Gipsy 5-50MHz HF Horizontal Dipole Antenna Ant for Ham Radio Waterproof Balun

I'm new to the Amateur Radio world and originally limped my way into the realm of HF with an ATAS-25 tunable vertical antenna. That has served me well in VHF/UHF but has been an exercise in frustration in anything below that (and particularly difficult to tune for 6m).I decided to give this Gipsy a go and I'm simply wondering why I didn't do this any sooner! With 20m - 40m having been as active as they've been in the evenings lately, this is given me the oomph I needed to continue the never-ending quest of discovery that is being a ham. I've picked up stations from Australia, Romania, Italy, Spain, Slovenia, Russia, and all over the US. I'm in the Pacific Northwest and picked up a station from Ocala, FL that sounded like he was on a local 70cm repeater.The best part is how easy it is to deploy, as well as put away in its included bag...which, by the way, almost fits in the palm of your hand! Perfect to throw in your go-bag/box. But make no mistake.... despite its compact size (the 1:1 Balun is surprisingly small), it has substantial heft to it and feels quality. I believe the balun tube is made of real carbon fiber and the ends are aluminum or steel, as are the wire spoolers.

Was very skeptical when this antenna was pulled out during field day as a proposed substitute for a poor performing vertical. Rated to 100 watts, we decided to hoist it up and give it a try. Just wow! The band markings on the legs are very close and the internal tuner on a FT-991 had no trouble getting a match on 20m & 40m.

Lite weight.

Knock on wood, so far this thing is great. The QSO map is from a POTA activation in the pictures, today marked the sixth time I've deployed the antenna in the field. So far it's holding up great and you can't argue with the performance. Using my 7300 today it tuned up with zero issues on 20M with no discernable SWR on the meter at 80W SSB. This lives in my 857d man-pack primarily as a nice light option for portable work.

As a relatively new HAM, I am impressed. I set this antenna up on the opposite side of my house from the EFHW I've been using, and plugged both into a 3-antenna switching module. I deployed this dipole in an unusual configuration due to the limitations of my property- it's in a partly-sloping wide V-pattern, and it's not very high above my metal roof, with the peak of the V on the north-facing peak/highest point of my roof. I was really worried I'd have SWR meter readings way out of range... but to my surprise, it ranges from 1.3 to 1.8. Not bad... and I'm using it on 10, 20, 40 and 80 meters. The only thing that concerns me are the terminals where the wire connects to the balun... they're thin and wimpy. So far, I haven't had any problems with them, but they've only been up a couple of weeks. When I switch between my EFHW (that I reviewed very highly, btw) and the WINDCAMP dipole, what amazes me is how much less RF noise there is. I think the EFHW manages to punch out a bit better for the watts used, but the dipole just does a way better job reducing the background RF noise. All in all, I'm very happy with it, particularly at the price point.

This is one of those antennas that everyone should have in their go bag to use when SHTF. Yes, there are better options but this one packs small and will get the job done in an emergency.

The metal stamped crimping on the antenna elements is very convenient (no measurement required to get the right length for a certain band). No additional tuning is really needed to operate.The terminal posts that the elements connect to are a bit too close. Depending on which orientation the element connectors are screwed in, they may contact each other. A ring terminal would be a better choice for the termination on the elements, maybe I'll put some on myself soon.

I already had one of these antennas from windcamp. Loved it.I wanted a second set so I could make a cross/plus shaped dipole, to use two frequencies on the same antenna balun at the same time. All I had to do was change frequency, hit the tuner and I was switched to the second frequency. No modifications to the antenna needed.