I've tried to wrap my head around the relationship between current and impedance on an antenna, and you explained it in a way that makes perfect sense. Thank you. My roof is exactly 66 feet long, I'm going to try one of these.
I have a 40 meter EFHW in an inverted V in my back yard. It is 24 feet high at the center (about 8 meters) and about 3 feet (1 meter) off the ground on the ends. I have the ends attached with bungee cords. As you said, it works on 40, 20, 15 and 10. I live near Savannah, GA (USA) and have worked England on 50 watts on 40 meters and the Cayman Islands on 15 meters and 15 watts. No ground, no counterpoise. It works very well.
I have a EF random wire sloaping from 25 feet to 8 feet to my house feed with a 9:1 balun that I made myself . I get a 1.6 swr on 20 meters and made a contact from Minnesota to Tennesee with a 5 5 report at 100 watts with no earth or counterpoise. This random length of wire I am guessing about 40 feet that was originally use for SW listen. If I trim it to frequency I am guessing it would be even a better performer.
I use a 40-meter half-wave end-fed, I first mounted it just under the eves on the House, which just caused high SWR and a load of noise. them I reversed it and put the transformer at the bottom of the Garden and the SWR went down to about 1.3- 1.4 mark. the noise was greatly reduced and workable, I have had some good results, I live in a small terraced house with a small garden so this antenna turned out ideal for me. I use eco flex 15 coax and I have the transformer earthed to an earth rod. I also have a coil fitted to get me onto 80 meters, it does dog leg a bit but I can`t say it made much difference to signals in or out, thank you for your films.
Hello Brian and thanks very much for your information. I think the transformer near the house may have acted as an inductor. At least it is now all working and I’m glad to hear of your experience. 73 Peter
Been a fan of the EFHW for years. Use a pair of them. I use LMR 400 and have ground wires and Alpha Delta Arrestors on both. Nice No-Nonsense video. Good Job! This "Yank" loves your productions. All the Best of 2022.
Ham Radio is all about testing and trying things… get off the couch and get out there and build one before you make negative comments… it works! 👍 Thank you Peter for your informative videos.
Nice video Peter. Bear in mind that if you tin a wire like you suggest at the beginning and wrap it around the terminal when you clamp onto it then eventually it will become loose as the solder creeps under pressure. I found this out in the early 80s when a mini computer was supplied with tinned power cables and after a couple of years the filter panel burst into flames! I now never tin clamped connections. 73, John.
Hi John. Over the yearsI have not personally had that problem. Maybe because I flatten them with a hammer before I clamping them! But, nevertheless, thanks for the warning. 73 Peter.
I now use an EFHW and despite being surrounded by a 'fog' of rf noise, it is one of the quietist antennas I have used. It's also low profile which is a bonus. Good video Peter. Ian. G0YAP
I always enjoy your antenna videos. Im all about on the cheap. And I am in the US but I have a small back yard so I love the videos about your small garden. I have almost purchased the comet I believe it was, telescopic vertical.
Great video❗️ My favorite antenna, so versatile just through it out the window and start transmitting, it’s that easy. I don’t know how many that I helped friends and new hams put up this antenna in almost any configuration. 73 KV5P
Like your videos !! Am now a subscriber. Like the way you explain everything without getting so technical, makes for interesting and likable video. Keep them coming 73’s Kf4imv Marc Pruitt Alabama USA
73's Peter. I really enjoy all of your video's and they have really been helpful to me. I am in the process of putting up a 40 meter EFHW. I have ordered the LGD 49-1 unun but it wont arrive for another couple of weeks due to back order so that gives me time to cut my wire and get all my hardware and supplies from my local hardware store ready and plan out a possible configuration that will work for me. I live in a second floor apt which is at the back of the complex and we have a very good sized garden that is right below my bedroom window. Nobody ever goes out there. There are old chairs and an very old barbeque sitting out there in a nice good sized yard . I was thinking about raising the UnUn up to about 30 feet on a mast from my front door balcony and have the wire go about 33 feet out to another smaller mast about 20 feet up in the corner of the yard. I would then turn and spread out the remaining 33 feet from that smaller mast to another smaller mast on top of the carport roof which is about 15 feet above ground so in effect, i would have an Inverted V but it would be flat. Do you think this would work ok? Thank you...
