Reg,

The type of antenna you describe is very useful and popular.

However, your assertion is much too sweeping as a generalization.
In no particular order, here are some caveats:
1. The qualifier "best" is largely meaningless, absent an agreed
set of weighted criteria for "goodness." (How important is:
size? weight? cost? visual profile? bandwidth? instant QSY?
gain? pattern? low-band performance vs. high-band performance?
power-handling capacity? need for tuner? etc., etc., etc.)
2. A good case can be made that choosing the "right" length is
"better" than a random length, within this type.
3. An excellent case can be made that center-fed is NOT always
the "best" option, within this type.
4. I'll let the fans of this antenna type chime in with why they
prefer balanced tuners and/or tuned feeders to the use of an
unbalanced tuner... if they want to. (I use more tailored antennas,
and don't need a tuner of any kind, most of the time.)

73, Ed


"Reg Edwards" wrote in message
...
The best, all round, all band, antenna is a high centre-fed dipole of
no particular length, fed with an open-wire feedline of no particular
length or impedance, all the way to the shack, used with a choke-balun
and an unbalanced tuner.

It is good down to the frequency at which the dipole is about
1/3-wavelength long.

Simplicity = efficiency.

Once tried you will never return to anything else.
----
Reg.