Antennas

G5RV A classic multiband setup—but remember, you should never tune an antenna through the coaxial cable. The tuner should always be placed between the twin-lead and the coax. Here’s my configuration: 2×15 m inverted-V dipole → 10 m of 300-ohm TV ladder line through the attic → N7DDC autotuner → choke balun. A great idea from W5DXP is to adjust the tuning by changing the ladder line length. You can basically use any dipole length—I’ve had great results with 2×17 m and even 2×40 m.

GP Vertical Another classic. Many people underestimate verticals compared to dipoles or beams, but they’re excellent antennas—as long as you understand what to expect: no gain, but a low radiation angle, which is great for DX. More radials = more fun. But even with just two, you can make plenty of DX contacts. I like the multiband fan configuration—just run the wires in parallel. Don’t overdo it though, or you might run into unwanted resonances. From my experience, 20 m / 15 m / 10 m works fine.

Inverted L A solid starting point for serious work on 160 m and 80 m. Again: more radials = better performance. I also had good results using a fan configuration, with parallel wires for different bands.

Moxon Small but efficient. I built one for 10 m back in 2014 using wire and some old junk. Mounted it on wooden poles, about 4 m AGL. Boom—first contact was a VU station on SSB with 5 W. Do I need to say more?

144 MHz 6 element Yagi An ultralight beam from DK7ZB. No problem making 600 km contacts with QRP—assuming a decent location, of course.