Alan,
I do understand the situation for those with limited antenna space and
restrictions. What I do not understand is the "magical" qualities that
have been attributed to many antennas. They are compromise antennas,
and I want everyone to understand that they are a compromise.
If a ham wants to operate on multiple bands and can have only one
antenna, that compromise may be necessary, but for those who can install
no-compromise antennas such as a fan dipole, it will provide better
performance than the G5RV or the 'Carolina windom'. A fan dipole can be
operated on multiple bands without a tuner.
Of course, LB Cebik advocated the 44 foot dipole for 40 thru 10 meters
(88 foot for 80 thru 20) because it has no sidelobes. It works well,
but must be fed with low loss parallel feedline which requires a good
antenna tuner at the shack end of that feedline.
What I am trying to communicate is that the user of a compromise antenna
should understand its properties and limitations. Despite what
advertising and 'ham lore' would say, there is no 'magic' in any
particular antenna. They all have their limitations.
73,
Don W3FPR
On 8/5/2016 8:34 AM, G4GNX wrote:
Don,
With respect for your wisdom and your good advice, in the UK in
particular (home of the G5RV) the 'ordinary' ham has real-estate
issues, big time!
Louis Varney's garden/back yard was of average British size, which is
actually quite small when compared to 'average' gardens that I've seen
in the USA. That was his prime reason for designing a compact wire
antenna.
We have other issues with planning regulations and erecting a mast or
tower over 40ft in height would probably meet with a brick-wall
attitude from the local planning authorities. Attitudes towards
structures in the UK are very different to the USA and there are many
snobs who claim offense when they see something that appears above the
roof line of an average house.
My back yard is even smaller than Louis's and I just don't have space
for lengthy wires or even slopers. Even erecting tall supports is
difficult as there's limited ground to dig holes to fill with concrete
supports.
Maybe in the USA, the use of G5RV antennas doesn't make too much
sense, but to us Brits, compact antennas are often the only thing we
can use.
73,
Alan. G4GNX
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