feet
28 6
124
This length provides both 10- and 80-meter resonance. Refer
to topics l, 2, 17, 33, 34, 36, and 63.

4-TO -l
BALUN

MA ST "'-.
'y
10-lS

Fig. 86. End-tuned very·long wire.

6S - 5 DXCC long-Wire Special

The 5 DXCC long-wire special consists of three individual
long wires that pennit five-band operation ( 10 through 80) with-
out m aking any chan ges in the long wires once they are trimmed
to r esonance. The three long legs (Fig. 87) can be mounted high
and clear in a perman ent position because far-end switching is
not necessa ry. The short quar·te r-wave legs can be mounted low
and accessibl e for convenient band change.

to-IS 481' 6"

40-80 442' 20 472' 10"

4-TO-l
BAWN

Fig. 87. Long-wire SDXCC special.

125
 High mounting of the long legs provides a low vertical angle
for good DXing- wonderful, if you can gel up 70 feel. The mul-
tiple l obes pr ovide good omnidirection al results, and at the same
time there is an exceptional per formance p eak off the far ends.
Dimen sions of a practical antenna (Fig. 87 ) we re established
using the formu la val ues calculated pre viously for the long-wire
ante nnas o f to pics 63 and 64. T hree su ch long-wires perm it opera-
ti on on five hands wit hout th e use o f a tune r. Refer to topics 1, 2,
17, 44, 63, and 64.

66 - All-Band, 6-160
End-Fed Very Long Wire With Tuner
A ver y-long ant enna wire in conjun ction with the tuner of
Appendix YI modified for 40-, 80-, aml 160-mete r e nd -feed use as
in Fig. 88 pe rmits you to use a lon g-wire an tenna o f a m aximum

PLASTIC
ROPE
480' OR CONVENIENT lfNG TH

CO NTIMJE ANTENNA
WI RE TO TUNER
OR I Nl\t:R CONIJUC TOR
Of COAXIAL
LINE

TO TRA NSMITIER
(B) Long-wire dime nsions.

MODIF ICATI ON APPENDIX VI

t, LI NETUNER LI

GANGED365
VARI ABlf
CAPACI TOR
-~,-- - --
' c2A

l'.c2s

-·

JUM PER l CLOSED FOR 40 & 80

JUMPERS l AND2 CLOSEDFOR 160
(A } Tun er modification.

Fig. 88. Convenient very-long wire length.

126
lengt h that can he acco1111110dated on your property. The longe r the
wire is, the more di reel i\·c the a11 te1111a b ecomes, and the high e r is
the ante nna ga in off the far e nd of the antenna wires. The di-
rec ti vit~· and gain i ~ al a maximum on the highest-frequ en cy band.
In IJ.\ co1111111111ica1io11s the highe r the an tenna i s, the grea ter
is the radiation al low wa\·e a n ~l es. Thus one should a tte mpt to
keep m o~ t of thP anlf' nna as hi ~h as possible.
The l ran ~ 111ittc r e nd o f the long-wire ante nna can b e brought
directly into the ~ hack. O f cou rse, this part of the antenna should
be iusulate1l to prc n :11t shortin~ t o metallic surfaces. As men·
tionerl early in the book , the antenna wire itself can be cove red

,___ _ _ _ 329' - - - ---, - -- - - 329' _ _ ___,

4-TO-l
SAWN

(A) 10-15 me ters.

4-TO-l
SAW N

( 13 ) 10-15-20 or 10-15-20-40, end-tuned.

1--- - - - 329' - -- ---r 1----- - - - 329'- · - - ---i

I=

I= OPEN-WI RE LI NE
300 OR 4500HM
I=

~=3-- SET
I lUNER

( C) Open- wire line wit h tuner.

Fig. 89. Bi<lirl'ctional centcr·fed long wires.

127
with insulation as a safe t y feature. Such insulation <loes not have
any adverse influence on the a nte nna radia tion. H.efer lo topics 1,
2, 31, 33, 34, 35, :i6, 63, 63, 65, and 66.

67 - Long-Path Short-Path Long-Wire Antenna

T he cen ter- fed lon:r-·w ire a nte nna is bidirectional off its far
ends. T he lon,ger the ante nna, the sh a rpe r is th e b idi rection al
patte rn an<l th e hi:rhe r is the antPnna :rain off th e e nds. Such a
hidirec li on al a nt enna pa lle rn is advanta:reou s in those sites where
the pre pon<lerauce of contac ts are from lwo op p osi te directions.
F urthe rm ore th e bidirectional ante nna can provide b oth long-path
aml sh or t-path communications hy w ay of the sam e fixed-position
ant enna.
Thref' possible a rran:reme nts a re sh own in F i,g. 89. For opera-
ti on 0 11 10 arnl 15 m e ters alone. a 1limension ca n be selected that
pe rmits two-ha nd operation. A fonr-to-onc b alun and coax ial trans-
mission line ca n be n!'ed. Tf othe r banrls are to be ad ded, the an-
te nna ca n h e en d-tu ned . Brin:r each of the le:rs d own sh a rpl y from
the end rnpport rn ai-ts to mak e han cl c h a np:in,g con venie nt. The
l0-15-20 a n d 10-1 5-20--10 combinations are shown.
If a lon:r len:r th of tran:-mi>'>'ion lin e is nccessa r~-, the use of
open-wirf' line minimi ze" line a tte nuati on . A Inn e r (Appe ndix
Yll ) is recommenrlerl and pe rmits the ante nn a to b e u sed on all
freq ue n cies in all h an d s. Such an an tPnna al so perform s well on
160 m e ter~. An id eal tune r for 160-nlf'te r opera tion h as been d e-
tail ed b~· Lewis G. Mc(o~· in l\Iay 1%9 QST. In fact, coaxial line
can b e n111 from th e outdoor end of a lonl!·Wi re anten n a to the
transmi tt er . The ,grounded hrairl of th«> coaxial line h elps t o k ee p
rf out o f the sha ck , often a problem with random end -fed wires.
R efe r to t opic~ 1, 2, 17, 32, 54, 61, 62, and 63.

