When it comes to choosing the right gear for portable operations, you may want to consider the 4 Ps as you make your selections: Portability, Performance, Perfectly Easy Deployment, and, if your ham radio budget is a concern, Price. When all of these elements come together, you can be pretty positive you’ve pinpointed the paragon of products for purchase (see what we did there?). Today we’re starting off with a proven, easy-to-erect, and highly transportable option that can simplify your SOTA, POTA, or IOTA operations.

And don’t forget, the 2023 RSGB IOTA Contest runs from July 29, 1200Z to July 30, 1200Z.

DX Engineering EZ-BUILD UWA Center-T and End Insulator Kit

While it doesn’t start with the letter P, “flexibility” is another word to keep in mind when antenna shopping. The EZ-BUILD kit (DXE-UWA-KIT) has the pieces you need to create a range of wire antennas, including single-band, multi-band, multi-frequency, folded dipole, doublet and inverted-V, off-center fed, Windom, Zepp, long wire, rhombic, V-beam, or loop antennas. There’s no need for looping, wrapping, or soldering, so adjusting wire lengths in the field is fast and simple. Plus, the kit is made from a strong UV-resistant poly-resin plastic that can handle the weight of huge wire antennas, with balun and attached coax.

Designed for building wire antennas for high-power operations, this model mounts to any DX Engineering balun for a balanced and isolated wire antenna, or this insulator kit may be used directly with DX Engineering 300-ohm Ladder Line for a non-resonant multi-band dipole. Click to read about choosing the right resonant and non-resonant HF field antennas in these OnAllBands articles.

The kit includes:

• Lightweight, high-strength, UV-protected center-T and end insulators, featuring an exclusive serpentine wire grip for insulated DX Engineering antenna wire and high-power 300-ohm ladder line. The center-T includes a centered top hole for attaching support ropes.
• Two end insulators featuring the no-loop, no-solder, serpentine grip design
• Two stainless steel wire connection bolts, nuts, and washers
• Six crimp ring terminals for antenna and ladder line wire connections
• Additional stainless steel hardware for mounting DX Engineering baluns

Since soldering is not necessary when building an antenna with this kit, it is perfect for portable operations or even for the weekend experimenter. Beyond your portable deployments, the kit makes an ideal choice for your permanent wire antenna system.

What do hams say about the DXE-UWA-KIT?

Five Stars: “After being exposed to the elements for a very long time, I seriously needed to change the center insulator on my multi-band dipole. The Center T was the best solution I could find. Love the serpentine wire and feed line grips! Material is super tough and I’m looking forward to many years of trouble-free operation. My dipole is back up and looking beautiful. Thanks to DX Engineering for getting this to me at lightning speed.”

You’ll find many more worthy antenna choices at DXEngineering.com. Not sure what’s best for your needs? Contact one of the propagational precision pros (there we go again) at DX Engineering for sage advice.

Also visit DXEngineering.com for DX Engineering 300- and 450-ohm ladder line, premium copper #14 antenna wire, high-visibility antenna wire, telescoping masts, and much more for your temporary deployments.