Your First Antenna - The Inverted V Dipole

Your First Antenna - The Inverted V Dipole | Ham Radio Basics

Рет қаралды 20,078

2 жыл бұрын

Usually the go-to first antenna for HF is the inverted V dipole. What is it and what are some tips on installing such an antenna? Ham Radio Basics helping you further your journey in amateur radio!
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Пікірлер: 32

@thequarantinecatholic Жыл бұрын

This evening just made and launched my first inverted V and it was a blast plugging it into SDRuno. I was shocked I could hear Boston on 17m band! I could hear CW, shortwave radio stations. It was a rope up a tree. Thank you for your video!

@HamRadioDX Жыл бұрын

No worries!

@ThaVoodoo1 2 жыл бұрын

It's my first antenna and I still use it today. This antenna works well at 40ft or higher at the center. Thick solid wire is the way to go for the dipoles, and the use of ladder line works well with this antenna.

@radioguy19510 2 жыл бұрын

The legs on an inverted Vee should be spaced form 90 to 120 degrees for best operation. A doublet is generally a horizontal antenna fed with ladder line and tuned with a match box. Unlike a dipole which is a horizontal antenna fed with coax cable (usually 50 Ohm but you can also use 75 Ohm).

@lephotographinc 2 жыл бұрын

What a coincidence.. just set up an inverted V ( DOUBLE BAZOOKA for 40 meters) and I am blown away by the results . I do a lot of QRP work and I was able to work COOK island on 15 meters running 10 watts a week ago. 73s from PASCAL W5ZM.

@HamRadioDX 2 жыл бұрын

Nice work Pascal! Good to hear it is working well. 73

@randlecarr3257 Жыл бұрын

I second the recommendation of “just throw a wire in a tree and go”. I’ve spent a ton of money on pro antennas but now I realize how simple it is if you keep the resonant lengths in mind. Tuner helps, but seriously just go for it!

@kevinkc3onohelijeepworld953 2 жыл бұрын

Feed that dipole with balance feed wire I prefer 12awg thhn coated solid core copper wire and use electric fence ribbed isolators as 4” spacers and 13” uv resistant wire ties to hold both wires on the isolators to make your own feed line attached to the dipole elements at the Cntr and attach to the balance studs on your tuner and 97% of your 100watts will be transmitted into the ionosphere and received by all ☺️

@dandypoint 2 жыл бұрын

Good info. You might say any “half wave dipole” can be installed flat ( completely horizontal) but depending on the supports or other considerations it can be supported with one support (tree) holding up the center (inverted V) or with one support holding up only one end and the antenna sloping downward. It can also be installed completely vertical. They all work pretty good. You will find that the ones with the highest feedpoint tend to be the best. Essentially the center third of the dipole has high current and radiates the most. The completely vertical dipole will be the worst radiator EXCEPT if over salt water and if the more horizontal configurations are very low in terms of wavelength then the vertical will probably be better for long distances (DX). Always think in terms of wavelength for height. 60 feet is low on 80, high on 40, very high on 20 etc.

@Th3Mafia Жыл бұрын

cool dialog you two have! nice chat to listen to! thanks

@HamRadioDX Жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

@fm71450 8 ай бұрын

As always, thank you for another worthwhile video. From north of the equator, I have two thoughts. The videos I have seen are about 1/2 split between running a 1:1 balun on an inverted “V” or not. The balun adds weight and cost, but, until today I have not tried my wire antenna without it. On a “flat” dipole, with expected impedance mismatch, would the balun at the center remove or mitigate the impedance mismatch? Anyway, I am off to experiment more as I am very new to ham radio, and enjoying it immensely.

@DK5ONV 2 жыл бұрын

Hayden is a genius - no shit 👍

@AliReza-zx8km 2 жыл бұрын

Nice.................................

@warren7665 2 жыл бұрын

Glad you’re doing more with TO Hayden. You’re picking up his accent on the toooner. 🤣 Stick with the good old Aussie Chewna. They work better. 👍

@HamRadioDX 2 жыл бұрын

I didn't even realize I said tooner 🤣🤣 TO and I have lots planned for the future very shortly

@DonzLockz 2 жыл бұрын

That looks simple and cheap. When I get legal, I can make one of these. :)

@HamRadioDX 2 жыл бұрын

Great starter antenna for sure

@mrtechie6810 6 ай бұрын

ZS6BKW -- what would happen if you changed the driven element from a dipole into a closed loop (quad/diamond/rhombic)?

@RobertLeeAtYT Жыл бұрын

So, on that inverted V, I've two suggestions to make life even simpler. 1. Don't feed it at the center; feed it at either end of the wire. It's the same length of wire; it's the same antenna performance but much easier logistics. You'll need a matching transformer, a 49:1 unun. That's the connection point for the coax, and it can be at ground height. 2. Because you're no longer having to support 30 feet of heavy coax at the center, you can now use much lighter support. A Jackite 30 ft telescoping fiberglass pole works fine. Even a lightweight crappie fishing pole works.

@forgetyourlife 9 ай бұрын

This is incorrect. While easier to set up it comes at a price. The 49:1 is not as efficient and center fed dipole. You also now have an unbalanced antenna. A center fed dipole is balanced and a lot quieter.

@RobertLeeAtYT 9 ай бұрын

@@forgetyourlife Yes, there is transformer loss. The amount of loss depends a lot on transformer construction, shape and toroid material. It's not atypical to see about half the power dissipated as heat in commercial products. Sounds bad, but it's just about 3dB. Note, you'll likewise incur some loss in the balun for a dipole as well. There's no free lunch.

@forgetyourlife 9 ай бұрын

@@RobertLeeAtYT I agree however that 3db can be everything at qrp level or when noise floor sucks on both sides. No free lunch indeed. I just think when you can put up a dipole you probably should. Efhw’s are great but it’s my last option when others are available.

@PhilBoulding Жыл бұрын

Nice video guys. You may remember .... Choosing aerials are a confusing nightmare :-( Vertical pole/Inverted V) and so on. Only just staring my adventure despite being an ex Royal Navy Radio operator (half a life time ago) and at 63 I'm taking my UK Radio Ham Foundation exam online. Hmmmmm then it's which radio, what aerial and so on. Perhaps I could ask a question of others that have gone before :-) Maybe I'm like everyone and want everything all at once lol. By that I mean. I'd like a receiver that can do as many bands as possible (presumably HF/VHF and UHF) and the best affordable aerial that would allow reception - but that's not the size of a car on my roof, or crazy long/mad high in the air. Any thoughts/ridicules/advice would be really well appreciated (if you have the time or the inclination) thank you from the other side of the planet. 73.

@HamRadioDX Жыл бұрын

Hey Phil, Good luck on your Foundation exam, I’m sure you’ll pass with flying colours. As for radios - sounds like you want a “shack in a box”. Something like a Yaesu FT-991A, or a IC-7100 or something, just keep a lookout on the used market for “HF-VHF-UHF” radios. Most of them will be going for a reasonable price. As for antennas - your VHF/UHF antenna can be fairly simple, something like a Diamond X-30 or X-50 vertical. For HF, try starting with a simple dipole for one band, or try an end fed half wave if you want multi bands - also depends how much room you have too.

@PhilBoulding Жыл бұрын

@Ham Radio DX Thanks so much h for your kind wishes and thoughts about equipment. I passed:-) Just waiting for my license and then can select my callsign :-) I'll check out your advice now.