128
 SECTION 8

Special Vees and Rhomhics

68 - 160-Meter Two-Mast Inverted Vee
Three factors of conce rn in the erection of a 160-meter antenn a
are space require ment, noise pickup, an<l · local -DX capability.
Ge n erally the half-wave length horizontal antenna is quieter and
less subject to n oi se pi ckup as compared to the vertical. Furthe r-
more a good ground syste m is ve ry important to the operation of
a ve rtical antenn a. Long-haul DX conta cts u suall y favor the
verticals. At tim es th e rece ption of DX stations is be tte r· on a
horizontal. Better re liabilit~· is u sually obtained with the long
horizontal antenna for medium <listances, while strictly local con-
ta cts arc often more favorable with a good vertical.
The two-mast invcr ted-\'ee antenna is a compromise arrange-
m ent ca pable of accommodating: an antenn a with a full h alf-
wavelength dimen sion in a ~horter sp ace. Furthe rmore the use

COAX LI NE IO SET

Fig. 90. Two-mast inverted vee for 160.

131
of two mast;; pe rmits the wire;; to han· a si!!ni fica nt ,·ertical slope
1 Fi~.90 ) .
Leg lenl!th corr esponds to a qu a rt e r wan·lcngth on 1.81 }!Hz.
Coaxia l tran,.rni;;sion line can be u ~c d to feed the antenn a an d a
µoo d S\\'R i;; obtaina ble be tween l .8 and U35 .\IHz. Some le ngth
adju stm ent 111a ~· be n eces!'an to se t rp;;mia nce at a desired fre-
qu e ncy.
Tf the tra n ,.mission line run i,; vc r~· lonl! an open-wire line
and 160-meter ant enna tun er can lw 11 ~ 4:' d . Also in conjunction with
the anten n a tuner of Appendix \ill , multiband operation as a
ce nt e r-fed Ion µ wire is feasible. Tt ha;; rnme of the characteristics
of tllf' inwrl<' <I vee and does di;; pla\' ;;om e e nd directivity on the
10-, ]:")., and 20-m e ter b ands. Rdcr to to pi cs 1, 2, 17, 22, 39, 61, and
67.

69 - 10-160 End-Tuned Two-Mast Inverted Vee

The two-mast im·e rted-vee con stru c tion also len ds itself to end
feed. Segm ent;; of antenna wire can be arlded to the basic 160-
mc t c r a~ranl!cment of topic 68 as tihown in Fig. 91. Formula di-
me n sions work out as follows:

i - -- - - 90"----<

Fig. 91. Two-mast e nd-tune d inverted vee.

738
(80 ) Leg length = . = 194 feet
38
132
 1230
( 40) Leg length = . = 170 feet
7 2
2214
(20) Leg length = . = 156 feet
14 2
3690
(15) Leg length= 1. = 173feet
2 3
5166
(10) Leg length = . = 180 feel
28 6

These length s hav e to be trimmed to find the desired r esonance

point. Practical ilimensions for the mod el e r ected by the author
are given in Fig. 91. A coaxial transmission line that is a com-
promise whole mu It iple of an electrical wavelength was used

--
(approxima te ly US feet ) . Refer Lo topics l, 2, 17, 18, 19, 24, and 68.

STAKE'

MASTZ "" \
)

\ I
Fig. 92. General plan of two-mast vee beam.

70 - Two-Mast Vee-Beam

The lc~s of a two·mast inver ted vee can b e tilted forward to

form a vee·beam antenna as in Fig. 92. Th e mast is l oca ted at the
approxima te ce nte r of each leg and the l eg wir es sl ant down t oward
the feed point and towa rd th e antenna wire ends in i nvert ed-vee
fa~hi on. Orclinarily th e vee-beam ant enn a requ ires three masts.

133
 An apex a n gle is select ed in accord an ce with the number of
wavel en gths on eac h leg as p er Ch arts 6 and 7. The feed point
is brought clown t o a level wh ere it b ecom es accessible for con-
ve n ie nt ch anges. Likewise the a ntenna wire ends ar e brought down
an d m ad e COll\"e n ien t fo r end tunin g.
A practical ve rsion of this antenna u sing the d ime n sion s of
to pic 69 was con struc ted as shown in F ig. 93. A comprom ise a n gle
of 60° was selected for multiba ncl ope r ati on . Some what better
low-ban d pe rform an ce can be obtained b y increasing this angle up
to a pp rox im a tely 90° . Directivity is still good on 10 and 15.
Di m ens ions fo r e ncl tuninp: are given in Fig. 93 A. F or long
length s o f t ra nsmission line an ope n-wire l ine and tune r are
rccomm cnd ecl as shown in F ig. 93B. Th e tu ner of Ap pe ndix VII
is ideal for 10- throu gh 80-met er oper a tion . R efer t o topics 1, 2,
17,44, Sl , S4, 68, anrl 69.

71 -Three- and Four-Mast Switchable

Vee Beams
T h e \'Ce-b ea m con struction of topic 70 can b e used t o
aclvant age in th e con struc ti on of a swi tch a ble vee b eam b ecause
the feecl poin t an <l the wire e nds can b e brou ght down t o a l evel
th at is acCC$~ ibl e. A t the feed point it is then con venient to connect
th e tranrn1ission l ine to an y p air of anten na wir es in accord a n ce
with the cl esi rC'cl orie nt ation of the b eam.
ln the three-m ast a rran p:eme nt of Fig. 94A the t hree masts
ar c m ount ctl in a tri a ngle. They ar e sp aced eq uid i st antly from
each ot h e r and sPpa ratc cl from the cente r of the tri an p:lc b y approx -
im a tel y h a ll' th e d istan ce o f the an t enna l eg l e ngth. Therefore the
se p aration hf' IWN'n ant enna wires is 120° wh ich anp:l e also b e-
com es lhC' a p<·x a np:le of the vee-hcam. By a ttach in g the t ran smis-
~ io n line lo th f' ro rTcct pa ir o f a n tenna wires the re is a choice of
1h rf'c clir<'C' l io ns o f m ax imum r adiation, sp aced 120° apa rt. Mou nt
the lh rC'c antenna masts so tha t t h ese maxima fall a t the most
favora blf' C'om pass an µ:les. R ecogni ze that th e anf!:l es of the m axim a
fall mid wa y be tween the a n ~ul a r p osition s of th e m ast.
If l"Oax ial transmi ssion line i s to b e u sed the a n t en na wires can
he cncl -lune cl, a nd the feed p oint can con sist o f three coaxial con-
n<"c tori< as sh own in F iµ:. 94 A. Use dimen sions of F i l!. 93 if d esi red.
O ne n cccl onl y conn ect the coaxial lin e t o the a ppropria te connector
to sel ect th e cl csi rccl pa ir of antenna wir es. The ante nn a wi res can
hf' te rm i na ted in a set of three in sul a tors wh en open-wire lin e and
ant enna t11 n f' r a rf' c mpl oyC'cl. T h e open -wir e l ine i s connected t o
the pre fe r recl pair of ant enn a wires. This l atter a rrang:e me nt al so
pe rmi t!' C'Oax ial ff'e<l via a 4-to-l b alun.
134
 /

IAI

""' \
\
)
/
/
"' /
SET ~

---- - 161 ------ __./

Fig . 93. Two-mast end-tuned vee beam.

