Simple Ham Radio Antennas: Dipole and Inverted V Basics. Post #316.

Sometimes, simple is best. In the case of amateur radio antennas, an easily constructed dipole or inverted v antenna will get you on the air quickly at minimal cost. Dave Turlock's video is a basic, well-explained tutorial on how dipoles and inverted v antennas work. Dave covers construction techniques, mounting of the antenna, and tuning of this simple, yet effective antenna. For monoband use, use a good grade of 50 ohm coaxial cable for your feedline. If you wish multi-band capability, use 300 ohm TV twin lead or 450 ohm ladder line for the feedline. This type of feeder must be used with a balanced antenna tuner or fed into a 4:1 balun and then connected to your antenna transmatch ("tuner") with a short piece of 50 ohm coaxial cable. Either way, your new dipole should be mounted as high as you can without endangering your safety. My last inverted v was designed for 40 through 10 meters by cutting the radiating segments to my lowest preferred frequency (7.088 MHz), feeding it with 450 0hm ladder line, and then connecting the feedline to a W9INN 4:1 balun, which, in turn, was connected to my Drake MN-4 antenna transmatch with 12 feet/ 3.65 meters of RG-8X with UHF connectors. I was fortunate to find a Norfolk Pine Tree branch about 40 feet/12.19 meters above ground level to support the inverted v. I used a slingshot from Wal-Mart to launch the antenna into the branches. So far, this simple inverted v has done well for both local and DX contacts. Besides, there's something nice about making your own wire antenna with locally available resources. For the latest in Amateur Radio news and events, please refer to the blog sidebars. These news feeds are updated daily. Thanks for joining us today! Aloha es 73 de Russ (KH6JRM).