Low-Loss Feedline on a Budget: Building 450 to 600 Ohm DIY Ladder Line from Common Materials

DIY Ladder Line for the HF Ham A complete technical guide to building, routing, and using open-wire balanced feedline at your station

Ladder line is a type of feedline made of two parallel wires held apart by small spacers at regular intervals. When you look at it from the side it looks exactly like a ladder — hence the name. The spacers keep the wires a fixed distance apart all the way from the antenna down to your radio room.

Unlike coax cable, which has a center conductor buried inside solid plastic and covered by a metal braid, ladder line is open to the air. This is not a flaw. It is actually its biggest strength. Air is one of the best insulators there is, and it does not eat up your signal the way solid plastic does.

The two wires carry equal and opposite signals. Because they are close together and balanced, the fields from each wire mostly cancel each other out. Very little energy radiates from the feedline itself. This means nearly all your transmitter power reaches the antenna, where it belongs.

Low-Loss Feedline on a Budget: Building 450 to 600 Ohm DIY Ladder Line from Common Materials