BUDDIPOLE IN THE FIELD

Foreword
Back in early 2000 a self-described tinkerer and lifelong ham radio
enthusiast designed in his garage a rotatable dipole antenna made of
common everyday components, including CPVC pipe, speaker wire, and
adjustable TV whip antennas. The antenna quickly gained an online
following of “hf portable ops” who were intrigued by the antenna’s
effectiveness, portability, and ease of use. The antenna soon became
known as “the Buddipole” (short for “Budd's dipole”), named for the
inventor, Budd (W3FF), who also happens to be my father.
Today, the commercial version of the Buddipole can be found on every
continent, and nearly every country in the world. The design has
evolved from a simple horizontal dipole to a modular set of
components, designed to be mixed-and-matched, to create many other
configurations. Some of these antennas include verticals, vertical beams,
jpoles, Yagis, and other “Frankantennas,” many of which have proven to
be remarkably effective given their particular application.
One person who has been instrumental in adding to the knowledge pool
of how to maximize the effectiveness of the Buddipole system is B. Scott
Andersen, NE1RD. I got to know Scott on our first “100 pound
DXpedition” to the Caribbean island of Montserrat in 2007. What
impressed me most about him was his meticulous (some would say
“ruthless”) preparation ethic. Our ragtag group of operators, who for
the most part had never met in person, were soon passengers on the
“NE1RD express planning train,” complete with weekly conference
calls, equipment spreadsheets, band plans, and operating schedules.
Scott aptly penned the motto for this first trip as “not rare, but well
done,” and the discipline paid off with the benefits having carried
through to our most recent trip to St. Lucia in February 2010.
Scott applies this same type of discipline to his selection of antennas,
with an emphasis on increasing performance by increasing the physical
size of the antenna, creating more efficient grounding systems, and other
tips and tricks that operators at all skill levels will find useful. He
removes a lot of the inevitable subjectivity that is so prevalent in many
antenna discussion circles, and backs up his findings with antenna
modeling that confirms his theories. We’re lucky that he’s been willing
to share his knowledge with us.
As we approach the 10th year of business at Buddipole (really, has it
been 10 years?) we’re as excited as we’ve ever been about the potential of
this unique portable antenna system, and the new ideas and products