Few things are cheaper than this antenna

As a hobby, ham radio tends to be more expensive. A dual-band mobile radio can easily cost $600, and a high-end base station with over 100 watts of power can easily cost thousands of dollars. But like most things, there is an aspect to this hobby that can be incredibly inexpensive and accessible to beginners. For example, while Crystal radios can be built from basically what most of us have in our parts drawers, CW QRP radios don’t need much more than that. and sometimes even the most efficient antennas are little more than two wire lengths long..

For this particular antenna (W3CT) assembles an inverted V antenna, which is a type of dipole antenna. Instead of each of the dipole legs being straight, the center is suspended at a point relatively high above the ground, and the two ends are located closer to the ground. Dipoles, including inverted Vs, are resonant antennas, meaning they don’t need any tuning between them and the radio, so the only thing needed to match the antenna to the supply line is a coaxial banana cable adapter. From here it’s as simple as attaching two measured lengths of wire for the target band and somehow lifting the center of the antenna up. In (W3CT’s) case, he uses a mast, which costs $8 on a budget, but a tree or building will work too.

The video on the construction of this antenna is very detailed, so if you haven’t built a dipole yet or are just starting your ham radio journey, this is a great place to start. From there we recommend checking Off-center fed dipole which allows the dipole to operate effectively on multiple bands rather than just one, and for more general ham radio tips without breaking the bank, we always recommend $50 ham series.