Well, HiGain has a non automatic bandswitching vertical for around 90 bux,
and there are several other verticals that will get the job done as well. I
worked 107 countries on 89 days on a Cushcraft R5, running a Paragon
barefoot. But remember that a vertical is a good antenna beyond 1,000 miles
or so, but contacts out to a few hundred miles get scarce and far between.
As far as that goes, the G5RV is a very decent 20 Meter antenna. The problem
there is it's essentially a dummy load on 160 and 80, and fair to poor on 40.
If you are looking for a monoband antenna you might think of repairing or
replacing what you had.
But if you really want a multiband stealth wire, why not try an Alpha Delta
DX-CC. A little flat black color on the traps makes it essentially invisible,
and that trap dipole did a far better job for me than anything else I have
tried that I can shoehorn into my tiny back yard. I have had extended 75
Meter QSO's with both EI and ZL on the DX-CC running 5 watts, as well as
plenty of other Q's on 40 and up.
73 Pete Allen AC5E
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