G5RV Antenna (Homebrew / Commercial)
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| Frequency | 3.5-30 MHz (all HF bands with tuner; resonant ~14 MHz) |
| Bands | 80m, 40m, 30m, 20m, 17m, 15m, 12m, 10m |
| Modes | SSB, CW, AM, FM, digital |
| Connector | SO-239 |
| Year | 1946 |
| feedpoint | SO-239 |
The most-discussed multiband wire antenna in amateur radio. 102 feet of wire and a 34-foot section of 450-ohm ladder line. Designed by Louis Varney G5RV for 20m — presents a good match on 20m without a tuner. Works on 80m through 10m with a tuner. Simple, cheap, and millions have been built. Half-size version (G5RV Jr) fits smaller spaces, and the re-proportioned ZS6BKW variant matches more bands without a tuner. Commercially available as ready-made kits.
Requires a tuner on most bands (20m is the design band where it works best without one). The ladder-line section must hang vertically and be kept away from metal objects. Performance varies by installation height and environment. SWR is poor on 40m and 80m without a tuner. The internet argument about whether the G5RV is actually a good antenna has been running since Usenet.
Everyone has an opinion about the G5RV. Some operators swear by it; others swear at it. The truth is that 102 feet of wire hung high works on multiple bands because physics does not care about your feelings. Hang it as high as possible and use a tuner.
The G5RV is one of the most popular multi-band HF wire antennas ever devised — a center-fed dipole designed by the British amateur Louis Varney (G5RV, hence the name). The classic version is a 102-foot flat-top fed through a roughly 34-foot section of 450-ohm ladder line, which then connects to coax running to the shack. That 102-foot length is three half-waves on 20 meters, which is the band it is really optimized for.
The ladder-line section acts as an impedance-matching transformer, and with an antenna tuner the G5RV will load up and radiate on essentially all the HF bands from 80 through 10 meters. The honest caveat is that it is a compromise: the SWR is rarely close to 1:1 on any band without a tuner, and it is not a high-gain antenna — but it is simple, inexpensive, and a genuinely useful all-band wire for a station with room to hang 102 feet.
It remains a default first HF antenna for many operators. For a tuner-free resonant alternative, the end-fed half-wave is increasingly popular, and the historic Zepp uses a related end-fed, ladder-line-fed approach.