135
 S l~ KE

---- "--
~
/ \
,..,
i \
COAX
CON~ECTORS

/
OR I NSUlA TOR S

/
---- - - - --
( A ) Tiuee mast.
___.,.--

-: -
' ---- ~
~
/ \
I
\
I
(---- -------------------- --,
/
\ /
---- -- ~ (B) F our mast.
Fig . 9 4 . Switchable vec b eams.

136
 Four m asts m ounte d in a square is a m ore versa tile con struc-
tion . The four· antenna wires of su ch a combination are s paced
90° , wh iclr i ~ a m ore f;l\·orable anp:l e for vce-hea rn o pera tion on
the DX hands. As shown in Fip:. 94B ~· ou now have four m aximum
direc t ions availab le to you by selectinp: th e appropriate pair of
adja cent a nte nna wires. These pair~ are I and 2, 2 and 3, 3 and 4,
plu ~ 4 and l. Two center-fed l onp:-wire combinations a re also
possible usin µ: ant r nn a wires 1 and 3 o r 2 anti 4. F eed arranp:ement
is the sarnr a ~ that of the three-mast plan except that four coaxial
connectors o r in ~ u lator~ are emp loye<l. Two ad diti onal insulators
or conn ec tors ( l'rom 1 to .1 anti 2 to 4) a re needed if you wish to
take arlvantaµ:e of the ce nter-fed l onp:-wirc pairs. Re fe r to topics
I , 2, 17, 44 . .'i l , 54, 67 , 68, 69, and 70.

72 - Two-Mast Rhombic
By tiltiuµ: down tir e f<'c<l end and fa r r n cl of a d1 omhic antenna
in inve rt cd-vce fa shion on!Y two cent er m asts are n eede d for
e rection I Fip:. 9.'i ) . The fee1l point can the n be m ade accessible for
tran smi ~s i on-lin e c hanp:cs and , i f d esi re d , for the direct attachment
of an ant <'nna hm e r'. The far e nd is also rc acl il y accessible and

NAST l

STAKE
STAKE
\ I

\ /
~ /
-
MAST2 /

----
Fig. 95. Gene ral pla n of a two-mast rhombic.

137
m ade quite convenient for switching over be tween open bidirec-
tional and te rmin ated unidirectional opera tion of the antenna. Of
course, bringing the far end to a low level makes it convenient for
e n d -tuning of the rh ombic.
The practical short rhombi c of Fig. 96 was compromised from
the d imensions developed in topics 69 and 70. U nless the feed point
ca n he l ocated rathe r uear to the transmitte r, the u se o f open-wire
transmission line and an antenn a tuner is recommended for getting
the most out of the sh ort rhombic. \Vi th a 45-foot m ast h eight, this
antenna worked into a ll continen ts with ease. Its performance sur-
passed a three-eleme nt b eam on ) 0 me ters and equaled a two-
element bea m on 15. Also the ant enna gives you low-hand ope r·
atin g capability, including 160 m eters.
T h e same idea can be used to construct a lon g rhombic antenna
using the dime nsion information given in topics 57 through 63.
Refer to topics 1, 2, 17, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 69, 70, and 71.

73 -
--- -- --
Fig. 96. Two-mast rhombic.

Short Squared Rhombic

Do you h ave a plot of ground approximately 100-feet square
for antenna e recti on ? If so, an antenn a m ast mounted at each
138
corner of this square (Fig. 97 ) permits you to erect a versatile
and good-performing rhombic ante nna that can be used on all
bands. It provides a choice of omnidirectional, two bidirectional,
and four unidirectional patterns. The use of open-wire line and
an ante nna tune r gives you all-band capability.
At each corner the rhombic ante nna can be fed, terminated,
or left o pen for bidirection al operation. The open-wire transmis-
sion line is brought to the center of the square near ground
]eve] where it is fas tened securely. A section of open-wire trans·
mission line is now cut lo run from the cente r to any one of the
four possible antenna feed points. A halyard arrangement at each
mast lowe r s each rhombic corne r for chan ges.
Let us assume that a bidirec tional patte rn is to be established
along the diagonal b etween poles 2 an1l 4. In this case the antenna
wires are jumped at poles 1 anrl 3. The antenna can be fed at
corner 2 and left open at 4 or it is possible to feed at pole 4 and
leave 2 ope n. For unidirectional ope ra lion in the direction of
pole 2, it is n ecessary to feed at pofe 4, a nd attach a noninductive
termina tion a t p ole 2. Oppositely, for a unidirectional pattern in
the direction of pole 4, the antenna must b e fed at pole 2
and terminated at pole 4. It is a ppa re nt that it is possible to obtain

HA LYARD TO LOWER ANTENNA ~'

l
AT EACH MAST

------ ~
~

/ /
JUMPER~

\,\
/.
\
\SET
~
OMNID IRECTIONAL
CENITR fEEOPOI NT

)
I

~ /
~
--- --
Fig. 97. Short squared rhombic.

139
__-/
 -_,,.,,
FEED 3 TERMINATE I - ( I
-.......
e
............
\.'
\
-
•
. __
3
, ..
•
,,,J -FEED 1 TERMINATE3
\
I \
I • \
I
\ /--- mo2
' . _.....
TERM INATE4
,/

(A) Unidirecti<m al.

FEED 4
OPEN 2

(B) Bidirectional.

