Hi all,
Actually, I am pretty confident that the most recent EFHW Hybrid (traps + links) antenna described by Heinz, @HB9BCB is very close to the best of SOTA antennas. It uses traps for no-frills tuning for 40, 30 and 20m, and two links for 17 and 15 m and thus covers all MTR-5B bands. In an inverted-L configuration, it is rather compact and easy to set-up, independent of the quality/type of ground, and very lightweight. It can be used with lightweight carbon-fiber masts without detuning. The inductances of the traps have a moderate loading coil effect, thus the total radiator length (+ cord) is ca. 16m. The included 1:64 matchbox makes it directly usable with MTRs and other QRP radios without a tuner.
Many of the other antennas recently discussed in this forum, IMHO, are inferior to this design. For instance, the QRPguys trap dipole is heavier and covers only two bands, the “no tune end-fed” is single band, etc.
I really tried many different SOTA antenna designs in the past two years, and Heinz’ design is so far the best of all worlds. The only reason I am continuing with my experiments is that (1) it is fun and (2) the inverted-L is too big for a few very small (or crowded) summits, for which I seek a robust and lightweight vertical.
73 de Martin, DK3IT
