Author Topic: Everybody's Dipole is the Best!  (Read 5905 times)

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Freedom Forged

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Everybody's Dipole is the Best!
« on: May 31, 2017, 02:43:23 PM »
I am swimming in a sea of choices when it come to an HF dipole for 15,20,40 and 80 and EVERY manufacture touts theirs as the best one.  It is really hard to narrow it down. It's crazy!  I want a good quality antenna but it's absurd that some wire antennas are $300.00 bucks.
« Last Edit: May 31, 2017, 02:46:38 PM by Freedom Forged »

Flight-ER-Doc

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Re: Everybody's Dipole is the Best!
« Reply #1 on: May 31, 2017, 03:04:27 PM »
A dipole?  Just build one, for around $30...

You need a center connector, two end insulators and sufficient wire.  Back in the day you could buy all this stuff at RadioShack for $10. 


Tempstar

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Re: Everybody's Dipole is the Best!
« Reply #2 on: May 31, 2017, 07:31:20 PM »
Or a G5RV for multiple bands: 102' of wire connected to 32' of ladder line (450 ohm) connected to coax $50
fan dipole with the 4 bands you want $40 to free, depending on your parts box.
"Preparedness is a lot more than just buying stuff"

Tevin

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Re: Everybody's Dipole is the Best!
« Reply #3 on: May 31, 2017, 08:16:07 PM »
A dipole?  Just build one, for around $30...

You need a center connector, two end insulators and sufficient wire.  Back in the day you could buy all this stuff at RadioShack for $10.

This ^^ is the truth.

There are not too many situations where a commercially made dipole is warranted. And yes, I can't believe people spend up to $500 for a dipole. Wow, did I ever go into the wrong profession!

If you must buy a dipole, the Alpha-Delta DX-CC is a good bang for the buck and they sell for about $150.

ghrit

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Re: Everybody's Dipole is the Best!
« Reply #4 on: May 31, 2017, 08:44:04 PM »
"HF dipole for 15,20,40 and 80"

First thing that leaps into my MT head is "fan dipole."  Second is OCF.  Buy or build, it's up to you.  Remember you are trading time to build for convenience with a buy.
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DragoSapien

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Re: Everybody's Dipole is the Best!
« Reply #5 on: June 01, 2017, 07:16:54 PM »
LOL!!!!!!!!  I cant believe people buy them. There to easy to build. Its just a wire, with testing and time it can be tuned to work as good as the so called best.

Lamewolf

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Re: Everybody's Dipole is the Best!
« Reply #6 on: June 02, 2017, 11:33:10 AM »
LOL!!!!!!!!  I cant believe people buy them. There to easy to build. Its just a wire, with testing and time it can be tuned to work as good as the so called best.

Yeah, what's the difference in performance in one built by you for $50 and one you buy for $300 - NOTHING ! :)

Lamewolf

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Re: Everybody's Dipole is the Best!
« Reply #7 on: June 05, 2017, 06:23:24 AM »
Yeah, what's the difference in performance in one built by you for $50 and one you buy for $300 - NOTHING ! :)

But of course they $300 guys rub their dipoles down with special swr grease and use that super duper wire that defies the mystical physical attributes of RF radiation, and uses those nice shiny insulators that helps the antenna float in the wind, and their antenna has 100db of gain - NOT !

spacecase0

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Re: Everybody's Dipole is the Best!
« Reply #8 on: June 05, 2017, 03:07:33 PM »
But of course they $300 guys rub their dipoles down with special swr grease and use that super duper wire that defies the mystical physical attributes of RF radiation, and uses those nice shiny insulators that helps the antenna float in the wind, and their antenna has 100db of gain - NOT !
I bought some of the SWR grease back in the 1980s, it works, but you can't get it anymore...
but more seriously,
the special wire is usually steel wire coated in copper so that it can take higher physical loads without breaking and still conduct well with the copper coating. I have never seen it for sale in any reasonable small amount for just a few antennas
not that I have noticed to much stretching in my copper wire antennas, but I can see why they use the steel core kind

Lamewolf

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Re: Everybody's Dipole is the Best!
« Reply #9 on: June 06, 2017, 12:10:26 PM »
I bought some of the SWR grease back in the 1980s, it works, but you can't get it anymore...
but more seriously,
the special wire is usually steel wire coated in copper so that it can take higher physical loads without breaking and still conduct well with the copper coating. I have never seen it for sale in any reasonable small amount for just a few antennas
not that I have noticed to much stretching in my copper wire antennas, but I can see why they use the steel core kind

Never used anything but #14 insulated THHN from Lowes or Home Depot myself, about $29 for a 500' roll presently !  Never had any stretch problems.

Quiet1

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Re: Everybody's Dipole is the Best!
« Reply #10 on: June 07, 2017, 07:00:54 PM »
the special wire is usually steel wire coated in copper so that it can take higher physical loads without breaking and still conduct well with the copper coating.
Miserable stuff.  It'll coil up, tangle, snarl, kink, and mysteriously develop knots if you turn your back on it.
North of the salt, south of I-10.

Tempstar

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Re: Everybody's Dipole is the Best!
« Reply #11 on: June 07, 2017, 07:47:28 PM »
1/8" stainless cable has been my dipole wire for years. Goes together with crimps, won't stretch, rated for 330#, and stays mostly shiny even here on the coast.
"Preparedness is a lot more than just buying stuff"

spacecase0

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Re: Everybody's Dipole is the Best!
« Reply #12 on: July 02, 2017, 01:29:28 AM »
I just put up a dipole antenna for 40M,
used plane copper wire and a bauln that I got years ago
ceramic insulators on each end. trees are my posts on each side
used 550 cord to go from the insulators to make the distance to get to the trees
center post is the remains of a tree that had died that I cut fairly tall in order to use it as an antenna post
ground rod in the center as part of the lightning protection
it works.

I did it to replace a vertical antenna
the vertical made my inside lights flash when I talked, also tripped my GFI circuits
and did so when transmitting outside and in no way connected to the house
the dipole works perfect with no bad effects at all
it was this thread that got me to bother to put it up,
so thank you for the motivation to do it

Flight-ER-Doc

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Re: Everybody's Dipole is the Best!
« Reply #13 on: July 02, 2017, 10:11:53 AM »
1/8" stainless cable has been my dipole wire for years. Goes together with crimps, won't stretch, rated for 330#, and stays mostly shiny even here on the coast.

I also use WD-1/TT military field phone wire....works well enough, and is strong and lightweight for portable ops.  Best of all, it doesn't kink too easily