Making Open Wire Feedline
If you can't see the video, please insert this title URL into your browser search box: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrREQyMI7RI This is post 2481 in a continuing series of simple ham radio antennas. Thanks to Australian radio amateur Peter Parker (VK3YE) for this excellent and concise video on how to make open wire feedline for HF antennas. As Peter explains, this type of feedline has many advantages: Open wire feedline is a cheap and low-loss feedline ideal for feeding HF dipoles. Open wire can tolerate significant impedence mismatches without adding much loss and in conjunction with a balanced antenna coupler allows multiband operation on a single dipole. Unlike a coax fed antenna the length of the dipole is not critical but for best efficiency aim for a minimum 3/8 wavelength at the lowest operation frequency (ie 30 metres for 3.5 MHz or the 80 metre band). Open wire should ideally be fed away from the antenna wire at right angles (to maintain balance) and kept awa...