Building the 41 Foot End Fed Antenna

I built a 41 foot end fed antenna for 40 through 10 meters and you can too #hamradioantenna #hamradio #endfedantenna

[@timhybart700]

Walt, your enthusiasm is infectious! Thanks for the ideas and motivation to play around with wires and see how they work. I recently tried your Coastal 20 and my first contact was from my home in Florida to Oregon. Not too shabby. I’m getting ready to give this one a try…

[@HamRadioQso]

I made this end feed. I had to take counterpoise wire off. When I did that I had an swr of 1.003. It’s fantastic for 15 meter. Transformer hung at 25 feet. Antenna end at 28 feet. It’s perfect like that. Just using as a single band for field day

[@timg5tm941]

41 foot - close to a 5/8 on 20m so a nice length. If you make a dipole with 2x41 feet lengths and feed with ladderline to create a doublet, you will have an extended double zepp for 14 mhz with some nice gain over a 1/2 wave dipole. The 41 feet wire is basically the longwire/vertical equivalent. Great video Walt!!

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks Tim!!!

[@captainwyattoutdoors1636]

Excellent. I am a fan of everything Palomar Engineers makes, especially their antennas. Thanks for the homemade demonstration. Always informative!

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks! it was a fun antenna to build and play with.

[@SteveH-TN]

Appreciate the time you took to present all your thoughts and insights on these topics. Thanks for sharing this video. I enjoy watching these videos as you explain and demonstrate . 73 Steve AA4SH, Tennessee

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks so much for the kind words Steve! 73, Walt

[@drivingsouthwest6895]

Been a big fan of the random wire end feds, they work well. I've currently got a 204' horseshoe end fed for NVIS on a 9:1, still testing, and 148' bifilar helical vertical (~30' mast) which works really well for DX (inspired by that helically wound vertical you did a while back). Very cool, thanks for the content!

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks for sharing, I was actually thinking about doing something like that helical again.

[@Keith_WB2VUO]

When I first got on the air in 1966, several members of the local radio club ran 42-foot verticals as a 5/8-wave vertical for 20 meters. Groundkng/counterpoise was anywhere from a ground rod up to 24 17-foot radials on the ground. Everyone talked up getting our General so we could join them om 20 meters. If they knew how their "single-band" 20 meter DX vertical would morph into the universally used 41-foot vertical or wire, they would have choked. I can hear the Old Timers's telling me that it will "NEVER WORK!". Well, somehow I became an Old Timer, and I beg to differ. Yes, it works, and works very well. The other variant I personally run with is a 29-foot vertical wire on mt 10 meter mast, using a single 13-foot counterpoise and a 9:1 Unun. I mount it behind the car for POTA & Field Day, and it plays very well on 40 M - 15 M and gets out on 10 meters, too! Gooch's Principle says, "RF Gotta Go Somewhere..." but a good launcher really helps, no? De WB2VUO here near Buffalo, NY

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Haha I love Gooch’s principle! Thanks for the great reply! 73 de K4OGO

[@user-ro3mn5eb9d]

Great Vid. some though for your viewers : if you're into portable or emcoms its wise to have an antenna that can transmit throughout the entire HF spectrum (it can save your life/or others) thus a 49:1 end fed halfwave is an inferior antenna, the loss of a 49:1 unun is also more than the compromise 9:1 random end fed in which can operate the entire HF spectrum. HAMs get stuck in the box and always see wat others do and do......... now you're going to tell me a 9:1 efrw needs a tuner..... well try this for emcom/portable /NVIS : (9:1 unun - 27meter radiator+ 470Ω resistor + trailing 15m ''radiating counterpoise'' and 9m grounded counterpoise at the unun ONLY! ) that's how most militaries rock HF portable decades now, before the digital era where HAMs re-emerged the End fed. don't get stuck wondering about the losses on the resistor. this is the ultimate End fed do all /NVIS, etc. bottom line for my 30 yrs experience: the 9:1 ratio rules ! and if you have a tune.... bypass the resistor if you need so, elevate accordingly and you have a formidable DX antenna as well. so my conclusion on your video is that if for whatever reason you needed a shorter radiator to get out on the bands, for stealth, or to do vertical polarization on the higher HF spectrum for long reach like Poland to US,,,, you did great! thanks for your vids. 73 from SV1land....

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@BenTrem42]

BK BK before I watch: A) the idea of an antenna that is equally //not// resonant on ham bands. /*blink*/ That got my attention! B) the use of counterpoise ... if I hang a length vertically? my fast/quick/homely Field Day setup for 20m was what I called "Open Quad". 1/2 horizontally from feedpoint, with 1/4 down from the far end. Balanced with 1/4 straight down from feedpoint. (Choke as desired.) 73

[@JeffCowan]

I use this a lot for SOTA. Compact, multi-band and easy to put up in a sloper configuration with a mast or using a tree branch and throw line. You really do need a tuner. The x6100 tuner handles it fine, as does the Elecraft. LDG should work fine too.

