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Welcome to my little piece of the cyberworld. I am an Amateur Extra Class ham radio operator from Kentucky. In addition to ham radio, other interests include paddling kayaks and canoes, camping, flyfishing, shooting and photography...I am a major Jimmy Buffett fan (fans are known as Parrotheads). But, location, work and finances sort of got in the way of being a beach bum as a career. I am also an animal lover and have several pets. I also have a Facebook page at steve.kj4kki.

Friday, May 27, 2011

An Off Center Fed Dipole for 80m Through 10m (and maybe 6m)

Well, here I am…thinking about antennas for my base.  It can get frustrating when you begin comparing various antennas and the prices.  I guess fortunately for me (?), I’m too poor to be worrying about a big Yagi or Quad.  Wire from Lowe’s is the way I went.  At the present time, I have a mono-band dipole up with a 1:1 Balun Designs balun.  I’ve been pondering for some time whether to put up a fan dipole or an off center fed dipole.  Numerous radiators with a fan dipole mean possible SWR interactions and more tie-off points to find, and tree limbs to cut or avoid.  Plus, my yard is too small to have a regular 80m.  So…along comes the storm this week with 70+ mph winds, effectively destroying a lot of a big maple tree in the front yard.  I guess I now have a way to get an ocf from the tower to a tie-off point for 80m on the short side, and a long run by the back fence for the long side.  I hate to lose a great shade tree…  So, I ordered a 4:1 ocf dual core balun from Bob at Balun Designs, and I am trimming tree limbs and wondering what it costs to cut the rest of the tree down…  Wish me luck!  73, Steve

5 comments:

  1. Hi Steve the Off Center Fed Dipole works for me
    from 40m to 10m and you can use it without a tuner
    if you do not mind a max 2.0 SWR on some of the harmonic bands. My 4.1 balun is homebrew built onto the centre insulator. Be interested to see how the OCF works for you .. John

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    1. Kj4Kki'S Ham Radio Blog And Information Page: An Off Center Fed Dipole For 80M Through 10M (And Maybe 6M) >>>>> Download Now

      >>>>> Download Full

      Kj4Kki'S Ham Radio Blog And Information Page: An Off Center Fed Dipole For 80M Through 10M (And Maybe 6M) >>>>> Download LINK

      >>>>> Download Now

      Kj4Kki'S Ham Radio Blog And Information Page: An Off Center Fed Dipole For 80M Through 10M (And Maybe 6M) >>>>> Download Full

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  2. John, I am going to put a dual core 4:1 from Balun Designs on it. I went for 80 meter to have the 3.5 MHz for low freq nets, plus I wanted to hear the SW stations clearly. I was listening to Radio Havana Cuba the other night on a 20 meter vee that I strung up in the yard. They have an interesting take on things... 73, Steve

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  3. POST NOTE: The yard proved a bit too small for the 80m, so a 40m is in place at 30 feet. I've gotten Russia to Australia; Hawaii and Alaska on it. I wouldn't mind attempting to fish a line around sometime and try 80m, but who knows what the weird pattern would be...? All expected bands work well. I am able to tune anything from 40m up with the 3:1 tuner. While not resonant by any means, the SWR is under 3:1 on those bands. The 40m, 20m and 15m bands seem to do the best.

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  4. Kj4Kki'S Ham Radio Blog And Information Page: An Off Center Fed Dipole For 80M Through 10M (And Maybe 6M) >>>>> Download Now

    >>>>> Download Full

    Kj4Kki'S Ham Radio Blog And Information Page: An Off Center Fed Dipole For 80M Through 10M (And Maybe 6M) >>>>> Download LINK

    >>>>> Download Now

    Kj4Kki'S Ham Radio Blog And Information Page: An Off Center Fed Dipole For 80M Through 10M (And Maybe 6M) >>>>> Download Full

    >>>>> Download LINK

    ReplyDelete