Off Center Fed Dipole: the "Windom" experience.
 

I recently hung my commercially produced OCF dipole at a "test" height of
20 feet. I just wanted to see how many of the problems I have been warned
about actually manifested themselves. There is NO question that the coax
feedline will radiate enough RF to cause problems with rig upon occassion. I
am jusing a Ten Tec Jupiter. My in rig keyer had a seizure on one band.
A 1:1 balun or beads for RF suppression is a necessity. Does the antenna
work? Yes. Better than a dipole, no. The OCF aspect of it enables me to
hide the balun, and the black insulated antenna wire is virtually invisible.
So for "stealth", it gets five stars. If you order from Antennas and More
you will NEVER hear from them despite leaving numerous messages. I would
not recommend this group under any circumstances. They have nice antenna
wire, but that is it. BUILD YOUR OWN! I will do a head to head comparison
with a loop ant in the future. I highly recommend an OCF being fed with
ladder line, not coax.

Charlie KD7HU

Interesting observations, Charlie. I don't have a dipole to compare with,
but here are my observations:

1. Bought a classic Windom in 1997, worked pretty well and was stealthy.
2. Bought a modified Windom from Antennas and More last month, with 32 feet
on each of the ends dropped; supposedly gets lower angles of radiation. I
have nothing to compare it to, but I am getting out no prob. Very stealthy.
3. I did not receive an immediate callback when I called Antennas and More
(voice mail), but I kept calling over several hours until I did get an
answer. The folks were courteous and professional.

I would greatly enjoy some of the details from your comparisons, OM. Since
I am pretty restricted on my lot here, I would like to know the details so I
can make a better-informed decision in the future.

Thanks

Mark Lunday
WD4ELG




"Charles Wittnam" wrote in message
t...
I recently hung my commercially produced OCF dipole at a "test" height
of
20 feet. I just wanted to see how many of the problems I have been warned
about actually manifested themselves. There is NO question that the coax
feedline will radiate enough RF to cause problems with rig upon occassion.
I
am jusing a Ten Tec Jupiter. My in rig keyer had a seizure on one band.
A 1:1 balun or beads for RF suppression is a necessity. Does the antenna
work? Yes. Better than a dipole, no. The OCF aspect of it enables me to
hide the balun, and the black insulated antenna wire is virtually
invisible.
So for "stealth", it gets five stars. If you order from Antennas and More
you will NEVER hear from them despite leaving numerous messages. I would
not recommend this group under any circumstances. They have nice antenna
wire, but that is it. BUILD YOUR OWN! I will do a head to head
comparison
with a loop ant in the future. I highly recommend an OCF being fed with
ladder line, not coax.

Charlie KD7HU