Fig. 98. Different modes of o p eration.

fou r unidirectional patterns in the direction of the four poles and

also two sets of bidirectional operation. These combinat ions are
shown in Fig. 98.
The positioni n g of the masts in relation to the ante nna erec-
tion area sh ould b e selected rathe r carefully in accordance with
favor ed DXing directions. If yon can get within 20° to 25° of a
desired bearinp;, you can do reasonably well becau se the b eam
angle of the sh o rt rhombic is ra ther wide. Orientation is much
less critical than for the very long rhombi cs.
140
 USE MASTS
..,.. ___ _ z &3
---- +-
USE MASTS
l &4
. ,.
I
: USE MAS TS
I 3&4
;
( A) Two-mast rhombic.

(B) Oth er directions available by chang ing feed poinL

Fig. 99. Other antennas possible with four m asts in a square.

When a rea sonably omnidirecti onal patte rn is d esired, the

antenna can be fed a t one of th e lc:i: cente r s (Fi g. 97). In this
mode the wires at eac h of th e four co rn e rs are jumped. For
rhombic ope ra tion a jumper mu st a lways be placer] ac ross the
insu la to r that is u se d for 0111nidirect.ional fccrlin:i:.

141
 The four-squ a re mast installation is <Juite versatile and a
\'ariet~· of lonµ--wire a11t ennas can be constru cted around this
confil!uration. In this topic you learn ed how the four-square
plan ca n be used for short ;;witc ha hl e rhombic combinations.
Pre \·iou F-ly in topic 71 it was nse rl for sw itchabl e vee-beam antenna
constru ction. Adclitionall\', center-fed lonµ- wires can be placed
in operation by u sinl! rliaµ-onal poles.
Lon:re r two-mast rhombic ant ennas can b e e recterl out of this
basic p lan, as shown in Fiµ- . 99A. A choice of four possible direc-
tions can be mad e hY cominl! out from the center of the hub. By
establishin:r the feed point at one of the masts, four aclditional
direction s are m ade a\·ailablc as shown in Fiir. 99 B. Refer to
topics 1, 2, 5 7, .') 8, :>9, 60, 61, 62, 6~, 71, and 72.

142
 APPENDIX I

Antenna Noise Bridge

T h e an tenn a n oise brid ge* is an especi ally u seful device in

cuttin g ant e1111as to resonan c<' and tran sm ission lines to specific
e lect rica l len gths. 1t ca11 a lso b e u sed to m easure a nte nn a resis-
tance. The unit consists of a sign al sou rce, the bridge circuit, and
a d etect o r (Fig. A-1-1 ). A diode n o ise gen era tor a nd amplifier
is built into the compac t d evice al ong wi th the bridge. Your
h am receiver serves as the de tec tor. In fa ct, the n oise gener ator
i s a b roadband ty pe a nd ~·o ur h am recei ver serves as a calibrated
freque ncy-selec tive d e tec tor.

TRA NSi STOR

AMPLIFIER

NOISE
DIODE

RECEIVER

F ig . A-1-1. Omcga -T ante nna noise bridge.

Tw o b alanced l<'gs o f the bridge ar e the second ary o f a b ifilar

tra nsfo rme r whic h is wound on a toroid core. The b roadband
noise si gn al is a ppl ied across the primary. A thi rd l eg of the
b r id ge is a calibra ted va ri able resistor whi ch is th e onl y control
o f the unit. T he il ia] is cal ibrated in ohms of antenna r esista nce
be tween 0 and 100 ohms.
*Omega-T Int·., Ridianlson, Texas 75080
14.3
 The anlf'nna or line t o he m caR11rC'cl is connected as the fourth
lcp; of th e brirlf!e. The receiver i~, o f co urse, conn ec tNl between
th e jun c tion ~ o r th e two l e:r pairs. \'\-he n th e hrid:re is balan ced ,
the-re i~ 111i 11i111 11111 siirnal a pplif'd lo tl w rf'rP ive r. This h appen s
wh C' n the antf'n n a resistance i ~ of the ,-a rn e Ya lue a~ the setting
of the hridf!C' re~i stor. If reactive rom ponentR a re present, t h e
bridp;c d oe$ not h al ance. AnY snc h rr.ac tan ce is bal anced out b y
tuning th e recei,er. In d oing thi s vou al ~ o de te rmin e the r esonant
frcqu e nc~- o f tlw an tenn a sptem.

The gene ral op era tinir procedu re is :

1. Set th e bridp;e control to the ap p ro pri a te antenna resistance
that is lo h e expect eil ; for many ham ante nn a syste ms that
iR SO ohm s.
2. T une I he r eceiYcr ove r th e frecp 1C'11ey band to whi ch the
ant enn a is to h e re rnn a t e<l . Find the minimum noise fr e-
qu enc ~- ( min imum audio ou tput from the speaker a nd
minimum S-me ter r ea ding ) .
:3. Acljmt th e hrid:re r esista n ce fo r the b est minimum (null ) .
.I ockey the recei,·er tun inf! a nd bridge controls sligh tly for
the bes t minimum. T h e reso nant frequt>ncy of the antenna
system i s re ad from the receiv<'r clial, while t h e an tenna
rad iation r esistance is incl ica ted on the noise-b ridge d ial.

The antenna n oise bridge is a sm all test unit, is easy t o h ook

up, an<l makes ant enna system checkinir a l ot e asier.

144
 APPENDIX II

How to Measure the Velocity Factor of Transmission

Line With a Noise Bridge

The n o ise b ridge d escribed in Appendix I can also b e used

to make transmission-line checks and measure me nts. Velocity
factor is an important I inc characteristic in cutting lin es to specific
electrical wavelengths. Sometimes the information is not available
from the manufacturer or it is necessary to know the vel ocity
factor very exac tl y. lf suc h is the case, the hookup of Fig. A-11-1
can do the job.
The nea r end of the transmission line is connected to the
ante nna te rmin al of the noise bridge. The far end of the line is
shorted . At some frequ en cy the total length of the line will be an

SHORT dJ
i--'""""' .....,...,rn=:J
! NOISE BRIDGE
H
. RECEIVER
______.
....__

Fig. A-11-1. De te rmination of Ye loeity factor of transmission line.

elec trical half wavele ngth or a multiple of a half wa vele n gth. At

this freque n cy a sh ort is rellected to the near e nd of the line, and
there is no reacti ve component. The electrical length of the line
is cle te rminerl as fo11ows :

I. Set the noise bridge dial just a hair away from ze ro cor-
r esponding to the few ohms of resistance of the transmission
line. Tune th e receiver for a noise null. It is cu stomary to
ch eck a section of line that is approximately one-h alf wave-
len:rth lonf! althou:rh multiples can be used for m aking the
measu rem en t.
2. row m easure th e physical length of the transmission line.
The velocity fac tor is obtained b y dividin f! the physical
len gth of the line b y the calculated free-space half wave-
lengt h of the freque n cy indicated b y the receive r dial.

