G Whip coming soon

What they say about quality and performance! Just a few of the reports......read on!

Hi, when I came around to see you I was impressed to see the G Whip base antenna in action, if I recall the antenna was only about 6 feet off the ground and connected to an FT817 and you worked an OK station at S9 both ways with 2.5 watts. The absence of an ATU made me realise that I have fallen into bad habits over the years, tending to rely on Auto ATU’s to cover all eventualities.

I have owned a competing product for over a year (Buddipole), and was always afraid that the flimsy telescopic whips would be ruined with a slight gust of wind! Not so with the G-Whip. Stainless steel makes sure that our climate doesn’t prematurely shorten the lifespan of this antenna and would agree reading your statement that this antenna is made to a military specification.

May I wish you luck with future sales, I think that when word catches on, G Whip will become a household name once again!

Kind regards, Ian Ross M0CZV...................and, so impressed that I bought one!......thanks Ian

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Geoff, Despite the cold and a garden full of melted water, snow and mud I couldn't resist trying the GWB today - especially after all the effort you put into speeding along the build, testing and delivery in what must have been the worst weather of the winter! The supplied personalised test results for my antenna was a real surprise, but given the attention to detail and solid build quality it was the icing on the cake and a
great boost in confidence that all was well and it would work. Which it certainly did - in the limited time I had to run a test it tuned on 80
and on 17 with minimal fuss and on 17, I worked a couple of East coast State-side stations receiving 59 and 56 reports back (59 and 57 with me)
and then 59 both ways from Bosnia. The only problem I had was the proximity to the large trees and shrubs in the garden which had an
impact on tuning at different heights as it's difficult to get the antenna in the clear - this shouldn't be a problem when I can get out /P which was the main reason for getting the antenna. Roll on the warmer days! Thanks for a great piece of kit. Kevin. M0KSJ...............thanks Kevin.

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Today, I had a contact with a VA station near Quebec. Contact was initially made using my Comet H422 (in a V format) at 20 feet using a barefoot FT2000. During the QSO I switched to my G Whip base antenna which was also at 20 feet without any noticeable difference in signal strength in either direction. An amazing performance for an antenna about ½ the length of the Comet! I am a PW subscriber so have read the review and wholeheartedly support it. Many thanks for a fine product especially as it is British! ..........Alan G0RTH "A satisfied customer". ................thanks Alan

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My friend, the G Whip commercial base antenna is good for us, we are Shell oil and use the allocation here in Africa on 4MHz - 5MHz, we try Codan, we try Q Mac, but G Whip is best results, best quality, solid antenna....................... Thank you.......Nadir. Shell Oil Africa Office

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Very pleased with the unit especially on 160 Mtrs, like listening and have no big garden to put up a long-wire, if you use the centre only it is fabulous for general short-wave coverage with the 7Mhz coils, only 15 foot long........Peter Grimsby. Cambridge......PS want the loop antenna

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What quality! the build quality and components are superb and will last a lifetime. I worked lots on 80 Mtrs this week, really pleased and thanks for the FREE Top band coils and 70MHz whips, it is a bargain for the quality and results I am getting................Stephen G7 (callsign with held by request).

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Mad selling it for this price, the engineering work that has gone into this aerial is brilliant, I used a fishing rod to do what you have done (and had to use a tuner) and it lasted about 10 days before it fell to the floor in bits, good luck with a truly superb British Product that I discovered in Practical Wireless......Joe Sillario

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I was amazed at the quality! solid as a rock, I can change the system in seconds for different bands or frequency's.............Superb buy Alan Discole.

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Geoff, I received mine beautifully packed, looked at it and it is just brilliant in construction, so, put it in the loft and set it up as per personalised spec-sheet, it was way out of resonance probably due to the rafters and other junk in the loft, after 2 hours up/down in the loft I finally got there, spot on VSWR @ 3.725 MHz @ 1.2 /1. works great and can also drop in the tuner if I want to move HF/LF,(don't shout at me as I know an antenna should always be resonant), it has given me operation on 80 which I never had before due to limited antenna restrictions outdoors.........tks Harry G3....(Callsign withheld at request)

Geoff, Just a note to say that I now have the shipment. It took a while to arrive because of the snow and other competing commitments in the days that followed. I got the chance to check the contents at the weekend and it all looks fine. In fact I’d say this is the best constructed pair of antennas I have ever seen. Simon G4SGI ...............

