[SMCARA] Buddipole Buddistick

Tue Oct 14 15:46:52 EDT 2014

Hi Chris,

I am a long time user and fan of the Buddipole, so would be glad to answer any questions.  In the spirit of full disclosure, I am a personal friend of Budd and Chris Drummond and have gone on several of their DXPeditions!

I started a long time ago with a homemade Buddipole, using Budd's instructions.  I used some coil stock to make the coils and also tried winding  my own using Formvar insulated copper wire on PVC formers.  Both worked well, as does the version made with Radio Shack speaker wire.  Construction is easy, and the parts were sourced from Lowes.  Construction is non-critical and you can improvise to your heart's content!  It works well with just a SWR bridge to adjust, although an antenna analyzer will make it a bit quicker to tune up.

 After going on the first DXpedition with Budd to VP-2M, Montserrat, in the Caribbean, I opted for the Deluxe Buddipole kit and have subsequently added a few of the accessories.  I would be happy to show it to you, perhaps at the tailgate fest.  If you have problems that you cannot sort out, a call to Budd will get you all the help you need.

One thing to keep in mind and that is that the Buddiepole is not designed for permanent outdoor use, although some folks have done that.  If you want something permanent, I would consider one of the Maldol or Comet multiband dipoles. These antennas use multiple loading coils and you don't need to change coils to change bands.   My son, W6RTC, has one mounted on the privacy fence on his apartment patio.  When he wants to operate, he just raises it up to about 15 feet and drops it out of sight when done.  This keeps the Neighborhood Anti Antenna Nazis at bay!

Either the homebrew or the commercial BP may be set up as a vertical (BuddiStick), with the addition of a min of one radial.  Most of the antennas we used on the DXPeditions were in the Buddistick configuration with one radial aimed in the direction of choice.  Even though it is a vertical, the single radial configuration displays a bit of directionality.  A Buddipole on the lower bands like 40 Meters, tend to be "cloud warmers"!  OK, if you want NVIS, but not so great for DX.  Once you get up to 17 thru 10 meters, the dipole works great, as it is not as close to the earth in keeping with the half wave elevation recommended for a horizontal antenna.

Another antenna you might consider is Phil Salas' vertical: http://www.ad5x.com/images/Articles/VerticalRevH.pdf   This is another homebrew (I made one of these also), made from Lowe's stuff and it works well.  His latest version uses aluminum tubing for the vertical element, although I used black Fiberglas sprinkler system pipe from Lowe's.  The AL tubing is the way to go. A partial parts kit is available: http://www.dxengineering.com/search/product-line/mfj-ad5x-portable-antenna-project-kits

Keep in mind these are compromise antennas and will not work like a full size dipole or a beam at 100 feet!  We can dream, right?  In any event you will make contacts and have fun!  That's all that counts, eh?

73 De Tom/W4OKW/VP2MTC/W4OKW/6/EA7BXP/TF0AA

-----Original Message-----
From: SMCARA [mailto:smcara-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Daniel Metcalf
Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2014 2:07 PM
To: Chris Ordiway
Cc: smcara at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [SMCARA] Buddipole Buddistick

Chris,

I have the Buddipole Deluxe system and I enjoy it! A couple recommendations 1st is to get the longer mast with the guy kit and 2nd get an antenna analyzer. The company is good about providing instructions as to how to set it up for each band but I have found that utilizing an analyzer to optimize it for lowest SWR helps.

Dan -- KB3UUN

On Tue, 2014-10-14 at 13:04 -0400, Chris Ordiway wrote:
> Howdy gang,
>
> I'm looking for opinions on the Buddipole and Buddistick designs for a
> multi-band antenna. I'm limited on space so even a simple dipole is
> too long for me, and I don't have a way to elevate it anyhow. (I live
> in an RV
> campground.) I found plans for a homebrew Buddipole that looks like a
> fun project but would like some feedback on the design before I start
> buying supplies for a dud antenna. And in case anyone else wants to
> try the website with the plans is here:
> https://sites.google.com/site/w3ffhomepage/
>  I wish he had more photos but his descriptions seem pretty thorough.
>
> Thanks all!
> Chris - KC3DIG (/AG!)
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