Ok Mark, for sure for DXing a dipole or a windom is not a beam...
From europe in SSB and barefoot (100W in SSB), with my G5RV tight EW I reach
FY, PY, midwest US, VU, 4S, UA9J,C, RA9 artic, central africa. Hard to go
farther bu these days of SSN decreasing.

My objective is Dxing first as for local QSOs this is not a problem to get
S9+.
I know very well that DX performances will be more than limited, all the
more in SSB, but this is a temporary solution waiting for a small beam 3-or
4 ele.

Thierry, ON4SKY


"Mark Keith" wrote in message
om...
"Thierry" http://www.astrosurf.com/lombry wrote in message
...
Hi,

Have you some experience on the air using a Carolina Windom 40m long
compared to a G5RV 31m (100 ft) long...

Yea. I've tried both. They both are sort of lame compared to a normal
coax fed dipole for a given band. I agree with Walt that a dipole is a
dipole as far as pattern for a given band...The difference is how much
power actually makes it to the antenna to be radiated. This is what
separates the mediocre from the better.
If I wanted to work dx, I would use neither of those antennas. But you
don't mention what band you want to work dx...The lower the band, the
better the standard coax fed dipoles in general. But on the other
hand, the lower the band, and the better a good vertical would work
compared to the dipole. :/
Anything can work dx on the higher bands unless the radiation angles
are way too high. If you want all bands with a single wire, I would
use the standard dipole cut for the lowest band, and feed with ladder
line and a good tuner. Or no tuner with the Cecil method...Myself, I
prefer paralleled dipoles fed with a single coax. Don't need a tuner,
and the efficiency is high. The G5RV and the common storebought windom
both have fairly lossy feedline systems for my tastes. And the windom
is prone to common mode problems, etc...I don't like an unbalanced
antenna unless it's a last resort. MK