On Fri, 14 Mar 2008 20:20:50 -0700, "Lumpy"
<lumpy@digitalcartography.com> wrote:

krackula wrote:

... a
nice resonant dipole is a good  dependable antenna.

When you use a resonant dipole, do you use a tuner?

you don't need anything in between the radio and the antenna , like a
power eating tuner , when you have a nice resonant antenna.  

I feed the dipole with RG-8 and usually use a 4:1  center insulator
similar to the MFJ-913 .  truthfully I have often used a simple dipole
fed directly  with coax , like in the old antenna handbooks  and have
done very well with those .  

I leave the ends of the antenna , where the end insulators are , 
unsoldered ( many people solder these ) so I can adjust the length of
the antenna easily.  for an inverted vee , I erect the antenna , and
if the  swr is high or low I adjust the ends of the dipole ( both ends
equally ) until the swr is lowest where I am operating in the band 
( the low ends of the bands since I'm a CW op exclusively ) .

the dipole has it's own ground , so to speak , nothing else is needed.
I have worked the world  and have " all the wallpaper " to prove it
( rooms full of it if I wanted to put it all up   hahaha ) , using
dipoles.  they ( when installed properly ) don't need power robbing
tuners that fool your radio , or anything else and when properly
installed  ALL your signal will get into the air  and your radio
output will  run cool  and be happy.

of course you'd want a 3 or 4 element full sized beam on  40 if you
could have one ...... but for most of us , especially for field day ,
a dipole will do !


guess I should check and see if there are 50 year stickers for QCWA
and the OTC  Certs , since I'm eligible  now   ha hahha ha ha h .  
 
also ........... forget those " slinky "  style antennas that everyone
loves these days , this especially if you are using a solid state rig
with or without a tuner.   while handy and kewl looking , if the wind
blows these coiled antennas change shape and length radically and the 
swr on your rig will gyrate all around because of this.  if the
gyration  excursions become  extreme, they can damage the output 
stage of some poorly protected rigs .... and at the least cause your
rig to cut back on power output intermittently , messing with your
signal and communications capability.  just my opinion,  your own
milage may vary .  

Ground/CPoise?

What feedline?

-.-