I would like to ask for recommendations for specifications of a wire dipole that
will give me the most bang for my portable buck. For example, Using an Icom 703+
at a different location, (friends back yard, local park, etc.) and remembering
this model includes a built in auto-tuner, would I get the most out of a single
band dipole, a dipole that can be tuned for more than a single band, an OCF
design, or loop? I would like to be able to use a single antenna design for as
many of the HF bands it would be capable of used in conjunction with the afore
mentioned auto-tuner? What bands? I'm not especially fussy, but hopefully I can
get away with using it on 40 and 20meters. More up to all the HF bands would be
fantastic, but I'm sure I will be told it wouldn't be practical.

Right now I have 2 40' lengths of stranded 20ga. wire, but that doesn't mean I
can't get other lengths and gauges. So, any ideas? Just keep in mind that this
isn't supposed to be a major production. I'm requesting designs that have worked
for "you" in the past or present, is easy to put up/take down, while taking
little time. Ideally, something I can hook up using adaptors that will allow me
to hook the wire antenna either directly to the radio, or using a short length
of coax, ladder line, etc. between the antenna and radio.

Again, the radio is an Icom 703+ that will be powered by a 12V/10Ah gel cell,
and used in an appropriate SSB mode.

Thanks & 73,
Rob, KB2ZGN

http://www.hypowerantenna.com/produc...er-fed-antenna

A 80 meter off center fed dipole - sold by this vendor will solve most of your needs.

The difference between this dipole antenna and some cheap home brew is that the toroids in the balun are tested to a higher specification then something that you buy at a swap meet or online.. The extra cost of the antenna and balun is due to it's design and specifications..

Even if you called Guanella and ordered a balun, you would only have a 3 in 10 chance of getting a good one.. That is if Barry didn't already get it!

The reason why I say that it won't solve all of your problems is due to the nature of a 80 meter dipole and its harmonics.

* Works on 7 bands (6, 10, 12, 17, 20, 40 and 80 meters)

You are not going to get one that is resonant on 15, 30 and 60 - since they are not harmonic's of 80m...

You would only need the QRP version for your situation - not the high power version..

OCF80Q 134 Feet long QRP/Low Power version (250 watts) 80 meter off center fed antenna $120.95 $12.50

The Balun is good for 200 watts...

"Robert" wrote in message
...
I would like to ask for recommendations for specifications of a wire dipole
that
will give me the most bang for my portable buck. For example, Using an
Icom 703+
at a different location, (friends back yard, local park, etc.) and
remembering
this model includes a built in auto-tuner, would I get the most out of a
single
band dipole, a dipole that can be tuned for more than a single band, an
OCF
design, or loop? I would like to be able to use a single antenna design
for as
many of the HF bands it would be capable of used in conjunction with the
afore
mentioned auto-tuner? What bands? I'm not especially fussy, but hopefully
I can
get away with using it on 40 and 20meters. More up to all the HF bands
would be
fantastic, but I'm sure I will be told it wouldn't be practical.

Well for once I have to agree with CJ. The OCF will give lots of bands and
not too difficult or expensive. YOu can put up one about 130 feet long and
work most bands from 80 meters up except for 21 mhz. The swr goes way too
high on that band for most built in tuners. You can also just put up one
about 65 feet long and and work 40 meters up except for 21 mhz again.

I like the socalled Carolina Windom. It is an OCF antenna with a choke on
the feedline about 20 feet below the feed point. YOu will need to have the
feed point of the antenna about 25 feet in the air for this to work well.
YOu often need a choke in the feedline anyway.

I won't mention any comercial brand as I build the wire antennas myself.

Robert wrote:
I would like to ask for recommendations for specifications of a wire dipole that
will give me the most bang for my portable buck. For example, Using an Icom 703+
at a different location, (friends back yard, local park, etc.) and remembering
this model includes a built in auto-tuner, would I get the most out of a single
band dipole, a dipole that can be tuned for more than a single band, an OCF
design, or loop? I would like to be able to use a single antenna design for as
many of the HF bands it would be capable of used in conjunction with the afore
mentioned auto-tuner? What bands? I'm not especially fussy, but hopefully I can
get away with using it on 40 and 20meters. More up to all the HF bands would be
fantastic, but I'm sure I will be told it wouldn't be practical.

