Capacitive Antenna Designs and Construction Projects

Find schematics and building guides for compact capacitive antennas, including MicroVert and other space-saving designs.

David
Reviewed by • Senior RF Engineer & Technical Editor • March 2026

Capacitive antennas offer hams a solution for operating on lower HF bands like 40 or 80 meters when space is severely limited. These designs achieve resonance with very short physical lengths by using significant top-loading or other capacitive elements, making them practical for small city lots, portable operations, or stealth installations. While often a compromise compared to full-sized wire antennas, they can still provide effective radiated power for local QSOs and even some DX on crowded bands.

Operators interested in these compact designs can find various experimental projects and construction details. Resources include designs for specific bands, such as the MicroVert antenna concept by DL7PE, and practical builds for 40m and 80m. Some links also provide online calculators to help with the design and tuning of these unique antenna projects, allowing hams to optimize their compact stations.

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  • Capacitive Antenna by DL7JV
    4.5/5 (2)
    Capacitive Antenna by DL7JV — DL7JV
    Experimenting with capacitive antennas for 40 and 80 meters band. A very space-saving antenna with good receivings caracteristics
  • Capacitive Antennas
    4.0/5 (2)
    Capacitive Antennas
    HB9MTN Capacitive antennas for 40m, 30m AND 20m
  • Microvert antennas by DL7PE
    3.5/5 (8)
    Microvert antennas by DL7PE — DL7PE
    Progress in Design of Extremely Short Transmitting Antennas Short and still efficient, how is that possible? By Juergen Schaefer, DL7PE author of the MicroVert antenna concept. The MicroVert introduced in this document is an extremely short and hardly visible short-wave antenna with outstanding radiation properties
  • KD5RVX MicroVert Antenna
    No votes
    KD5RVX MicroVert Antenna — KD5RVX
    A Microvert antenna by KD5RVX based on the original microvert concept by DL7PE. PDF includes a 20 foot portable PVC tower project
  • Microvert Antenna for 40m by ON7IR
    No votes
    Microvert Antenna for 40m by ON7IR — ON7IR
    A mircovert antenna assembled for the 40m version of the DL7PE antenna. A one meter long aluminum tube with 24mm diameter is used for the base (element 1) and a 50cm aluminum tube with 20mm diameter for element 2 (the extention). A pvc pipe, 34cm long and with a diameter of 38mm, is used to wind the coil on (1mm enamelled copper wire).