Great information. We finally have the balun you mentionned available in the USA so I ordered one this morning. I plan to erect it as an up-sloper on my side yard and give it a go. Thanks for your video.
Fantastic antenna , I use a vertical 20meter band wire ( 10 meters long) with a 49:1 unun and a 10 meter fibreglass pole , outstanding performance , such a versatile set up
Hi Peter, when lockdown hit and I came back to radio after a 10 year break, the EFHW was the antenna that transformed my love of the hobby. They work a treat in my experience. If you can only put up 20m antenna (33ft) you can install a link to switch between 15m and 20m. Also I found 17m swr reasonable with 15m band length. Don't forget to put some sealant on the ldg boxes if you are going to leave outside. 73 Steve MW0SAW
Thanks Peter. I have recently purchased a second hand FRG-7 and am looking to have some HF fun with it without spending very much money and having relatively little space.
Thanks for this Peter ,I always enjoy your videos from another amateur ,I just received a new speaker from you - a Heil sound powered one which is superb and delivery really fast and cheap !! thanks G4SNU
I'm using an end-fed hw for 40m in an inverted-L configuration. Half of it going along my apartment's outer wall, and other part just dangling down from second floor (even moving a bit in the wind). And it works great! I have a few meters counterpoise just to make it more stable, but works fine without one as well. No need for common mode choke either (tried only qrp so far).
Any common mode choke will counteract the "counterpoise" effect in the feed line. Always run the feedline at lenghts at 7.1m or 14.2m or simular lenghts.
after listening to your videos talking about both, if you could only choose one. the 49:1efhw or 9:1 random wire. thanks for all your videos. 73 de KI7MJU
Good video Peter, Ive never tackled HF at my house due to small garden but Im going to give this a go. Ive ordered one of the UnUn's and I already have some wire and a feeder.
A long, long time ago, I used to operate on ham bands, of course making many dozens of wire antennas. But never an end fed half wave with an impedance transformer. Now back just SWLing with a dongle to my PC on an indoor magnetic loop, already seeing I've got 140'+ room to fit a wire sloper my HOA won't notice to a really tall tree out back. Hmm. It is funny, last ham years were on 2M comms flying hang gliders, my wife (yes, licensed) chasing me and friends mountain flying for years. 49:1 huh?
Hi Peter, great video, I am making one for 80m + 40,20 , using a loading coil for 80m with a 12m spider pole I got from yours and mike's shop in Portsmouth, as I am only 10 miles from there, I am not the band police , but you do know that you did transmit out side the band when you did the vswr scan, I have seen a lot of people doing this , with these radios, I also have a G90 , to play with, Thanks Dave 2E0DMB
Hi there. Let me explain that the TX level is very low, but milliwatts are needed to draw the graph. The same goes for MFJ analysers and indeed ALL analysers. You need to generate RF to measure VSWR. Technically you are correct, BUT ALL analysers work the same way. BTW your antenna should also work on 15m and 10m.73 Peter.
That is a fantastic bargain! I have a Balun Designs 49:1 that has the same ratings and costs twice as much. To be fair, it may use slightly more robust materials, but it is not that different in size or capability. I "discovered" the EFHW this year and have done a lot of experimenting with it for QRP portable use. It is an amazing antenna. With a 40m EFHW and a Spiderbeam 12m mast I can operate 40, 20, 15, 12, and 10 meters with excellent results. (Yes, 12m too, somehow.) The LDG 49:1 is difficult to find in the US; I've only found one dealer who carries it, and he is sold out right now.
@@watersstanton Lots of places carry the LDG transformers, but the 49:1 doesn't seem to have made it to many places yet. I have my Balun Designs and my little QRPGuys kit (perfect for QRP portable!) so I'm all set, but the LDG is an great price for those who need a 100w model. 73 de KR8L
I've been running an 80m-10m EFHW for a few years and I love it. Following Steve Ellington's suggestion based upon test of grounding and choking at the feedpoint my EFHW went from an OK antenna to my go to antenna. For portable ops it hard to beat the flexibility and performance of an EFHW antenna.
