Great video and review Michael! I like that you took the time to tell about the Greek gods. Ape and Jim argue about the names each time we bring out a new antenna.
I've built a few EFHW's, this is the one I've actually deployed the most. Couple it with the sort of tuners that Xiegu and Elecraft put in their radios, and you can make the impossible possible.
I tried to build this kit using CaHRtenna's instructions. It was not very clear for 1st time builders like myself - or maybe I'm just getting too old. Anyway, the build was very clear and straight forward after watching your video! Thanks so much for going to the trouble of making the video. It is much appreciated. 73 & GB AG6HW
Michael, nice job in assembling the efhw antenna, and it sure is a great feeling when it works so well when you complete the project, thank you for sharing and keep'em coming!
Ive just been a ham for a year. Haven't used an end fed antenna yet. Think i may get one this week to experiment. Enjoy all your videos. Always informative and enjoyable.
I have the original version, the Artemis (and brother to Apollo) and I've been using it almost exclusively for more than a year now. Couldn't be happier with the quality of its parts and its performance.
The soldering is pretty straightforward, I'm sure you can handle it. The key is the clean the enamel coating off the best you can. A copious amount of flux helps too.
It's not hard to build, the worst is working with the enameled wire, which is a little stiff. There's a link to the instructions in the video description. Take a look at them before you decide to buy.
Darn it. Now I gotta go unwind all my neatly twisted magnet wire and twist it your way. Joking aside, your DX with that toroid winding proves more than good enough is more than good enough. Thank you.
Great review. I have their Ares random wire antenna. I deploy it as a sloper. Like you I have worked many POTA stations stateside and DX. It’s in my POTA bag! 73s W1FYG 🎙
Great review video, Michael! The Apollo looks like a high quality, well designed antenna - and at a very reasonable price point. I see so many other antennas available commercially that just seem a little too pricey for what they are. This one looks like it is fairly priced. How refreshing! Take care and God Bless.
Interesting, however, the company should offer an option where the toroid is already made. Eldery (which most hams are) hands dont work that well. That is why i never purchased an end fed. But good review, as usual.
That's not a bad idea. They use a relatively thick enameled wire, it feels like 14ga, and it was chore to wind even for me. There are some kits that use thinner wire, but then you are limited to the amount of power the transformer can handle.
Looking forward to using this video to assist with the build when I receive this antenna on Monday!! Do they supply any heat shrink to protect the middle section from the elements and abuse it could see?
Hi Michael, thanks for the great video. I have the Apollo and really like it. I love the wire that came with it and would love to find some more for other projects. One person here said it looks like Sotabeam wire. What's printed on the wire that came with my kit is 22 AWG 200° 200c I checked the Sotabeam website and they don't have any 22 AWG. So maybe that's not the source? Also, I really like the low memory and flexibility this wire seems to have. Do you know what that's called and what the coating might be? I ordered some 26AWG wire from both Sotabeam and DX Engineering and neither of those come close to being as nice as what came with my CAHR Apollo. Thanks for any info!
I don't believe it's the SOTAbeams wire. The wire on my unit is 22ga stranded, it appears to have a silicone insulator, hence the lack of memory the wire has. To my knowledge, CaHR is purchasing bulk 22ga silicone wire and winding it onto the frames.
They supply 90 feet of wire. 70 feet is for the antenna (less any amount for tuning) and the remaining 20 feet is to be used as counterpoise. I just laid it on the ground. My SWR values were within an acceptable range, so I didn't use the tuner. I may shorten the antenna a bit more, but I'm going to use it in a couple different locations to see if my numbers change before I make that determination.
Gonna start a debate, I apologize. Love the antenna. I wrapped my antenna just like you wrapped yours before a POTA. Got out there and I find that doing the figure 8 like what you have, takes more space in my bag and it is kind of a pain to deploy quickly. I went back to a straight wrap on one side with the counterpoise straight wrapped on the other side. KK6USY/Chuck said in a previous CaHR episode (might have been Ape or Jeem now that I think about it) that the wire doesn't imprint due to the silicone coating. Am I hurting my antenna if I do a straight wrap? Thanks for the videos. 73.
