Do I need to Aim a Dipole? (

Danny, K5STY, wants to know if he should aim his dipole in a particular direction for the best signal and coverage.
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[@cherriemckinstry131]

I miss my jam radio husband. He was such an honest and sharing guy with his knowledge..

[@douglaswilliams6834]

@Cherrie Mckinstry He is smiling right now at your "jam radio" comment, I guarantee. :-)

[@beansmalone1305]

I love when I do a search here on KZbin and one of your videos show up because I know I'll get a quick well explained answer. I hope that you realize how many new hams you help out. Even though you put cape cod (where I live) in the ocean. lol

[@kristinabliss]

"Us poor Earthlings..." Haha :D

[@arizonareport]

Thank you for creating an incredible library of detailed videos for current and future hams.

[@davecasler]

Thank you for your financial support of this channel! It is greatly appreciated! 73, Dave, KE0OG.

[@Cwbierwirth12]

Great explanation. I'm about to throw up a fan dipole myself so this definitely helps manage my expectations!

[@thomaskilburn3111]

I have a home brew in mag loop. For a apartment it works pretty good.

[@8thspirit]

God bless you for knowledge you sharing with us. Not many ppl like you around. Every piece of content is priceless. 73

[@jameski5oeb668]

Thank you Dave!

[@sphexes]

Love you Dave! I'm always learning from you. I subscribed years ago

[@RoyGNH]

Great video - answered my question! I’m in NE and can only setup my off center fed dipole east to west and was concerned I could not make contacts to Europe. Thanks! Subscribed!

[@davecasler]

Glad it helped!

[@MrButterpantz]

Had no idea. Thanks for this Dave

[@ddaddybass]

Great video as usual. Thanks Dave

[@KCBarrett]

Great video, Dave.

[@martinturton3374]

You info was well understood. Today I understand everything I need to know of a diapole. Many thanks. Building my very own from scratch.

[@paulmorrow8228]

David I watch all your videos and I think they are awesome training material. I recently built a 10 m inverted V dipole I had it in a tree in the backyard but I decided to put it up in the attic to get more of a wavelength or at least a partial wavelength higher. However this has had mixed results I'm planning on getting a 25 ft retractable flagpole due to lightning hitting my house earlier in the year. This video solidified which way most of the radiation is going when I key up the mic. Thank you and I will be sharing your KZbin channel

[@rodneyetownsend]

Man... K5STY is such a rookie. Kidding... solid dude... and my neighbor. 😀 N3ROD

[@ReedAB8AS]

Good Info Dave. Thanks & 73

[@Shasari]

Thank you, this answers what I've been wondering about my homebrew buddipole, and what I've experienced for signal propagation. It's set up for portable operation on a 14' painters pole mast, so it is fairly close to ground. It does well from San Ramon CA reaching up into AK, WA, OR, and south to SoCal, AZ. However I've also been able to reach Japan on 20 meters which I believe if my compass bearings are right, NW from my QTH, as well as the big island of Hawaii, and east as far as VT/NH/MA/ME. Haven't hit FL yet, but trying. Only running 100W as I live in an apartment complex and trying not to interfere with any of my neighbors.

[@jeepdog]

Thanks Dave

[@vu2kocomprakash328]

Very good information sir I am using inverted V from last 40 years on 40 MTR

[@jimsmith1166]

Thanks for another wonderful explanation Dave. I have that exact antenna up 30 ft running in a NE-SW configuration. On 80m I find the propagation off the end of the antenna to be slightly better than perpendicular! I work Alberta stations better than BC stations from my location just north of the Idaho border. I always wondered why. Now I know.

[@Siskiyous6]

My Doublet has over 40 feet height between 2 supports, but due to power lines they can only be about 50 feet apart, from there both ends drop ans one end goes south and the other north. No matter how compromised that makes it, it is the most antenna I can put here. It took a while to figure it out, and you were a big help in the design. Thank You Dave, Running E/W in Southern Oregon I hear all three Coastal States well. WS7PB

[@Linas_LY2H]

100% agree! Especially as it comes to OCF dipoles. I used to have one called "Carolina Windom" for some 4 years in a row with great success. I was mainly working low power PSK31 at that time and was getting equally good reports from all directions. The long leg (27m) of this OCF was stretching almost horizontally above the roof of the condominium house at abt 7m above the roof, the short leg (13m) was sloping down at 45 degree. Actually, I had a very good low angle radiation too due to specific feature of "Carolina Windom" - the 7m of the feeding cable was used as a vertical radiator ( due to natural imbalance of the OCF there is a radiation from the cable shield, normally a very bad thing!) with powerfull RF choke below that point. ( The 6:1 balun at the feedpoint is used to transform impedance only and doesn't stop the RF on the cable issue). It was many years ago, but now, after watching your video Dave, I am about to dig in my junk box for this old OCF and make the field test anew, installed Inv V on the pole some 10m above the ground. Thanks and 73! Linas LY2H

[@Roadglide59]

This video answered all the questions that I've been searching for. I'm in the process of erecting a couple of poles to support a Buckmaster 3k OCF 80-6 3K Dipole. I'm in the desert and have no trees. My problem is putting up poles tall enough to get the balun 30ft off the ground between two poles. Piping that I keep trying bends as I'm walking it up. (guess I need friends to pull the guy wires to keep it from flexing). Part of this will straddle a 6ft chain link fence, so I'm determined to get it as high as possible. This is just a test, as I'm moving to the Philippines soon and want to take what I know will work, and leave the rest behind. Thanks for the great videos, you've been a blessing. Jim K6TEX 73

[@robertbeda959]

Very informative. Good tip about deer. Never considered those guys.

