QRPGuys No-Tune End-Fed Half-Wave Antenna
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| Frequency | 80-10 m (no-tune, band-specific radiator lengths) |
| Bands | 80m, 40m, 30m, 20m, 17m, 15m, 12m, 10m |
| Power | Antenna kit. Rated ~20 W (standard) or ~10 W (Mini) - a QRP wire antenna. |
| Modes | end-fed half-wave (EFHW) wire antenna kit (toroid match) |
| feed | BNC on the matchbox; coax feed doubles as the counterpoise |
| wire | Band-specific half-wave radiator (set up per band) |
| power req | None - passive antenna. |
A cheap, ultralight no-tune EFHW kit perfect for QRP field work: the integral toroid match gives a good 50-ohm SWR per band with no ATU, the feedline serves as the counterpoise, and it deploys in any configuration. Building it is part of the fun, and it packs down to nothing.
It is QRP-rated (~20 W, ~10 W Mini) - not for a 100 W rig - requires kit assembly, and like any EFHW needs a fair wire length and a support. 80 m must be optimized for the upper or lower part of the band.
The QRPGuys No-Tune EFHW is a superb value QRP field antenna kit - no tuner, ultralight, multiband. The natural antenna companion to a QRP rig, if you are happy to build it and stay at low power.
The QRPGuys No-Tune End-Fed Half-Wave is an inexpensive, ultralight EFHW antenna kit aimed squarely at QRP field operating. Its integral toroid matching transformer steps the high impedance of a half-wave wire down to 50 ohms, and with band-specific radiator lengths it gives a good SWR (down to about 1.2:1 on an optimized band, and 2:1 or better across most of 80-10 m) with no antenna tuner. The coax feedline acts as the counterpoise, so there is no separate radial to lay out, and you can rig it as an inverted-V, horizontal, sloper or - on the higher bands - a vertical.
As a QRPGuys product it is a kit: you build the little matchbox yourself, which is part of the appeal, and the whole thing packs down to almost nothing for a backpack.
The limits are clear: it is QRP-rated (about 20 watts, or 10 for the Mini), so it is not for a 100 W station; it needs assembly; and, like any EFHW, it wants a reasonable length of wire and a support point, with 80 m optimized for either the upper or lower portion of the band. For a cheap, packable, no-tuner QRP multiband wire, it is hard to beat. Compare it with the Tufteln 49:1 EFHW and the PAR EndFedz EFT-10/20/40.