The 80-40-20-10 Meter Fan Dipole Project

This article details the design and construction of a 4-band parallel fan dipole antenna covering the 80, 40, 20, and 10-meter bands. The project was undertaken in summer 2012 to replace an Alpha-Delta DX LB Plus antenna. The author used PVC-covered solid copper wire, pine dowels, and an Alpha-Delta C kit. The antenna was built at ground level, with wire lengths calculated using the 468/frequency formula. The longest wires, for 80m, are 12 gauge copper for strength. The design incorporates 6 inches of spacing between dipole elements, based on instinct and other multi-band fan dipole articles. Dowels are spaced 3-4 feet apart to prevent wire sagging. An antenna tuner, specifically an AA54 antenna analyzer, was used for tuning. The article discusses challenges such as managing long wires and the importance of equal leg lengths for each dipole.