DEWD UR0GT?

In another thread i advised building a DEWD because i have modelled one in CocoaNEC and it gives (in theory) an SWR of 1.1:1 between 26.5 and 28.5 Mhz. I find that almost to good to be true, so my question is there anyone who used this antenna and can confirm that theory is right in practice? Before i start building me one?

73

Hi Karel,

That's probably part of the 'fun' of antenna experimentation, modelling AND building.

I always remember with antennas that 'you don't get something for nothing' so would expect a DEWD to be a little bit down compared to a standard dipole.

Had a similar issue when reading up on terminated antennas, lots of theory, lots of modelling and when I did find those that had actually built them, quite conflicting results. In the end I had to physically build them myself to see the results first hand.
Indeed they are as wide-banded as modelled, (SWR of 2:1 or less across the whole HF band!), but they stink in terms of performance compared to my fan dipole array.
(Built a T2FD, a triple, a terminated loop and a Bonnie Crystal terminated butterfly).

Was it a waste of time? Depends on how you view it, I actually had fun building them and gained hands on experience.

So much so that I modified my dipole array to include zig-zag dipoles for 80m and 10/11m. With a matcher I can bring the low impedance up and now get all the bands of interest for me and much better so than a terminated affair. I can even squeeze a little 160m performance with the matcher and although not perfect, still gives me top band operation. Better than none at all


They say every antenna is a compromise, it's just a case of finding a compromise that fits your needs.

If a modelled antenna looks promising then maybe build one and see for yourself. If you're waiting for someone else to build one you could find yourself with a long wait and like me obtain conflicting results.

Enjoy your experiments.


All the best,
Victor

It wasn't so much about a waste of time, but about a waste of good aluminum  
And being almost not electronically but mechanically educated i try to keep the antenna as simple as possible. Thanks for commenting.

73

No worries Karel, it was in the spirit of offering help.

Have fun with your antenna work.

73

So, tried another design. I'd describe that as a short(20cm) boom 2 element Yagi. 2Dbi extra max gain compared to the DEWD. SWR <1.1 between 27 and 28.5Mhz. Below 2 up to 29.5Mhz. And still simple to build. Thanks Victor for getting me thinking.

73