. f _ physical length of line

V e loc1ty actor - . f req. r ea d"1ng •in MH z
4921 receiver
145
 The length of a quarter-wave segment of line or an odd multi-
ple of a quarter wavelength can be dete rmined in the same way
with the exception that the far end of the line is opened rather
th an sh o rt ed.

146
 APPENDIX ID

Cutting Half-Wave Sections of Transmission Line

Using the Antenna Noise Bridge

When the velocity factor of a transmission line is known, it

is possible to cut that line to some whole multiple of a half-wave-
l ength usin g the foJlowing r elationships:

Line length in feet= VF X ::;z

1
X whole multiple of A./ 2

If the velocit y factor of a specific line is unknown it can be

de termined using the procedu re of Appendix II.

fl{)============lI
SHORT C•
WHOLE Ml'LTI PL£ OF ELECTRICAL
HAlfWAVE
NOISE BRIDGE
H RECEIVER

Fig. A-111-1. Method for culling a transmission line lo whole multiple of a

half wa\·elength.

Once a section of line is cut, its exact electrical wavel en gth

can b e de term ined with the arrangement of Fig. A-IIl-1. Again
the far e nd o f the line is shorted while the nea r end is connected
to the a ntenna te rminal of the antenna bridge. This procedure is
as follows :

1. Set the bridge control slightly above zero. Set the r eceive r
to the desired freque ncy ban d.
2. Tune th e r eceiver over the band to obtain a good null. For
some receivers a more pronounced null can b e obtained b y
deactiv atin~ the a ve circuit and/ or r educing the r eceiver r ·f
gain.
3. If the frequ en cy indication is too low, the length of
the tra nsmission line can b e trimmed slightly to make the
elec trical le n gth of the line correspond to a sp ecific ope r·
atin!J: frequenc y within the band.
147
 The vel ocity factor of some foam-t ype lines tend to be less
than 0.81. T hu s resonan ce will app ea r at the low end of the band,
or even off th e low eml of the band. Trim the line patiently to
hrin :r it into the band. \'\'h e n th e oYe rall len.:rth of y our line is a
1wmlw r of whole multiples of a h alf waYelength long, a larger
sec tion of line m us t be trimmed off to obtain a given chan ge in
overall el ectrical l en l!th than if line we r e only one half wavelength
lon:r.

148
 APPENDIX IV

Measuring the Resonant Frequency and Resistance

of an Antenna With the Antenna Noise Bridge

T h e an tenna n o ise bridirc is batte r y ope raLe J and can ofLen be

placed a t the antenna feed point, Fiir. A-1\'-l. It is of small size
and no exte rn al siirnal sou rce i ~ n eed ed. A n oise gen er ator source
is a part of the device.

ANTENNA
ELECTRICAL HAL'
..- WAVELENGTH

NOi SE BRI OGE NOI SE BRIDGE

TRA ~S MISSI ON TRA NSMISSION

LI ~E LINE

RECEIVER RECEIVER

(A) Brid~e at feed point of antenna. ( B) Brid ge at half wave from antenna
terminals.

VIHOLE A'LJ LTl PL£

OF ELEC TRICAL
HAL' WAVELENC TH

NOi SE BRI OGE

RECEIVER

( C) Brid ge al the receiver.

F ig. A-IV-J. Arrangements for m e a suring antcnnn r esonan ce an<I antenna
resistance.

149
 The bridge can also b e inserted into the line an exact electrical
half wavele ngth away from the antenna terminals. A third alterna-
tive is to locate the noise bridge at the receiver, making certain
that the overall length of the transmission line be lween the an-
tenna and the bridge is a whole multiple of an electrical half
wavelength for which the antenna is to be cut and measured. The
transmission-line cutting procedures were covered in Appendices
II and III.
The r ecommended operating procedure is as follows:

l. Set the noise bridge dial to the anticipated resistance of

the antenna (usually 50 or 70 ohms).
2. Tune the receiver over the frequency b and and locate the
noise null (minimum speaker noise or minimum S-me ter
r eading ) .
3. Adjust the antenna-noise-bridge dial for the b est noise
null.
4. The r esonant frequency of the antenna can be read from
the calibrated receiver dial while the antenna radiation
resistance is indicated on the calibrated noise-bridire dial.
5. The two controls can b e adjusted slightl y for the ver y b est
null and the most accura te read ing.

The most accu r ate readings are obtainerl whe n the transmission
line is a whole multiple of an electrical half wavel ength.
In the measurem ent and cutting of both lines and antennas,
the Charts 1 through 6 a re employed. Th e physical lengths of
lines and antennas indicated bv th e c harts are invariablv some-
what longer than the neces~a r~; cut for the desired reson~nt fre-
quency. (Even the cut for a half-wavele ngth antenna using the
end correction factor is usually a bit longer than n ecessary. ) This
is the fa vor able situation because the antenna or line can then
be trimmed back to the desired higher r esonant frequ ency.
Therefore, in u sing the antenna noise bridge, the null point is
usually found lower than the desi red operating frequency and
may som etimes be even lowe r than the low-frequency end of the
desired frequency b an d. You can then trim very carefully and
observe the noise null ri sing hiirhe r toward the d esired frequency.
As you well know, cuttinir a lenirth that fall s on the high side
of the d esir ed freque ncy presents the added proble m of having to
add on r ath er than trim off to r each the optimum frequency.
This is certainly n ot the desired situation wh en using coaxial
transmission line. Thus the chart and form ula information in this
book tends to give you a long dimension rather than a short one.
150
This can be check ed thro111.d10ut the le xt by corn paring the formul a
dime nsions with those prac tical situation rlim e nsions shown on the
various antenna illustrations. lf you have n o m ean s for checking
and trimmin~ anten n as an d lines u se dime n sions give n in the
illustrations and duplicate e xactly th e antenna arrangeme nt shown.

