Steve Dick, K1RF

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In search of the Holy Grail
 A multiband, simple, wire
antenna that is low cost,
easy to build, doesn’t
need a wide range
antenna tuner, and easy
to deploy.
 The off center fed dipole
(OCFD) is a good attempt
at finding the Holy Grail.
 For more info join the Courtesy DJ0IP
groups.io OCFD group

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The Windom has a storied history
 Gory details here by Robert Brown, M0RZF with Contributions by Rick
Westerman, DJ0IP
 The actual birth came when Howard M. Williams, W9BXQ, was first to feed a
half wavelength horizontal wire off centre with a single feed-line.
 1929: After involvement of many people, Byrne wrote an earlier thesis paper on
it, but Windom got the credit in the Sept. 1929 issue of QST.
 1950-1980:
 Single wire feeder was replaced with ladderline by Günter Schwarzbeck, DL1BU
 1959: Ladderline replaced with coax and an ugly balun by (Buck) Rogers, K4ABT
 1970: Coax plus transformer and balun by Kurt Fritzel (DJ2XH) and Fritz Spillner (DJ2KY)
 1980s: Carolina Windom (uses the coax as a radiating part of the antenna, with the common
mode choke some way down the coax.)
 1980-Today: Much testing and advances in simulation tools resulted in new
feedpoint splits, better performing baluns, and even an end-connected OCFD
 Most offset designs with different feed arrangement are strictly not Windoms,
though the name has stuck and forms a kind of “brand” like G5RV.

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80m-40m-30m-20m-17m-12m-
15m-10m OCFD feedpoint Variants
 Over the last decade or so,
modern simulation tools
and much additional testing
established a multitude of
different feedpoint splits
which allow operation on
15 meters as well as some
Courtesy Serge Stroobandt ON4AA
of the WARC bands,
depending on the feedpoint
See what happens at ~20%,
29.7%, and 33% splits chosen
(dashed lines)

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On 80m OCFD Antenna Splits
 Rick Westerman, DJ0IP, offered the following
Comments: “The sweetspots have been known for
almost 8 years now. It depends on which bands
you want to use it on.”

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On 80m OCFD Antenna Splits
-cont’d
 “Use either 20 percent or one of the two 29
percent feedpoints. I have personally built about
20 of the ones that use the 29.7%, hung them in
many different locations, with various lengths and
angles of the inverted V. They ALWAYS work on
those 5 classic ham bands. Most of the time I
don’t even need an antenna matchbox.”

– Rick Westerman DJ0IP

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80m-40m-20m-15m-10m 29.7% feedpoint,
recommended configuration
*

DJ0IP,N4CY

* Cut below 3.5MHz to allow upper bands to line up. Adding C

moved 80M resonance up without affecting higher bands. Use a
doorknob cap for C or 3 paralleled ceramic high voltage “blue caps”
from eBay. Three paralleled 100pF caps will work.
none ~ 3.45 MHz, 500pF ~ 3.6MHz, 300pF ~ 3.7MHz, 100pF ~ 4MHz
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80-10m OCFD Simulations 135 ft long 35 ft
above ground level (AGL), 300pF at center
including 4 to 1 Hybrid balun + 50 ft RG8X

29.7% split Classic 33.3% split

covers 15 meters Somewhat lower VSWRs on many bands;
does not cover 15 meters: VSWR at antenna
is ~17 to 1 on15 meters! <18% efficient!
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40m-20m-15m-10m low VSWR OCFD
68 ft long, 40.5% feedpoint value from ON4AA
recommended configuration

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40-10M OCFD VSWRs
Simulated incl. 4:1 hybrid balun +50 ft RG-8X
35 ft above ground level (AGL)

40M 20M

15M 10M

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On OCFD Baluns
 4:1 or 6:1 balun are used by different vendors, but my
own simulations show that 4:1 usually gives lower
VSWRs and are simpler to construct for good
performance.
 RF current flowing on the outer surface of the coax
needs to be addressed for the asymmetric OCFD. The
larger the feedpoint offset, the worse the problem
becomes. If not managed, the coax becomes part of
the antenna, skewing many of the antenna’s
characteristics, including resonance points. Worse yet,
the characteristics then change with changes in length
of coax.
 The larger the feedpoint offset, the larger the common
mode problem increases
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On OCFD Baluns, cont’d
 A 4:1 Ruthroff balun is a voltage balun and has little
choking. It is fine for 4 to 1 impedance matching.
Good by itself only for Carolina Windoms
 A 2-core 4:1 Guanella balun provides choking as it is
a current balun as well as for impedance matching.
 A Hybrid balun, (combination of 4 to 1 Ruthroff and
1:1 Guanella) has about twice the choking
impedance of a 2-core 4:1 Guanella balun for the
same style toroid used in both 1:1 and 4:1
Guanellas. It is the recommended balun for an
OCFD.
 All 3 types have much wider bandwidths and much
lower losses than end fed half wave transformers.
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4 to 1 Ruthroff Voltage Balun
 Simple design needing only a single
toroid or toroid stack
 Typically uses parallel wire or twisted
pair forming a 100 ohm transmission
line and type 61 ferrite for good
efficiency
 Good for 4:1 impedance matching
 Wide bandwidth
Low power 4:1 Voltage balun Courtesy N4CY  Not a good transformer by itself for an
OCFD because it has little choking
impedance.

