HF Antenna - Your Best Choice

One of the biggest decisions in HF Ham Radio is the choice of the antenna. For some with large gardens, the decision is perhaps not too difficult. But, if you have a smaller garden or back yard, the choice is somewhat. or of a problem. Peter G3OJV, gives some guidelines that hopefully will help you with your decision.
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[@JH-jp9sv]

Your best choice is the one you can put up and use. The Sloper, Inverted-V, EFHW, G5RV, Doublet, Random wire, Beverage, Snake in the Grass, Mag-Loop and so many more all have their place. It's the one you can get on the air best that makes it best fit for purpose.

[@JH-jp9sv]

I made the parent comment whilst waiting for your video. I have to say after watching it you are entirely correct. Horses for courses and put up what you can test it and then work it.

[@brian.7966]

it might be best for you yes, its what you can put up@goinghomesomeday1

[@radiotests]

This 😮

[@radiotests]

I consider the Rothammel's Antenna book from DARC the best amateur radio reference. I do wish you and other helpful gentlemen would avoid these highly divisive counter videos at each other. The DX Commander isnt the best for most situations butvin conjunction it would excellent in the CLEAR free of structures like the virtual faraday cage of buildings. Even live trees will affect both near field and far field developments. Brewster and takeoff angles diminish in the face of creating signals that make it through the D layer to propogate. I deeply appreciate the work of UK urban amateurs to make use of many compromise antennas. Its why the magloop is almost universally been developed by UK hams to great effect. Next to the is a full wave loop vertical or horizontal with a parasitic element according to Cebik's research to boost that take off angle from NVIS to regional at lower bands. A dipole is best used at half wave above ground ruling out most bands below 20 meters for backyard or multiunit hams. You fellas, Callum, and any vendor must adhere to the highest standards of camaraderie expected for this hobby. To do less or even cast aspersions is detrimental to all of our experience and lets face it, the hams on higher ground make sales contacts and those otherwise will be censured. 73 Craig

[@buddhistsympathizer1136]

Piece of wet string . . .

[@VK5KU]

Don’t forget ‘Rothammels Antenna Book’ which is a German antenna book in its at least 13th edition. :-) As always Peter, best wishes from Australia. 73 de Kevin, VK4KK

[@watersstanton]

Hi Kevin, thanks for thar reminder from “down under.” Always great to hear from you. 73 Peter.

[@73deoldtimer]

Thank you Peter, really enjoyed the presentation. My best aerial all rounder a 132 foot centre fed open wire doublet, cost a few pence and loads up on all bands easily, only 30 feet above the ground. Worked through a pile up on 40 metres recently with just 100 Watts and FTDX10. I still have my 50 + year old Hy Gain 14AVQ, and notice they are still being sold in '24 ! It worked OK in a QTH with no garden space for horizontals, as you say its' horses for courses' .

[@watersstanton]

Thanks for sharing.

[@kevinnicholls1017]

Thanks for another great video full of common sense Peter. It's so easy to get fixated on needing the best. It's nice to improve our stations, but managing to speak with you on my Rooster and a simple wire antenna earlier in the week made my day. Good enough is often good enough.

[@watersstanton]

Thanks for sharing. 73 Peter

[@Steven.Cartwright]

Good video . I find it hard to just accept what the neighbours won't moan about and having to downgrade antennas . That's what I've had to do .

[@brianfields4479]

I've never done that, if iam within the law, I enjoy my hobby to the full, and the neighbors do with their noisy car hobby, no love lost there, but I don't compromise if iam legal.

[@-Mark_F]

Very nice philosophy on what works best for you.

[@rowdyron4111]

Brilliant presentation. Thank you.

[@watersstanton]

Many thanks.

[@cWatts-zv3oo]

Great info! Thanks for what you do!

[@watersstanton]

My pleasure!

[@alandrury9955]

Another great video, nice to hear somebody talking sense

[@watersstanton]

Much appreciated

[@Captcasper7]

Great advice thank you Peter

[@watersstanton]

Very welcome

[@kumasu]

I find great success with my British-made DX Commander Rapide. Also, Peter, if you've never been a classroom teacher, you may have missed your calling.

