"Jeff Liebermann" wrote in message
...

On Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:18:29 -0400, John Ferrell
wrote:

I put up a fan inverted -V cut for 80-40-30 a while back just to test.
I use a tuner, as long as the transmitter likes it, I like it.

If it's anywhere near a 1/2 wave dipole, a fan dipole shouldn't need a
tuner. I've built two fan dipoles over the years. Since everything
affects everything else, I spent far too much time adjusting the wire
lengths. I eventually settled on a trapped dipole, which was easier
and worked the first time. Either antenna would work for me except
for the length. I don't have the room for a proper 80 meter dipole.
For the immediate problem, I'll be happy if I can get on 20 meters
(PSK31) and 10 meters (radio club net).
snip

I have antenna challenged yard, with no available supports for horizontals.
So I've been experimenting with vertical radiators mounted on a 12 by 30
foot metal patio cover.

Initially, I used a CB whip, fed with RG-58 to a tuner in the shack, quite
successfully on 24 and 28 MHz. After a few more tests, (and more tests are
planned) I settled on a 14 foot radiator that works well on 20-10 meters.
It did a good job on all those bands during the recent DX contests, but
obviously won't bust a full fledged pileup without some operational cunning.

The antenna is fed with 25 feet of RG-8 to an RF ammeter in the shack and on
to a tuner. The ammeter is used to get the most current with various tuner
settings/configurations, but without changing anything from the ammeter to
the antenna.

So, a tuner in the shack feeding a single dipole might fit your band
coverage and real estate requirements. Play around a bit with EZNEC and try
a few things.