A controversial topic: the End Fed Half Wave!
For years now I wasn’t a big fan of the End Fed Half Wave (EFHW). Simple because an end fed wire picks up more static, isn’t more efficient then let’s say a mono band dipole (so I thought) and generally speaking suffers more from RFI. But after our recent holiday in Zweden I found that an End Fed Random Wire worked really nice in a QRM-free environment. I decided, despite my dislike I need an EFHW in my portable bag to be as flexible as possible.
So I ordered at hfkits.nl a nice EFHW for 10/15/20/40 and 80m. When it arrived I assembled the kit. By the way: excellent documentation, easy to construct! I figured I need to test this antenna at home before I put it in my portable bag.
With the weather still nice here, I strung it up in the garden. Kind of sub optimal because it is actually too long. I had to fold the last piece of wire (after the extension coil) and stretch it at a right angle over my shed.
Quickly I fired up the ICOM IC-7610 to see what the EFHW delivered. I was surprised! I wrote many times before about the insane QRM-levels at my QTH. 80 and 40m are completely useless due to S9+10dB noise. And the noise isn’t completely removed but it’s overall 2 to 3 S-points lower. But more imported: the Signal to Noise-ratio (SNR) has improved quite a bit. I am able to copy quite a few signals now on 80 and 40 meter.
Firing out a few CW-signals showed me on Reverse Beacon Network the EFHW does a good job on transmitting too.
I am so happy to be able to work almost all HF-bands again! The EFHW stays on nicely and I’m going to order a new one for my portable bag…