 It has little choking impedance because

current through points a and c is in
opposite direction of current through b
and d reducing the effective choking
inductance at point 2, and point 1 is a
direct connection to the rig with zero
choking impedance!

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4 to 1 Guanella Current Balun
 Drives balanced load currents
despite the load being unbalanced
 Requires 2 toroids
 Typically made with type 61 material
for good efficiency or 43 for better
choking by itself and 100 ohm
parallel or twisted pair transmission
line. OK for 40M and above OCFDs
 Common mode choking is only half
as much as that of a 1:1 Guanella for
the same type toroid and winding
Inputs in parallel and outputs in series
 Claimed Single core 4:1 current
baluns don’t work – snake oil!
Each of the FT140-61 cores has 10 bifilar
turns of 16 gauge, high build magnet wire
with a Teflon Sleeve. A 1 to 1 Guanella
balun made from 17 turns of RG-316,
on a FT140-43 core can be cascaded with it
to make an excellent hybrid balun.
Courtesy N4CY
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1 to 1 Guanella Current Balun
 Drives balanced load
currents despite the load
being unbalanced
 Requires 1 toroid or toroid
stack
 Typically made with type 43
material for good choking
and 50 ohm coax since both
input and output impedance
are 50 ohms
Courtesy DJ0IP  Common mode impedance
is ~ twice as much as that of
Note: Cross-wound is optional, primarily
for mechanical reasons a 4:1 dual core Guanella

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4:1 Hybrid Balun (Recommended)

Low power Hybrid Balun Courtesy N4CY

Coax feed

 Cascade of a 4 to 1 Ruthroff Voltage Balun and a 1 to 1 Guanella

Balun
 Minimum complexity for a good performing 4 to 1 balun for
impedance matching with good choking
 The 1:1 Guanella balun exhibits about twice the common-mode
choking impedance of a 4:1 Guanella balun constructed from two
chokes identical to the 1:1 Guanella balun element used here
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Field Day 4:1 Hybrid Balun
courtesy Everett Sharp N4CY

In the Files section of the groups.io OCFD group

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K1RF recommended low power hybrid
balun (mod of N4CY balun)
 Can take 100 watts continuous for digital
modes:
 Ruthroff balun:
 Fair Rite P/N 5961001201 (tall version of
FT114-61) ($2.76 qty 1, $2.38 qty 10 at
Mouser)14 bilifar or twisted pair turns #20
awg, teflon insulated
 Guanella Balun
 Fair Rite P/N 5943001201 (Tall version of
FT114-43) ($1.78 qty 1, $1.19 qty 10) 36”
length of RG-316, 17 turns
 18
High Power 4:1 Hybrid Balun
 The Mother of All Baluns (MOAB) courtesy Everett Sharp N4CY
 Up to 1500 watts digital modes

Note: 2 cascaded Guanella cores doubles impedance and spreads power

over two cores reducing power dissipation in each by a factor of 4.
For up to 600 watts digital modes, can use a single FT240-43 with 17T RG-400
for the1:1 Guanella current balun instead of the two FT240-31s with 14 turns
RG-400.

In Files section of Groups.io OCFD group 19

On Homebrew baluns
 You will know that you have a good
balun with no false promises by vendors
who are either scammers or just don’t
understand the application
 You will reduce your cost
 You will be proud of what you built
 Few vendors know how to make a good
hybrid balun with good choking
impedance, especially on 80 meters.

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Possible premium components
for an 80-40-20-15-10 meter high or low power OCFD

Total cost $182.93 for an 80 meter high

power OCFD or use a low power 4:1
hybrid balun from Palomar for lower cost
and lighter weight for $152.93 or even
cheaper with your own wire

+Extra end insulators for other antennas!

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Notes on Balun Designs 4116
High Power Hybrid Balun
 $103.95
 Rated 1.5 - 54MHz 3kW
 Good quality components
 According to DJ0IP, the 4116 has sufficient common mode
inpedance (CMI) for a 40M OCFD but falls a little short on
80M and way short on 160M. My own simulation shows
inadequate CMI on 80 meters but works well on 40.
 For 80m operation, low CMI can be mitigated with either
ferrite beads or a 1:1 Guanella balun at the coax feedpoint.
 Inadequate CMI is the primary cause of OCFD balun
overheating. Most important on lowest band of operation.
 DJ0IP recommended to a few people for 80M operation with
the 4116 is to remove the choke and rewind it with as many
turns of coax that fit. Then it will work just fine on 80m and
still work on 40m.
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Recommended OCFD antennas
 807-XX sold by Spiderbeam (U.S. rep Vibroplex) $249
for heavy Duty version -HD), $129 for lightweight
version (-L), 600W with 30M at reduced power.
 8 Bands: 80/40/30/20/17/15/12/10/6m plus 30M (but
high VSWR and works at reduced power and needs
antenna tuner.) 40M OCFD also available.
 40M version: 404-UL covers 40/20/17/15/12/10/6m
 Designed by Rick Westerman, DJ0IP for
Spiderbeam. Review here and here for the 807-XX
Review for the 404-UL here (begins on P52)
 Palomar Engineers OCFD. 8 bands: 80-40-20-17-15-
12-10-6. 500/1.5KW/5KW $169.95, $199.95, $239.95
Review here. 23
End Fed Half Wave vs.
Off center fed dipole
 Antenna patterns are not very different
 An EFHW is just a very offset version of an
OCFD
 OFCD hybrid baluns are much more
efficient than EFHW transformers
 They are based on transmission line
transformers with low turns ratios
 Smaller and cheaper transformer
components for a given power level.
 Very easy to make high power OCFD hybrid
baluns vs. high power EFHW transformers
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The End-Connected OCFD (ECOCFD)