This is antenna is just great...........................Pablo Avlavris PY7....(My Friend Fred bought it for me in the UK)

Geoff, all received ok, the packing was FAB, when I opened everything up I was amazed, wow is this built well or what? it is the best piece of amateur radio equipment I have ever purchased. I had lots of QSOs on 20 today, into the USA/Canada even to W5...................Thanks Douglas G3.....

I have had great fun with this antenna this Summer season with Sporadic E on 28MHz and 50MHz, I have limited garden space, this unit is good and takes up so little space. I would like to buy another one for my holiday home in Spain..............73 Joel: France

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Report from Richard G4WFR....................I went out to the New Forest today as there is plenty of space to play radio & tested the G Whip Zepp antenna out. It worked very well & my first QSO was with VK4 this afternoon followed by other VK’s, 9M6 & YB4 plus East & West coast USA & some Europeans. I was using my TS2000 with 100W running off the car battery.

(Feed point at top of mast, sloping to ground, G Whip End Fed 20 Mtrs: NOTE: Mast not supplied)

Using a similar idea the feed point can be mounted under the house gutter/eaves and sloped down the garden: (Note: No mast supplied)

Hi Geoff, well got mine at last due to postal strike and I must say how well it is built and packaged, went upstairs and lobbed it out of the window, tied the connecting box to the gutter, connected the coax, went to the radio, found a clear spot put out a CQ and back came a VE7! Wow!!! Wife does even not know it's there!..Magic and a nice piece of kit! .....Mike G4

I have just bought a Zepp for 20 Mtrs, it is made by MFJ and is the biggest piece of junk I have ever bought, yours however, is superb, Richard G4WFR is right! it is fantastic.

Superb! best antenna I have ever had for 20 Mtrs................Dennis Dyke The Netherlands

Allan G7VQV says................worked W7 on internet via gateway......then organised contact via RF mode and worked him direct! WOW and now I have the 40 mtr version as well.

Pete G3!!! had to laugh at this, a box, a wire, Went out /p on 20 mtrs..................holy moses! pile up after pile up, they thought I had a BIG amp, what a product and unbreakable wire............... G Whip you have a blinding product here.

Arrived yet??? Yes thank you, arrived at around 4 o'clock this afternoon, impressed with both packing and hardware. In almost indecent haste after unpacking and eating, put the 15mtr one up in lieu of a guy wire on the inv L antenna, checked the swr on the Autek and spot on.........Gave single call to ST2AR thru pile up....599, Then replied to a CQ from VE7SV.....single call again... 579 and during the chat was told I was one of the only European stns he could hear. Run the Pro 111 at about 90 watts, so it's looking promising.. Given decent wx tomorrow I'll try the other 2 and let you know how I get on. Give it a week or so to cover the vagaries of HF conditions. 73 Jack Batham G3LNC

What you can do with 5 watts and a resonant antenna.....................no tuner

We headed up the hills a few days before Christmas with a Yaesu FT-817 and a NorCal CW box. it was absolutely freezing so we fixed up a 10m pole attached to a farmers post and ran the 20m end fed Zepp with the feeder along the ground. It may have been better with the box in the air but it was so cold we wanted fast results and we were set up and back in the car in minutes. We started with the 817 and were getting Italy, Hungary and Serbia with just 5 watts and good reports on the quality of our signal, and it was the same impressive stuff with the little NorCal. I’m sure there’s more to be had by experimenting with position although on the day we favoured the warmth of the car. Overall its 10/10 from me on construction, performance and ease of set up for mobile QRP use, without doubt it’s a quality bit of kit. Best Regards Dave 2W0DRB

What you can do with 10 watts and a resonant antenna.....................no tuner

G Whip Zepp antennas......................These are the proverbial “mutts nuts”!

I bought a 20m version, put it on a pole that was lying around my garage about 8ft long, cable tied it to my fence, pulled out the wire radiator & jammed it to the top of my fence (about 5ft high) without insulating it, checked VSWR and the needle hardly moved at all, I answered a CQ from North America at about lunch time using only my allowed 10w and got a perfectly acceptable 59 report straight back, then South France with 57! The antenna was between two houses, low down as I have said, and orientation not even considered. The engineering of these antennas is bullet proof, you can throw a line (included in the package) over a tree or tied to the roof of your house, or on a pole / tower / anything else handy for that matter, at home or portable, & be on the air in minutes without an ATU, perfectly resonant on the band, & not wasting power in a lossy ATU . The Zepp’s come packaged in a box approx 9” by 4” so don’t take up much room when not in use or transporting or you can leave up permanently as they are tested in storms etc and the radiator is green Kevlar so semi hidden in the air and also unbreakable and will last a lifetime. I have since been back and now have 5 of them (different bands). Why mess about with compromise antennas and suffer TVI when you can make life simple for yourself with a Zepp? Oh and another thing --- they are too cheap!!! (remember no ATU to buy). Geoff is so helpful also, he answered all my emails very quickly, even when out of the country in Japan, he offers his free advice on anything you care to ask about, with no obligation. I can’t praise these enough and have no hesitation in recommending them. They are not a beam, but don’t cost the same as a beam and so easy to put up (compared to a beam), and perform great too. Happy DXing 73 MM6RSP (restricted to 10w)