151
 APPENDIX V

Cutting an Antenna to Resonance Using an

SWR Meter
The S.\'\'H m e ter and/ or reflectome ter arran gement h ave b een
u sed fo1· yea rs in ch ec king; out a nd m onitoring h am antenn a sys-
tem s. Resonant antenna cuts can h e made with the proper insertion
of an SWR meter design ed for the specific impedance of the
transmission line. (For the u su al SWR m et er, optimum perfor-
m an ce is ohta ined with 50- or 70-ohm coaxial lines. )
Two preferred arranp:emcnts are shown in Fig. A-V-1. True
S\VR m easure ments can be made by inserting the m eter right at
the anten na. Usu all y this is not a con venient arrangement. An
alternative is to insert the meter one e lec t1·ical h alf wavelength
away from the antenna terminals or at som e part of the l ine that
is a whol e multiple of an electri cal half wavelength . The l atter
µI an permits the SWR m e te r to be located n ear the transmitter.
However, the very b est accuracy in terms of the SWR reading and

WHOU: MULTI PU:

SIYR METER Of El£CTRICAL
HALF WAVEU:l>JGTH

SWRMEITR
TRANSMI SSION LIM:

TRANSMIITTR TRANSMITIER

Fig. A-V-1. Measurement of SWR and antenna resonance.

in determini ng the reson ant len gth of th e antenna is feasible only

wh en the exact length of li ne b e tween the antenna and meter
is a whole m ultipl e of electri cal h alf w avel en gths. Under this con -
dition the antenna terminal conditions are re flected to the meter
and the reactive effects of the transmission line a re reduced. The
152
equation for d ete rmi11i11 g Llic phy8ical le11µth of an clc'.:lrical half-
wave le n gt h lin e for a givt>n freque11cy i,; as fo llows:

x !i~zx
Line len gth= VF
1 whole multiple of ,\/ 2

T h e S \Vl:l m casuremcnl tcc h11iqu c re quire;.: th e use of a signal

source I tra11~111i t1er ope rated at low powe r level o r a signal ge n -
nator with a n output ca pa h l(• of ;.:uppl ~· i11 µ: ade quate signal leve l
to the S \\"R rl evicc ) . Bcca u st> of t ra11>'111 it1 e1· desiµ:11 s, it is some-
tim es neces:'a r y Lo opera te the trn11;:n1itt c r at 11 or111a l outpu t powe r
level, so th a t its o pcra tin µ: eoncliti o n ;.: arc favorabl e for matchin:z
in to 50 o hms.
The 11;;11al procedure for operatin g your S'\'\.R me te r is e m -
plo~·ed. 111 mos t ca,:cs whc 11 u:>inµ: t he formu la dim en sions g:iven
in Ch a rt s 1 throu ::d1 (1 th<' a11ten11a wil l lw cut Ion µ: and t o a
resona nt frequ enc~· lowe r than that w hi ch is 1les iret1. Therefor e
i f you tu n e ~· 01 1r tr a ns mitt er to the dPsire tl fre que n c y an d make
an S \\.R m c a ~urc mcnt it will be hi µ: her th a 11 th at. which ca n b e
ultirn atPl~· ob tain ed . .As ~· ou t1111 r th<' tra11s mitte r lowe r in fre -
qu ency th e . \'CR read i11 µ: d rnps. The ac tu a l minimurn ma y b e
found con sid era hh· lowP r t h an d e~ in· d.
The antenna may now lw tr·immell as yon wa tc h th e SW R mini-
mum move up toward the rl f's ircd op(' ra ti11 µ: frequ e n cy. The r eso-
nant fre q uc nc,· indica ti on and tlw S\'\TR read in l!S usin g this
t eclmi<ru e are re asonab ly accurat e, and arc m orn indica tive of
operatinµ: condition s tha n is indicat Pd hy random insertion of an
S\'\1R m e te r int o a tran smi ssion line. ln fact, with this m ethod
r e a rlin g-s we re qui le co n1pa ra hlP to t h o~e obtained usin:z the an -
te nna noi se bridg:e for the many di pol <' a nd r eson ant lon g-wire
antennas covc re1l in th i ~ hook.

IS3
 APPENDIX VI

The Construction and Tuning of a Line Tuner

z z z ~ ~ zz(2
z z ~ z z
z z z
°'
Fl °'
Fl °' Fl Fl ~~Fl
°'
Fl °'
Fl Fl °' °' "'"'"'
Fl
.... 2 Fl 2 Fl Fl
'°'
R; '°' ~ :s,'°' 9~;o:-0-.:1N
;e
"'
;o:!ii!
'°' ~
R;
V'I
;;:; s
:I:
~
"' '°' "'i!'
~ .... SWR ANO
I I I II 111 I I I III TRANSMITIER

L2 u
100 pf FOR 40
220 pf FOR 80
50 pf
680 pf FOR 160
BANOS 6
TH~ 20

SITTINGS FOR ANTENNA OF TOPIC 31

59' 77 112'

~ LI
~ ~
10 2 1 10 2 1

15 4 3
15 4 2
20 5 3
20 5 3
40 6 4
80 6-7 6-7 80 5-6 8

F ig. A-Vl-1. Antenna line tuner.

