I want to move the choke on the transceiver side as well. The hight of the antenna is something I can't change for now. But I am planing on making it some sort of I verted V to have the middle a bit higher. Mine is the same.. as I do towards 10m the SWR is not as great... but I can still manage that with the tuner. I think with a bit more experimentation I can get it as I want it to be )) I still have to work a bit more on the compensation coil and the value of the 64.1 transformer. I will try to get the best I can and leave it as it is. But I know I tried haha. If not I will always ask myself if I could get it better haha. Thank you for sharing the info. It helps a lot. 73, YO6DXE.

So true.... this is why I also love it. 73, YO6DXE.

Good morning and thank you so much. Ohh yes you are right. Initially I wanted to use the coax version but I noticed that placing the rf choke at that distance is was also changing the proprieties of the antenna... not sure why was that... but now I do use a counterpoise and the choke is on the transceiver side. Have a fantastic weekend and 73, YO6DXE.

Thank you James. Ohhh I wish it was bigger and somehow away from neighbors... I would also keep some bee hives too this way. But it is what it is.

Thank you so much... ohhh the view is from the attic... but I do enjoy it often these days as I'm always up and down testing and experimenting with the antenna hahaha. The garden does looks nice from the spring all the way in the fall. I like this place. 73 and have a great weekend, YO6DXE.

Good thinking David. I didn't think of that. Maybe I will cancel the copper connections and use something else instead. 😁😁 ... thank you and 73, YO6DXE.

Thank you so much Lawrence. I don't know if I've seen it. I will go and search for it now... for sure I will find some great and useful info. I do know I watched other videos from Steve and I always had something to learn 😄. 73, YO6DXE... and a happy weekend.

Thank you so much Klaus. Is a really nice quiet village... we used to have a lot of German people living here in the past. Most houses ( the older ones ) were built my them. A lot of history behind 😀. Wishing you an amazing weekend as well. 73

@@dxexplorer Thankyou, I wish you a good weekend too. Love to you and your family '73's. ♥️

73 my friend... best wishes back to you and your family also.

I want to build a shortened version for portable... but I won't use 110uH... but 55uH and extend the end to 3-4m depending on what's necessary. I will also try to use some thick wire for the coil... 1 or 1.5mm. These should help a bit with the bandwidth on 80m.

Trying my best )) Thank you my friend. Let's hope I can make it work as I wish. One more week of tests and measurements I guess hahaha. 73 and have a nice weekend.

@@dxexplorer well I guess you’ll figure it out. You’re smart enough. You can make an inverted V directional. Which is handy. And not so handy at the same time. I’ll see you in the next video. 73!

I try to stay away from directional antennas now ( except sattellites ) as they are too much of a hustle for the conditions I have)). See you next week my friend. 73

Grazie Franco. I use no radials at all on mine. I don't have the space )). I also wanted to try putting a little bit of wire vertical... but the way the house is ... it doesn't allow me to do that. I will try to rebuild the compensation coil as you did yours because I think mine is not yet perfect. But I stopped at this one because I had no more time to experiment ))). I will try to see how I can use some radials at least ( counterpoise ). So far I didn't had problems with common more curent... but is better to be safe ). Thank you one more time. 73, YO6DXE.

@@dxexplorer 👍 73's and good experiments de iw2hus, Franco

Thank you so much. I will get back to you and let you know how it worked. I must buy you a beer 🍺 😅.

Thank you so much. This helps a lot. I only have the FT140-43 to make the chokes now... but they should be ok for now. 240-43 are a bit expensive for me haha. I will need to get four of them to build a proper antenna ( 2 chokes and the transformer built on a double stack ). Ohhh and thank you for the calculations ... that helps a lot. I will come back with another video on the antenna sometime this summer for sure. 73, YO6DXE.

No no Darrin... I think you have in mind the 110uH inductor for the shortened version of the antenna. This one is not short... is half wave on 80m... so 40m of wire. The coil I use in the video is a compensation coil and has about 0.5uH. Do not confuse it with the 110uH coil. That one yes it goes nearly the end of the antenna... but in my case the compensation coil has to be 2m away from the impedance transformer. 73, YO6DXE.

I did some experiments last week I beleive... I will be back with a video on the results. Playing a bit with everything.. the compensation coil, the impedance transformer etc. Strange and interesting results comparing to the theory of it ))). I want to try they way you made it as well and put all on paper... for future reference hehe. Thank you. 73, YO6DXE.

@@dxexplorer Yes, I believe when I was looking for 80 meters first, then all other bands came up good. That for SSB . 122' 6", was resonant in all other bands up to 6 meters. The SWR was so low, so if necessary, the internal tuner could do it.

I try to see if I can get the SWR no bigger than 1.5:1 on all bands from 80m to 10m. No luck so far, but that is the fun in experimenting. At least we can try haha. We will see how things work out.