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Geoff and Janet, now that Christmas is over and I have been allowed to open my gifts, I thought that a quick update may be appreciated. Earlier this month, (after the rotten weather), I installed the 20 mtr, 15 mtr and 17 mtr end fed zepps boxes under the house eaves, running the wire antenna with supplied cord tied to rubber bungees then to trees in the garden. The installation is so easy giving a very good swr all along the 20 mtr and 15 mtr bands, however, I did have swr ratio of +2:1 along the 17 mtr zepp for the first week or so, a quick check was carried out and found that the swr dipped below 1.5:1 around 18.35 Mhz. For whatever reason this minor problem has gone, (snow and ice on the lawn below has now disappeared) and there is a low swr all along the band. Having got the antennas up and rig running I have only had a couple of hours or so on air, no DX so far but that's to be expected and I look forward to better conditions. Thanks for the service and I look forward to many hours of operating with the antennas. All the best for the New Year. Regards, Dave GM0KCN

Can you please send me the 10mtr mini ef as the 20mtr you sent me is the best antenna that I ever used for QRP .......Thanks MM6TCH Shane. 73s

Geoff , I wanted to drop you a note to thank you for the excellent service both in terms of the advice you gave and the quick turn around in getting my End Fed antenna out to me. I am seriously impressed in the overall quality of the product it feels solid and is clearly engineered to a very high level. I have yet to try it with my 817 as I have been away but I am sure it will be a fantastic performer........... Paul Jay

Hi Geoff, I just wanted to say thanks for such a good antenna – I’ve ended up stringing it up NNE-SSW in my front garden tied between the metal hinge on my upstairs shack window and a suitable bush and I was getting into Bulgaria just now on 4-5W with no issues. .....Thanks Graeme M6GMB

Hi Geoff,

Now, for a little bit of feedback on your 20m end fed. basically Geoff one word sums it up "amazing". Last week I had two good contacts into Norway with 58 reports one gave me a compliment on my signal and audio quality for 10 watts. I then had a contact into Finland with a 57 report, a distance of 1200 miles. I have had several contacts into Italy with good reports and tonight I made contact with FG4NN in Guadeloupe a distance of 4107 on 10 watts!!!.....Tomorrow I will write a glowing review for you on eham. Thanks for such a great product. I will be back for more.....73's Andy (M6AZA)......................Eham report......I have only been a licensed Radio Amateur for a short while and therefore only permitted to use 10 watts as a Foundation licence holder. I had used a G5RV which was ok but this required a tuner, meaning that some of my precious power was being lost in its operation. I was looking for something that would be resonant on the required band and I also needed something that would have a low visual impact.

I came across the G whip end fed Zepp and decided to buy one for the 20m band. My initial impression was that the unit was well made and it was very easy to install. My shack is at the bottom of my garden so I attached the box to the top of a pole at 10ft and sloped the antenna up to my house, attaching the other end at 20ft. This was roughly North to South.

My first impression of its operation was that it was much quieter than the G5RV and I was able to hear stations at distances that I had not been able to previously. I made a number of good contacts into Europe with good signal reports, but the most notable contact was with an FG station in Guadeloupe a distance of 4100 miles from my QTH in the UK!!!

In conclusion, I have found this antenna to be an excellent cost effective performer. Geoff at G Whip is also incredibly helpful and always replied to my emails promptly. As someone who is new to the hobby, this is a real comfort.

I since purchased a QRP version for my FT817 and portable work and will be back for a 17M version soon.

Excellent product, quality and service!!

FOLLOW UP>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Hi Geoff, Just a short note to say thanks for the 17m end fed that arrived yesterday. I put it up when I got home last night and had a little play with it. The band was rather quiet last night but I did get a good contact into Spain who gave me a 59+10db report. I gave him the same report and he couldn’t believe that I was using 10watts and an end fed antenna! He was using 100w through a 3 element beam! I will do a review for you again on eham when I have had a bit more time with it. I want to buy a base system from you at some point to give me access to 80 and 160m, but space is getting a little tight in my garden now. Thanks again for your wonderful antennas. I am continually singing the merits of them on air.............Andy

Report from Martin M0KZC below.....................

