This antenna had been in my head for a while but I didn’t have a good reason to build one until we were camping in Hayward, WI. While we were there several friends sent me messages saying 6 meters was open huge. I didn’t have a six meter antenna or anything to build one. At that time I decided I was going to build this antenna to keep in the camper. I built it for 6, 10, 15, 17, 20 and 40 meters.
It's really a normal dipole with threaded couplers soldered in the right places for each band.
I used 3/16 hose barb adapters from Watts as couplers. These do work great because you can solder to them but they are a little expensive. You may be able to come up with something less expensive that will work fine.
Push the tinned wire through the barb and put a 90 degree bend in it to keep it from coming out.
Place several pieces of solder in the barb. Be careful not to get any solder on the threads.
Heat the barb with a plumbing torch just enough to melt the solder.
Cool it with a wet rag so you don’t melt the insulation on the wire.
I dressed up each barb with a little heat shrink tubing. I also suggest you mark each section to identify what band it’s for.
This is the end loop to tie your rope to. It is always the end and is measured as part of the antenna on each band.
