My new favorite HF antenna is the 1/4 Wave HF Vertical DX Antenna with 2 Elevated Radials.
It is NOT the most portable antenna (an EFHW wins there) but it is the easiest HF antenna to construct!
It is easier to construct, install, and tune than even the basic dipole antenna!
It takes less than 15 minutes to build and get on the air with this HF DX antenna!
No impedance transformer is required. After trimming, the antenna can directly
feed 50 Ω coax. A 1:1 common-mode choke (coax choke works too) at the
feedpoint is recommended but NOT absolutely required at low power levels.
Elevated Radials ARE a MUST: Mount the feedpoint approximately 2-3 m above local ground. Run the two radials in opposite directions, sloping downward symmetrically, while keeping their ends insulated and clear of the ground.
Things needed
Wire lugs * 2
Three quarter-wave wire elements, approximately ~5.3 m each for 20 m; start slightly longer for trimming - Polycab 0.5 sq mm or thicker
Heat shrink tubing
SO-239 chassis mount connector * 1
Decathlon
Ufish compact 5-m telescopic pole fishing poleNote: The pole must be RF-transparent
[Optional] Threadlocker adhesive (
Anabond 122 or 412 - 4ml)Twist ties - always helpful ;)
Note: Please ignore the 45-degree angle in the above sample picture.
Note 2: For 20 m, initially cut all three wires to approximately 5.2-5.3 m. Install the complete antenna in its final geometry, then shorten or fold back the wires symmetrically until resonance is at the desired frequency.
Results
Within less than 48 hours of WSPR'ing from a 1st-floor balcony with ~1W RF output:
The antenna produced widespread international WSPR reception with approximately 1 W from a partially obstructed first-floor balcony, demonstrating that this simple installation is effective for QRP DX operation.
Note: The West direction is blocked by multiple buildings!
Approximate propagation conditions:
$ python3 dx.py
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
HF DX INDEX - Current Conditions
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Updated: 2026-07-13 04:16 UTC
Band Now Rating Tomorrow
────────────────────────────────────────────────
10m 31.5 🔴 Poor 41.9 (Fair)
15m 17.4 ⚫ VeryPoor 10.1 (VeryPoor)
20m 33.4 🔴 Poor 37.1 (Fair)
40m 69.2 🟢 Good ⬆+58% 48.0 (Fair)
80m 46.1 🟠 Fair 40.7 (Fair)
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Source: tinyurl.com/HFDXProp | 73 de HB9VQQ
Antenna Tuning
Even in a space-constrained first-floor balcony, it was trivial to tune the antenna by just folding back some wire.
Previous Experience
Around December-2023, I did two park trips with this antenna design.
I even managed to get a Plus-FT8 report from Sweden from MK68 with a QRP TRX!