The big question is, what is it and why would I want to have one?  I've found that of the published authors on the subject of CCD antennas that there is some amount of disagreement on how it works.  Well, not disagreement as much as different ideas on how and why it works.  But, they all feel there are enough advantages to try it. 

The CCD is a full wave dipole (or long wire) that has a series of capacitors mounted along the wire.  The idea being that the current distribution along the entire antenna wire is constant.  Hence, Controlled Current Distribution!

Consider this.  Our radios use oscillators, filters, mixers and all sorts of other things to produce and fine tune our incoming and outgoing signals.  Why shouldn't we fine tune the antennas for less noise and better distribution of the power?  This is why the CCD is a nice break from traditional antennas. 

Another big question then is, "Why don't I see more of them?"  They were first introduced in 1978!  To date no one has come up with an easy way to build them commercially, build them to spec so each works exactly as the last, and build them so they would be relatively maintenance free.  What we've come up with is an easy way for people to build their own or order one that is custom assembled.

Pros:

• Being a full wave antenna it has about a 4.5 db gain over a half wave dipole (nothing special here - that's a normal increase)
• These antennas can be close to other non-resonant things like tree limbs and roof eaves and still work well (metal flashing and gutters are an exception - these are good but hey!)
• You can even operate with them laying on the ground and they will load fairly well.
• They seem to have a lower angle of radiation in a loop configuration - great for DX
• There is less end effect
• They are broad band and work well harmonically.  The 40 meter version works with less that 2:1 on the WARC bands! Coverage Charts
• Uses the whole antenna, no nodes

Cons:

• Pain in the **** to build - time consuming (but we will do that for you!!)
• More cost than a standard wire antenna - but not by much!
• Longer than a standard 1/2 wave antenna on the same band

There is no magic antenna that just does it all.  If there was, we'd all be using it.  A three element yagi at 75 feet will certainly work better than a CCD at 10 feet, or even 75 feet for that matter.  But, there are plenty of advantages to the CCD and depending on your needs it might be worth a try.

I found mine to be fairly quiet, yet the signals were still nice and strong.  I also used it under the eves of my house and found it was resonant on the same frequencies as it was when it was in open air.  Because wood is not a good insulator it still raised the SWR some.  It might go from 1.5:1 in open air to 4:1 under the eaves.  But, the reception and transmission comes close to what you would find in open air even with it under the eaves.  So, it might be a good antenna for those who live in HOA controlled communities.  Remember, these antennas can be bent around corners with little or no change in its operation.

If you have additional questions please feel free to contact us.  The info is on the left panel.