[@watersstanton]

A bit late now!

[@smfridley2460]

As usual Peter, you deliver wonderful pragmatism where it’s needed, antennas! As for me, I’m DONE with “antenna anxiety” and look at my antenna situation as a fun challenge. Also, getting out of the home shack and going portable at your favorite location is a refreshing change!

[@watersstanton]

Many thanks.

[@harveypiper3268]

Great video Peter! Since 1962, I have loved doing antennas, especially wire and vertical types. turns out I have come to similar conclusions regarding performance. It is easy to get hung up on "details" and perceived expectations resulting from theory... But the best antenna is the one that will fit into your environment concerning your yards/garden's ability and HOA requirements. Just do what you can do to get on the air and have fun!

[@watersstanton]

Thanks for sharing

[@leightonlewis4954]

Your the Superman of Amateur Radio, I really love your sensible Videos 👍👍👍😃

[@watersstanton]

Wow, thanks

[@donalfinn4205]

The Waters and Stanton site is brilliant. Antennas antennas antennas!

[@philipdoherty2072]

great,love the stories.

[@watersstanton]

Glad you like them!

[@g0fvt]

Every antenna is a different experience, I miss my cloud-warming inverted V for 40m, with half wave reflectors along the fences it was spectacular for inter G and near Europe. I miss my inverted L for 160m too, the great thing about the wire antennas is that it is not a lot of work or expense to recreate them. 73

[@watersstanton]

Thanks for sharing.

[@prijonrider4521]

Thank you very much for this excellent Video, you have nailed it. 73 de Martin

[@watersstanton]

Many thanks!

[@w8lvradio]

As my Professor told me: EVERYTHING in engineering is a compromise between three things, and ONLY these three things: Time, Space, and Money. Antennas are no different. And so it goes with the back garden planning. I think that the inverted vee is underrated: Here is an antenna with only one mast required, a bit of N IS and low angle, and if you move the legs around or "double slope" them a bit, some directivity. I hope that you might do a video on that.. And As a side note: I can't help but notice what excellent gardeners the Brits are, and I wonder how this came to be? I recall the Mr. Digwell comic strip (that I saw in the Canadian newspapers) as a kid. All the Best! 73 DE W8LV (W8LV/VE3 pre pandemic) BILL

[@watersstanton]

Many thanks Bill. We have some nice woodlands near us that are protected. 73 Peter.

[@julianrobertson3303]

I use 11 meters , I've found the 9ft stainless steel vertical whip antenna with a mirror mount with 4 5ft ground planes work very well with a swr of 1.2 , I live in central Brighton & it's very difficult to place an antenna on a first floor flat , especially living in a grade 2 listed building . The 9 ft whip antenna is attached to my balcony railing & the amazing aspect of it is the antenna is hardly noticeable from the street due to the whip being so thin. The most disappointing of all is that there was no information online about this antenna method , it was something that I had to find out for myself .

[@hallen4094]

Excellent food for thought.... made me think I need a vertical as a permanent go to antenna for when I just want to spontaneously get on air for an hour. Because when it comes to verticals I don't have one up permanently. I will confess to being something of an experimenter with wire antennas so switch from mono band resinant dipoles to EFHW for multi band or to try out baluns etc..... but a vertical installed ready to go any time unobtrusively could be ideal..... thanks for 'opening my mind' a little. Much appreciated 73's

[@watersstanton]

Thanks for sharing . 73 Peter.

[@andyM7XTT]

Hi peter,thanks again 4 all your worki have a very small garden 40ftx26ft but running a 5btv,40-10m efhw and a cobweb.the cobweb is by far the less noisiest of all and definately works the best out of all 3

[@watersstanton]

Interesting to hear. Many thanks.

[@radiotests]

As expected, the loop style, folded, even vertical has the best side rejection and transmitting gain over many other antennas. The ubiquitous dipole will however reign king forever as the most simple and effective for most operators. Myself I use inverted L and Vertical loops with ground parasitic elements.

