Looking at my first hf antennas for sota. I like the buddipole system and it appears to be very good with good feedback. My other option is 1/2 wave dipole. Thinking of mking a antenna similar to the band hopper from sota beams. I like the idea of convenience of the buddipole system but which to choose?
Dave
M6VID
In reply to M6VID:
There is no easy way to answer your questions as the answers depend on what you want to do.
A dipole consists of some wire and some feeder. Cost to buy is buttons, time to make is minutes. It will need something to hold it up in the air such as a cheap telescopic fishing rod.
A Buddipole is expensive (relatively) to buy and is much heavier than a dipole and fishing rod. It is probably quicker to deploy with practice than a dipole.
You could clone a Buddipole, the plans are online. It’s easy to do.
Buddipoles work well on the higher HF bands. They work on lower HF bands but the lower you go the more of a compromise they become. In your current state of (probably) voice only and 10W limit, the lower HF bands are more of a challenge with a compromise antenna. On 20m and above it’s less of an issue.
Personally, I would advise against starting out with anything other than simple dipoles. YMMV.
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to M6VID:
You could try this for a copy/cheaper version of a buddipole it’s a Jac 3 antenna used it few times now out portable and on the summits, works from 40-6m band along with the 817, the antenna weighs aprox 1.6kg with 5m of coax.
In reply to M6VID:
you’re looking at 3 options that cost 5/50/300$ , so price is probably a key decision criteria.
I am still skeptical about vertical antennas on rocky ground, so I’d personally exclude the JAC
So my choice would be between dipoles; the only real advantage I see in the buddipole is to get everything off the shelf in case you’re as lazy as me and don’t want to build your own dipoles. But in my opinion the price is just too high.
I went through the same considerations and ended up getting an Alexloop, I’m very happy with it; it’s not cheap either but it’s highly portable and easiest to mount (1m above ground), covers 7-30MHz with quick band switching.
I probably will switch to a dipole if I increase TX-Power.
Marco HB9CAT
In reply to M6VID:
Hi,
I’m using both. I like the Buddipole due to its excellent mechanical construction and its flexibility (go to the Buddipole homepage an look for “bud dipole in the Field”), but it has some weight and costs real money. It is my no.1 portable antenna, but not if I’m climbing difficult summits.
In comparision a wire-dipole ist ultra-cheap, has less weight an is more effective as far as the radiation resistance is concerned on 30 and 40 m, if it is not loaded but full sized. It is relatively easy to construct a cheap and well working multi band dipole using variable lengths (no traps due to weight). The con of a dipole is the problem to hoist it up to a sufficient height on a summit. Most people - like me - use a fishing pole. That leads to a dipole in an inverted-v configuration close to the ground. This is good for short distances. Don’t hesitate about this; during daytime you cannot expect reaching the opposite site of the globe with reduced power on 30 m and 40 m. Acc. to my personal experience the Buddipole outperforms an wire-dipole (inv-v) on 15 m and on higher frequencies. You can use it also on 2 m and on 6 m (if legal).
I have read some impressive reviews on the Alexloop, but I find it much too expensive for a simple magnetic loop antenna. You can build your own surely for less than it’s price.
73, Alex.
In reply to M0KCB:
here is video comparing the Buddictick vertical against the Alex loop
One word to summarise how epic those videos are:
“Viz-waaah”
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to M6VID:
After considering all of the options I think the Alex loop is out of my price bracket for now. I am going to have a 20/40m dipole to start with. After all there’s no compromise with the dipole.
I have the chance to borrow a buddipole so I have a chance to compare systems. Thinking of DX on the dipole on 40 and 20m and 20/17/15m on the buddipole.
I had originally built a 22m long wire with a 9:1 unun to take with me on SOTA activations. Disappointing results with reports of weak signals. I heard other M6 stations limited to 10w across the country on 40m but obviously I wasn’t making an equivalent impact.
Dave
M6VID
In reply to M6VID:
Not all 10W signals are created equal! 
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to MM0FMF:
Not all 10W signals are created equal!
Absolutely agree Andy. There are a couple of chaser stations that are not equal. Time to go to the forest with Bertie for his walk.
Night night
Mike
In reply to M6VID:
Dipole is the way to go. Cheap. Easy to make. Easy to put up. Resonate without losses on each band (using a link-dipole)(0 dbi gain vs negative gain with anything else using one element). Lighter than most other antennas. Throw the tuner away. Save the weight.
I average 29 QSO’s per activation with mine…many s2s QSO’s with Europe.
Pete
WA7JTM
In reply to MM0FMF:
In reply to M6VID:
Not all 10W signals are created equal!
Andy
MM0FMF
Yes I suspect that!
I have heard a couple of M6 potable stations on that particular day, ‘quiet’ but perfectly readable. In comparison to me who just wasn’t readable at all!
Dave
M6VID
In reply to M6VID:
Problem with dipoles is you give priority to a certain direction over the opposite one when you get it on.
As an inverted vee, the directionality is less evident but there is some.
Best 73 de Guru -EA2IF
In reply to M0OAT:
It looks like the JAC-3 is a cheap Chinese copy of a Buddy Stick, I believe. I have a PAC-12 portable vertical antenna, built from a kit. It is a real shame the PAC-12 creator does not sell them any more. They were top-notch and affordable.
73 de David vk2dmh
In reply to VK2DMH:
You can make your own Buddistick for pennies. Bud W3FF even publishes the plans himself!
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to MM0FMF:
Yeah I’ve recently looked at those plans and aadaptionson you tube. I may get round to it one day!
In reply to M6VID:
Well you dont’ need all the plastic tubing etc. just the wire. Mine took about 2hrs to build from scratch including calibrating so I can set it up in the field without any test equipment.
Seems to work.
Andy
MM0FMF
