G5RV
From BrauhausWiki
The G5RV has been my main HF antenna for several years. I currently have a Van Gorden G5RV-JR, purchased from HRO. It was reasonably priced and has done pretty well for me over the years. It DOES need an antenna tuner, and, as has been reported in various places, does have some problems working on the WARC bands especially 17m. I've supplemented my JR with other wire antennas - specifically a dipole cut for 17m.
As of spring 2006, I've been experiencing some problems matching on all bands. I took the antenna down earlier this year to check the condition of the connections between the flat-top and the 450ohm ladder line feeder. I found a good deal of corrosion at that joint - to the point where most of the copper had been eaten away, leaving just the steel, which had since rusted. I soldered one side back together and cleaned things up as much as possible, but continue to have issues. The next step may be replacing the balun and or soldering some copper jumpers between the ladderline and the flattop to see if that improves things. Since the antenna is relatively cheap, replacing the whole thing may also be a possibility.
