GHAD LD-3
"Neat design and construction. I liked the color coding of antenna wires."
Portable 40 / 30 / 20 m linked dipole
Three resonant HF bands from one lightweight wire antenna—change bands by opening or closing the color-coded links instead of carrying a tuner or three separate dipoles.
One compact antenna. Three resonant bands.
Get a full-size 40, 30, or 20 meter dipole into the air with one field kit
CHA LD-3 is built for operators who want the clean, predictable behavior of a resonant dipole without packing a separate antenna for every band. Its two linked wire legs, compact 1:1 balun, line winders, and carry pouch form a complete portable radiator for POTA, SOTA, QRP, travel, preparedness, and temporary field stations.
Raise it as an inverted V from one center support or stretch it horizontally between three supports. Select the band at ground level using the blue, orange, and yellow links, then verify the completed installation with an analyzer. In the guide-defined setup, an external antenna tuner is normally unnecessary.
- Bands40, 30, and 20 m
- Band changeColor-coded wire links
- DeploymentsInverted V or horizontal dipole
- Power50 W SSB / 25 W CW and other modes
See the complete installation
A typical inverted V needs one 20 ft center support
Raise the balun at the center, slope both wire legs toward safe lower tie points, and keep the two sides reasonably symmetrical. The current guide uses a site about 60 ft across and approximately 70 ft of paracord for this reference setup; paracord and support are not included.
Change bands without guessing
Follow the color-coded link sequence
20 meters · blue section
Open both wire links so only the inner blue-marked section remains active on each side.
30 meters · orange section
Connect the inner link on each side and leave the outer link open.
40 meters · yellow section
Connect both links on both sides so the complete wire length is active.
Before transmitting: Lower the antenna to change bands, make both wire legs electrically identical, raise it in final geometry, and verify resonance with an analyzer.
Complete product reference
Key specifications
- Product type
- Balanced linked HF dipole with 1:1 balun
- Supported bands
- 40, 30, and 20 meters; one selected link state at a time
- Supported deployments
- Inverted V or horizontal dipole
- Typical inverted-V center height
- Approximately 20 ft in the guide reference
- Horizontal NVIS reference height
- Approximately 10–15 ft; path still depends on propagation
- Overall deployed length
- Approximately 66 ft on 40 m
- Typical SWR
- Less than 2.2:1 in the guide-defined band setup; verify the installed antenna
- Tuner
- Normally not required when the proper link state and deployment are used
- Power · SSB
- 50 W maximum
- Power · CW and other modes
- 25 W maximum
- Weight
- 12.2 oz, excluding pouch and optional coax
- Typical setup
- One operator; approximately 15 minutes for the guide reference
Know the complete setup
Included equipment and what the operator supplies
Included
- CHA LD-3 1:1 balun
- Two linked dipole wire assemblies
- Two line winders
- Carry pouch
Operator supplies
- Suitable center and end supports
- Paracord or support line
- Compatible 50-ohm feed line
- Antenna analyzer for final verification
Documented feed-line option: CHA RG-316, 25 ft, with integrated feed-point RFI choke.
Build on equipment you already own
The wires and balun have two separate documented expansion paths
Use the LD-3 wires with CHA LEFS 4010
The current LD-3 guide documents connecting the linked wire pair to the LEFS 4010 dipole center assembly. The LEFS guide controls that complete configuration.
Use CHA LINK-D15 with the LD-3 balun
The LINK-D15 wire set is the documented 40/20/15 m alternative for the LD-3 1:1 balun. Use one complete, matched wire pair.
Compatibility boundary: A connector or attachment that physically fits is not proof of an approved antenna. Use only a documented complete configuration.
Coverage & Pattern
Compare the 40, 30, and 20 meter inverted-V shapes
The 2D and interactive 3D references use the guide-defined 20 ft inverted-V deployment. Because the guide does not publish individual production link-segment dimensions, each active length is an explicitly labeled resonant-length estimate—not an exact product SWR, gain, efficiency, or range prediction.
