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The Essential Portable HF Antenna: 100 Watt End Fed Half Wave Kit
Ham Radio Dude’s portable end fed half wave antenna, the Dudetenna, features a substantial toroid and reinforced radiating wire for 100 watt operation in both digital and sideband modes.
DudeTenna 100+ W EFHW Kit with 75ft Heavy Duty Antenna Wire.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1653131056/dudetenna-100-w-efhw-kit-ham-radio-end
DudeTenna 100W+ – EFHW Kit (Minus Wire)
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1653131992/dudetenna-100w-efhw-kit-minus-wire
Ham Radio Dude: https://www.youtube.com/@HAMRADIODUDE
How to build the Ham Radio Dude’s EFHW Kit: https://youtu.be/Y-ojVTQbszw
Tuning and adjusting the dudetenna: https://youtu.be/VvYtT-4UwqM
The dudetenna end fed half wave, like other end fed kits on the market is pretty similar to the others in construction and performance. I;ve always said that an end fed is an end fed and all the models on the market and going to work pretty much the same. But there are a couple of key differences in this antenna that set it apart.
First off, the Dudetenna uses a different toroid than the others. Most end feds that are capable of 100 watt transmit power will commonly use the T140-43 toroid. This antenna is different and its transformer is built around this larger Fair-rite 43 mix toroid. The bigger toroid has about three times the mass of the T140, giving you greater permeability and slightly more bandwidth. With a bigger toroid, it should handle a full 100 watts sideband without overheating.
The other two notable features are the use of an SO-239 or UHF female connection instead of a BNC, so no adapter will be required if your coax has PL-259s and finally, the kit comes with 75 feet of vectron fiber reinforced wire. Vectron fiber, much like Kevlar, will not stretch or break, giving your radiator wire greater mechanical strength for use out in the field.
The kit is also available with or without the wire, so you can build the transformer and then supply your own wire. It’s your choice.
Ham Radio Dude did send me a Dudetenna end fed half wave antenna kit to build and put on the air in exchange for a video. But my opinions are my own and there is no outside influence. So let’s head inside, build this antenna, and then put it on the air.
As a bonus, patrons can view an hour long video of me assembling the Dudetenna end fed half wave. Visit my page on Patreon for details: https://www.patreon.com/kb9vbrantennas
I do return QSL, if you made a contact with me and would like a QSL, please send me one. Return postage not necessary, but always appreciated. As they say, KB9VBR is ‘good in the book.
Timestamp:
00:00:00 Ham Radio Dude End Fed Half Wave
00:02:04 Dudetenna EFHW Parts
00:07:50 Assembling the end fed half wave antenna
00:09:02 Adjusting and tuning an EFHW antenna
00:14:53 Dudetenna on the air
00:17:24 Conclusion and my thoughts
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