I first used this type antenna when on a club outing supporting an ultra marathon race using 2m radios and we had a lot of spare time on our hands so I set up a new FT891 bareback the forest with outstanding results on my first foray into HF radio hitting 6 nets in one session. At home it was very different. Initially it was disappointing but this is a hobby for tinkerers and experimenters.I got a lot of RF noise..I added a common mode choke with ferrites before the radio, had an auto tuner that did not do much as the Nano vna would show. I recently added a Palomar mini choker right at the Unun and that cut more noise enabling more bands to be heard more easily. I can now get 160 through 17 meters. I imagine that perhaps if I used some shorter counterpoises (not certain if this matters as I use 6 52 foot CP on 130ft wire) I might get 15,12 and 10m. I do have clay like soil with rocks so it's not the best. Using an inverted V with a 12m fiberglass pole (with the help of my trusty helper, my wife who has infinite patience) to support the center. Its certainly a compromised antenna though I can get across the pond and into South America from North Carolina. That first outing in the forest I got a weak contact into Germany and I was thrilled.. Planning to redeploy in another configuration soon. I think its a good first antenna and can offer a lot of variety and the ability to get on many frequencies or by deploying it differently short to long distance comms. A friend has his vertical up some tall pine trees and he swears by them. This is my opinion and as you might have guessed I'm pretty new in the hobby. It certainly lends itself to fairly quick deployment in the field as all you need is a tree that is around 35 tall. For clarification I do live somewhat close to high tension power lines and this may be the source of my RF issues that were not present in the forest.
Well a forest is likely to be a nice quiet location. I would start from scratch and install an EFHW with no earth connection and make sure you have an effective line isolator at the Tx end. You need to get that as quiet as possible before adding any extras. But there is a limit to what you can do, as noise will always be an issue. You could try a separate receiving loop and just use the EFHW for transmit. It is becoming a popular solution. 73 Peter.
My disabled friend was getting frustrated ove not getting long Dx on his 20m dipole so I made him a 49:1 with 20meters of wire now he could only get the length in by mounting it on the top of his 6ft fence around his garden now he is working Asia Japan all across the us South America on a regular basis so yes it does work and without the counter poise it’s 1:1 on40/20/15/10 m he is ecstatic over it so worth the effort of building it from scratch🏴😜
Excellent video ! We’re patiently waiting here in the US for the LDG 49:1 Unun to arrive in dealers. Just a quick note about the the “binding post” style connections atop the Unun, and also the LDG Baluns; Each one has s hole drilled through it that allows for a “tinned” wire to inserted through it, and bent over to help secure it if desired. Also if the Unun is used where the antenna wire connection is not in tension, a gold plated male banana plug can be inserted into the top. I have used LDG Baluns and Ununs with both styles of attachment, left in the weather for many years, with equal success. Thanks again for a great series on wire antennas! 73s Dan’l
I've used a 43' (13 meter) end fed vertical wire antenna with a 4:1 balun and some ground radials for years with great success. Everything from QRP all the way up a kilowatt and it costs virtually nothing while being an entirely invisible antenna strung up a tree in my yard. Negative Nancys in our hobby sometimes kill me with doubt of how effective an antenna won't be. Dude... I used an adjustable copper ground strap to load up a live aluminum light pole in a parking lot on 20 meters QRP with successful contacts. Anything metal is an antenna if you try hard enough!
@48pluto which doesn't particularly matter because you can run it through a nice matching unit. Providing you're making contacts it really doesn't matter. Any antenna is better than no antenna, if you want to wring your hands over the SWAAAAAARRRRRR and spend your days snipping bits of wire off of your antenna, go for it. Me, in my garden where getting a half wave dipole up a quarter wavelength is a big nope, I'll work my inefficient antenna and enjoy it.
