Our Partnership with WiMo: The German Factory Behind Every G0KSC Antenna.

By Justin Johnson, G0KSC — 30 July 2026

In 2017, I made one of the most important decisions in the history of InnovAntennas: I transitioned all of our antenna manufacturing to WiMo Antennen und Elektronik GmbH in Herxheim, Germany. This isn't just a supplier relationship. It's the manufacturing backbone of everything we do, and the story of why deserves to be told.

Who Is WiMo?

If you've been in amateur radio for a while, especially in Europe, you already know WiMo. But you may not know the full picture.

Founded in 1982 by Volkmar Junge (DF2SS) and his wife Moni, WiMo started with a handful of clip-on antennas for handheld radios and an HF millivoltmeter at the Ham Radio exhibition in Friedrichshafen. From that humble beginning, they've grown into Europe's leading supplier of amateur radio technology, employing over 70 people including 15 dedicated radio amateurs on staff.

Today, WiMo is both a retailer and a manufacturer. They ship to customers in over 100 countries. Their export share exceeds 60 per cent. They hold an exceptionally broad and deeply stocked product range, and they manufacture a significant portion of their own-brand antennas in-house at their factory in Herxheim.

They are, by their own description and by the consensus of the European amateur radio community, the number one in Europe when it comes to ham radio technology.

Why I Chose WiMo

When InnovAntennas outgrew our original UK-based manufacturing setup, I needed a partner who could deliver three things: precision engineering, consistent quality at scale, and genuine understanding of antenna design. Not just a factory that could bend aluminium to a drawing, but a team that understood why each element length matters, why the driven element geometry is critical, why a square boom eliminates element twist in high winds.

WiMo had all three.

They had already been building antennas for decades. In 2000, they took over the entire antenna production division of ZX-Yagi, relocating it from the Netherlands to Germany in just two weeks without a single delivery delay. In 2008, they acquired Kelemen Antennen. They brought EAntenna into their portfolio. They manufacture OptiBeam antennas. Their production floor builds antennas for multiple internationally recognised brands to exacting OEM specifications.

When Carsten Esch, DL6LAU, WiMo's sales manager, confirmed the OEM arrangement, his words were simple: "We have been producing InnovAntennas as an OEM in Herxheim and have a lot of experience with the antennas. Our production team is well prepared."

That was in 2019. Since then, every InnovAntennas product — every LFA Yagi, every OP-DES, every OWL, every BOLPA, every DXR multiband beam — has been built on the WiMo production line in Herxheim.

Not All G0KSC Designs Are The Same

There's an important distinction I want to make clear, because it matters when you're deciding where to spend your money.

My early antenna designs, the ones that first put G0KSC on the map, have been freely available for self-build on G0KSC.co.uk for years. Those are my first-generation designs, going back to 2008. They're good designs, and I'm proud of them, but they represent where I was as a designer almost two decades ago.

Some years ago, I sold the rights to a selection of those first-generation designs to what became the EAntenna brand. If you've seen EAntenna Yagis sold through WiMo, those are based on my earlier work. They're well-built by WiMo to the original specifications, and they serve their purpose well for many operators.

But antenna design, like any engineering discipline, moves forward. The designs I'm producing today are significantly more advanced than those early models. Refined element geometry. Improved driven element configurations. Better noise rejection. Wider bandwidth without compromise. Better materials utilisation. These are the designs that go exclusively into InnovAntennas products.

If you want my early work, you can build it for free from G0KSC.co.uk or buy it as an EAntenna product through WiMo. Both are legitimate, both are good value.

But if you want my latest work — the current state of the art in G0KSC antenna design — the only place to get it is InnovAntennas.

What This Means For You

If you buy an InnovAntennas antenna anywhere in the world, here is what happens behind the scenes:

I design and optimise the antenna in EZNEC. For a period, we also used Ansys HFSS for advanced field simulation, which pushed the boundaries of what we could model. The final design data — element lengths, boom dimensions, matching network geometry, and construction specifications — goes to WiMo's engineering team. Their production staff build the antenna to our exact specification using aviation-grade T6 6066/6082 aluminium, sea-water-resistant stainless steel hardware, and UV-resistant insulators. Every antenna is checked and tested before it leaves the factory.

Then it ships. Either directly from WiMo to a customer in Europe or anywhere else in the world, or in bulk to DX Engineering in Ohio for distribution across the Americas.

The WiMo Difference

What sets WiMo apart isn't just their scale. It's their culture.

The company was built by radio amateurs, for radio amateurs. With 15 licensed hams on staff, when you call WiMo with a technical question about an InnovAntennas product, you're talking to someone who understands antennas from the inside out. Their production team has years of experience specifically with our designs. They know the LFA's loop geometry. They know the DXR's interlaced element arrangement. They know the OP-DES driven element configuration. That institutional knowledge is irreplaceable.

WiMo also hosts the HAMtastic Experience, a major amateur radio event that evolved from their long-running in-house exhibition. Launched in 2025 in a new, larger format in Landau, it brings together manufacturers, customers, and the broader ham radio community for hands-on demonstrations and direct contact with the WiMo team. It's a reflection of their commitment to this hobby that goes far beyond simply selling products.

In 2025, WiMo underwent a generational change. Markus Viertel, who had been co-managing director since 2018, took over the company from founder Volkmar Junge as Volkmar retired. It was, by all accounts, a carefully prepared and smooth transition. Markus's commitment was clear: "We remain committed to a clear strategy, will continue to invest in a targeted manner, and aim to offer radio amateurs, companies, and authorities worldwide high-quality products and the best possible service."

That continuity matters. It means the team that has been building InnovAntennas products for years remains in place. The expertise is retained. The quality is maintained.

A Partnership, Not Just A Contract

I've visited the WiMo factory. I've worked with their team. I've seen how they build our antennas, element by element, boom section by boom section. The care and precision that goes into every antenna is exactly what I would demand if I were building it myself.

There is a reason why InnovAntennas antennas have the reputation they do for build quality and durability. It's the same reason why DX Engineering, our distributor in the Americas, holds significant stock: they trust what comes out of the WiMo factory, and so do I.

How To Buy

If you're in Europe, Africa, Asia, or Oceania, you can purchase InnovAntennas products directly from WiMo: wimo.com/innov-antennas

If you're in North, South, or Central America, or the Caribbean, your source is DX Engineering: dxengineering.com/innovantennas

WiMo also supplies InnovAntennas products through their network of specialist dealers across Europe and beyond. Check with your local amateur radio dealer to see if they carry the range.

And if you want to build your own, our latest G0KSC design files and build sheets are now available for direct download from our website, under a personal-use licence. The same designs that ship from the WiMo factory, ready for your workshop.

My Thanks

I want to close with a personal note of thanks to the team at WiMo. To Volkmar Junge for building the company from nothing into what it is today. To Markus Viertel for carrying it forward. To Carsten Esch (DL6LAU) for championing InnovAntennas from the beginning. And to the production team in Herxheim who build every antenna as if it were going on their own tower.

When you buy an InnovAntennas product, you're buying the result of a partnership between a designer in England, a factory in Germany, and a distribution network spanning the Americas. Every part of that chain matters. Every link is trusted.

That's how it should be.

73,

Justin Johnson, G0KSC Founder, InnovAntennas Limited