The G5RV Antenna Story - The Design, the Facts and the Myths!

I had the great privilege to work Louis while he was at his Uruguay QTH. He was using a G5RV of course and told me he used 85' of open wire feedline. I used this antenna for many years for 80-20M. 73...W6QR

Peter, this is one of your very BEST episodes! It is in depth,, easy to understand and historical. BRAVO!

Thanks for a historical perspective on what has to be the most talked about antenna in HAM radio 👍! 73 de Dan WD4DB

Love the G5RV - my first main antenna. Someone gave me some lengths of cadmium copper and at first I fed with 75 ohm Suhner cable(someone donated). I continued to experiment and found quite a few archived articles on the subject, I then fed with open wire feeder all the way back to my tuner. I think I saw a photo of G5RV at his QTH with this feeder method. I need to search these things out of my clutter. Great vid. Thanks Mike

Hi Peter. The G5RV full & half size antenna were always my favourite antenna when I had a garden. Many thanks for this in depth video, it's very informative, as are all of your video's. Kind regards. 73 de Pete GI0FZT.

When I was going to high school in Canada, I got talking to our caretaker. As we chatted he told me about his career as a radio operator aboard commercial ships, rats electrocuted in the transmitter tank coil. Later he told me how he got interested in radio as a young lad, he would collect empty cigarette packets for the foil, splitting lead pencils to use the pencil lead to make resistors, I found all this riveting.

Many years ago I built a half size G5RV, including making my own open wire feeder. It was a pretty poor antenna, but I saw an article in QST about an antenna for the new 12m band. It was a 50 foot top and a 1/8 wavelength phasing stub to make a colinear. So I chopped the open wire feeder down and used it on 12m. Incredible antenna, especially as it was broadside to the USA and up at a fair height.

This is one of your best videos dude! My main issue with the doublet, G5RV or the ZS6BKW is the ladder line drop. I just haven't been able to implement that straight down pattern well. That said, those I know who use a doublet really get great results!

Thank you Peter, very interesting,

Very interesting video! Really enjoyed it

Thank you for this. It's now saved in my radio section for future reference.

Excellent presentation and history lesson. Probably most G5RC antennas users don't know the origins. I have been experimenting with EFHW antennas but your presentation has inspired me to now DIY a G5RV type antenna. I could buy one but much more is gained from DIY experiments. 73 KC2IQW

Great video. I like the easy-to-understand explanation of the antenna and also the history. I've never used one, but I like the simplicity.

Thanks for your excellent videos, Peter. Have you seen the videos of Louis talking to the Norfolk ARC (2 parts) in 1990. He certainly did use a balanced tuning/matching unit at the shack end of the 5RV. 73, G3TXZ.

Thanks, cheers from the U.S.

Bravo gret story glad you made a video on this antenna 👍💯

I love the story Peter. Wouldn't it be interesting to make a sequel about the ZS6BKW as it afaik is based on the G5RV.? I forgot to write down my actual lengths when I built my ZS6BKW, but at about 40 Ft in between two pine trees it is certainly a good all-round performer! 40m and 20m are matching almost 1:1 and for the other bands my external LDG tuner keeps the radio happy. Even on 15m where the antenna has a very high SWR. However, despite knowing that coax loss (100 Ft of LMR400) with such SWR is also quite high, and there might be just 25Watts being radiated, I did make several very interesting contacts on 15m! It has the same X shaped lobes as the G5RV, and thanks to those I make it into Europe, Pacific and Asia as well. I can't move the pine trees, but the pattern just worked out well. Despite Louis Varney's advise, I do use a 1:1 BalUn and Choke combination between the 450 Ohm ladderline and 50 Ohm coax. At the shack entry there's another 1:1 current choke inline to be sure there's no noise and common mode entering the shack that way. Both are rated 5KW so it will take some effort to warm those up.

Louis published an article in the ARRL Antenna Compendium Vol 1(1985): The G5RV Multiband Antenna...Up-to-Date. He suggests an 84' length of open wire feeder in that article. W6QR

Great video and informative

Very interesting, Peter Thank You. I have a half G5RV and I think it's a brilliant antenna. It's only about 12 feet of ground level through a ladder line in a 90-degree 'L' shape around my fence supported on slate battens into 991A. The tuner in the 991A works perfectly into it and the furthest distance I have had is Nicaragua on 35 watts :) Happy Ham here. Thanks for the vid. 2E0WFL