Very helpful! A request: There are non-resonant end fed antennas that work on all bands. It would be very informative to have a review that compares the pros and cons of EFHW with non resonant antennas, especially in limited space situations. Thank you.
Hi Peter, great video. As a new UK Foundation licence holder, this type of antenna would work for me, as a way in to HF radio. I would configure as a sloper, from an upstairs shack window, into a fairly long back garden. I have space for 20m of line, to maximise available bands. Just a quick question re the line itself. Would the gauge of wire make any difference to VSWR / signal strength ? What would you recommend, trying to keep costs down ? BTW, on another note, what's your view on the Xiegu G90 as a starting place ? Keep up the great videos. 73's
73 de W9TXU out on the prairies of Illinois! I've recently retired from work, and now I have time for experiments. I found your excellent video via Hackaday and, since I need an antenna around here, am definitely going to try this. After all, aren't we hams experimenters at heart? One thing I wanted to get right: for 40, 20, 15 and 10, the wire would need to be about 60 feet long? Thanks so much and happy 2022!
Great video!!! I'm a bit unclear. You're connecting each leg of the dipole to the 49:1 unun (red & black terminals) correct? In terms of directional output from antenna does it matter which leg of dipole (center pin) goes on unun (EFLW red or black ?) again fantastic video. Thank You!!!
Many Thanks, for the video maybe we can get the disbeliever that it is a real easy 1 and works do use a 10m( 33ft) f coax feed line and can use all over and every where you go.base portable/Sota/parks caravan parks and support with you fishing rod and do some LONG distance DX fishing,73
Why could they not made the UNUN like the 16:1 but with 6 copper wires wrapped around a ferrite core 9 times and the wires connected in series with the center of the socket connected near to the ground end.
Hi, can you clear something up for me? Every time I hear about power handling, it is usually something like "100W SSB, 100W CW, 60W digital" or some other description... My question is what about ordinary FM voice? Do you use the same values posted for say SSB or what do you go by? Many thanks
Peter, great video, What would happen if you took the long wire, enough to make aLoop out of it. And brought the other end back to the earth lug?... say a ful wave poop.. do you think it would function as one?…, I asked LDG, AND GOT A VERY RUDE RESPONSE.. .. thanks for what you do, and I anxiously await your response.. Spike
Happy new year to you all. Peter love your videos. I’m going to run a 40m end feed around my garden but instead of the ends running vertical I was going to run them in a 90 degrees horizontally at about the height of 8m Will this still work. Regards Mark 👍
I’m a newbie and this article is about an endfed antenna connected to the 49:1 unun, you have another article where you use a random wire connected to the 9:1 unun, I’m confused about when you use one over the other?
Since you cover a number of bands, but not all, due to the harmonics (say, 40, 20, 15, 10), could you add another parallel antenna wire to cover the other bands?
Great video Peter , great to see you explaining the example of a inverted U with 2 vertical sections , this is how I run mine and on 80 m it is great I wonder if I get a slight phasing by having the two vertical elements. You mentioned the Zepp I have wondered about trying this by simply swapping transformer for a quarter wave length of ladderline into atu , my understanding is one half of the ladderline is the ground ? Similar to that of a off centre fed dipole in many respects , thanks again and happy new year
You could make an End Fed Zepp by replacing the 49:1 with 1/4 wavelength of ladder line. The ladder line would be shorted at shack end and open at the antenna end with the 1/2 wave antenna connected to one leg of the ladder line. The other leg of the ladder line at antenna is not connected to anything. However, you will have to connect the coax from your rig across the ladder line near the shorted end at the point where you obtain a 50 Ohm resistive match. The End Fed Zepp is basically a horizontal J-pole. One potential drawback is that, if you do this for 80m band, the antenna (plus ladder) line is about 60m long. If you use the 49:1 Unun transformer, it is only about 40m long. Also, with the transformer, there is no faffing about with analysers or VSWR meters, etc to find the right tapping point on the ladder line (though some of us like doing that sort of thing 🙂).
Hello, are you sure the mix of that toroid is the right one for a wide band transformer? LDG declares from 1.8 to 30 MHz. Why you don't test the transformer insertion losses? It could be interesting to know before buying or installing it. 73s.