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Cool! Thanks for sharing Jeff

[@hobbiehobbs]

Big fan of your channel Walt. I like building and testing antennas also. What I and others will find helpful is if you can compare the handmade antennas to a dipole, the important comparison is the receive signal of the antennas we build. Great job. Keep it going

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks so much! I’ll try that if possible

[@jaymartin7391]

Great video Walt! Always informative.

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thank you very much Jay!

[@ve2zdx]

QRP Guys sell amazing kits! Cheap, easy to build, good swr and perform well. With a qrpguys efhw and a xiegu x5105 I have worked 68 countries in 2 months. I wouldn’t say it’s because it’s a Qrpguys antenna that I got those, but the fact that you can easily tune the antenna to a flat swr helps a lot! Great video, 73!

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks Andre!

[@otrdriver6767]

That was a good video thank you very much. Your time is appreciated.

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thank you!

[@MikeN2MAK]

There's so many great options you can do with the LDG 1:1, 9:1 and 4:1. And it's always good to have options when portable.

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Absolutely! I've got then all. They are great.

[@WECB640]

Walt, thank you for experimenting with this antenna and sharing your findings. I see it not as a 41 foot antenna, but as a 58 foot OCF. This is because the counterpoise is above ground and therefore actually radiates. If the counterpoise were laid on the ground and the 41 foot part were vertical, it would be a completely different animal. (it would then be similar to Tom's ZeroFive vertical) I have modeled the antenna as shown in the video with MMANA and I get an ugly pattern. That said, any amateur should use whatever means are available and if the wire available are around these lengths, then that's what will put us on the air. A small L or Pi tuner and some assored UNUN's and chokes are always good to have in the "go bag". Keep up the great work. Hope to hear you on the air again soon. 73 OM

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks so much, yes that’s interesting and you’re right about the OCF concept. Hope to catch you soon my friend, seems that most of my USA contacts have been into New England with a vertical, I’m leaning towards putting one back up here in Poland for a while. 73 my friend!

[@paulsengupta971]

Yep, I came down here to say that. It seems like it's an off-centre fed dipole, pretty much resonant on 40, 20 and 10.

[@airheadzradioadventures]

Another great video, as always!

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thank you so much!

[@jackzweifler5696]

Hi again 😊 , I am running 23 meters Multiband End fed in my IC 7300 and it's amazing !!! Love your videos - Jack SP6KE

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thank you Jack!

[@N1IA-4]

It's always a good idea to gain experience making your own antennas. I've done it both ways with wires, and find it may be cheaper just building it yourself, depending on what's in your junkbox. In some use cases, it may be best to buy it pre-made. Parts add up, so using ingenuity can save money. For example, using PVC joints as a center insulator, or speaker wire for the antenna itself. I prefer solid wire from Amazon, 16 gauge...but everyone is different.

[@K3JRZOnTheAir]

Awesome work Walt! Was just down in VAB this past weekend and on the air a few times. 73!

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks! I'm looking forward to getting back to Virginia Beach!

[@kennethblackwell1137]

More fun playing with wires. Well done. Thanks,Walt 😁😁😁😁😁

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks! I'm having fun. 73 my friend.

[@Stingmni]

Looks like something to go with the X90. I have my eyes on one, Thanks you for your very useful antenna videos. Hope to work your station sometime.

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks Billy! I'll catch you on the bands!

[@jamesmoore6424]

Love your videos and the fact that due to your work you use a lot of qrp things. When I had my technicians call sign before I had hf privileges my call was ZL1WOT (1 watt). My call now is ZL1JYM. But due to my health I am not too active right now. I have both these antennas. And I love making them. I have an issue around the efhw being better than the 9:1. Yes but only on the bands it is tuned to. I used to use the bullet 9:1 for going portable (camping trips etc.) What I haven't done is cut a 49:1 and a 9:1 with similar radiating elements (length for the simple folk like me) and compared them. (Content idea as I lay in bed wishing I could try it myself😂)

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks James! Prayers that your health gets better. Trying similar elements on those two ununs would be an interesting experiment. All the best and 73, Walt K4OGO

[@johnkaelberer237]

Hey Walt, another great video ! I just put up a 9-1 random wire today for NVIS. A little different than what you are doing with a different purpose. I used a 240-43 toroid, instead of a T-200 as I find it plays better on the lower bands (and not a much on the higher bands). I have 95' to play with. A full size dipole was not in the cards and I didn't want to use a dipole with coils. I ended up using a 88.5 ' wire. I have yet to run the coax to the shack, but did hook up a length of coax and found 1.3 to 1.1 from 3.7 to 4 .0 Mhz. 40 meters was about 1.7 SWR. By the time I got up to 10 meters, SWR was about 3 to 1 (Which is about what I figured it would be). Once I get the coax in place, I'll mess with a counterpoise and fine tune the antenna wire length. Keep building antennas, it really helps others do the same. 73

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks John! interesting, thanks for sharing.

