[Antennas] B&W AC 1.8-30 vs BWD terminated antennas?

[Mike, K8LH]

Gentlemen: 

My two cents again, as the subject seems to come up once a year 
(grin)...  The B&W folded dipole was my only antenna my first four and a 
half years on the air...  I finally replaced it with a 450-ohm ladder 
line fed 80 meter dipole 'vee' the day after Christmas ('02) in order to 
finish up DXCC-80 (the B&W is very lossy on 80m)...  The new ladder line 
fed dipole (and little Dentron Super Tuner)  is a much better and 
cheaper all-band antenna, compared to the B&W, but, the B&W worked very 
well and certainly has it's place...

B&W disadvantages
- the terminator resistor seems to cost about 6-db (rx and tx)
- the antenna is very lossy on 80 meters
- 1,000 watt ICAS power rating (too low)

B&W advantages
- small 90' size (it fits on my small city-size lot)
- flexible flat-top, sloper, or vee configuration
- 2:1 or better SWR (without a tuner)
- 1,000 watt ICAS power rating (works well with my lil' 500w SB-201 amp)
-  the antenna is extremely quiet, often providing a better though 
weaker copy
   on some signals

The all-band ladder line fed dipole has proven to be a much better 
antenna but since I was a 'newbie' and didn't really know any better I 
ended up working 307 countries on the B&W as well as qualifying for 
7-band DXCC, 8-band WAS, WAZ-CW, WAZ-SSB, etc., with it...

For the money, I recommend buying a tuner (my 500w Dentron Super Tuner 
cost $60), some 450-ohm ladder-line, one of those ladder-lock thingies 
to secure the ladder line to the wire, some insulators and wire, and 
you'll have a much better antenna for about $100 investment...  And if 
you come across a used B&W folded dipole at a good price (I've seen them 
for around $100), buy it and play with it at your second home up north 
on Lake Huron...  You'll be surprised how quiet it is and how well it 
works -- no tuning -- search-n-pounce -- easy...

Vy 73, Mike - K8LH (Westland, MI)...