Nice video, Peter. I find the text on this box confusing: a 49:1 unun would indeed suggest it is to be used with EFHW (half wave) elements, but the terminal says EFLW (long wire)? EFLW usually work with 9:1 ununs and should be anything BUT halve wave lengths...
For some reason the LDG RU-49:1 Balun isn't available here in the states. I looked at the vendors here and looked at LDG's website and there is not even a mention of it. Is this a U.K. only item?
Thanks Peter - great video. Quick question - I thought you had to be careful to ensure any bends are greater than 90 degrees - to stop the sections interfering with each other - is that not true ?
Yes, bends of less than 90 degrees should be avoided if possible. That does not necessarily mean it will not work at all with one slightly sharper bend.
Basically a myth! A bend will change the radiation pattern to some extent but nothing more and there is nothing magical in the figure of 90 degrees! 73 Peter.
thanks, Peter. I built an end fed for QRP ops using a 49:1 unun design. These end feds get decent results for me. The one I built was for use with the SW-3B QRP Transceiver and I've tried it out a little in the backyard with a few radios for fun - 40, 20 and 15 meters without a tuner: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-PeVJnIc9w8Y.html You're right, Peter! You can get some good results without always spending a lot of money. 73 Ron
Can you run TWO wires from it, so that you cover 10/20 with one wire, and 15/40 with the second wire? I guess that's an end fed fan? ;-) 73 DE W8LV BILL
Unfortunately no. A half wave antenna is very sensitive at the ends and adding an extra wire is at the feed point is simply seen as extending the antenna length and thus changing its resonance. I tried it!
That little 1” core won’t hold up to 100w they’re qrp at most. And 2:1 max vswr. Plus you’ll need a 1:1 current mode at the back of the rig. Just tons of loss love to see a 1minute key down at 100w and sum temp reading of that core. Had the 1:1&4:1 on a resonant doublet and those both build up heat with in one min of ssb.
Nice piece of hardware and a nice case. Otherwise you could build this cheaper. But all in all it Sems to be a good offer. Btw: no good idea to operate at 50+ Watt on FT8… everything above 15 or 20W is nothing but wilfully produced QRM and a waste of this mode.
Hi Peter, I like your videos they are well made. I have a question to your current video, if I have a look at ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UcuHTWWOg7c.html then I can’t see ground or counterpoise connected to the balun? Is in your case coax cable shield the counterpoise?
Hi there. I have never found the need for any earth connection. That earth terminal is simply connected to the outer of the SO-239. The effect of the coax outer is largely of little functional use. I regularly use just 2 metres of coax back to the radio and I doubt that a 2 metre length has any function. Hope that helps. 73. Peter.
so for a multiband 80 - 10 meter end feed horizontal using a 49:1 unun, what length does the aerial wire need to be. 2.5 ( quarter length) or 5 meters (half length) ?
The EFHW works well, but my experience is that it needs a counterpoise. I had a huge amount of RF in the shack until I sorted this out. If your feeder cable is long, then the screen is acting as the counterpoise. In my case, the feeder was only about 4m long and it was using the whole shack as the counterpoise, even with a line isolator in use. Adding some external counterpoise wires and earthing it to the metal conservatory frame got rid of most of the RF in the shack.
Thanks for sharing. I have never had any RF problems and many users report they have had none. However, the line isolator is often needed. If it I is working correctly and covering the bands of operation, there should be no RF other than what is radiated directly from the antenna. Glad you resolved it. Take care 73 Peter.
Hello Peter. I worked 70 countries with a 40-10 EFHW and a Xiegu G90 on SSB. It is a wonderful antenna that has served me well. For portable use, a 10m pole and a 20m EFHW makes a vertical antenna that works extremely well. With 10m opening up, it is possible to make Many DX contacts with that set up.