I believe you are right in that the silicon wire is less likely to have a memory imprint. I don't believe you are hurting anything by straight winding the wire. I always use the over/under and figure-8 methods for cables as its been drilled in me over the years of working in production. The thing I like about figure-8 is that I can hold the wire winder perpendicular, walk backwards, and the wire just falls off.
Now THAT was impressive, Michael. It seems quite the pileup generator. Am I correct in presuming that the ends of the wire were Northeast and Southwest? The propagation directivity seemed to favor Southeast, though I'm wondering where all the stations were in the Northwest ! I see an Apollo in my future. Thanks !
I checked the orientation on a map and the antenna was predominantly east-west with a slight NE-SW favor. If want to compare the coverage to a vertical, I have a recent blog post that shows similar propagation from that same location: www.jpole-antenna.com/2023/07/25/activation-log-taking-the-afternoon-off/. I do agree, though, this antenna performed extremely well in tough band conditions. It was also fun to build. If you haven't done so, yet; I recommend building an antenna from scratch or a kit.
I did spot myself and that will have an impact on the number of stations that return my call. I'm also first to say don't use on-air reports as a measure of the effectiveness or quality of an antenna; there are too many variables.
Tried to purchase one from the website but it says my address is not supported, bit odd as you can select the U.K. from the menu options but that's as far as it goes, once I entered the address it says not supported, shame.
There are a couple schools of thought on this. Some say a counterpoise isn't necessary and the antenna will work without one. But generally an end fed half wave works best with a counterpoise. You can string a counterpoise wire off the ground side of the connector, like demonstrated with this antenna, or use the outside braid of your coax as the counterpoise. I've done it both ways. If you use the coax as your counterpoise, it's recommended to choke it at some point near the transceiver to help curb RF in the shack. Ultimately, I believe that those who say a counterpoise isn't necessary are probably unknowingly using their coax as the counterpoise.
Can you give us the measurements in bananas, please? I find it easier to understand than the arbitrary Inches and Feet :) Thanks for the great content. Just kidding
Despite your casual observation of the costs, there's a bit more than $10 worth of parts there. The kit does save you the time and effort of tracking all the pieces down.
Great video and review Michael! I like that you took the time to tell about the Greek gods. Ape and Jim argue about the names each time we bring out a new antenna.
It's like that line from My Big Fat Greek Wedding. "Give me any word and I'll show you how it came from Greek."
I've built a few EFHW's, this is the one I've actually deployed the most. Couple it with the sort of tuners that Xiegu and Elecraft put in their radios, and you can make the impossible possible.
I tried to build this kit using CaHRtenna's instructions. It was not very clear for 1st time builders like myself - or maybe I'm just getting too old. Anyway, the build was very clear and straight forward after watching your video! Thanks so much for going to the trouble of making the video. It is much appreciated. 73 & GB AG6HW
I'm glad you found the video helpful. It's a fun build and I still enjoy using the antenna.
Michael, nice job in assembling the efhw antenna, and it sure is a great feeling when it works so well when you complete the project, thank you for sharing and keep'em coming!
This week's video puts the Apollo on the air again. I won't spoil it, but this antenna is a keeper.
Thanks for the kind words Michael! Chuck is sending me the J-Pole and I'm looking forward to checking it out!
Awesome, I'm sure it will work well for you.
Glad it worked out for you Michael, thanks 👍
I've got a feeling this antenna will pop up in future videos. I like the yellow wire, it sticks out like a sore thumb.
I just bought one of these hoping to try it out this weekend! Great video as always.
Great video, Mike. Have learned much from you. Will hopefully catch you on POTA one day.
I enjoyed the review very much. Thank you for sharing your time with us.
I love watching your projects. Thanks for sharing this clean and easy to do built. I will forward to my friend Jay for inspiration.
Ive just been a ham for a year. Haven't used an end fed antenna yet. Think i may get one this week to experiment. Enjoy all your videos. Always informative and enjoyable.
