WorldwideDX Amateur Radio Forums

Does anybody still remember that design of a half wave end fed antenna for 11m that came out in the 70's or earlier? Made from a piece of RG58 coax cable one length no joins from the radio to the tip. Strip off the plastic shield and braid for 8'6" or so and make a choke of 3-5 turns (forget) on 6" diameter the same length down from where the braid stops.
If it was a vertical dipole you would fold the braid back.
Don't hear anything of this design any more but I used it in my youth with an AM 0.5w handheld and remember it working very well.
It still appeals to me as it is cheap, no connections, nothing to burn out and could be run inside a piece of tapered fibreglass to get it in the air. Rolls up real small and doesn't get tangled up like a dipole.
These days we could use ferrite baluns as the choke and RG8X for the cable. Could use cheap excess RG59 coax as well I guess. SWR at radio would only be 1.5:1 with RG59.
Nobody talks about this any more so I guess it had some drawbacks.
Any comments? great portable or emergency concept.
Biggest problem I see with this antenna is getting it in the air!
Thanks,
Dave

something like this ?

The Vertical Bazooka Antenna - Ham Radio Library

Very similar indeed but this one has the braid folded back which makes it a center fed dipole. The one I saw the braid was cut at the center point and just the radiator exposed. I would also have thought that folding the braid back was the way to go too...

This bazooka design saves wastage of coax in the coils. Neater in some ways.

Yes, it is still used, and the discussion comes up about fairly frequently - Vertical Coaxial Sleeved Dipole.

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The one I remember was different. it did not have a sleeve. The braid was removed and not folded back.
rgds,
Dave