2 binding posts
2 coa xial rece ptacles
case 10" X 5" X 4 "
50-pF variable capacitor
100-pF mica capacitor
220-pF mica capacitor
1 680-pF mica capa citor
2 29 turn s # 14 wire, 1 % " dia. and 2 %" length CAIR DUX 1411)
2 r-f s witch es, 1 pole and 8 positions
154
 The purpose of a line tun e r is lo provid e the most favorable
loading of a transmitter, although the imped an ce looking into the
transmitte r e nd of the tra n smission line is n ot optimum. Such a
line tune r permits a give n antenna to b e u sed at a frequency r e·
moved from the limited frequency range for which it presents opti-
mum loading conditions for the transmitter. It also pennits the
loadin g of a random len gth of antenna wire or permits a given
a nte nna t ype to b e operated on more than one amateur band.
Such facility adds conve nie nce and versatility to a station.
It mu st be emphasized that a line tuner does not improve the
o pe r ation of an antenna and does not improve standing-wave
conditions on the tran smission line. It cannot duplicate the per-
form a n ce of an antenn a made resonant at a specific frequency
and m a tch ed precisel y to the transmission-line system a t that
frequ en cy. Even when u sing a tun er the ver y best ante nna-syst em
pe rform a nce is obtained b y establishin g favorable resonant con-
ditions a t the antenna and u sing optimum len gths of tran smission
line tha t corresp ond r easonably close to whole multiples of a
half-wa velength.
A line tuner d oes pe rmit yon to design an ante nna system for
peak pe rformance over a certain d esirable band of frequen cies,
anrl, with a tune r, you can at least ope rat e your transmitte r off
of these frequ encies a nd obtain results tha t a re superior to those
obtained without u sin g a tnne r . At the same time your transmitter
operates under no burden because it sees a prope r load impedance.
The tuner of Fig. A-V l -1 has been desiimed for optinrnm ope ra·
tion on the 1()., 15-, and 20-me le r bands. It will also function on
the 40-and 80-me te r b ands by connecting fixed capacitors of ap-
propriate value across the variable capacitor (C, ).
The matching n e twork is basically a T -section low-pass filter.
Althouµ:h the re is some inte rac tion between the two sections of
the filte r, inductor L~ at th e transmission-line ( antenna ) end of
th e tune r match es the a ntenna syst em impedan ce to the tuner ,
while the taps on induc tor L, provide m a tching adjustment b e-
tw een the tune r and the tran smitter a nd tune out reactive com-
pone nts re flected from the antenna system. Theoretically the
ohmic value of the rcac tan cc of capacitor C1 must b e :

wh e re,

Z ;,. equals input. impccla n ce of line,

R I' equals the output impedance of transmitter.

155
 111 practice the prope r ope rati n::i: condition s a re establish ed by
u~ ill l-( a vari able capacit or and tw o t apped indu ctors in accordan ce
with th e parts Iist. It ha s h<'en customa r y in mos t desi::i:ns to place
th1~ ta ps on the coils i11 som e re l-(ular manne r a nd l et the tun er
opc rat in l-( conditiom fall w he re th ey may. H owever, if the very
lowes t sta ndinl-(·wave r a ti os are to b e establ ish ed , it i s h elpful t o
expP rirn ent w ith tap posi tioni- for the ve ry b est pe rformance. You
may wish to s ta rt out with uniform positioninl-( of the tap s to de-
ter111 i11 P what th e o pe ra I i111r conditi ons a rc on each b and. For
mo;ot ha n ds it is like ly that op timum pe rformanc<' can b e obtained .
H oweve r, if you h a ve diflic u lt y brin~inl-( the SW R readinp; down on
certain ha nd s, yon ca n PXpe riment with the Lap positions. This is
partic ul arly th e case for the 10- and 15-rn e ter ban rls.
Fo r the tun e r con stru c te rl by the author the tap positions
shown in F il-(. A-VI-1 Wf're fo und lo h e optimum . Switch positions
for o pe ratio n in the 10-, 15-, and 20-m ete r phone band s for the
ant e nn as of Fi~. 40 arp 1-(iVl'n. Coils L, a ncl L" mn st b e mounted at
r i1rht anl-(le~ to each o thf' r.
ANTENNA

TRANSMISSION LI NE

TUNER

Fig. A-Vl-2. Connection plan for

'"!justing a tune r .

TRANSMITTER D. P. 2-POS ITION

COAXIAL SWI TCH

DU MMY LOAD

Prope r tun i111r 1s 1m port ant if you are to d e rive the mos t bene-
fi l from your I ine tun e r. The setup of Fig. A-VI-2 is a good one.
The tran smitter is first. wo rked in to a SO-ohm <l11rnm y l oad. Trans-
mit te r output-circ uit sc ttinµ:s ( tuning and l oad ) are set clown in a
no tebook for specifi c frt'que ncies. ( You ma y wi sh to u se the
cen tc r frequ encies of th r l 0-, 15-, and 20-me ter phone bands.)
This information h elps yo u se t the transmitt e r reasona bly close to
optimum and th en the line tun e r· can be adj uste r! in su ch a mann e r
156
that th e bes t pe rforman ce is obt a ined with the transmitt e r p reset.
Som e m anufactu r ers pro,·id e tables fo r a m a tch to specific im-
pe d ances. If such i s the ca~ P, prese t the rli al s for 50-ohm operation.
BPfore turning on th e powe r, prcl'Pl the two tun e r switch es in
a ccordan ce with the tu11C' r information of F ig. A-Vl-1. Ope r a te the
tran s111itle r al low powf'r a nrl "witc h off the powe r whene ver you
ch a np:<' t1111 Pr switch p ositio nt<.
C:apa cito r C1 a ct s in a r<'~o nant way. If you are using the correct
t np of induc tor L , th e re is a dip i11 the S'\'fR rea ding as you t une
thro11 i,rh the minimu m po~ ition. Thf' ~wit ch p osition s of inductor
L" de te rmine just h ow low an S \~ ' R rea ding can h e obta ined ns
th e capa c itor is tun ed throu i,r h it~ lllinimum. Thu s nuiou s L~
po~itiom should b e tri ed to d ete rmin e the b est minimum. Tf your
llli11i111um on a ny one band ('annot be lll a de t o fall b elow l.S, e x-
pPrim c11t with th e a ppropriat e tap positions of L 0 • Likewi se if
your mininmm seem s to bf' indicate d at the nummum or m axi-
111u111 capa citor settings, a chani,rc in the L , induc tor tap i. in-
rlic a te d .
U, i11 i,r this techni<Jnf' the t11nf'r ol' Fip:. A-VI-1 , whe n 11 scrl with
t.h <' a11t c11na of Fig. 40, provid ed ' ta1Hli11 g-wa ve ratios of l ess tha n
l.:~ to J o n anY freq ue n c\· in thr 10-, IS-. anrl 20-m c ter band s.
One unusual condit ion a ri ;;e~ wh e n e mploying a line tune r of
this type with a dipole, im·e rtc rl-rne, o r h orizontal vee b ea m. A
fal ~e m a tchinir positi on can ~how ll p fo r whi ch the inner con rlu ctor
of th e transmission line and one side o f the a ntenna ac ts as the