[@user-ro3mn5eb9d]

t-200-2s are known to work well from 500khz to 10mhz max , FT240-43s are known to work the same or better but linear and smooth up to 50mhz- type 43 material is far superior to others in the HF spectrum. Note: red toroids are never used for rf suppression/chokes, etc. so never use one in such a case. also note that though they both are rated well over 100w SSB PEP. in actuality for full continuous cycle digital modes they can handle WITH LOW SWR about 50-70w for about 30min. before getting hot and you start getting an swr increase. the same goes for the ft-140-43 , though the ft240-43 with thick wires (1.5mm) will give you a better outcome but please note that in 9:1 unun cases for lower band work 7turns are better that 6 or 9. thus a 7 turn 9:1 unun is great for efrw NVIS work.

[@davem0udb]

I’ve used the 29’ version with 10 4m radials, worked aswell as my 4010 efhw, good video

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks Dave!

[@richardwatsonjr.5067]

My 71 ft 9:1 gives my EFHW 80 to 10 a run for the money. Can't quite understand it but its6gun too experiment. 9:1 long wire is quieter too; also makes a good SDR HF receiver antenna.

[@darrellrice2327]

My portable QRP antenna is a Nelson Antenna 9:1 with a 41’ radiator and a 17’ counterpoise. I’ve had great success with it.

[@darrellrice2327]

All bands 40-10 by the way. 15 gets a little tricky, but it will work.

[@444DG]

​@@darrellrice2327 Nelson's are awesome. I use one with a 71' wire and no counterpoise as my main QTH antenna with my G90. Works great!

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

I have the Nelson as well, it's a great unun!

[@michaelpriest6242]

Your channel and videos keep popping up on my searches; we must have similar interests. 😊 I always enjoy your content and presentations. Thank you and you have earned another subscriber.

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks for subscribing! 73, Walt

[@Tommy_Boy.]

Nice work Walt! Great experiment and I think this is a great option for folks with smaller spaces. 👍📻⚡️Cheers! Tom - WA7FLY

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks Tom! I agree on the small space option. Cheers!

[@mattb7406]

Great content!

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thank you Matt!

[@bob_mosavo]

Thanks 😁

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks for watching!

[@GordonHudson]

Very interesting antenna. I used to make off centre fed dipoles. used to break a ferrite rod in half and wind a 4:1 balun using figure of eight speaker cable. If you make a 66 foot one it covers 40/20/15 and 10m. You have encouraged me to try some experimentation next week to find something that works on 40m. I have a 10m fishing pole so I could do a ground mounted vertical. Just the radials that would be difficult. ^GM4SVM

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

I’ve actually made quarterwave vertical for 40 with. 10 meter pole and it was amazing. Thanks for watching! 73 Walt Hudson

[@GordonHudson]

@@COASTALWAVESWIRES I will give it a go. try and get a reasonable number of radials out.

[@windjammer1958]

I have the same set up. LDG 9:1 unun with 41 ft wire and 17 ft counter, I use a Q-beam 12 M mast so I run almost vert, I leave the 17 ft counter coiled and laying on the ground. I can tune 160 threw 10 with a 1:2 SWR on 160, oms are off on 160 haven't try to contact anyone... but 80 M 1:5 SWR using a LDG auto tuner pro 100. scanning the 40 - 10 m band fair SWR with out tuner nothing higher the 3, untuned. and with the tuner, quick tune to 1:1. I don't use a 1:1 choke, I use this in a mobile config, so my coax runs to my trunk mount SO 239 then to the tuner, so the car is acting as a counter poise as well. Nice video, direct and to the point, Thanks,,, de KD0AZG ...

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@keithhawkins4641]

I have a DIY 9to1 unun and 41 foot of wire and it works as well as the end fed halfwave. really high Q but will work 80 mtr.

[@alanthomas8817]

cheers Walt, you have me building and playing antennas lol. 73 G0VSK

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Cheers Alan!

[@RicSpivey]

makes me want to get a choke for my k6ark 9:1 I keep with my x6100! good content walt, thanks!

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks Richard!