[@AmericanConstellation]

I'm in Clearwater, FL. I use a full size G5RV. I'm very pleased with it.

[@watersstanton]

You and many others !

[@brianfields4479]

Great video peter. For me personally over many years of testing ants here, i use a vertical for tx and a dipole up 4m high for rx, with a auto tx/rx switch. Both are in a wee tree/ bush area, so not seen really, but has no ill affect from being near foliage. 73 zl3xdj

[@watersstanton]

Hi Brian nice to hear from you. When we work each other on 40m I am amazed that my dipole at 25ft always has the edge on my vertical. At the end of the day we hams use what works for us. 73 Peter.

[@brianspilsbury8953]

went I turn on KZbin, I always check your channel first

[@watersstanton]

Much appreciated.

[@truhartwood3170]

This question isn't always being asked by a person with a small garden and a small budget trying to DX or rack up QSOs. I think it would be better to answer it by just going over each antenna's strengths and weaknesses. In gear reviews they usually give a score for each category (weight, size, comfort, portability, durability, cost, waterproofness, etc and they'll get a score out of ten for each category) and I think it would be awesome if someone did that for antennas as then people could truly pick an antenna that is "best for them" based on their personal goals and limitations. Like, people say a dipole is the most efficient... Ok... but HOW MUCH more efficient is it than an EFWH, or a random wire etc? If under "efficiency" the dipole gets a 10 but the others get a 9.5 that's very different than a dipole getting a 10 and the others getting a 4. Both of those scenarios are encompassed by "a dipole is the most efficient", but if the difference is 0.5 many people won't care and will take that hit for the increased band agility or easier set up in their location of one of the other options. If the difference is 6, then that would make people really question how important that frequency agility is. So I would do categories like "Efficiency, DX coms, Regional coms, Space Requirement, Ease of Setup, etc". I'd probably then also do a +/- section for things like "open wire feedline +0.5, having to put in a dog leg -0.2 per leg, height above ground +0.5 per 3m (up to 10m), near power lines -0.5, excellent grounding/counterpoise +1, installed on a freezing, windy night in the rain +2" that kind of thing.

[@watersstanton]

There

[@watersstanton]

That would be an awesome task!

[@gtretroworld]

Antennas are a funny thing. Some of my best long haul contacts were on a Raised multi-band vertical, maybe it’s my location. Thanks for the video Peter.

[@watersstanton]

Yes raised verticals work better than ground mounted ones. Thanks for sharing. 73 Peter.

[@radiotests]

​@@watersstantonVery true with the caveat of gaining nearfield clearance.

[@davidnewman7490]

I have a rotatable horizon doublet antenna for 10 meters 12 and 15 meters at a wavelength up and an end fed verticals that are slighly lower. When my horizontal dipole is broadside to the wanted signal it performs up to 2 S points better than the vertical. The horizontal at a wavelength up has more gain than a lowish vertical. Horizontal is also much quieter so its a win win over the vertical for me. The only time i would use a vertical is down by the sea where the ground plane effect of the salt water gives huge gains. That's my experience G1NNR

[@watersstanton]

Interesting but to me, not surprising. Horizontal antennas are generally better and quieter. But if you only have space for a vertical, it will still work!

[@darylnd]

Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. 73 de AE6DD, Daryl, California

[@watersstanton]

Nice one.

[@Dan-56]

Thanks Peter for another excellent discussion on antennas and propagation 👍! I’m lucky enough to have enough room on my “postage stamp size” city lot to have both a horizontal wire antenna as well as a vertical. From a reception standpoint I’ve never noticed much difference between the two on 10-20m, but the wire does much better on 40, 60, & 80m. I was always under the impression it had more to do with “capture area” of the wire being more in line with the wavelength 🤔!? That said, the wire does seem to outperform the vertical in most all bands from a transmit perspective. Look forward to more of your insightful discussions 😃. 73 de Dan WD4DB

[@watersstanton]

Many thanks Dan. Great to hear from you. 73 Peter.

