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Revamping the Endfed antenna
26 July 2020 | by  |
| The new location for Endfed....Shingles are my next project |
When we moved into our place last August I set up my Endfed as a temp setup and as with most things temp soon becomes long term. My excuse was I just had major house "things" on the go that required my attention. Over the winter the temporary support at one end of the Endfed was starting to show some major wear. I decided to stick with an Endfed antenna as with my lot size it was the best option for me.
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| The new spot for the antenna |
I was doing some reading on the internet regarding Endfed antennas and the ideal wire lengths. For the size of my lot, the length that was ideal for me was 41 feet. My plan was to remove the balun from the tree it was located in and mount it on my newly renovated shed....now in the pictures the shingles have not been done yet but that is my next project and the shed will be complete. The 41-foot Endfed antenna wire would extend back out to the tree. I guess you could say I just reversed the setup. This setup allowed me to lower the balun to about 6 feet off the ground and have the antenna slope in an upward direction. This setup would allow me to add a counterpoise to the Endfed. When the Balun was located in the tree it was about 25 feet off the ground and I was advised by Ultimax antenna the balun was too high off the ground for a counterpoise to work, I did try it without success.
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| Splice making 34 to 41 feet |
I first tried the antenna with the counterpoise and was not pleased with the results I removed the counterpoise and gained some better results on some bands. Below are the results with and without the counterpoise.
Results without a counterpoise:
Band Freq SWR
80. 4.000. 7.5
80. 3.500. 6.7
40. 7.001. 3.2
40. 7.070. 3.3
30. 10.100. 5.0
30. 10.150. 5.0
20. 14.001. 1.8
20. 14.070. 1.7
17. 18.068. 1.6
17. 18.168. 1.6
21. 21.001. 2.6
21. 21.070. 2.6
40. 7.070. 3.3
30. 10.100. 5.0
30. 10.150. 5.0
20. 14.001. 1.8
20. 14.070. 1.7
17. 18.068. 1.6
17. 18.168. 1.6
21. 21.001. 2.6
21. 21.070. 2.6
Results with a counterpoise:
Band Freq SWR
Band Freq SWR
80. 4.000. 9.1
80. 3.500. 9.6
40. 7.001. 4.4
40. 7.070. 4.4
30. 10.100. 5.0
30. 10.150. 5.0
20. 14.001. 2.4
20. 14.070. 2.3
17. 18.068. 2.0
17. 18.168. 2.0
21. 21.001. 2.6
21. 21.070. 2.7
40. 7.070. 4.4
30. 10.100. 5.0
30. 10.150. 5.0
20. 14.001. 2.4
20. 14.070. 2.3
17. 18.068. 2.0
17. 18.168. 2.0
21. 21.001. 2.6
21. 21.070. 2.7
Below is the SWR reading when the Endfed was 34 feet long and located with the Balun in the tree.
Results without a counterpoise:
Band Freq SWR
80. 4.000. 7.0
80. 3.500. 8.1
40. 7.001. 1.8
40. 7.070. 1.8
30. 10.100. 3.3
30. 10.150. 3.3
20. 14.001. 4.6
20. 14.070. 4.6
17. 18.068. 2.5
17. 18.168. 2.5
21. 21.001. 1.5
21. 21.070. 1.5
40. 7.070. 1.8
30. 10.100. 3.3
30. 10.150. 3.3
20. 14.001. 4.6
20. 14.070. 4.6
17. 18.068. 2.5
17. 18.168. 2.5
21. 21.001. 1.5
21. 21.070. 1.5
Results with a counterpoise and the balun 25 feet in the tree:
Band Freq SWR
Band Freq SWR
80. 4.000. 6.5
80. 3.500. 9.1
40. 7.001. 5.2
40. 7.070. 5.2
30. 10.100. 2.2
30. 10.150. 2.2
20. 14.001. 4.9
20. 14.070. 4.9
17. 18.068. 2.7
17. 18.168. 2.6
21. 21.001. 1.6
21. 21.070. 1.5
40. 7.070. 5.2
30. 10.100. 2.2
30. 10.150. 2.2
20. 14.001. 4.9
20. 14.070. 4.9
17. 18.068. 2.7
17. 18.168. 2.6
21. 21.001. 1.6
21. 21.070. 1.5
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].
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