How to Build a Linked Dipole for Multiple HF Bands

A linked dipole is one of those projects that looks deceptively simple on paper — and honestly, it kind of is. You're building a dipole. Then you're adding detachable links so you can change the effective length for different bands. No traps, no loading coils, no compromise.

When the links are connected, the antenna is longer (lower bands). Disconnect a pair of links and it shortens to resonate on a higher band. Five bands from one feedpoint, one piece of coax, and some wire that weighs almost nothing.

I built my first linked dipole for POTA activations in 2022. Wanted something I could throw in a backpack, string between two trees, and work 40 through 10 meters without carrying a tuner. Three years later, it's still my go-to portable antenna and I've activated over 60 parks with it.

How a Linked Dipole Works

A standard dipole is cut to a half wavelength for one specific frequency. A linked dipole is cut for your lowest target band (let's say 40 meters), with removable links inserted at the points where shorter bands would end.

Picture the full 40-meter dipole as one continuous wire, roughly 33 feet per side. Now imagine that at 16.5 feet from center (where a 20-meter half-wave element would end), you insert a quick-disconnect link. When that link is connected, the full wire acts as a 40-meter dipole. When you disconnect it, everything beyond that point is electrically isolated, and you have a 20-meter dipole.

Repeat this logic for each band. Add links at the 17-meter point, the 15-meter point, the 12-meter point, and the 10-meter point. You end up with one antenna that resonates on any of those bands depending on which links are in or out.

No tuner needed. No compromise performance. Each band gets a full half-wave resonant dipole at the correct length.

Materials List

Here's what you need. Total cost runs about $25-40 depending on what you have in the junk box.

• Wire: 70 feet of #26 stranded wire (for ultralight portable) or #18 stranded for permanent installation. I use speaker wire or military surplus WD-1A field wire. Avoid solid core — it breaks at flex points.
• Links: Anderson Powerpole connectors (my preference), bullet connectors, or small spade terminals with wing nuts. You need two connectors per band transition, times two for each side of the dipole.
• Center insulator: Commercial or homebrew. A piece of plexiglass or cutting board with an SO-239 works fine. Or buy a $6 center insulator from Balun Designs or DX Engineering.
• End insulators: Dogbone insulators, small carabiners, or just loops of the wire itself tied off.
• Rope: 50 feet of paracord or Dacron line for the ends.
• Coax: 25-50 feet of RG-58 or RG-8X with a PL-259 connector.
• Choke balun: 1:1 current balun at the feedpoint. Can be as simple as 8-10 turns of coax wound on an FT-240-43 toroid.

On Connector Choice

People have strong opinions about link connectors. Here's mine: Anderson Powerpoles work great. They're rated for the current levels we're dealing with at 100 watts, they connect and disconnect easily with cold fingers, and they don't corrode quickly.

Some builders use banana plugs, some use spade lugs and wing nuts, some use small Anderson PP15/30 connectors. All work. Avoid anything that requires tools to connect or disconnect in the field — you'll be doing this with numb fingers in January at some point.

One thing to avoid: standard 2-pin JST connectors. They pull apart too easily in the wind. I lost a link connection mid-QSO during a POTA activation because a gust disconnected my cheap JST plug. Switched to Powerpoles the next day.

Calculating Wire Lengths

The formula for a half-wave dipole is: length (feet) = 468 / frequency (MHz). Divide by 2 for each side.

But real-world lengths depend on wire gauge, height above ground, proximity to other objects, and end effects. Cut long and trim. Always. You can shorten wire. You cannot make it longer. (Well, you can solder a piece on, but it's ugly.)

Here are starting lengths for each side of the dipole, measured from the center insulator. These are deliberately 2-3% long — you'll trim after measuring SWR:

So the physical construction goes: center insulator → 8.3 feet of wire → 10m/12m link → 1.2 feet of wire → 12m/15m link → 1.7 feet of wire → 15m/17m link → 1.8 feet of wire → 17m/20m link → 3.7 feet of wire → 20m/40m link → 16.4 feet of wire → end insulator.

Mirror that on both sides. Symmetric.

Note: I skipped 12 meters in my personal build because I wanted fewer links and rarely use 12. If you only want 40/20/15/10, drop the 17 and 12 links and you have a simpler antenna with just two link pairs per side. Customize to your operating preferences.