[@GSWEAR66]

Here in the middle of the USA and mostly activating portable about my best chance for across the pond DX is a good 10 or 20 meter vertical and decent band conditions. I don't even hit the ocean until the 2nd hop.

[@watersstanton]

At least the ocean is a great reflector

[@user-tl5tt5yw3c]

Hi peter ,one antenna near another may effect one another s performance also so it's all still mysterious thks for video

[@watersstanton]

Generally speaking both antennas would need a resonance relationship. Nested dipoles for example seem to work OK.

[@mewrongway]

I've done my best DX with a vert!!

[@watersstanton]

Great to hear.

[@mewrongway]

@@watersstanton 5BTV

[@TheTim16964]

Another great video. Do you think any of this boils down to propagation as in a vertical station is talking to another vertical vs. a vertical talking to a horizontal? Very interested in your thoughts on this. Might be a good video.

[@watersstanton]

The polarisation of reflected signals tumble around and are randomly polarised onnarr.ival

[@TheTim16964]

@@watersstanton thank you

[@paulsengupta971]

A lot of what we perceive as QSB is just change of polarisation. If you have one vertical and one horizonal antenna into different receivers each fed into one ear of some headphones, you can apparently get the weird effect of the signal moving from one ear to the other.

[@RobertMacCready]

A question I do not have an answer for, but I think you might have an answer. I live in Florida and have 3 palm trees across my back yard. They are about 25 feet apart. I would like to drape an end fed 1/2 wave over the tops of the 3 palm trees. My question is: if the antenna is laying across the palm trees, will this affect the antenna radiation? (Or if anyone else has the answer, please chime in)

[@watersstanton]

Very little effect as most of antenna will be in the open. You may find resona

[@loico2536]

Hello Peter, there is a major factor to have in mind : the antenna polarization. If the signal arrives at your place with an horizontal polarization after bouncing the ionosphere you will received stronger with an horizontal antenna compared to a vertical one (20Db by theory) ?

[@watersstanton]

Single randomly tumble after reflection between horizontal and vertical and all stations in between!

[@jimdavis5230]

Even with an extremely good antenna, the best DX you could work would be the bloke next door on the long path.

[@watersstanton]

Providing you. can block your local massive ground wave!

[@RadioTech7388]

TXS Peter 73's from Central Italy

[@watersstanton]

Nice to hear from you.

[@alanj349]

Where can I obtain the amplifier shelf/ support, just what I need.

[@watersstanton]

It came from Ikea.

[@alanj349]

@@watersstanton appreciate the feedback, many thanks

[@johnorrells3797]

Is there a case where vertical is better on tx and horizontal on Rx

[@watersstanton]

Not as fat as signals are concerned nut one antenna may have a lower noise level.

[@qutips33]

Can you make a video on which antenna wire is best to use steel wire or copper wire and the difference in rx and tx.on these wires 😊 LA2VLA

[@watersstanton]

The answer is simple - copper wire! Steel works just as well but is not easy to work with.

[@n0vty873]

It is a fact that many omit

[@joebidet2050]

Best antenna Is simplest and least expensive Dipole for lowest frequency you want to use I.e. 80m Feed it with ladder line Get up as high as possible in the clear Between two tall trees LC tuner Done Works well 80 to 10m Save your money for the women

[@watersstanton]

The antenna reasoning is spot on.

[@joebidet2050]

@@watersstanton antennas are like fishing You need different bait depending on the fish and conditions

[@hughvines4585]

What is the difference a police scanner antenna and a ham antenna

[@watersstanton]

None other than resonance.

[@markmontgomery9722]

yes yes yes 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

[@ekbanjosworld4926]

I checked out your website, I couldn't find DX Commander Antennas? Do you not carry them ???

[@watersstanton]

We donn’t carry them as they are made in the UK where they can be purchased direct from the maker.

[@user-wd1tp7gt9r]

Hi people want to see video this is youtube