By Don Rhodes, Yarra Glen, Victoria, Australia
I have been using an inverted V antenna as my ham antenna for 40 and 80 metres for some years. Its main advantage is that it only needs one central support. The other 2 ends form an upside down V and come close to the ground, but have to be insulated from it. Especially good for lower frequency work.
The formula for the TOTAL length of the antenna is, LENGTH OF WIRE IN FEET EQUALS 464, divided by the frequency in MHZ. So for the 7.1 MHz ham band, equals 65.35 feet as a total length. or about 32 odd feet in each LEG, fed WITH 50 OHM COAX VIA A BALUN IF YOU HAVE ONE. For listening purposes you could dispense with the balun, but you might get more noise.
Of course as all dipoles its mainly a single band antenna, but I find it works well on all the broadcast bands as a random wire. The angle of the V should be 90 degrees, but mine never has been. The central pole should be as long as possible however. Use ceramic insulators for all three connection points. (November 2003)