[SEDXC] Resonant Dipoles - various wavelengths

[Bill Coleman]

On Aug 21, 2006, at 10:38 AM, JT Croteau wrote:

> For resonant dipoles, it looks like the majority use 1/2-wave lengths.

Yup.

> Hung at the same height, in my case roughly 50' and
> resonance around 14.200 MHz, how much performance difference would I
> notice with either a full wavelength or a 5/8-wave instead of the
> traditional 1/2-wave?

None.

> At 20M I have horizontal room for all three wavelength models, should
> I attempt a full wavelength and trim down to a shorter wavelength if
> necessary?

If you have a doublet of 1 wavelength long, it may be hard to tune,  
unless you either have a lossy feedline (not good) or a really wide- 
range tuner (possibly expensive).

While it is possible to have extended length doublets show some gain  
over a standard dipole, the amount of additional gain is small and  
the matching issues can be problematic. Unless you are going to put  
up a collinear array with three or more 1/2 wave elements, it  
probably isn't worth the trouble. Especially at 3/4 wave height.

Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL        Mail: aa4lr at arrl.net
Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
             -- Wilbur Wright, 1901