The TDL is easiest to understand as a compact field platform rather than one fixed antenna shape.
The point is not to memorize one diagram. It is to select the documented geometry that fits the job and then preserve the parts that make that geometry a complete antenna.
What this means in the field
- A matching thread does not preserve the intended electrical length, current distribution, wind load, or structural margin.
- Use SS25 only in a product configuration whose current guide names it.
- If a longer TDL radiator is being considered experimentally, label it experimental and do not present it as a supported Chameleon build.
The complete TDL behind the answer
- The CHA TDL is a fast-deploying 3.5–54 MHz field system built around two fully extended SS17 whips, a 25 ft 4 in loop wire, a TDL Hub, a HYBRID-MICRO or HYBRID-MINI matching transformer, a spike, and 50-ohm coax.
- Inverted delta loop: the normal rapid-deployment configuration, with two SS17 whips forming the upper sides and the supplied wire completing the loop.
- Ground-mounted vertical: one fully extended SS17 becomes the vertical radiator and the supplied loop wire becomes the counterpoise.
- V-dipole or horizontal dipole: optional-mast configurations using both fully extended SS17 whips and the matching transformer at the feed point.
Band and matching reality
The published operating range is 3.5–54 MHz. The guide describes 10.1–54 MHz as the most effective range and requires an antenna tuner or coupler on 3.5–7.0 MHz. Installed SWR, site, geometry, feed line, and nearby conductors still matter.
Before you transmit
- Keep the complete antenna and coax away from overhead power lines.
- Choose a stable support and clear the area where people could contact a whip, wire, guy line, or feed line.
- Begin tuning at low power and observe the radio, feed line, transformer, and nearby equipment for RF feedback or heating.
- Review RF-exposure requirements and medical-device precautions before transmitting.
Make the next setup easier
Record the chosen configuration, transformer, band, tuner state, orientation, height, counterpoise or loop-wire route, coax, analyzer reference plane, and on-air result. That small field record is more useful than a remembered “good SWR.”
This page makes the operating decision easier to understand. The current guide still controls assembly order, dimensions, power limits, and safety.
