W5GI Mystery antenna installed

[g5turbo81]

I saw this antenna on several websites, and I thought I would build it and report it's results. So here goes...

I found the plans for building this antenna here: W5GI Mystery Antenna by dxzone.com

It took me one hour, and using some scraps of wire, coax, and open wire, I constructed the antenna based on the specifications given on the website. I hung the antenna 40 feet off the ground, clear of any power lines, and metal obstructions. I have to say, this antenna is a very good performer. I cut 4 pieces of wire 17 feet, and 2 sections of Coax (Belden) 16 feet 6 inches. I used 31 feet of 300 ohm open wire, and connected some more Belden coax to the bottom of the open wire,connected that to a and then fed it to my MFJ tuner for shortwave use. It works exceptionally well. I then hooked it up to my Palstar auto AT and checked it on the ham bands. It will tune from 80 to 10 meters with 160 being possible if you operate this antenna as a Marconi. It's very quiet, and I was skeptical about it until I built it and tried it. I operated in the CQ WPX contest this weekend, and I did very well with this antenna. I worked Morocco on 10 meters and 50 watts, also working Brazil, Mexico, D4C in Cape Verde and several HK and LP stations as well as a couple EA stations. I would give this some serious consideration if you have the time, and extra material. Just my 2 cents.

Matt

KD0MNA
NNN0FEOT

 

[prcguy]

Did you compare it side by side to any other antenna? Without a reference its hard to tell how well it works.
prcguy

 

[g5turbo81]

W5gi

Comparison model was a Flat top G5RV full size at 40 feet high. The tests per band are as follows:
160:Not tried it yet...Most reports show that it doesn't work here with the W5GI. Will find out...
75/80: - No huge difference in noise, but Signal Strength was 2 S Units higher on the W5
40: 2 S units stronger then the G5RV. Noticeable difference on receive.CW on 40 was much better with the W5GI.
20: This is where it started to really shine.. The W5GI shows having a 6 lobe Radiation pattern, what I do see a consistent 2-4 S units difference with the use of the W5GI over the G5RV. If I hear them, I can work them.The G5RV did a good job on 20, it's a 3/2 wave there, but the W5 Was stronger in all aspects. Lower noise floor with the W5GI.
17: W5GI doesn't do a great job here..1:6:1 with an R of 76 though it is usable..G5RV doesnt tune here..Receive on this band is outstanding on the W5GI.
15/12/10:W5GI tunes well here with a tuner..the G5RV doesn't tune these bands well at all.Had 5+9 signals reports from anyone I worked.

My conclusion is that W5GI tunes quicker then the G5RV. The noise floor on the W5 is lower by 2-3 S units in some bands and weak stations are heard by 2, sometimes 3 s units better then the G5RV. No, it won't beat my beam by any stretch, but for scraps laying around, and an hour of time, it was well worth it. If you don't have the space to run it flat, you can do an inverted V at 30 feet and get good results.
The W5 also claims to work on 6 Meters and 2 Meters... I have yet to try this.

Next test is against my Loops for 20 and 40 meters. I'll report back after this weekend.