Part of our Building Your First Ham Radio Station guide.
Where you feed a wire antenna, at the center or at one end, changes more than just how you hang the wire. It affects impedance, installation flexibility, and even how forgiving the antenna is about your specific yard.
Center-Fed: The Classic Dipole Approach
A center-fed dipole splits into two equal legs from a feedpoint in the middle, presenting a relatively clean impedance close to 50 ohms at resonance, which is why it pairs so easily with standard coax and a simple 1:1 balun. The tradeoff is installation: you need support at the center feedpoint and at both ends, which means either two support points plus a way to get coax to the middle, or a single high center support with the legs sloping down like an inverted vee.
End-Fed: One Support Point, Higher Impedance
An end-fed half-wave feeds the antenna from one end rather than the middle, which presents a much higher impedance, typically thousands of ohms, requiring a 49:1 or similar transformer to bring it down to something coax can handle reasonably well. The real advantage is installation simplicity: you only need one high support point, with the feedpoint end near the ground where your radio sits, making it a favorite for POTA activators who want to run one line up a single tree.
Counterpoise Considerations
End-fed antennas generally benefit from a counterpoise wire at the feedpoint to help complete the RF circuit and reduce common-mode current on the coax shield. Skipping the counterpoise is a common reason an EFHW performs worse than expected or causes RF-in-the-shack symptoms. A center-fed dipole does not have this same requirement since the two symmetric legs handle that role themselves.
Which One Fits Your Situation
- One tall support point and a radio position near the ground: end-fed half-wave.
- Two support points available or a single center support for an inverted vee: center-fed dipole.
- Want the cleanest possible impedance match with minimal transformer complexity: center-fed dipole.
- Portability and single-point setup speed matter most: end-fed half-wave.
Neither feed point is objectively better. They solve different installation problems, and the right choice comes down to what your specific operating location actually allows. If you want one antenna to cover many bands regardless of feed point, see Ladder Line and Open-Wire Feedline: When Balanced Beats Coax.