Wow, UK. Very nice. I have one of the prototype Apollo's and it has always worked very well. Thanks Michael.
I have the original version, the Artemis (and brother to Apollo) and I've been using it almost exclusively for more than a year now. Couldn't be happier with the quality of its parts and its performance.
I have the Artemis as well. It is my goto antenna for quick portable activations.
I do like random wire antennas. With a tuner you can go anywhere with them.
I'm happy to hear that you and the antenna mfg. were able to barter!
Thanks for the videos.
Nice work Mike. Those 49:1 EFHW antennas are pretty easy to build, especially for me with the soldering skills of boxer with boxing gloves on. 73!
The soldering is pretty straightforward, I'm sure you can handle it. The key is the clean the enamel coating off the best you can. A copious amount of flux helps too.
@@KB9VBRAntennas I was barely able to do the soldering for the KM4ACK EFHW, but in the end it worked. 73!
Your channel just gets better and better!!!! Thankyou 👍
Great job Michael !
Great job with the build!
As always thankyou,well explained and demonstrated great addition to any field trip..73s SCF942 KAROONDA STH AUSTRALIA 👍
I enjoyed this video. It was great watching you put the antenna together. Looks like something I should be able to do. Thanks Micheal.
It's not hard to build, the worst is working with the enameled wire, which is a little stiff. There's a link to the instructions in the video description. Take a look at them before you decide to buy.
Darn it. Now I gotta go unwind all my neatly twisted magnet wire and twist it your way. Joking aside, your DX with that toroid winding proves more than good enough is more than good enough. Thank you.
That thick enameled wire is not my favorite to work with. The windings don't have to look good, they just have to get through the core.
@@KB9VBRAntennas Agreed! You proved it with your DX… and every day I use your 2m on distant repeaters. Love your antennas!
Great review. I have their Ares random wire antenna. I deploy it as a sloper. Like you I have worked many POTA stations stateside and DX. It’s in my POTA bag! 73s W1FYG 🎙
I've also been running a home built random wire antenna in the same configuration. It works great and with a tuner you can go anywhere.
Great review video, Michael! The Apollo looks like a high quality, well designed antenna - and at a very reasonable price point. I see so many other antennas available commercially that just seem a little too pricey for what they are. This one looks like it is fairly priced. How refreshing!
Take care and God Bless.
The CaHR winder is no joke. I made their linked dipole. The winder is solid and makes it so portable.
It's one of the highest quality winders I've seen.
Sweet video. I own all of there antennas. They are awesome.
Awesome ❤
Interesting, however, the company should offer an option where the toroid is already made. Eldery (which most hams are) hands dont work that well. That is why i never purchased an end fed. But good review, as usual.
That's not a bad idea. They use a relatively thick enameled wire, it feels like 14ga, and it was chore to wind even for me. There are some kits that use thinner wire, but then you are limited to the amount of power the transformer can handle.
Looks like sotabeams wire and some high-quality parts. Might give this one a try.
Nice review.
Looking forward to using this video to assist with the build when I receive this antenna on Monday!! Do they supply any heat shrink to protect the middle section from the elements and abuse it could see?
A piece of heat shrink is included to protect the toroid and wiring of the antenna. I left it off for the purpose of video.
Hi Michael, thanks for the great video. I have the Apollo and really like it. I love the wire that came with it and would love to find some more for other projects. One person here said it looks like Sotabeam wire. What's printed on the wire that came with my kit is 22 AWG 200° 200c I checked the Sotabeam website and they don't have any 22 AWG. So maybe that's not the source? Also, I really like the low memory and flexibility this wire seems to have. Do you know what that's called and what the coating might be? I ordered some 26AWG wire from both Sotabeam and DX Engineering and neither of those come close to being as nice as what came with my CAHR Apollo. Thanks for any info!
I don't believe it's the SOTAbeams wire. The wire on my unit is 22ga stranded, it appears to have a silicone insulator, hence the lack of memory the wire has. To my knowledge, CaHR is purchasing bulk 22ga silicone wire and winding it onto the frames.