 In ~2010 the “City Windom” was introduced by

Evgeniy Slodkevich, UA3AHM . The current
evolution of the multi-band ECOCFD design was
inspired by Robert Brown, M0RZF for 40 meters and
David Cutter, G3UNA for 40/80 meters. Much
additional work by Leland M. Farrer (Mel) K6KBE
 It has heritage back to the sleeve dipole commonly
used in VHF/UHF antennas. Here is the twist, the
antenna is end fed with coax to a 1:1 choke instead of
a separate sleeve. This effectively isolates the shield
of the "radiating coax" section to RF and makes it a
radiating sleeve! See QST magazine, May 2022 by Phil
Salas, AD5X, “An End Fed Center Fed 20M portable
antenna” for the sleeve concept.
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ECOCFD Concept

+ bleeder

(Connected as 2:1
autotransformer)
Radiating section
Dwg courtesy K6KBE

 Can be used as a flat top, inverted L, inverted V, sloper, etc. Baluns have
much lower losses than typical EFHW balun. Only needs 2 attachment
points for some configurations such as from a building window. More
amenable to high power operation with efficient baluns
 I estimate several dozen 80 and 40 meter versions built
 Planned to be used in the IOTA
MM0UKI – IOTA . See the amazing talk here
entitled “June 23 Rockall DX Expedition”
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K1RF Simulated Inverted L Version ECOCFD

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K1RF 40M ECOCFD Simulated VSWRs
including the baluns + 50 ft RG8X coax

40M 20M

15M 10M

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80-40-30-20-15-10
Experimental Compact OCFD
 Concept from W8JI. Good efficiency, no coils or
traps, low loss hybrid balun
 Brought to the group’s attention by Rick
Westerman DJ0IP
 Modeled and refined by K1RF – not yet built or
tested. 85.5’

330pF
50 ohm 27’
w/bleeder, 26% point of top wire
coax
to rig 27’ 35’ agl

4:1 hybrid 8’ agl

balun
Ground

Recommended antenna wire: Wireman 532 #18AWG copper clad steel 30

Compact 80M OCFD Simulated VSWR Plots
w/hybrid balun, 50 ft RG8X (not yet optimized)

80M 40M 30M

20M 15M 10M

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40-20-15-10m
Experimental Compact OCFD
 Modeled by K1RF, not yet built or tested.
 Just wire and a hybrid balun. No additional capacitors, inductors, traps.
Very efficient, good antenna patterns. 20M approaches a dipole in gain.
 Much more efficient than a vertical. No ground radials
Radiation on all bands primarily broadside to the top wire.

29.6’
50 ohm 28’
coax
to rig 12.1’ 35’ agl

4:1 hybrid 7’ agl

balun
Ground

Also works fine with vertical wire 23’ high and top horizontal wire 34.6’ long
for a height of 30’ above ground level. Recommended antenna wire:
Wireman 532 #18AWG copper clad steel 32
Resources
 Multiband HF Center-Loaded Off-Center-Fed Dipoles Serge Stroobandt, ON4AA.
 Off-Center Fed Dipole Antennas (Windom) – DJ0IP
 Field Day OCF Antenna Project
N4CY in groups.io OCFD group
 Balun BS in the DJ01P folder in the files section of the groups.io OCFD group
- Rick Westerman, DJ0IP A must read!!!
 The Future Of OCFD: "Current Sums Antenna" (CSA)
- Rick Westerman, DJ01P
 Affect of End Effect on OCFDs
-Rick Westerman DJ0IP
 Baluns
-Karinya.net
 A compact 4:1 Hybrid Balun for use on a OCF Antenna in groups.io OCFD group
-Everett Sharp N4CY
 Why the preference for Guanella 1:1 current baluns for HF wire antennas
-Owen Duffy
 Windom Off Center Fed
-W8JI
Component Sources Rick Westerman, DJ0IP

K8BA Modeled feedpoint data files courtesy DJ01P

DIY ECODFD by Mel Farrer , K6KBE in groups.io/OCFD group

“An end fed center fed 20 meter portable antenna QST Magazine May 2022 pp 30-32”
- Phil Salas, AD6X

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