6 Meters

Soon after I was licensed, I knew I wanted to take advantage of 6 meters. Now, at the same time, I was hanging a End Fed Half Wave for 10 meters through 80 meters, and wanted a simple omnidirectional antenna. Talking with Frank, W8EZT, and his donation of some aluminum tube/bar, it was decided on a dipole. Does it get any more simple than a dipole? I decided to use a PVC pipe coupling as the center spacer, tapped the aluminum tube and grabbed a few stainless steel bolts. After putting it together, I quickly attached paracord to the antenna, and suspended it approximately 5' off the ground for tuning. After an hour of slow trimming and checking with my NanoVNA, I got a wonderfully wide band tuned dipole. It could be refined with a capacitor and/or a resistor, but to get on the air quickly, its perfect.

Now, you might be thinking, "Isn't a dipole directional?" Yes, it would be if mounted horizontally. Instead, I mounted it vertically, where the bottom is approximately 17' from the ground, and it is about 17' out from the tree trunk and the feed point of the EFHW antenna. The biggest test, how does it actually work. As of the writing of this webpage, I have made many contacts via FT8 (5777 miles), SSB Voice (1179 miles) and numerous contacts on 6 meter repeaters, all barefoot.