The Band Hopper II, two-band portable dipole antenna system
At a glance:
Bands 20 m, 40 m
Power rating 125 Watts
Balun included Yes
ATU needed? No. Connects direct to your radio
SSB, CW, data? Yes. Fine for all modes
How long is this antenna? About 28 metres end to end (20-40 version).
Mast A lightweight telescopic pole (6 - 8 metres pole length recommended for Band Hopper II)
***IMPORTANT NOTE: if you are using a Band Hopper with our 10m Compact Travel Mast, attach the antenna with a cable tie to the top of section 11 (counted from the bottom). This is about 6 metres (20ft) up and is the perfect height for the antenna centre. Any higher and the antenna may not work properly and your Compact Travel Mast could be damaged.***
What do you get?
Band Hoppers are a complete system including:
- A resonant multi-band dipole antenna with Perspex link hardware
- A 10m feeder - high quality RG174 terminated in a BNC plug
- High performance balun
- A guying system for a lightweight telescopic pole (6 - 8 metres length recommended)
- Three Wire Winders to ensure tangle-free operating
- Three lightweight aluminium alloy pegs
- A nylon carry bag with peg pocket
Band Hoppers work out of the packet - no messing, just fun!
Instructions are available HERE!
How to erect your BandHopper - video
Not sure which Band Hopper to choose? Click here for some ideas.
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Also available from our international agent(s):
The secret of most successful HF portable operators is not hard to find: it's an efficient antenna! No wonder that the linked dipole is the most popular portable HF antenna type used in Europe. The Band Hopper II is designed for the lightweight portable specialist. Not sure what a linked dipole is? Click here.
The Band Hopper II covers two HF bands with a high efficiency full-size halfwave dipole on each band. It's not a compromise loaded antenna. It's also designed to allow you to get the feedpoint high - that's important for good performance. Band selection is by easy-to-use jumpers; quick to change.
We include a high performance balun to reduce unwanted feeder coupling - reduces potential interference problems.
Using the Band Hopper II could not be easier. The custom designed centrepiece fits on an tapered pole (such as our famous SOTA pole). It slides down to the optimum height (usually the junction between the top and second sections of the mast).If you don't have a tapering mast dont worry, the centrepiece has slots for cable ties too so you can attach it to most anything. Don't like masts? The centrepiece has an attachment point for a throwing line to use in the forest.
Unrolling the dipole elements is a breeze using the Wirewinders supplied. When you unroll the elements you will notice that the Wirewinders are attached to 4m (13ft) nylon braided extension cords. This not only means that you cannot lose them but also that in rocky areas you can guy your pole by putting the Wirewinder in a crack in the rocks or just by putting it under a rock. The Wirewinders also make great snow anchors too so guying your pole in the snow has never been easier! We also provide pegging loops for use with our high quality pegs (included).
The feeder is a 10m length of RG174 preterminated in a BNC plug. This is wound on a third Wirewinder. Also on the third Winder is a 10m back guy for your mast. No need for any additional guys and the two dipole elements plus the back guy are all you need for a stable and robust system. The back guy is attached to the Wirewinder to give you the flexible guying options above. Just a mast or use a tree and you're good to go!
This antenna is super light too! The whole package consisting of the antenna, the Wirewinders and the back guy weighs in at less than 450g (20m/40m version); that's under a pound!
No need to adjust the Band Hopper II, it is supplied pre-tuned. We do the tricky stuff leaving you to have the fun. This is a fully assembled product that works out of the packet
The Band Hopper II is a truly amazing package for a bargain price.
Each Band Hopper II includes an antenna bag and three pegs making it a complete system.
Videos Hide Videos Show Videos
64 Reviews Hide Reviews Show Reviews
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Love it
Pretty compact and easy to set up, I'd definitely recommend it for sota or pota to keep things light
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Free extra band ?
Great antenna tunes very well on 40 - and 20 , but if you use an ATU you can also get 15 Meters . My best contact using this was Uruguay , so yes it works . Set it for 40 then ATU it !
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Easy set up
I haven't used this antenna too much yet, but the times I have used it I have found the set up to be a breeze. Combined with with compact light-weight mast (at the ~20 ft height) I am able to get this up and working in about ten minutes. My KX2 tunes in the 40 meter section at 1.0:1 in an instant and I am ready to go!
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Bandspringer Dipole
I bought this dipole with a 7m pole, guys and ancillaries to take on a holiday to the Isle of Arran. On initial sessions there were two of us erecting the system but latterly I've managed by myself. On my first session on the island I was on 40m and made contacts across the East of England gaining signal reports of 58 or 59, my second operating session was on 20m on a hot, clear day with exceptional propagation which resulted in contacts in Latvia, Poland, Germany, South Africa, Italy and France before I called CQ myself and received a pile up where I managed to work 40 stations in the UK and near European countries. It's a well designed, well built antenna, easy to erect and store and I heartily recommend it.
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Best SOTABEAMS Antenna
I own just about every SOTABEAMS antenna made. This antenna (20/40 linked dipole) is, in my opinion, the best product in the entire SOTABEAMS catalog! If you buy just one thing from SOTABEAMS, make it this antenna. It hits all the marks in terms of ease of use, size/weight, durability, on-air performance, likelihood of being heard QRP, tunability, setup/teardown time, price vs quality, and more. I love this model so much, I purchased two of them. I can't think of a single thing to improve on this product. Every ham I've shown this antenna to has purchased one. Every QRPer in the world should own one of these dipoles. Note: The product picture needs to be updated. The guyline is hi-viz yellow, not white! You _want_ the hi-viz line!!!!! It looks sharp, and in most cases you're going to be deploying this antenna where someone could trip over it. The hi-viz also makes it easier to see if a guy has accidentally come loose.
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Well thought out dipole
Easy to deploy and recover, great swr so no tuner required on either band. Worked moscow on 5w among several other calls around europe. Very pleased!
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Two band sotabeam dipole
Excellent antenna, very low swr. I made good dx contacts during my last sota activation with 50w on 20m ssb and continental contact on 40m ssb. Easy to install.
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Two-band portable dipole
I cannot praise this antenna enough. Right out of the package,plug and play,perfect SWR. I purchased a second just to have an extra,two is one,one is none. The customer service of Sotabeam is perfect, I cannot thank the staff enough. This is the perfect company. Thank you very much Al Manchester KC1FOZ
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Two band dipole
Well thought out and made product. Easily erected and it works!!!. Used in the SSB field day contest, heard and worked a couple of JA's (doing the all asia contest). Granted I was in an QRM quiet location using an FT817. Put it up, plug it in and off you go. No need for a tuner, have used it with an ;817, IC703 and a QRP Labs QCX kit. Highly recommended, get one, you'll not regret it.....
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Two-band portable dipole antenna system
Combined with the 7M SOTA Pole I took this dipole on Holiday to the Lake District, only manged to use it once, but I found it easy to set up and use and light-weight. Perfect for portable work when you are Activating a HEMA or a SOTA summit!
