On 13 Nov 2006 12:20:16 -0800, "
wrote:

What's the difference between an end-fed dipole and a random wire?

Is an end-fed dipole really 'balanced'? If so, how is this balance
achieved, and does the balanced nature of an end-fed dipole mean it
doesn't require an rf ground the way a random wire would?

Thank you for your time.

There is such a thing as an end-fed Zepp; it's a half-wave wire with a
balanced feedline like 300 or 450-ohm ladderline.

These end fed Zepps were popular with the old Zeppelin airship radio
operators. Only one side of the balanced feedline is connected to the
antenna.

Look around the web for a diagram of one.

They don't require a ground, and an antenna tuner can be used for a
wider range of frequencies.

A random wire does require a counterpoise or ground if you're
transmitting, but when I had one up, it didn't seem to have much
effect on reception.

bob
k5qwg