[@timmack2415]

I have two 80 meter dipoles, one run North-South, the other run East-West. On some signals it really doesn't make any difference, on others it's dramatic, occasionally, like 3+ S-units dramatic!!

[@Mottersmotters]

Great video. Not sure when or if I will ever get to use a inverted vee antenna as I only have uhf vhf and dmr. However really good information Motters M7TRS 🇬🇧 73

[@lorensteele2962]

Ive got a end fed half wave dipole sloping from ~ 50ft to ~ 24 ft pointed east in san francisco. Im getting most signals from washington, oregon, california, nevada, arizona, mexico- also get a few longer distance signals from tennessee (believe this operator was using 1kw amp)

[@nivid01]

Mate I had no idea how you had your dipole orientated with the drawings you did. You needed to give us novices a more realistic sketch of the dipole antenna itself and then show the radiation patterns.

[@dandypoint]

All my dipoles are at about 50 feet give or take some. After being a ham for many many years I have settled on half wave dipoles being the best antennas for my contesting and DX ing on 40 through 10 meters. 160 and 80 is a different story. On 40 I work easily in all directions. On 10 my dipole has a pronounced null directly off the ends. As you raise a dipole from fairly low ( under 1/2 wave or 50 feet on 40) to high ( 3 waves or 50 feet on 10) the null off the end becomes significant. I only notice it directly off the end. I put up a second 10 meter dipole and it made a big difference in the 10 meter contest. I use the 10 meter beacons and the RBN to compare antennas.

[@davidw3260]

The question was specific to an 80 meter OCF which does not have a standard dipole radiation pattern on 20 meters. There are multiple lobes, so the directionality may be more pronounced.

[@Soupie62]

Yes, the height over ground makes a difference. So does a metal mast, or a nearby shack.

[@jeffallen6459]

Great video Dave. I had always thought a horizontal dipole doesn’t become directional until it is a 1/2 wavelength high. Is that not accurate?

[@knikk77]

Shifting the angle just a little made a big difference for me reaching Europe.

[@cherriemckinstry131]

Lensing effect...interesting

[@paullalli7774]

Depends entirely how high you can get it. At less than a half wavelength it won't be very directional. At less than a half wavelength the typical radiation pattern is more a 'ball' or maybe a long 'oval' sort of thing. Make it 'broadside' to your desired direction. That's a -very-very- sort of directionality(?), but don't count on it.

[@denelson83]

That sounds like the title of a Culture Club song. "Do I need to aim a dipole? Do I need to tune for your reply?"

[@arc-n-spark]

@David Casler i think you got hacked

[@robertanderson6482]

How high should the center mast be for a 100 foot run and keep the ends up 8 feet on an inverted V diapole

[@marcellobrown]

So I live in Texas. Assuming it is best for me to run my dipole North to South then?

[@joecraft4409]

I run my nome brew dipole for 20 & 40 in a north/south direction. The 8010 OCF dipole I run west to east. Both work great. I have made QSO on SSB with a ham in Japan once with the N/S dipole set. You might consider to run 2 dipole antennas, one each direction and have them on an antenna switch, when you want to change between them for maybe a better signal reception direction?

[@DucatiMTS1200]

Is that definitely water in that jar Dave? You seem awful fond of it hi hi - 73 de GI8WFA. A great and useful show as always.

[@mikeramsey9747]

Dave, how would an inverted L with the antenna elevated via a 12 meter spider beam up to 40 feet (South to North) then north toward a tree.

[@tonyharris2582]

Inverted V vs V, wire dipole, is there any difference?….

[@frankc1430]

Would it be wrong to attach an inverted v to the peak of my house and run the v down the roof line? Or should I not have it up against the house.

[@martyglapa359]

Is an inverted V better for DX than a sloper?

[@nativetexan9776]

Does no one calculated 5/8λ antennas any longer? I see calculations for 1/4λ and 1/2λ but I also own a few 5/8λ mobile verticals but never see anyone cut for 5/8λ when building an antenna.

[@davecasler]

They seem to have gone out of style. I still have one. These things come and go.

[@timbookedtwo2375]

Inverted "V": DX or more NVIS?

[@ct7aus]

2:20 "figure-eight" pattern ;)

[@fredshead3956]

only if its horizontal then just in the general direction

[@Caseydog3]

Can I run a separate ground for my antenna without tying it to the utility ground?

[@josephroblesjr.8944]

Yes

[@jameshollen9723]

I live on the eastern part of that "map" you drawn. Center of North Carolina. So if I want to communicate with HF'rs on the east coast, I would place the dipole in a east-to-west setup. Correct?

[@josephroblesjr.8944]

Yes! -Ki5tlz

[@knikk77]

Talking about height... The police were after a drug dealer, the guy ran through my back yard right by a cliff where I had my CB antenna, the radials were at stomach height, the guy ran across one of them, bending it 60 degrees. I wish the radials had stopped him. Hihi! The guy then jumped the chain link fence that rhe antenna was mounted to, jumped into som trees and made his way to the bottom of the cliff and disappeared into the forrest. They did not manage to catch him.

[@davecasler]

Interesting story!

[@jamesmcdonagh2331]

I.m wondering Dave were you educated by Oxford or some American Belguim school if not ..your wife ..sons or daughers if any?