[Elecraft] The "Kinda Random Antenna"

[Lynn W. Taylor, WB6UUT]

Lots of dipole calculators on the net.  The total length of a center fed 
dipole is 1/2 wave, and that's the magic number.

If you are operating at 14.300 and you're trying to end-feed a wire that 
is 32.7 feet long (same length as a dipole, but *not* fed at the 
middle), the impedance will be very high.

Add 16.3 feet, and you won't be a half-wave, you'll be 3/4 wave long, 
and the impedance at the end should be well within the range of a good 
tuner.

Double the length, and you're at a full wave, and it's the same 
impedance (more or less) as trying to end-feed a half-wave.

Doesn't matter what you do, if your "randomly chosen" length turns out 
to be a multiple of one half wave on a frequency you want to use, then 
the stock tuner in most any radio is going to have trouble tuning it.

73 -- Lynn