Purpose of this article: This article describes the basics of the vertical antenna for HF/VHF
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Why a vertical?
- Like the dipole, possibly the simplest and easiest to construct
- A good antenna to experiment with and offer flexible deployment options
- Very cheap to source the parts
- Good if you don’t have much space
- Good antenna for DX contacts
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Suggestions
Basic guidelines for constructing and erecting a vertical antenna:
- Place the antenna in a clear area and out of the way of family activities
- You can use elevated radials or buried radials
- good RF earthing is vital. Ideally as close to the station as possible
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Useful links
WIP
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Construction or installation notes
- Supporting your vertical – depending on the frequency and construction material, your vertical may require guy wires.
- You could consider making it from wire and using a suitable tree branch as a support
- Radials – raised
If you can, four raised radials will make a simple but very effective antenna
- Radials – buried
For the best results try to get at last 12-16 radials buried. They should be between10%-50% of a wavelength in length
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Experiment and try these ideas
- If height is an issue you could try winding a helically-wound vertical. This may be a good option for 80m
https://www.simplehamradioantennas.com/2013/07/an-80-meter-vertical-helix.html
- Another option is an inverted L for 80m
https://www.dj0ip.de/vertical-antennas/80m-inv-l-on-12m-pole/
- Construct a simple Common Mode Choke and attach at the feed-point.
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Images
Figure 1- Choke. courtesy DJ0IP