Build Process

Step 1: Cut the Wire Segments

Cut all segments with an extra 3-4 inches on each end for connector attachment. You'll strip and crimp or solder the connectors, which eats a couple inches.

Label every piece. Seriously. Once you have ten pieces of wire on the table, they all look the same. I use small pieces of tape marked with the band and "inner" or "outer."

Step 2: Attach Connectors

For each link point, attach your chosen connector to the end of one segment and the mating connector to the beginning of the next segment. The connection should be mechanically solid — solder plus heat shrink, or a proper crimp.

Make sure the male/female orientation is consistent. I put female connectors on the "toward center" end and male on the "toward tip" end. That way, when you disconnect a link, the exposed connector on the remaining antenna is the recessed female — less likely to short against something.

Step 3: Build the Center Insulator

If you're building homebrew: take a 3x5 inch piece of plastic or fiberglass. Mount an SO-239 in the center. Solder your center-most wire segments to the SO-239 — one to center pin, one to ground. Add strain relief with cable ties through drilled holes.

I reinforce the wire-to-connector joint with epoxy and heat shrink. The center insulator takes all the mechanical stress of the antenna's weight. Make it strong.

Step 4: Assemble and Test

Connect all links. Hang the antenna as a full 40-meter dipole. Get it at least 15-20 feet up for a meaningful SWR measurement.

With all links in, check SWR at 7.15 MHz (or your preferred 40m frequency). Should be under 2:1. If high, trim the outer segments (beyond the 20m/40m link) equally on both sides, half an inch at a time.

Then disconnect the 40m links, leaving a 20m dipole. Check at 14.15 MHz. Trim the 20m-to-40m segments if needed.

Work inward: 17m, 15m, 12m, 10m. Each time, you're only trimming the segment that defines that band's resonant point.

This sounds tedious. It is, a little. Budget an afternoon. Bring a drink.

(I did my initial tuning on a Saturday afternoon in my backyard with an antenna analyzer, a folding chair, and entirely too much coffee. Took about three hours for five bands. Subsequent linked dipoles I've built went faster because I had known-good lengths.)

Step 5: Weatherproofing

For portable use, the connectors get wet. Heat shrink the solder joints, but leave the connectors themselves accessible. After each use, dry them with a rag if they got rained on.

For semi-permanent outdoor installation, coat the connector contacts with DeoxIT or similar contact protectant. Check connections seasonally. Corroded connectors add resistance and detune the antenna.

Field Deployment

Here's the beauty of a linked dipole for portable work. The entire antenna — all wire, all segments, connectors, feedline, and rope — fits in a ziplock bag or small stuff sack. Mine weighs about 12 ounces with 25 feet of RG-8X.

Deployment:

1. Find two trees (or a tree and a drive-up mast) about 40-70 feet apart.
2. Toss throw lines over branches.
3. Connect all links for 40m, or only the links you need for higher bands.
4. Hoist the center to maximum height, pull ends out at an angle.
5. Connect coax, get on the air.

Band changes in the field mean lowering at least one end to reach the links. Some operators solve this by using the antenna as an inverted-V (center high, ends low and accessible) so they can reach the links from the ground. Trades some performance for convenience.

I usually deploy as a flat-top for 40m, then leave it up and only lower an end if I want to switch to a specific higher band. On most POTA activations, I pick two bands and configure the links before hoisting. Usually 40 and 20, or 20 and 17.

Performance

A linked dipole performs identically to a standard dipole on each band when configured correctly. There's no lossy trap, no loading coil, no compromise. It IS a full half-wave dipole — you're just mechanically removing the unused wire instead of electrically isolating it.

The inactive wire segments hanging beyond the disconnected link add a tiny amount of weight but don't significantly affect the pattern. They're electrically isolated (open circuit at the connector) and act as dead weight only.

On my station (IC-705, 10 watts), I consistently work coast-to-coast on 40m and EU/Caribbean on 20m with this antenna up about 25 feet. POTA hunters are forgiving — they'll dig you out of the noise. But the antenna genuinely performs. It's not a compromise, it's a configuration.

Wrapping Up

A linked dipole is the best antenna project for operators who want multiband HF without complexity or compromise. Wire, connectors, and a Saturday afternoon. No traps to build or tune. No matching network to fuss with. No moving parts. Full-size performance on every band you include.

If you do portable or POTA, build one. If you want a simple multiband antenna for the backyard that you actually understand completely, build one. It's wire in the air — the fundamental thing that makes ham radio work.