WiMo GPM-1500 vertical antenna on vacation

A vacation report from Thomas Giel, DL9YY

In 2023, we booked a vacation home in Denmark (Langeland Island), which we did already visit for 14 days each in previous years. This year I also wanted to get on the air in vacation and had already thought long beforehand about how best to achieve this. As the vacation home is only 100 m away from the Baltic Sea beach and has a huge grassy area in front of the house, various approaches were considered.

Among others, the following were considered:

Thomas Giel, DL9YY Thomas Giel, DL9YY
YAESU FT-991 & LDG AT-100Pro Autotuner Antenne & Mast

My path to the vertical antenna

However, the simplest solution seemed to be to mount a vertical antenna in the middle of the lawn, using the base of a clothes hanger. The GPM-1500 from WiMo seemed suitable, as I could cover almost all bands from 160 m to 6 m with it.

A fellow radio amateur from Bavaria offered this antenna as a second-hand item. At short notice, I decided to buy the antenna as it was only half a year old! I prepared everything using 2 flagpole aluminum tubes and the clothes hanger base and also prepared 4 x 5 m of cable as a radial. The antenna was not necessarily highly praised in some forums, but I let myself be surprised. 20 m of H 155 cable with a common mode choke was used. The equipment used was the YAESU FT-991 with the LDG AT-100Pro autotuner.

I set up a vacation page at QRZ.com with the callsign OZ/DL9YY, which should still be available.

14 days on the air on all HF bands

We arrived at our vacation destination on June 15, 2024 and the antenna was immediately installed and tested. As expected, the tuner had no problems tuning all the bands and then I was ready to go on the air for the next 14 days. Always on the side, about 1 hour per day. After a few attempts, the 40 m band was quite successfully useable around the clock. But 10 m and 15 m were also well suitable and I could use them with good success. Of course, the expectations were set low for 80 m, but connections were possible there too. With a friend at the Ammersee (southern Bavaria), connections were possible in the evening without any problems.

Vertical antenna convinces with DX connections

The signals were sometimes 20 over 9 and only one or two calls were necessary to be heard. Sometimes the question arose as to why a beam was in use at home? I can't answer whether the radials and the sea level or surroundings were helpful here! Perhaps the conditions were simply exceptionally good? However, I think that the antenna performed absolutely satisfactorily, as my DX connections with the 100W transceiver power show! USA, Uruguay, Brazil, Vladivostok, Japan, Canada, Kuwait, Indonesia, Iran and Europe all around is a remarkable result for a vertical radiator mounted at a height of only 2 meters!

Inconspicuous, but still effective

The antenna is an optimal and inexpensive solution for someone looking for an object that is as inconspicuous as possible! Especially recommended as a mobile vacation antenna, as my pictures prove! 79 QSOs in 36 countries are a nice success!

The following pictures show the connections, some of which were very surprising.

QRZ.com QRZ.com
WiMo GPM-1500

WiMo GPM-1500 broadband vertical, 1.8-30 MHz

The WiMo GPM-1500 is a broadband vertical antenna that covers frequencies from 1.8 to 50 MHz. It is light and easy to install, e.g. on roofs, masts or caravans. An antenna tuner is required and the antenna can be loaded with up to 200 watts. With a weight of just 4 kg and a pack size of just 1.3 m (6.3 m when set up), it is also perfect for use on vacation.

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