@@dxexplorer 80 for me was, 3.780 1:1, 3.8 = 1:1 and further 3.9 = 1:6. Now, 7.275 was 1:5, 7.295 was 1:4, 14.225 2:4, 18.110 was 2;5, 21.275 was 1:6, 24.930 was 1:7, 28.300 was 2:4, so not too bad so the internal tuner can do the best.

I will sure try the counterpoise as well. A few more tests to make until I will find the best configuration for the antenna I guess ))). The reason why I did wanted to use the ferrite choke is also because it seems that it takes away some ugly electrical noises I used to get in the antenna from neighbors. What I want to try now is to have a counterpoise at the antenna... and use a ferrite choke but in the shack right next to the transceiver. Maybe it will work ? ))

@@dxexplorer using a choke too close to the 49:1 unun is like not letting the antenna stands on its 'two feet'. Yes EFHW is not a dipole, we are feeding it at the ends, but give it at least something to counterbalance. Yes, perhaps it is better to install a choke right before the coax enters your shack.

Makes sense yes. Thank you for this.. I was always so confused because all people have different opinions and some say put it in the shack.. most say put it as close as possible to the antenna... at the end you have no more clue on where is the right place hahaha. But yes is makes sense what you explained and has a logic to it. So I will try this as well. My instinct also tells me that I may also get better results as well ))).

Hahahaha. Ohhh you just told me a few more things I skipped to test so that means more tests this coming week hahaha. Is late now but I will get back with a "radio show" tomorrow to chat a little more. Maybe we can also try some FT8 or FT4 if you have the time. I know this antenna can be all over the place at times... I just wonder how good I could get it ? 🤣🤣 I will move on dipoles later hahaha. First I must get my head around this one. We will see if I will end up in a wall or jump of joy haha. 73 Nigel.

So far I am happy about it... but is not yet as I want it. On 80m the SWR is still a bit high... probably because I can't put it higher than 6-7 meters. I need to work a bit more on the compensation coil and then adjust the length of the wire again. Final touch as they say ))). This time I will also use a 4.2m counterpoise to avoid any naughty RF... besides the RF Choke that I now have inside the house next to the transceiver. But on RX... it seems a lot better than the shortened version I had before.

Thank you so much Mark. I thought I would move the choke close to the transceiver for the new tests this way there would be enough coax left between the impedance transformer and the TRX. Two 100pF capacitors you say about the capacitor from the impedance transformer ? I thought I should try other values but didn't had the chance yet. I will try that as well. Thank you one more time. Fingers crossed I get it to work well as in my dreams hahaha. 73, YO6DXE.

@@dxexplorer I just had one 100pF capasitor in the impedance transformer, but the dips in the swr were at the right place but the swr was over all to high. So I put the second 100pF parallel and the swr came down. Just my way to solve the problem. Later I found out, that other hams did the same. I took 100pF 1 KV others took 4KV just depending on the power they us. I’m QRP Operator. All the best and keep me informed, what works for you. 73 de HB3XBL 👍🇨🇭

My friend YO6BLD told me as well that in his case for a 40m EFHW antenna the best worked a 50pF capacitor. So I will use a variable capacitor to do some tests and find the optimal value, then replaced with a proper capacitor. Thank you again. Ohh yes I will come back with info... and most probably a video too hehe. 73

I don't know. I didn't tested that yet. I had one before on my shortened version of the 8010 antenna... the one with the 110uH coil placed almost at the end of the antenna... but I had no nanoVNA back then to see the effect. I will test it now on this one ))

​@@dxexplorer I have to get a nanoVna as well. Great tool. Wish you a lot of contacts.

Thank you Nikos. Wishing you the same my friend. Ohhh yes the nanoVNA has been such a great help so far.

I very much agree on that. I found the video 😄😄. Thank you a lot.

@@dxexplorer You are welcome. Out of curiosity could you lengthen your wire to 134’. Nice looking garden you have plus such a scenic view.

I could if I would move the wooden pole a bit more in the back yes. I think before I started testing the antenna with the compensation coil... I wanted to start with some measurements of the antenna with no modifications on anything. The wire was about 134' only that being too long it was coming down next to the wooden pole. P.S. Thank you for the garden ))

Hi Bruce... ohhh I kept doing a lot of tests and trying all sort of configuration both for the counterpoise and also for the impedance transformer. I have the same issue... the height if the antenna is not what I wish it would be. Is too cold now so I left the antenna alone. But I will continue playing with this one and for sure I will be back with a video of the final version I settle with. We will see how that goes )). Waiting for for warmer weather to come meanwhile. 73, YO6DXE.