Said I'd give you some feedback on the EFZ antenna. I used the 20m version /P from my caravan whilst on holiday in Cornwall and am very pleased. These
antennas are ideal for /P working - easy and quick to erect, robust and with good performance. Fed with 100W in 'sloper' configuration it easily outperformed my multi band vertical both in terms of signal reports and, of course, received noise. From an unpromising location I was able to work
around Europe and North America (when condx allowed) with solid 59 reports, only VP8 was a 'getaway' owing to pile-up behavour. I did initially attach
a tuner (just in case !) but didn't need it. You know what's coming next................... I'd like to obtain another for 20m and others for 15 and 10m please. Martin M0KZC

Report from Keith GJ6TMM below......................

Last month i bought 2 end feed Zepps from Geoff. 1 for 20m and 1 for 10m. I watched Geoff build them and test them on air. When I got back to Jersey I did not have time to test them for a couple of weeks. Since then i have tested them against my vertical multi band. Switching between the vertical and the Zepp my received reports went from 55 to 59+.
This evening i have called once to stations on 20m that were working pileups and got through 1st time. JW ZB2 and HZ1.10m has been the same,1st or 2nd call and they come back to me. All I can say is i need more for the other HF bands.
Thanks Geoff and Janet and GWHIP.......................GJ6TMM Keith

Hi Geoff..................

Many thanks for sending the 20m Zepp antenna. It arrived the day I went on holiday so I have had to wait a few days to put it through its paces. I was very pleased with the way it arrived, very nicely packaged and of excellent build quality. I can see that a lot of thought has gone into making a substantial piece of kit. I have got it set up at an angle as suggested and the maximum height is about 28 ft tapering down to 6 ft above the ground. It is also on a cord and pulley system so that it can be made unobtrusive when required. I have been listening to the 20m contest taking part this week end. I found that the general background noise was very reduced and signals came in sharp and crisp. I found that some signals came booming in and surprisingly did not register more than 53 to 57. Using the aerial I answered some of the contest calls and made contacts in, Belgium, Denmark, Belarus, Italy, Finland, Denmark and Slovenia. Many thanks for a very nice unit. I am very pleased and anticipate it will give me a lot of fun in the future. Many thanks for all your interest and, of course, a good antenna...................Roger 2E0IHB

................As a relative newcomer to amateur radio, my first G-Whip order for a 10m end-fed was placed about a week before Christmas. Geoff had just run
out of ready-made units, but very kindly offered to build one from scratch. Despite the madness of the Christmas time post, the antenna arrived, sturdily packed, well before the festivities began. The quality is outstanding and a credit to British-built equipment - and of course Geoff himself. The Kevlar wire, though very flexible, really is amazingly tough and I can't see any way this would ever fail - ideal for my mountaintop QTH with its frequent 70mph gusts. And of course, the beautifully-made matching unit only adds to the overall quality of these units, as does the provision of all those bits - weatherproofing
tape for the coax plug and socket, end insulator and suspension cords, and even cable ties to secure the coax to the matching unit - that other manufacturers typically leave out. All this for £45. With quality and service like this, Geoff is clearly going to be getting plenty of repeat business from me!
John Rowlands, MW1CFN.
Finalist - BBC Radio 4 Amateur Scientist of the Year, 2010.

Hi, Just to say that I managed Ukraine and Greece at the weekend, on 10mtrs with 5 watts. Your zepp antennas do their stuff alright. Very pleased with them thanks. Best regards Brian, G7FAL.

Allan, G7VQV comments: "had a good afternoon with it, was up at Cheese Foot Head, Nr Winchester on the road to Petersfield, and was working IOM, Denmark, Holland, Portugal etc on 20, 40 and 80 mtrs, and did hear the USA...............thanks Geoff.............You made my day"............PS: and today (29/8/2009) I worked the US and lots lots more..............checkout Allans website here

We have had over 50 5 star reports on this antenna, for the price it really is good based around it's optimum resonance of 7MHz, super on 7MHz, good on 14MHz, no good on 28 MHz (no propagation!) and does work on 3.6MHz.

