Buddipole
I have purchased a Buddipole Deluxe package from Buddipole and I use this for most of my HF operation. This is a very flexible, and can be used as a vertical antenna.
or as a dipole (the usual way) in many different configurations.
I use the TRSB balun to isolate my feedline (RG58) from the antenna, and to provide better matching in the low bands. The long whips give better bandwidth too, so I bought them at the same time and these fit into the standard carry bag.
My tuning guide is below and assumes a TRSB and long whips are being used. “x lw + y cm” means that x long whip sections are fully extended and that y cm of whip are extended (from the last fully extended whip to the end of the red cap). The lower and upper frequencies are where the SWR reaches 1:2 according to my antenna analyser. Tapping is the number of coils in use from the whip end, and since the TRSB is used the tapping is the same for each coil.
Band Config Balun Tapping Min SWR @ Freq Lower Upper
10m SSB 3 lw + 9 cm 1:1 0 1.1 28.78 27.60 30.00
12m 4 lw 1:1 0 1.2 25.03 23.83 26.28
15m 5 lw + 4 cm 2:1 0 1.1 21.32 20.75 21.88
17m 6 lw 2:1 2 1.1 18.22 17.93 18.65
20m 5 lw + 27 cm 4:1 7 1.3 14.24 14.12 14.31
40m 5 lw + 41 cm 4:1 26 1.4 7.06 7.047 7.074
I hope this information is helpful to people.
