Interesting. I will set mine up tomorrow and see if it is still good, I doubt the detuning, I have used mine in several diverse locations including right by a mature hedge at a campsite and it always tuned OK, I would suspect the coil, perhaps a shorted turn.
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Hi Andy,
I know this is a clone but I have heard with the Buddistick that it needs a raised counterpoise rather than radials laid on the floor - I wonder if the same applies to your clone? Just a thought.
73 Ed.
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Yes, it has a raised radial. I have used for probably over 500 QSOs on 20m. It should “just work” so I was surprised it didn’t want to play. But that was the point of checking, to see if I can remember how they are deployed. The KX2 ATU would sort out any problems but it should be fine on a rig without an ATU.
Silly question, Andy, but could you possibly have been using the wrong half of the coil on 20m? ISTR you have a coil tapped for 30/20m, I omitted the 30m coil in my copy.
Not silly at all. No I had it wired correctly. I do have a 20m only coil in the antennas parts box so I’ll try that. But there’s not much to go wrong really.
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Hmm, interesting. When I use my 40m EFHW, I always have the counterpoise out the opposite direction from the sloping wire. Never had an issue with either the KX3 or the Z11 auto-ATU matching. Another conundrum? 
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If it works it works.
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Andy,
If you want the KISS approach, (this week that has a new meaning!!) why not empty the FMF coffers and buy an 8.5m pole. It is only carrying a wire so you could use all of the skinny upper sections.
On dry summits Carolyn’s GP on the rocks is an ideal solution.
Andy I am sure you realise that the radials are part of the aerial resonant circuit,
When I make a 1/4 GP I first make a dipole and when it is resonant at the right frequency, I use 3 legs for the GPs to the same length as one dipole leg, then I cut another leg for the vertical and adjust that to achieve resonance.
PS It will still be lighter than your trusty anvil!
David
G0EVV
Well I have a 6m, 7m and 8m pole but they are old school full-size poles when collapsed, i.e. > 1.15m so they stick up out of the rucksack too much. I’ve been spoilt using poles that collapse to 40cm or 57cm. Also I cannot get an 7m pole into my luggage for flights but 57cms travel poles (the hint is in the name) fit in luggage easily. So it really is trying to get something to fit the small pole.
Carolyn’s setup looks remarkably like the ground I expect to have under my toes in a few weeks time. And in that case, the ground mounted radial will work FB. I should have thought on and checked what she was using and so I’ll be fabricating one of those to take with me. Carolyn @G6WRW, did the match change appreciably between UK ground and ground like in your photo?
I have yet to decide which radios are coming with me. My 817 is now having a well earned rest and will only be going up hills when I’m doing uWave activity as the 432MHz is used to pump transverters. That leaves me with a KX2, where the ATU can do its magic or my QCXmini 30 and 20m sets. I’m tempted to just take the QCXs as they fit in a tiny box amongst the luggage. I’m a bit jaded carrying expensive radios through airport security etc. along with a laptop. The QCXs can go in the check luggage and the battery is a USB power pack that sails through security unlike other batteries etc. The 30m QCX works on 40m, performance is down, it produces about 2.5W on 40m compare with 4.5W on 30m but should still be viable enough for so local contacts.
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Well go for Carolyn’s proven method.
It reminds me of walking the Glyders last year and arriving on the summit of Tryfan hot, tired, dehydrated and with no enthusiasm to erect my pole and 30m dipole. So I threw one dipole leg left and one leg right, connected the rig and qualified the summit in 5 minutes with QSOs to spare.
David
G0EVV
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Another solution would be to use radials spread out on the ground instead of elevated. About 40m worth of radials should do it. Fyi, my 1/4 wave vertical with 20 x 2m radials was made from one 6m length of Ethernet cable and is run up a 5m pole (with a 57cm packed length). Admittedly, I’ve only ever used it with the 817 & on 5w.
My thoughts are that all “portable” aerials are a compromise between efficency and practicality. I feel the vertical has the smallest footprint and easiest to find a spot to erect it in. My “holiday antenna” is “multi-band” as it also has a break-link on the vertical section for 17m with removable extentions on the radials.
In use on Titterstone Clee Hill just before the recent Portuguese trip
The antenna is just a scaled-down version of the full 40m 1/4 wave antenna that I’ve used in preference to dipoles for many years over all sorts of ground and weather conditions.
Both antennas only have 3 radials!
On a damp Upper Park
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Hi Carolyn,
I didn’t say that radials on the ground are “wrong” I do that with several of my antennas, just that the (actual) Buddipole is designed to work with a raised counterpoise and if Andy’s antenna is a “clone” of that - it could be the issue. From further responses, it sounds like something is simply wrong with the antenna (or its set-up).
With a short pole, I still think winding the driven element “helical vertical style” might be the best opinion. It certainly works with my HF J-Poles.
73 Ed.
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I bought a 6.8m pole from SOTAbeams, collapsed only ~59cm, should fit into a normal suitcase diagonally. It is called heavy-duty, probably because of its weight 
. To be fair, it is very sturdy.
From the friendly Chinese around the corner, I bought a ~5m telescopic antenna rod. Together with 2 loudspeaker of 5m cables this made quite a good groundplane: Strap the telescopic part at about 2-3m height to the pole, connect the radials (in my setup these cannot be used to support the pole, but I’m working on that), and you are good to go.
Using this setup, I managed S2S to VK and ZL (from HB/NE-001, one of the most beautiful summits there is, on 2022-05-01).
Hope this helps.
73 de Martin / HB9GVW
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Would a 70cm pole fit? I think it might be too big for an EasyJet/Ryanair under seat bag:
(other suppliers may be available)
I’m not sure if anyone makes an 8.5/9.0m pole that collapses closer to 60cm.
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The catch, I find, is that the shorter a mast collapses to, the more sections it needs, and the thinner the walls of each section have to be, and the stiffness suffers. My first mast was a standard not-quite 10 metres one, and has had all it’s top 4 sections replaced at least once. It’s top section broke again on its last outing. Just too flimsy… I have some 6.something Lifes a Breeze flag masts that seem to be a good balance; stiff enough to support a link dipole at the top without bending over much, and short enough to go in a checked bag. At present one is doing duty as an extension on top of an old windsurfer mast to support a selection of antennas in Kenya…
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And I went out into the depths of the oldest shed in search of a pruning saw which had not been seen for many years as my beloved wished to prune and trim her bush. (Grow up and stop tittering at the back.) Actually many bushes.
And in search for the saw I remembered not to put my foot into the hole in the floor of the shed or to step on the rotten parts whilst I looked amongst the dross and rubbish.
And lo, there was much loot that came from Andre’s shack clearance, assorted full size poles in fibreglass and carbon fibre, a Webster Bandspanner mobile antenna (look it up), an old mag-mount and the prize find… a slidewinder style coil with Terry clips to attach to your pole 1/3rd up, the lower wire, the base with Terry clip and BNC socket and the radials. I knew it was safe 
And the people did feast upon the lambs, and sloths, and carp, and anchovies, and orangutans, and breakfast cereals, and fruit bats, and large chulapas…
I appear to be retired tomorrow (had to work today) so I think I’ll give it a bash on a hill. Or at least trial it in the garden.
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