Exhibits some gain over a dipole / G5RV Operates nearly all ham bands between 80M and 2M WITHOUT a tuner. Length of coax from balun to radio doesn't matter. An OCFD goes up as easily as a dipole or a G5RV (more easily than the latter). Sept VHF Contest (for HF in case VHF wasn't active enough)Įach time we had outstanding results for very little effort. This last year our newly-formed amateur radio club has participated in three major radio events in the field, and each time we put at least one OCFD: I'm always surprised by the number of hams who have never tried nor heard of the OCFD. Have you considered an Off-Center Fed Dipole? aka OCFD, Windom, Carolina Windom. When I get around to replacing the antenna I will be putting up a ZS6BKW version to give it a try. My G5RV came down of few weeks ago due to support line failure, tree bark is hard on para-cord. The ZS6BKW promises lower SWR without having to use a tuner. There is a revised version of the G5RV antenna, it is the ZS6BKW antenna, see link below: Also keep the twin lead away from metal objects. Run the twin lead section of the antenna away from the flat top at a ninety degree angle for as far as possible. I have ran G5RV antennas and have had no issues, they work well when installed properly. Tuning will be more critical with the buddipole because of the narrow band characteristics. The buddipole will be narrow banded and the radiation resistance, hence the efficiency, will be lower than the larger G5RV. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.The buddipole is a reduced size antenna on the lower frequency bands in comparison to the G5RV type antennas. I plan to take it for land based portable operations in the near and distant future. I like the shoulder bag and tripod that comes with it. This is my third Alpha Antenna purchase and like the others it has not disappointed. There was no reason to use the Buddipole system my friend Peter, VE4TTH, lent me even once on the entire 23 day adventure. The delta loop has broad side lobes and it did not work over the North Pole when the boat was docked facing North-South yet the Alpha antenna performed reliably and went the distance in all directions. ![]() The omni directional radiation of this antenna performed better than the onboard home brew delta loop in some situations. I was able to have QSO with stations 110 nautical miles away and pass traffic to my wife so she knew I was safe since there was no cellphone service. ![]() Back in Winnipeg, a local net gets together on 3.747 Mhz every evening. It allowed me to be safe by deciding when to stay put and when to leave the Island. I called on hams on HF who read me the WX forecasts for Lake Winnipeg North Basin from a link I had on my qrz.com page. This alpha antenna proved to be a real asset to have along. George Island is so far north the VHF marine radio did not copy any WX broadcasts. The antenna worked excellent on HF bringing in stations from Europe, Australia, South Cook Island, New Caledonia and many destinations in Canada and the USA. The four radiating /guy wires could not be extended in four quadrant directions but I managed to separate them as much as possible considering the restrictions of the dock. I set up the Alpha antenna on the dock at George Island Harbour. I had the opportunity to try the Alpha antenna or a Buddipole on a recent mini sailing DXPedition to activate George Island Light station Can 845 which is located on Lake Winnipeg, MB (VE4 land).
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