[Elecraft] Thanks! OT: Vertical doublets / baluns / tuners

[Stuart Rohre]

Joe,
Another thought.  The absolute arbiter of antenna function is field strength
radiated.

Get your self any old microammeter.   Put a germanium 1N34, or even silicon
1N4448 or 914 diode in series with cathode of diode to plus of meter.  Put
0.05 disk ceramic across the meter terminals.
Put a one foot of solid wire "whip" on the other end of diode.

Now, try this experiment:  Make a 10m dipole of 16 feet of hook up wire or
what have you, (22 ga. or larger).  Feed it in middle with 10.5 feet of RG
58 coax to it.  (No balun needed for this test).  Feed it 10m sigs from
transceiver or antenna analyzer.  Find a distance from dipole where the
field strength meter reading maxs out preferably in upper region of scale.
Mount it on wood pole or plastic there.

Make identical antenna from your zip cord with zip cord feeder.   Put it up
in exact place of the coax fed one.  Feed it signal, without moving FS
meter, see what it reads compared to first test.  Likely the percentage
difference, if any, will be small.   In any case, you will see that you are
radiating fine from the zip cord antenna.  That should give you some
confidence.  For a simple roll up emergency or camping antenna it will be
fine.  Lots less weight than that coax fed one.
GL and 72,
Stuart
K5KVH