Those of you who have one, do you like it?
I like mine quite well, though like anything it has it's pluses and minuses. The cool thing about the Buddipole is that it's like the Erector Set (showing my age here) or Lego of antennas, you can build almost anything you want with enough pieces, even VHF beams/Yagis. For a truly portable antenna that never gets very high off the ground, the performance is impressive.
Not to blather on too long, here are my pros and cons for the Buddipole:
PROS:
Flexibility. Basic kit (either Buddipole or Buddistick) has enough pieces to make an antenna from 2 to 40 Meters and everything in between. With a few extra pieces, you can get 80 Meters, 160 Meters, and make some beams for higher frequencies too.
Compact size. I was astounded at how small of a package my Buddipole Deluxe kit plus some extra arms and whips will pack into. It came with (and all fits in) a heavy-duty padded nylon bag 24" L x 7.5" W x 4" H, including the tripod, mast, and everything! About the size of a small-ish tent (packed).
Quality of construction. The pieces are all high-quality and sturdy. Yes, it's possible to break the whips if you don't add ballast to the base of the tripod or guy it in a wind, but otherwise it would give years of service. When I'm home, I leave mine set up and outside all the time, with no noticeable wear or effect.
Community support and customer service. Buddipole is a family company and they treat you like one of the family. Plus (a big one), there is an outstanding Yahoo Groups forum with an amazing amount of free and courteous technical help, plans, and tips from extremely-knowledgeable users, and the Drummond family (owners) are heavily involved and supportive too.
Education. I have learned so much about antenna theory and design considerations, playing with various configurations of mine. It's not difficult to try three or four different configurations on the same band (wavelength) and see what advantages or disadvantages each one may have on tuning and performance.
Fun, especially if you like to tinker and experiment. The possible combinations and configurations are almost endless.
CONS:
You have to spend a little time tuning every configuration you try. Even when using someone else's tried-and-true "cook book" parameters, yours will be different depending on where you set-up and how close you are to buildings, the ground, etc. Even if it works perfectly at home, it may (probably will) be different when you set-up at camp. To get really good broad-band SWR's requires a fair amount of trial and error. A good antenna analyzer really helps but is not strictly necessary.
Height. A dipole really needs to be 1/4-wavelength above the ground for maximum effectiveness, which you can rarely if ever achieve. Even verticals and beams will do better the higher you can get them, but the standard mast is only 8' high. Works fine in unobstructed areas like a mountain top or open beach, but loses efficiency if there is any man-made clutter around like buildings, vehicles, etc.
Learning curve. Yes, you can get on the air fairly quickly, but it takes a while and some experimentation and experience to figure out what works best where. This is the other side of the coin to "Education" in the "Pros" list above.
Time. An adjunct to the first "con" of tuning. Changing bands isn't instant and requires tuning and fiddling again, though if you get several sets of coil clips and leave them on the coil(s) for each different band setting then you could move back and forth more quickly once you've tuned all the bands you want to work initially (for your location). But it's not at all like a screwdriver antenna where you just push a button to change bands or a multi-band antenna that is resonant on more than one band.
Power limitation. I don't remember what maximum Wattage the BP will handle, but it's made for "barefoot" mobile rigs of 100-200 Watts or less, not amplified rigs.
That's about it. It's a fine system for what it does, as long as you're not expecting a plug 'n play antenna and you are willing to experiment and learn. I've tried all different kinds of horizontal, 45-degree, "L"-shaped, and vertical dipoles, and simple verticals on 17, 20, and 40 Meters, and had some success with them all but had the best success with the vertical dipole and the plain (single) vertical in the places I've operated. I'm using plain verticals almost exclusively now because they are way faster to set-up and tune, and require fewer parts to make and carry.
If you would be content to only work 10 through 20 Meters, then I would suggest looking at the TransWorld TW2010L Backpacker Antenna
http://transworldantennas.com/ which never requires tuning and fiddling and by it's design (an "H"-design dipole) does not need to be high above the ground for DX work. Owners report excellent results, and the "Backpacker" model is easily transportable in a 4WD truck, though not near as small or light as a Buddipole. I am thinking of buying one of these myself, mostly for the ease of changing bands without tuning and the DX performance. But I would still keep my BP to work 40 and 6 Meters, and the possibility of working 80 and 160 Meters as well.
I also wonder if I would just run the coax plug from the Buddipole to the duplexor that feeds to antenna inputs on my Yaesu 857D radio.
Yes.