Right now I have 2 40' lengths of stranded 20ga. wire, but that doesn't mean I
can't get other lengths and gauges. So, any ideas? Just keep in mind that this
isn't supposed to be a major production. I'm requesting designs that have worked
for "you" in the past or present, is easy to put up/take down, while taking
little time. Ideally, something I can hook up using adaptors that will allow me
to hook the wire antenna either directly to the radio, or using a short length
of coax, ladder line, etc. between the antenna and radio.

Again, the radio is an Icom 703+ that will be powered by a 12V/10Ah gel cell,
and used in an appropriate SSB mode.

Thanks & 73,
Rob, KB2ZGN


The best antenna I ever had (aside from a beam) was a simple diple
with 63 ft legs in an inverted Vee configuration. I fed it with 300 ohm
tv line and a tuner with a balun for balanced output.

With over fifty years on the bands, it worked well and for the
roughly twenty years I had it strung up, it never required any
maintenance and even the cheop twinlead held up.

Irv
VE6BP

On Tuesday, August 19, 2014 2:10:01 AM UTC-5, Robert wrote:
I would like to ask for recommendations for specifications of a wire dipole that

will give me the most bang for my portable buck. For example, Using an Icom 703+

at a different location, (friends back yard, local park, etc.) and remembering

this model includes a built in auto-tuner, would I get the most out of a single

band dipole, a dipole that can be tuned for more than a single band, an OCF

design, or loop? I would like to be able to use a single antenna design for as

many of the HF bands it would be capable of used in conjunction with the afore

mentioned auto-tuner? What bands? I'm not especially fussy, but hopefully I can

get away with using it on 40 and 20meters. More up to all the HF bands would be

fantastic, but I'm sure I will be told it wouldn't be practical.



Right now I have 2 40' lengths of stranded 20ga. wire, but that doesn't mean I

can't get other lengths and gauges. So, any ideas? Just keep in mind that this

isn't supposed to be a major production. I'm requesting designs that have worked

for "you" in the past or present, is easy to put up/take down, while taking

little time. Ideally, something I can hook up using adaptors that will allow me

to hook the wire antenna either directly to the radio, or using a short length

of coax, ladder line, etc. between the antenna and radio.



Again, the radio is an Icom 703+ that will be powered by a 12V/10Ah gel cell,

and used in an appropriate SSB mode.



Thanks & 73,

Rob, KB2ZGN

Not sure what you mean by the most bang.. The most efficient, or the
most bands to be worked. ??
If you want the most efficient system for QRP, I'd run a regular
dipole fed with coax for a single band. But you can run more than
one set per run of coax. IE: you can have 40 meter dipole legs, and
20 meter dipole legs run at right angles fed with a single coax feed.
That would be two bands with high efficiency, and the 40 meter legs
will work 15 pretty well if you use the tuner to tweak the match if
needed. You could probably work other bands using the tuner, but
efficiency will suffer a bit. You can use more than two dipoles also,
but might need to tweak the tuning a bit if there is any interaction
due to the legs being close together. If you do see this, it will be
on the higher of the bands used in most all cases.
Two dipoles at right angles have almost zero interaction, and in
practice neither will be aware the other exists.. :|
And instant band change with no tuner diddling required when running
the parallel or fan dipoles.

For all bands with a single dipole, I'd go with the single dipole for
the lowest band to be used, and fed with ladder line/twin lead and a
tuner capable of that.
But you can't run that with the built in tuner in that radio.
It's more of a line flattener, and not suitable for feeding open line,
or really bad mismatches.

So with what you have, I'd run coax fed dipoles if no outboard tuner.
It will be the most efficient system overall, and the dipoles fed
with a balun will have much less balance and common mode issues vs the
OCF antennas. Out portable, you really don't even need a balun if
working light and simple.. It's better to use one, but most times it
will work fine without one. Just skews the pattern a tad, which most
won't even notice. You can also roll a section of the coax into a choke
at the feed point to decouple the line.
On the HF bands, overall you can't beat the efficiency of a coax fed
dipole as far as the overall system. You don't need a tuner, so no tuner
losses, and the coax losses on HF are low for the usual length runs.
Almost all the RF from your rig will be radiated, and with QRP, you sure
don't want to waste much.