Field Day antenna length table

last updated 18 August 2023.

While I often try to plan our Field Day antennas in advance, part of the fun is that it isn’t always predictable, and sometimes we need another antenna on short notice. So, along with my supply of wire, coax, and rope, I carry a handy table of wire lengths for each band for the antennas I am most likely to put up. That not only saves time (and the potential for errors when I’m in a hurry), but I can hand the paper to someone else to build an antenna.

This table is adapted from a recent version, before I started this website: I haven’t compared it in detail to the other articles I’ve written since, but the numbers should be close enough for a starting point. I’ll get it updated at some point, and add other bands and antenna types. Feel free to make your own table to suit your own needs.

All dimensions are for 1mm (AWG #18) bare wire. In most cases, they should be close enough for other wire sizes likely to be used for portable antennas. There will always be some variation due to how the antenna is constructed, wire insulation type, height above ground, and other factors, but these should give you a good starting point.

Unlike the other tables of antenna dimensions, I’ve split these into separate tables for metric and Imperial units, because most users will only need one or the other.

metric wire length tables (dimensions in meters)

DIPOLE OR INVERTED VEE (length of each side – cut two wires this length)

(or use the Dipole Length Table)

frequency MHzwire length ( one side )
1.92537.2 m
3.5520 m
3.918.3 m
7.1510.14 m
14.25.2 m
21.23.5 m
28.52.6 m
50.31.46 m
531.40 m

50 OHM VERTICAL RECTANGLE fed at bottom (cut one wire, tie ropes to corners.)

frequency MHzwire lengthshort sidelong side
14.222.1 m3.65 m7.4 m
21.214.8 m 2.45 m4.95 m
28.511.13 m1.83 m3.73 m
50.36.28 m1.07 m2.07 m

200 OHM DELTA LOOP (cut one wire, tie ropes to corners.)

frequency MHzwire lengthsidestop / bottomzip cord
matching stub
7.1543.6 m12.6 m18.3 m7.2 m
14.221.9 m6.1 m9.7 m3.7
21.214.4 m3.9 m6.7 m2.5 m
28.511 m2.95 m5.0 m1.8 m
50.36.3 m1.77 m2.75 m1.07 m

TWO ELEMENT DELTA LOOP BEAM (cut one wire for driven element and one wire for reflector)

frequency MHzdriven element
wire length
reflector
wire length
spacing
7.1542.7 m46 m6 m
14.221.35 m22.4 m3 m
21.214.3 m15.25 m2 m
28.510.45 m11.58 m1.67 m
50.36.02 m6.48 m1 m

TWO ELEMENT INVERTED VEE YAGI (cut one wire for driven element and one wire for reflector)

frequency MHzdriven element
wire length
reflector
wire length
spacing
7.1520.3 m21.04 m6 m
14.210.3 m10.6 m3 m
21.26.86 m7.1 m2.45 m
28.55.08 m5.41 m1.9 m

Imperial wire length tables (dimensions in feet and inches)

DIPOLE OR INVERTED VEE (length of each side – cut two wires this length)

frequency MHzwire length ( one side )
1.925122 ft
3.5565 ft 6 in
3.960 ft
7.1533 ft 3 in
14.217 ft
21.211 ft 6 in
28.58 ft 6 in
50.357.5 in
5355 in

50 OHM VERTICAL RECTANGLE fed at bottom (cut one wire, tie ropes to corners.)

frequency MHzwire lengthshort sidelong side
14.272 ft 6 in12 ft24 ft 3 in
21.248 ft 6 in 8 ft16 ft 3 in
28.536 ft 6 in6 ft12 ft 3 in
50.320 ft 7 in3 ft 6 in6 ft 9 1/2 in

200 OHM DELTA LOOP (cut one wire, tie ropes to corners.)

frequency MHzwire lengthsidestop / bottomzip cord
matching stub
7.15143 ft41 ft 4 in60 ft23 ft 6 in
14.272 ft19 ft 8 in32 ft12 ft
21.247 ft 3 in12 ft 7 in22 ft8 ft 3 in
28.536 ft9 ft 8 in16 ft 6 in6 ft
50.320 ft 8 in5 ft 10 in9 ft3 ft 6 in

TWO ELEMENT DELTA LOOP BEAM (cut one wire for driven element and one wire for reflector)

frequency MHzdriven element
wire length
reflector
wire length
spacing
7.15140 ft151 ft20 ft
14.270 ft73 ft 6 in10 ft
21.247 ft50 ft6 ft 8 in
28.534 ft 4 in38 ft5 ft 6 in
50.319 ft 9 in21 ft 3 in3 ft

TWO ELEMENT INVERTED VEE YAGI (cut one wire for driven element and one wire for reflector)

frequency MHzdriven element
wire length
reflector
wire length
spacing
7.1566 ft 8 in69 ft20 ft
14.233 ft 9 in34 ft 8 in10 ft
21.222 ft 6 in23 ft 3 in8 ft
28.516 ft 8 in17 ft 9 in6 ft