WEA K OR NO
STRONG RADIATI ON
RADIATION

//ANTENNA
J\

~RONG
RA DIATI ON
FROM LINE
Fiir. A-Vl-3. R esult of a tune r tun-
ing th e lin e a nd on e a ntenna le g a s
random le ngth o f wire .
lU NER

TRA NSMIITTR

157
load ( Fig. A-VI-3 ). In this case there is little or no r·f energy
present a t the far end of the second leg of the antenna. Thus, if at
all possible, you sh ould c heck for the presence of r-f e nergy a t
the ends of both legs of the antenna. This is quite easy to do for
the inverted-vee antennas or the vee-beam types with sloping ends.
False loading should b e avoided when you wish no c h anges in the
patte rn ch aracteristics of your antenna.
When the center-fed dipol e or vee ante nna a pproximates an
odd number of quarter wavelen irths on a leg, the tuner loads both
legs. However, if the leg len gth approaches an even number of
quarter wa,·elengths the tuner ten ds to load one leg an d the line.
For exa mple, when the an tenna of topic 31 with 59-foot legs is
load ed 0 11 80 meters, it will tun e in dipol e fashion on 80 meters.
Howeve r the 40-mete r d imension is so far off the qua rte r wave-
length on a le~ value tha t the tune r will simpl y load as a random
wire with one leg more active than the other.

158
 APPENDIX VII

Antenna Tuner for Long-Wire Vees and Rhombics

The purpose of an antenna t un er is to m atch and obtain the

maximu m transfer of r-f energy b e tween the antenna en d of a

COAX
FITTING

BALANCED
INPUT FROM
ANTENNA

F ig. A-VIl-1. Ante nna tun e r fo r vee, cente r-fed, long-wire, a nd r h om bic
an tennas .

C1 2 140-pF variable s, ganged with insulated shaft connector

Ci 200-pF variable
L1-L z Plug-in coils (L 2 centered within L1 J. L1 AIR DUX 2006T except
AIR DUX 2010T for 80 m e te rs. L2 AIR DUX 16101.
Regular Coil Sizes.
Band L, Turn s L, Turns
10-15 6 2
20 10 3
40 18 6
80 44 10

Interm ediate Coil Sizes

Band L, Turns L, Turns
10-15 4 1
20-40 14 4
80 32 (2010T) 8

159
transm1 ss1on line and the antenna. In the process, the S\VR on
the transmission line that links the tuner to the tran smitte r is
brought down to a low va lue for suitable matching to the trans-
mitte r·, and lo ensure mi n im u m tr-ansmission -line loss.
R eson ant. long-wi re vecs and rhombics usu a ll y have a low
antenna resistance, and l he stcp-u p ratio between th e transm 1ss10n
line and the antenna is not µ:r t>a t. He nce, the rathe r simple tun e r
arra11 µ:e rn c11t that matc hes a .low-impe dance unh al anced transmis-
sion line to a balanced an te nna feed point of so m ewhat. high e r
resista n ce is a ppropria te I Fig. A-Vl 1-1 ). Both primary and sec-
ondary a re series-tuner] for minimum loss aml lowest standinp:-
wave ratio. Separate pluµ:-in coils are rccomm enrl cd for each b and.
However tlw sam e plu µ: -in coil can b e used for both the 10-ancl
15-mcte r h and s. Coil and component d a ta a re µ: i,·en in Fig. A-VII-1.
Also given is coil rlata fo r intermediate rnh1es. lf the ver y lowest
SWR's for a va rie ty of anten n as arc to be obtaine d, you ma y find
one of these is b e tte r suile <l for a :riven situation.
The tunf' r a dju sts vt>n' quicklv and there i s no n eed for m akin g
coil taps. A n S\'FR m c lC' r is connec tc•(l be tween th f" tran smission
line an cl the input of the tmwr. Arl ju~t th e t wo Inne r controls for
a minim um S\VR. J ockey h ack a nd for th b Ptwecn l h e two con -
trols to obtain th e \'C' n · lowest minimum. The tune r mu st b e re-
adju ster! , of course, wh en changing: h a nd s, or when changing: fr om
one ernl of th e band t o the other.
If ~-ou wish to r'.'"lns tn1ct a ">'e ry ve rsatile tun er tliat can m eet
alm ost any an tenn a ~ituation .-.rou111l th e amateur station, the
a uthor r ecomm f'1Hls hiirhh· the one ,lescribe,l h y Lew G. :\1cCoy
on p age 58 of QST. Ju] ~- l 965 . This ton Pr includes a st an,Jin g:-wave
meter anfl h as the flt>xihilitv neede r! t o mat ch b ot h high a nd low
antenna r esistances.

160
73
DIPOLE and
LONG-WIRE
ANTENNAS ABOUT THE AUTHOR

by Edward M. Noll, In addition to being an accom-

W3FQJ
Antenna experimentation offers a
unique opportunity to make amateur
radio hobby more than a operational
spectator acti vi ty. All you need are
telescoping masts, antenna wire, in-
sulators, ingenuity, and a desire to ex-
perimen t.
plished author of technical
books, lessons, articles, and
instruction manuals, Ed Noll is
also a consulting engineer and
lecturer. His other books in-
c lude:
First-Class Radiotele phone
License Handbook
Second-Class Radiotelephone
License Handbook

Antenna types from dipole to rhom- Radar License Endorsement

bic are covered in this book, and the Handbook
topics are arranged in a sequential Radio Operators License
manner-from simple constructions to Handbook
more and more complex ones. How-
ever, if the reader is interested in just all published by
one type of antenna, he can go directly Howard W. Sams & Co., Inc.
to that type.
The necessary mathematics are in-
cluded, but no extensive knowledge is
req uired to build the antennas de-
sc ribed. Simple test instru ments are
shown which will enable the reade r to
optimize the designs and obtain maxi-
mum performance from his antenna.
Many of these antennas compete
w ith, and some surpass the perform-
ance of commercial beams. The seri -
ous experimenter will fi nd in 73 Dipole
and Long-Wire Antennas examples of
almost eve ry type of wire antenna,
included for the first time under one
cove r.

EDITORS AND ENGINEERS

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$4.95 ( In Canada $5.95 )