I have an end-fed half-wave with the unun in a plastic box on the wall just under the house guttering and a thin wire sloping down into the garden to a small tree. No earth, no counterpoise, works fine and you can hardly tell it's there. I completely agree with your comment - more people should try it for themselves before saying it doesn't work
This, is what got me into ham radio. That is the proper attitude to have when it comes to this hobby. Experiment, try and try again! I stumbled upon your video as a recommendation as I am ready to set and experiment with EFHW antennas. We shall see what are my results when I try it! Last experiment I did with antennas was magnetic loops and now to EFHF! Looking forward for more back to basic videos. Carlos, WX7UTE
EDIT: LDG has discontinued the 49:1 unun. I emailed them to ask why I couldn't find one, and they replied saying it was discontinued. For whatever reason, I cannot find a retailer in the states that has this particular unun in stock. They all carry LDG's 9:1 and below, but no one has the 49:1. Figures, since the LDG is the one I really wanted.
Hi Peter, I like your video's. I installed a (Harvest Taurus 80M-6M Multi-Band Long Wire Dipole Antenna - inc WARC Bands) on my home. I ran the antenna from the the tower in the back of my home to the flagpole in front of my home. The balun is on the tower. I can not get a good SWR on any of the ham bands. My MFJ SWR Analyzer indicates I have good SWR on 5.765 Mhz. 218,92 Mhz and 44.482 Mhz. The wire is just above my asphalt roofline which is 15 feet above the ground. Do have any suggestions why my antenna is not working?
Wonderful video! Great price point. However, LDG does not have it on their web page yet. Maybe they are rolling it out on your side of the pond first. Waiting patiently to add one to my portable kit.
I have many antenna's and frankly the EFHW, and EFLW simply work, and work well! You will ALWAYS have a counterpoise, and it WILL be your feedline (unless you choke it) so the good old cheap "wrap your RG8x around a ferrite" will work well to stop CM b4 causing buzz on every electrical thing for 200'. You will need some min amount of feedline to act as counterpoise (25') .. it is not really magic. Like Peter says, just try for yourself!
I run a EFHW and with my years of hamming I have never found a better wire antenna, I am a QRP operator and recently worked Japan with my FT817 and 5 watts. So far I have set up my friends with 4 of them so far I use the 240/43 core and it's good for 250 watts. for QRP I use the 100/43 cores and they have been really good. I even going to try a shorty fourty using a 35uf loading coil and it ends up about 33ft plus approx 5 foot stinger wire on the far end of the coil. I hope you folks out there try it. 73 ki0ad/Jim
That SWR sweep is suspiciously flat, like a very low Q antenna or a dummy load would produce. You should have distinct resonant dips especially if you zoom out with something like a Rig Expert that will sweep much more than just a single band. I build my own EFHW and I LOVE them, best antenna in my opinion for the type of use!
I think the VSWR graph on the X5105 is the reason. My Antenna Analyser showed the normal very distinct resonance. However, all EFHW do tend to show a broader response than a centre fed dipole. Peter
I tested my EFHW 10-80m antenna with just coax, with a counterpoise abt 4m, and a ground rod 8ft in the ground with copper strapping from the 49:1 transformer ground. I found it works all three ways but it has a bit better swr on all bands with the ground. Glad I drove the ground rod in last in the testing. I think every installation is a bit different so try it and test it. Jack K5FIT
Dear Peter - I’m preparing to install an end-fed, half-wave antenna for the 40 meter band. It will connect to a 49:1 unun. The antenna will be trimmed to 20 meters (approximately 66 feet). Of this length, approximately 2/3 will run along one side of my house. My house is about 30 feet high with aluminum gutters installed at the top. I’m considering two options for the height of the antenna. One is to run it near the top of the house which would mean it ran parallel to the aluminum gutter (separation of perhaps 2 feet). The second option is to mount it half way up the side of the house (constrained by windows). While I prefer the higher elevation, I’m concerned about possible interaction with the metal gutter. Any advice you can offer will be much appreciated. As always, thanks for your time. - Best - Jim (KK7CSC)
Hi there. I have learnt over the years that jn these situations the antenna will work. Its a question of how well. If that is what you have to do, go for it! it is likely the antenna will end up a but shorter fir best VSWR because if the proximity of the gutter. Have fun. Peter
