My #hamr Weekend Update | DXing With Buddipole

DXing With Buddipole

Good afternoon from inside shackadelic where I'm scanning 12m for signals using my Buddipole antenna system. The off center fed dipole is a temporary antenna solution in a home owner association ruled community. I can assemble all the parts in less than 30 minutes and hoist it to a maximum height of 18 feet before checking standing wave ratio (SWR). It is not visually overwhelming neither does it consume a lot of space to deploy.

HOA
What is important to me and most likely the community inside our complex is 1.) the antenna system is not a permanent structure and 2.) it is not visually detracting from the view of the Pacific Ocean.

The Buddipole off center fed dipole is a lot fun when positioned in front of the first floor terrace. My vertical antenna system with its 25 radials is sandwiched between our condo and the unit next door. The vertical is off to the right of the photograph behind a vinyl fence. Its feed point is about 6 inches above the ground with most of electromagnetic energy consumed by near by objects.

SWR?
My vertical covers 20, 15, and 10m and the Buddipole covers 80 through 10m with WARC bands included. I'm especially pleased with its performance on 12m however my SWR on 17m is problematic despite correct coil configurations. The problem is adjusting the length of the whips and dropping the near 3:1 SWR into the 17m CW portion of the band.

It's a real hassle having to walk back into the shack and take a reading then walk back to the front yard. There is a rule about hopping the banister as a short cut for safety reasons. I'm either going to purchase an antenna analyzer or borrow one in order to establish a reasonably good SWR and record the measurements without having to use the TS850 automatic antenna match.

I'm not a big fan of using antenna matches when it isn't really necessary.

Winter DXing
On the other hand, I purchased an 80m coil with radial and the Buddipole can be configured vertically for 40m as well. The same can be said about all the bands. The best time for low band DXing is during the long hours of night with a good cup of coffee. Likewise, I need to consider a 60 foot plus radial and that is going to take finessing.

Conclusion
I logged the following on 12m this weekend KP2/K5WE, N8OO, XE2X, YV5/AC4LN, JA1LZR, WB9ICH, and KE5HL. Currently, there are only 4 entities confirmed on 12m LoTW and I want to pump up the credits before the conclusion of Cycle 24 when high band DXing (10, 12, and 15m) goes on hiatus.

73 from the shackadelic near the beach.