"Old Ed" wrote
A common-sense question would be: Why would Varney design
a single-band 20m doublet that is bigger and more complicated
than a single-band 20m dipole, unless he was looking for some
added benefit--e.g., multiband operation?

The reason Varney used a G5RV in preference to an ordinary dipole was
because of its clover-leaf radiation pattern on 20 metres. He is quite
clear about this. He could work Europe and N.America from S.America
without changing antennas. Otherwise, for 20 metres, he would have
chosen the better antenna - an ordinary halfwave dipole which also
can be used multiband over an openwire line, the line being
conveniently of any length.

The reason the G5RV became popular with amateurs was because of its
theoretical attraction when Varney published it. The ideas of
cloverleaf and 1/2-wavelength feedline, combined in one simple system,
were quite clever, easy to understand and therefore intellectually
attractive. Also, 20 metres happens to be the best all-year-round,
day and night, DX band.

And so began the bandwagon. With a little forced imagination on the
part of dealers, multi-band operation (on which it is weak) soon
followed.

Even its name, The Famous G5RV, sounds very nice. If Louis Varney had
had a call like BF6POX nobody would ever have heard of it.
----
Reg.