[Elecraft] KAT1 (K1) & end-fed halfwave wire antenna

[Ed - K9EW]

> Has anyone tried either method?  (That is,
> direct connection of halfwave end-fed or tapping an inductor.)

Hi Mike,

This topic comes around every few months, so you can find a lot of
knowledge - both theoretical and practical - by searching the TenTec
and QRP-L archives for 'End Fed Halfwave' or 'EFHW'.

Most EFHW antennas use either an impedance transformer wound on a
toroid (Steve, AA5TB), a parallel LC with a tapped L (Don, W3FPR), or
a series L / shunt C matching network (Steve, KD1JV).  My apologies if
I got the references wrong.

All the above methods work.  I have not done enough work with EFHW
antennas myself to draw my own conclusion yet, but my *impression* is
that it's a convenient antenna for portable use, but not as good as a
conventional dipole (which is not as convenient to set up as a simple
wire).  I'm sure you'll get a variety of responses because this seems
to be a favorite topic.

73,
ed - k9ew