On Sat, 10 Feb 2007 08:35:55 -0800, Bob wrote:

To keep it simple, a T2FD type antenna would not require any
tuning or thought, just plug in and talk. B&W makes a commercial T2FD
style, model BWD-90. I know someone will chime in and say these are crap
but they work just fine and I believe a slight trade off in performance
for ease of use is paramount for the situation you describe.

Good morning, Bob.

Yeah, good luck with that.

T2FD antennas can exhibit as much as 17 db of loss while maintaining a
decent VSWR.

I have run communications tests with another amateur who lives one town
away. We have similar grounds, similar HAAT, and similar height AMSL. He
uses a B&W T2FD antenna (I believe it's the B&W-90) and I use a cut dipole
for 75 meters, at comparable heights (mine is 17 feet high and his is
something like 25 feet I think). He runs 100 watts and I run a grand
total of FIVE (5) watts with a Yaesu FT-817. I often get BETTER signal
reports on 75 meters than he does, from stations within about a 100 mile
radius of here.

I certainly wouldn't want a T2FD antenna for mission-critical use,
especially since for the price of a B&W, you could buy an auto-tuner from
LDG and have just about enough money left over to cover the materials for
a cut dipole.