[@hamradioqrp-k0klb]

Good calls and experiment. love that radio. gunna have me one someday if it all works out. thx for sharing. k0klb

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

You’re going to enjoy that radio Kevin! 73 my friend!

[@alan4cars]

I still like your coastal vertical! Definitely a fun part of the hobby playing with antennas. 73 WA6MOW

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Yes it is Andy! 73

[@ramonbennett8416]

Awesome job, that may be the answer I was looking for at my place, with my G90. All the best, 73 KN6JHC

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks! All the best, Walt K4OGO

[@dangermandave67]

Yeah, EFHW is more efficient. But if you want the ability to work all of the bands from 20m to 10m, this EFRW works well. I like it for SOTA on days when there's a contest running and I want to work the WARC bands instead of crowded 20/40m. The ATU-100 works pretty well with this antenna and the FX-4C.

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Good info, I actually have an ATU-100 that I plan on using with the FX-4CR. 73 de K4OGO

[@REKlaus]

Some day I want to try a 41' vertical antenna. See a lot of good reports about them.

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Oh now you have me thinking hahaha

[@wa6smn]

I'm going to duplicate your 41 ft config for my G-90 for field use. The 71 ft bullet from Palomar Engineers will go up for the home QTH using an FT-991A from 80m to 6m. The LDG stops at 30 MHz. Adequate for the G-90. Thanks for the antenna videos. Interesting and useful.

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks for watching Mark, good luck with the antenna! All the best and 73, Walt K4OGO

[@PopeyeKF4LBG]

Good video, Walt. Got my G90 for Christmas for portable work. So i have been reviewing your videos to gain from your wisdom and experience. What are your thoughts on the 100w K6ARK EFHW kits for go to kit? Thanks for the great content! Larry...

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Hi Larry! Thanks for watching an the kind words. I haven't used the K6ARK EFHW but have heard great things about it. I think having a good EFHW is essential for a go to kit. I would get it if you're thinking about it. 73, Walt

[@pasjeihobby]

Fire, wheel and EFHW. Humankind best inventions of all time 😁😉

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Hahaha

[@bobr6555]

Hi Walt, love watching your experiments with wire antennas. Just on whether an EFHW would be better, given that the 41ft end-fed will work on 40M, the equivalent EFHW for 40M up would be nearly twice as long! VK4BOB

[@paulsengupta971]

I'm not sure it would be, if you consider this an off-centre fed dipole. With the "counterpoise" there's about 18m of wire in the air, with a little bit of loading in the un-un. An EFHW would be around 20m minus a bit of loading from the transformer. They are pretty much the same half wave antenna (on 40m), just fed in a different place.

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Good point, thanks for commenting!

[@aj2isotadxing]

Here’s something I would love to see a comparison of. a/b, b/a. 41’ 9:1 on 20m, efhw on 20m. Comparing rx and tx, back and forth. At the same time. They say efhw is “more efficient” but how much?

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

I may do that! I agree, It would be interesting.

[@paulsengupta971]

I think you'd get similar results as, with the counterpoise, it's pretty much a half wave antenna, just fed a bit further in (which seems to lose 15m).

[@geirha75]

Thanks for interesting information Walter. Did you try dx with this antenna? Any US QSOs?

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks for watching! I don’t believe I made any USA QSOs with that antenna.

[@timg5tm941]

Next try a Rybakov senior - 53 feet double sized for 20-80!

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

I will look into that Tim.

[@LB0FI]

I can see the windmills!

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Haha, see I told you!

[@AlvinMcManus]

Can you use a 49:1 for a random wire/41' EFHW or is 9:1 what works?

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

absolutely a 9:1 for a 41' wire.

[@brianfields4479]

Hi Walt, nice ant experiment, wonder if you found that ant directional like many have. My friend in France uses one especially for long path to vk/zl with great results. Crazy propagation this week, with skewed paths occurring. 73 my friend. Zl3xdj

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

I need to play with it some more and see. 73 my friend!

[@piotrka4652]

It'll be my next antenna. You can also try to make version with additional 34uH coil. It should improve reception at 40m band.

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Roger that! Thanks for commenting.

[@forgetyourlife]

Did you attempt 80m? How was it?

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

I did not try it on 80. I struggle with that band here in Poland even with a good antenna. Not much in the way of English speaking operators.

[@Philip-KA4KOE]

How does the swr run?

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

I don’t remember exactly, definitely had to use a tuner. I’m thinking it was generally between 2:1 and 2.7:1 as a worse case.

[@KC3UVF]

I figure whatever works. There's always gonna be something "better". Can't let the perfect be the enemy and all that... and this obviously works. I heard F5RAG yesterday afternoon on 20 at one point but he was so low in the weeds I didn't bother keying up.

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Exactly! 73 de K4OGO