Sloping an EFHW Dipole (#442)

Due to a question regarding dipole sloping from Don Dernat, VE3DBN, Dave explains all about sloping and using EFHW dipoles.


Edited by Callum Jakeman


Theme music is "Sour Tennessee Red," by John Deley and the 41 Players, courtesy YouTube Music Library.



Twitter: @dcasler

[hooterfivesix]

I learned so much more about my EFHW deployment in this video. Thanks, Dave!

[donbernat]

Thanks for answering my question, I have the feed end at 33 feet and the low end well marked at 6 feet. Works well especially for FT8.

[johnnybigpotato]

Been doing this a long time. Still learn something new from ya all the time Dave. Thanks a million! :)

[dnssigns]

I have a legal limit resonate 135' that I run along with a vertical. I switch between them to all the time depending on which has the best ears and or noise level.
My transformer is near the shack about 15' off the ground with 35 feet of coax. The end is 120 feet up at the top of a big live oak. It has a SWR under 1.5:1 on all bands except 75m general portion phone band. There it was showing 4:1 to infinite.
I read an article how to tame this without affecting the other bands and now have a 1.2:1 on 3.950.
The trick is to cut the wire at the halfway point and add an insulator. Between the two wires add a 220pf 3000v disk capacitor for up to 100w. If you run any power the capacitor is going to need to be a ceramic doorknob.
The article claims it makes no difference on the higher bands but I have found 40m to be 1.2:1 to dead flat across the entire band. Before the mod it was 1.2 to 1.5:1.
I have added 6 turns of coax as a choke behind the transformer as well and have no rf issues in the shack even when running legal limit. I've managed contacts from my qth in North Florida from Australia up to Iceland and over to Japan and the Middle East with 100s of contacts throughout Europe.
I run the same antenna for POTA and SOTA with the same results.

[davidmackenzie]

Great video about a topic that's often made complicated.

[bartweiss]

Thanks Dave. Just put one up in back yard for field day with great results. An understandable clear and engaging explanation as always. 73s de N4KGY

[berjo]

Once again you’ve expanded my knowledge, thank you!

[Levyo]

Excellent, informative, and most importantly, it didn’t go on for 45 minutes and get overly full of technical jargon. Good stuff

[crquality]

I've been watching your videos on and off for years. During Hamvention when my best man saw you and expressed his gratefulness for your videos and channel, it seems like YouTube fate brought some of your videos back to my featured list and I've been learning a lot about HF once more. I look forward to learning much more myself, and thank you for your service to the amateur radio community. W8JMO.

[samb]

I’d recently got myself a sotabeams bandspringer and was wondering exactly this. Thanks Dave!

[sphexes]

I'm testing my 66' EFHW now that I've watched your video. Thanks Dave. 73 W8XDX

[tonyd]

Thanks for the video! Very good information.
I must say I don’t see very much recognition of the content creators coming out of ARRL. All of you have become an invaluable resource for the hobby.

[steveschroder]

If the transformer is up at the top of the mast how do you provide the counterpoise?

[geirha]

Thanks for excellent information David. Just wondering if you could provide some information on how to tune an efhw shorty-forty a coil along the wire. I understand we cut the wires but how? Given it covers more than one band and a there is a coil along the wire.

[SteveH-TN]

Thanks Dave for sharing your video & insights. I recently discovered your channel subscribed, and binge watching several of your excellent videos.
My old Home brewed Dipole that was built in 2020, is needing replacement. I’m searching YouTube videos for refreshers, as I had 2 Strokes in 2021 that impacted my memory and brain white matter atrophy.
Dispite this I am determined to venture into the realm of Software Defined Radio yesterday I ordered a Xiegu 90 and considering the Xiegu DE-19, Digital Interface device to refresh my
Ham Radio Deluxe experience.
73 Steve AA4SH

[nateitkin]

Great video. A comment on the radiation pattern that results from an "L" or "U" configuration would be very helpful.

[JReed]

I run a random wire with a 9:1 as a slope. The high end is 16' off a tree and the low end and feed point is 6" of the ground. Coupled with 34 6' radials it has a great pattern on 40, 80, and 160 when modeled in MMANA.

[eman]

Great information thank you, my afternoon project 🤣

[panzeru]

Question to anybody with experience. I'm putting up a 132ft off center fed dipole long-term. Im under the impression that most ppl simply tie some Dacron onto the dog bone insulators and raise it up. I'm concerned about stretching and longevity. I was considering running Dacron the full length and gently wrapping the 16 awg wires around the rope. Will this negatively impact the antenna? Any thoughts?

[kmxo]

Thanks A lot, Dave this info was explain.