You talk about the RF choke ? I believe yes and yes you are right. I was testing different positions as I was curious about the results. I tried all sort of options recommended by people online. So far the best results I have with the RF Choke in the house close to the transceiver. 73, YO6DXE

I’ve experimented with mine when I had the isolator in the shack I got rf floating around everywhere so put it around 5m from the antenna base seemed to work excellent in stopping noise and rf also didn’t effect the swr either.

That is something I didn't had an issue with. But I think is because I only have 5W in my pocket ))). I am about to replace the antenna wire with a thicker one as winter is nearly here... I will also put the 4.2m of wire as a counterpoise to also avoid the same issue you had. Thanks for reminding me that as I forgot hehe. 73.

That is something I didn't had an issue with. But I think is because I only have 5W in my pocket ))). I am about to replace the antenna wire with a thicker one as winter is nearly here... I will also put the 4.2m of wire as a counterpoise to also avoid the same issue you had. Thanks for reminding me that as I forgot hehe. 73.

Hahahaha... I am lucky. The guys at the hardware store made me a present a few good markers 😅😅😅

Thanks so much. I think I've seen the video but I will go watch again ))). I think that inverted V works better on DX also and it becomes nearly omnidirectional. I just need to figure out a way to secure the wooden pole I have in the middle of the garden. The neighbor garden is right next and I would have to install a secure wire for the pole over there )). I must figure out something. I will still play a bit and see if I can get better results... if not I guess it is what it is right ? Hehehe... but even now is not bad... it does well still even with no ATU. 73, YO6DXE and have a great relaxing weekend.

this may help The closer your antenna is to the ground, relative to the wavelength, the more the antenna is “loaded” so the required length of the wire to achieve resonance is shorter. As you go up in frequency the ground has less effect assuming the same height However…the extra wire for the lower bands, affects the resonance on the higher bands lowering the resonance and making the antenna appear longer. My solution for you. Build one or more water proof match boxes that live at the base of the antenna and are optimised for a couple of bands. Make them out of fixed capacitors and coils. Swap them out as you need. Have one for say 80 & 40 but it may be a bit ordinary on 20m, that’s ok, maybe have a tap on the coil to make 20m work and another tap for 80m CW Make a second that does 20, 15 and 10 really well but you may find it ordinary on 40 and unusable on 80 As for the WARC bands, you could tune them too with some more match circuitry. Doesn’t need to be adjustable as once you know the values you need, it should be fine, unless the box fills with water. I use banana plugs into binding posts to connect my antennas to my match boxes. BNC for the coax. Makes it simple to swap out. Plastic bag over the unit keeps it all waterproof Just an idea.

Thank you Chris. Is not a bad idea. I do have a problem as the way I have to install the antenna here ( due to the position of the house etc ), the only way I can do it is from the attic. So the bad part is that every time I would want to change bands I must go up in the attic. I already had enough of that lately after experimenting with this one making adjustments hahaha. I am feeling old now 😅. Your solution though is good as is more "personalized" for each band so I believe the efficiency would be better too. I did noted the detail about the length vs hight as I didn't know exactly how that works. So is good to finally understand the effect of the hight of the antenna. Thank you so much for this. 73, YO6DXE.

@@dxexplorer it’s such a black art, antennas. Everything affects everything else. I guess you could figure out what you need to make each man’s work and relay switch it. Not so much an auto tuner, just a remote tuner / match. George VK2AOE (above) and I have been talking for over 12 months about doing some antenna experiments in the field and measuring what happens when we change just one thing. As for me, my time on the air, with a tiny tiny back yard, much smaller than George’s with room for verticals and mag loops, I’ve found that trying to cover more than an octave of spectrum, eg 3.5-7 or 14-28, isn’t always achievable as once you get over that, you’re running into compromises with either take off angle or lobes in the case of a vertical, or, in the case of a mag loop, significant drops in efficiency as you go below half your top frequency I’m going to take, what I have dubbed, the Back Yard Banger 20/40m vertical and see if we can recreate it at George’s home QTH. There is a video on his channel where we hook mine up on a tripod at his place, and make a few QSOs, drink wine and enjoy the hobby of ham radio Not a bad night on 20m with just 20W I don’t think we had 40m running on it. Keep playing. And watch the “yellow peril” insulation batts in your attic of your have them :-) Talk soon. And get into the CW as soon as you can. It will make QRP so much more rewarding. Trust me on that :-)

O really must get into CW as I find it to be much more fun than anything else. Plus that my dream of making QSO's with crazy simple transceivers or transmitters will finally come true hehehe. This week I will make some time and experiment a bit more with the antenna and see where I get. I either get it perfect as I wanted to be... or have no choices and do compromoses but remain with the comfort of having one antenna for a lot of bands... but not perfect so I will need the ATU at the end. We will see. After that I want to start working on a vertical for 20m for portable work... and another 8010 I stalled as inverted V also for portable. Slow and steady... getting ready for the summer and some SOTA fun )). 73