WINDCAMP 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.

I started off with this in my driveway and worked fairly good. I took this out to the park in NTX and put it up 20 ft in the center and with my radio set at 80 watts, I had 61 contacts from all four corners of the states and almost all contacts reported me with a strong 57 59 signal . It is small and compact and works very well, the second time i took it out115 contacts including Mexico and Canada. I am pleased with how easy it is to set up, the frequencies are marked, just unstring it to your desired frequency and I elevate to inverted V style.

The wire has markings for how much to unwind depending on the band. If you use an inverted V, this with drastically change your center and/or end height above ground and/or angle per band. Will tune 80m when fully extended. VERY narrow band. Inner compartments of the bag were unhelpful so I removed them. I added zip ties to the balun and loops of rope to the aluminum spools. Also added tent stakes to the bag. Just things for you to consider. One of the red plastic parts of a banana plug has half broken off. Still works for not. The balun needs some form of attachment point. I shouldn’t have to add zip ties. The wire spools are nice but they shouldn’t feel like the nicest part of an antenna kit. As stated above, the bag was also subpar. So the only thing I’m not complaining about is the wire and spools. Which I had to add rope to. May just get another balun and bag. The wire spools with markings etc should be an individual item. I love them.

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.

DO NOT BUY THIS..... I bought this antenna and not even a week later the finish that is around the wire is peeling off the antenna, I HAVE NOT EVEN USED IT YET as I am waiting for the coax cable. DO NOT BUY THIS ANTENNA unless you feel like wrapping it in electrical tape. I will be getting a refund

It worked OK on 20 meters But antenna wire frayed and broke after the first Field day. I wish it were more durable.

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.

Easy to set up. Every thing is marked

This antenna work extremely well on 20-40 meters.

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