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!

No toroids required. No tuner required! No doubts about whether the transformer (in case of EFHW antennas) is well-built and trouble-free.

Things needed

  • Wire lugs * 2

  • 1/4 wire elements (~5 meters for 20m) * 3 - Polycab 0.5 sq mm or thicker

  • Heat shrink tubing

  • SO-239 chassis mount connector * 1

  • Decathlon fishing pole (5m long) - 1200 INR

  • Twist ties - always helpful ;)

Reference Photo - Quarter-Wave Vertical HF

Results

Within less than 24 hours of WSPR'ing from a 1st-floor balcony with ~1W RF output:

WSPR Results

It appears to be quite excellent for DX'ing!

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

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