Very pleased with the widebander, had my first qso on 160 mtrs, brill on 80 mtrs and even wkd a VK in Tasmania on 40 mtrs, all for £35.00

Geoff ...The Widebander is a fantastic piece of equipment I wanted to drop you a note to thank you for getting it out to me so quickly. It arrived a couple of days after placing the order well packaged and in perfect order as with all previous orders. The antenna is beautifully made opening the unun casing reveals a work of art I don’t think I have ever seen a commercially available amateur radio product so well put together. Performance is excellent the inbuilt ATU on my radio had no problems tuning the antenna on the bands I tried it on. I set mine up with the radiator sloping from the eaves of my house and the counterpoise a foot above ground level secured to a fence post. Very very pleased with the product many thanks Geoff again for all your help and advice. Thanks!..................Paul Jay

Hello Geoff.................I tried out the antenna on a few bands at the weekend when I had a minute or two. I had contacts on 10, 15, 20 & 40m. Best DX with my 5 watts were contacts with two east coast W's and a UA0 on 20m. I had a few contacts on 40m. This is a band that has proved difficult for this QTH. I was quite surprised as I worked DL, OZ, SM, OH & LA first call & no repeats. In total I worked 20 countries, mostly EU's. Didn't have time to get on 80m but I will try it sometime...................Dave, GM4HQF

Geoff, You might be interested in the following experience I had with the G-Whip on the bike (CARA = Cheltenham Amateur Radio Association). I used the shorter bottom mast as that reduced swing when in motion. The antenna was mechanically sound using a spring base and I had no real problems (it was keen to unscrew itself at times because of the excessive vibration but remained attached). Although I didn’t get as many QSOs this year as last, I am satisfied with the antenna and can confirm that it works impressively on 20m when mounted on a mountain bike. This is a tough installation and I appreciate it when an antenna can still perform even in adverse circumstances like these. Getting transatlantic QSOs on SSB using just 5W from a bicycle really makes you feel like you have achieved something. Thanks once again for bringing this product back to life. Regards. Simon................G4SGI

Wow G Whip what quality you offer, I bought a 4/1 from a well known business, what a heap of junk for £30.00, a made in China product I guess, but won't be going back there again, I do like my G Whip balun, it's a work of art.....Dave G4......

From Martin G8JNJ: I have known Geoff for some time, and all of his products are absolutely first rate quality, will withstand all sorts of abuse and will work as they are intended to. This is not surprising, as many GWhip products are based on tried and tested commercial designs, which have been sold in large numbers to various governments all around the world. GWhip Baluns and Ununs are unique in that they utilise special mix ferrite materials, which out perform many other types available to amateur constructors (and small scale manufacturers). PTFE covered wire and high grade materials are used throughout. In order to ensure consistent performance over many years of use. This can be verified from photographs showing detail of the construction, and in some cases individual measured performance plots, which are shown on the G Whip website.......www.gwhip.co.uk I just don’t understand why folks continue to buy cheap Baluns and Ununs wound on Iron powder (or similar) core materials that simply do not work properly. It would be hard to make your own version for the same price - Highly recommended......Martin G8JNJ

I bought the 4:1 balun to convert ladder line to coax. This one was one of the ex display models and has a clear perspex lid - showing incredible attention to detail & quality.....Highly recommended..............M5TAW

This product is built to military standards and I reckon would withstand a nuclear bomb. Puts other products at this price to shame. Comes complete with an individual frequency sweep and all the accessories to bond balanced to unbalanced together and fix it in a secure way. Ordered Saturday and delivered Monday. If only other Ham accessories were made this way! Check out the web site ...... www.gwhip.co.uk......Engineering at it's best! M0AZE

Sweep of 4/1 500 watt balun 1.8 MHz to 50MHz: Red trace is VSWR, Blue trace is return loss

Having been given excellent reports on your G Whip receive antenna by a VK3 friend who bought one recently I would also like to buy one.
Please advise on the availability and cost including postage to Australia. Best wishes Frank Holden VK3JFH

Greetings,
I have finally got around to doing a proper side by side test on the antenna I purchased from you earlier this year. I used my Kenwood R5000 connected through a Diamond CX310 switch to the the G Whip RX, an AOR - 7000 , and a simple six metre vertical length of wire. The 20 frequencies used ranged from MW broadcast up to 17.895 MHz. While the AOR7000 performed a bit better than the vertical wire the Gwhip was invariably at least 2 S points higher and on a few occasions as much as 3 or 4 S points greater than either of them. The only area where they all performed equally was around 13.900 to 14.300.
I am very happy with my purchase..............Best wishes..................Frank Holden..................VK3JFH