How long was the counterpoise? Was it just run on the ground? Did you use a tuner or just antenna directly to the radio. Thanks for the video! 73
They supply 90 feet of wire. 70 feet is for the antenna (less any amount for tuning) and the remaining 20 feet is to be used as counterpoise. I just laid it on the ground. My SWR values were within an acceptable range, so I didn't use the tuner. I may shorten the antenna a bit more, but I'm going to use it in a couple different locations to see if my numbers change before I make that determination.
Gonna start a debate, I apologize. Love the antenna. I wrapped my antenna just like you wrapped yours before a POTA. Got out there and I find that doing the figure 8 like what you have, takes more space in my bag and it is kind of a pain to deploy quickly. I went back to a straight wrap on one side with the counterpoise straight wrapped on the other side. KK6USY/Chuck said in a previous CaHR episode (might have been Ape or Jeem now that I think about it) that the wire doesn't imprint due to the silicone coating. Am I hurting my antenna if I do a straight wrap? Thanks for the videos. 73.
I believe you are right in that the silicon wire is less likely to have a memory imprint. I don't believe you are hurting anything by straight winding the wire. I always use the over/under and figure-8 methods for cables as its been drilled in me over the years of working in production. The thing I like about figure-8 is that I can hold the wire winder perpendicular, walk backwards, and the wire just falls off.
Now THAT was impressive, Michael. It seems quite the pileup generator. Am I correct in presuming that the ends of the wire were Northeast and Southwest? The propagation directivity seemed to favor Southeast, though I'm wondering where all the stations were in the Northwest ! I see an Apollo in my future. Thanks !
I checked the orientation on a map and the antenna was predominantly east-west with a slight NE-SW favor. If want to compare the coverage to a vertical, I have a recent blog post that shows similar propagation from that same location: www.jpole-antenna.com/2023/07/25/activation-log-taking-the-afternoon-off/. I do agree, though, this antenna performed extremely well in tough band conditions. It was also fun to build. If you haven't done so, yet; I recommend building an antenna from scratch or a kit.
@@KB9VBRAntennas I haven't yet, but look forward to the Apollo being my first kit build. Thanks, Michael.
I am guessing Hamalert deserves most of the credit for generating the pileup. 🙂
I did spot myself and that will have an impact on the number of stations that return my call. I'm also first to say don't use on-air reports as a measure of the effectiveness or quality of an antenna; there are too many variables.
Tried to purchase one from the website but it says my address is not supported, bit odd as you can select the U.K. from the menu options but that's as far as it goes, once I entered the address it says not supported, shame.
Did you use a counterpoise or did your coax do that job?
That antenna, the CaHR Apollo does come with a counterpoise and I used it
Is it correct to say that a counterpoise is not needed for this antenna?
There are a couple schools of thought on this. Some say a counterpoise isn't necessary and the antenna will work without one. But generally an end fed half wave works best with a counterpoise. You can string a counterpoise wire off the ground side of the connector, like demonstrated with this antenna, or use the outside braid of your coax as the counterpoise. I've done it both ways. If you use the coax as your counterpoise, it's recommended to choke it at some point near the transceiver to help curb RF in the shack.
Ultimately, I believe that those who say a counterpoise isn't necessary are probably unknowingly using their coax as the counterpoise.
@@KB9VBRAntennas Thank you Michael, for the very insightful response. -John
Good DX contact.
It was later in the afternoon, about 21:30 UTC. I think I hit a bit of grayline.
Can you give us the measurements in bananas, please? I find it easier to understand than the arbitrary Inches and Feet :) Thanks for the great content. Just kidding
Maybe that's the unit of measurement we need for those insisting on metric.
@@KB9VBRAntennas or just give them metric 😊
'promo sm'
$75.- Dollar for not even $10.- on parts and a simple instructions sheet?! What a ripp off!! 😆😝🤦🏻♂️
Despite your casual observation of the costs, there's a bit more than $10 worth of parts there. The kit does save you the time and effort of tracking all the pieces down.
Another good video mike!
Good useful and relevant! No BS, I like your style. de KI5DPA. 73