THE REAL TRUTH ABOUT THE G5RV ANTENNA
FACT the abbreviation HF = High Frequency and refers to that portion of the electromagnetic spectrum from 3 MHz to 30 MHz
FACT the abbreviation MF = Medium Frequency and refers to that portion of the electromagnetic spectrum from 300 KHz to 3 MHz
FACT the G5RV:
• Was designed as a 20m DX antenna with moderate gain on that band
• Is a slightly long, Extended Double Zepp on 20 meters fed via a 300 – 450 Ohm tuned stub
• Is NOT resonant on any Amateur band
• Is a compromise antenna
• When installed as designed will give excellent results on the 20m band w/o a tuner
• When installed as designed and using an antenna tuner will give usable results on the 80m, 40m, 15m & 12m bands
• Was designed to be installed at 70’ or higher in a flat-top configuration using 100’ or more of RG-8 coax
• Is inefficient and ineffective when used on any band other than the 5 cited above
• Is not designed for use below 3MHz
• Should never be used below 3MHz
Truth Be Told – there are many variations of the G5RV being marketed. ALL of these variants are compromise antennas and are marketed with exaggerated claims of usability. IT IS ALL BLOWING SMOKE, in other words, it is all Marketing Hype. The only thing manufacturers of the G5RV antenna want is for the uneducated, ill-informed, lazy, gullible, HAM Operators to buy their barely marginal product.
Conclusions:
From W0BTU: “Although the popular G5RV antenna is often promoted as an antenna that works well on all bands from 80 through 10 meters, that is absolutely NOT the case. This is not to say that the G5RV doesn’t work well on SOME bands. But it does NOT work well on ALL HF bands [and should never be used below 3MHz…ed]. That’s my point. There are some bands where the SWR on the coax is out of sight and the feed line losses are astronomical.”
From W8JI: after extensive testing “Based on models and air testing the G5RV performs quite well as a 5-band antenna; those bands include 80, 40, 20, 15, and 12 meters. The [G5RV…ed] antenna will NOT work … on any other … band.”
References
1.HF Antennas for all locations (L. Moxon, G6XN)
2.G5RV multi-band antenna (Louis Varney, G5RV) http://www.astrosurf.com/luxorion/qsl-g5rv.htm
3.The G5RV Multiband Antenna … Up-to-Date (L. Varney, G5RV in The ARRL Antenna Compendium Vol. 1)
4.Practical Wire Antennas – Effective HF Designs for the Radio Amateur (J. Heys, G3BDQ)
5.ARRL Antenna Book 21st Edition – Chapter 7
6.Novice Antenna Notebook (D. DeMaw, W1FB)
7.Maxwell, W. (2010). Reflections III Transmission Lines & Antennas
8.What I learned from building my own G5RV / ZS6BKW Antenna (VK4MDX) http://vk4mdx.wordpress.com/2009/02/15/what-i-learned-from-building-my-own-g5rv-zs6bkw-antenna-part-1/
9.Practical Antenna Handbook (4th Edition, J. Carr)
10.HF Antenna Systems: The Easy Way (J. M. Haerle)
11.The ZS6BKW Multiband HF Antenna Revisited (M. Vincent, G3UKV) http://www.ab4oj.com/dl/sprat_zs6bkw.pdf