Alright, so far I have purchased an Icom 7200, LDG Electronics IT-100 antenna tuner, and a Samlex 1223 power supply.  Now I'm looking to either buy or build an antenna.  I have a flag pole that I am looking to mount the antenna to.  What are some suggestions regarding the style of antenna, and possibly links to something that would work for my HF setup?

Thanks in advance!

Any other setup options? Like trees? How far away is the flagpole from the house? Etc...

I dont think there are any trees that are suitable, the flag pole is probably 15-20 feet from the house

I was thinking mount a pole to the existing flag pole to give it some extra height, possibly with a simple dipole setup

How far from flagpole to property edges?

We need a google maps pic or MSpaint drawing of lot with trees and such marked and distances/heights of those features.

How about an End Fed Half Wave sloping up to the flagpole or a vertical inside the flagpole?

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the tree where the red circle is hangs over the flag pole, it will be cut down shortly.

Where is your shack located?

more than likely I will be setting it up in our basement game room.  I should be able to run a coax there from the flag pole with minimal distance from the antenna to the radio

HOA?

Info on antennas, feedlines, and propagation: http://www.hamuniverse.com/n4jaantennabook.html  It's lengthy, so you might want to download the .pdf file and print it out.

Fan dipole: http://www.hamuniverse.com/multidipole.html

OCF dipole: http://www.buxcomm.com/windom.htm

Multi-band ladder line fed dipole: http://www.arrl.org/random-length-multiband-dipoles

Where to buy antenna stuff: http://www.thewireman.com/

no homeowners association to worry about

First ideas that come to mind...

A vertical... A simple wire up the pole and then a bunch of radials.

A dipole... Use the pole as the center and string the ends out along the tree line.  Either up in the trees or an inverted V.

Maybe use the pole to support a sky loop.

Inverted L from pole to a tree.  Radials.

Simple random long wire.  Some radials.

Where's the flagpole on that pic?

Where's the entry point for cable into the house?

the flagpole  is the red circle.  the entry point would be the nearest corner to the flag pole

In that case I vote for an 80m OCF.  

468/3.5 = 133ft

One side cut to 44.5 ft running from pole to the trees next to driveway.

Other side cut to 99.5 ft and run from flag pole to something in the upper left of your yard.

Can't see over there too well, any trees there?

http://www.shop.radiowavz.com/DX-OCF-WINDOM-80m40m20m10m-DX80.htm

http://www.shop.radiowavz.com/DX-OCF-WINDOM-80m40m20m10m-DX80.htm

Something like this?

I was thinking this and I send you 150ft of wire to go with it.

But yeah, you could spend the $150 and be done if you like.

Radiowavz.... No. I honestly do not know how they are still in business. I bought and won a total of three of their antennas years ago and they were the most craptasticly assembled antennas made out of the cheapest materials they could buy. They are local to me so I met them at the hamfest that they were always at and when I asked why the specs on their antennas wire size was nowhere near what was in the package they did not want to talk to me anymore.


radioworks.com check out their antennas. Built much better. I have an ocfd from them that has been up for ten years and still plugging along.

anyone have any experience with these antennas?  I was thinking this would simplify my install since I could just mount it to my flag pole

http://www.dxengineering.com/parts/mld-hvu-8


http://www.dxengineering.com/parts/dmn-cp6ar

I must agree about Radiowavz........absolute crap quality.

I would recommend W8AMZ antennas.   They build very good, but inexpensive antennas.  

www.w8amz.com

link no workie



 

http://w8amz.com/Home_Page.php

Don't buy... MAKE!!!

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_22/681504_.html&page=1

I have worked 264 DXCC with this since 2010.

After 10-12 years dealing with a G5RV (and it working well enough...) I'm starting to agree with this more and more. If you want to buy an antenna to get *something* in the air to make contacts AND to use as a base line, go for it. However 5 mins after it's up, start toying with wire. The combination of how this and this have worked has shown me the error in my ways. Both of these antennas make me think they work better than the G5RV configuration I have.

Uh, that adds up to 144'.

I think you meant 44.5 and 88.5', which is the classic 1/3 - 2/3 split (33.33% feedpoint).  This feedpoint will not allow use of
15 meters, which I think is an important band to have, one of the best DX bands.

In my post above I recommended the 29.5% feedpoint, or 39' and 93'.  This does 15 meters well but will not do 12 m.

Another good feedpoint is 36%, or 48' and 85'.  This will do 15 meters, but SWR may be a little high on 30 m.

/stimp moves out of the drivers seat and goes to get the clever people some coffee/

Hey, Stimpy, at least you cut the long side too long instead of too short.  Always easier to cut some off than to put it back on.



I've studied the OCFD for a number of years, and there are MANY feed points.

Copied from a post on the Windom Yahoo Group:

The following is related to a 80m OCF dipole (~135 feet total length):

* If you feed it at 8.9%, you don't lose any ham band (80m-6m)(no in
ham band sine nulls). Although the SWR will be higher on 80m.

(Jup's note:  Being fed closer to the end, unbalanced currents, that is, RF on the shield is worst with this feedpoint.)

* If you feed it at 16.6%, you lose 15m band (sine equals zero).

(Jup's note:  I consider 15 m a very desirable DX band, so the 16.6% feedpoint is rejected.)

* If you feed it at 20% (20/80), you lose 17m and 6m bands (sine
equals zero).

(Jup's note:  I consider 17 m a desirable band, so the 20% feedpoint is rejected.)

* If you feed it at 25%, you lose 20m and 10m bands (sine equals
zero).

(Jup's note:  Oops!  There go two bands we really want and part of the reason we built an OCFD in the first place.)

* If you feed it at 28.89%, you lose 12m band (sine equals zero).

(Jup's note:  Not bad, I can live with this.)

* If you feed it at 30%, you don't lose any ham band (80m-6m).
Although the SWR will be a little higher on 12m.

(Jup's note:  28.9% to 30%, 12 m is high SWR.  The 29.5% feedpoint is my choice of good compromise feedpoint.)

* If you feed it at 33% (1/3:2/3) you lose 30m, 15m, and 6m bands
(sine equals zero).

(Jup's note:  I've built more than a few 1/3-2/3 or 33.3% OCFDs, and while they work well on the other bands, I miss not having
what for me has been my best DX band, 15 meters.)

* If you feed it at 36%, you don't lose any ham band (80m-6m).
Although the SWR will be a little higher on 30m.

(Jup's note:  I can live with this, too.)

* If you feed it at 41.6%, you don't lose any ham band (80m-6m).
Although the SWR will be a little higher on 17m and 12m.

(Jup's note:  Nothing to be gained here over the 36% feedpoint.)

* If you feed it at 50%, lose 40m, 20m, 15m, and 10m bands (sine
equals zero), but should do very well on 80m, 30m, 17m, 12m, and 6m bands.
This is a normal dipole, where you only get odd-harmonics.

(Jup's note:  Which reminds us of why we are building an OCFD in the first place.)

By "lose," I mean the antenna will not be useable and will have very high
impedance (Sine goes to zero).

And, uh, Stimpy... please don't forget to bring me some cream and Truvia for my coffee, too.  

I will re-measure mine to get this feedpoint...I think I am at 33% right now...ish.

Something went wonky with the OCF last night anyway.