Many of the ham radio magazines have had articles on using ballons as
antenna skyhooks for both transmit and receive. A vertical or sloper is a
good antenna and height always helps but if the ground isn't conductive the
antenna will be noisy. Most noise is vertically poarized. I recall one of
the articles had a drawing or picture with a disc about the diameter of the
balloon atttached just below the balloon to stabilize it in the wind. Car
dealers around here (Tulsa) always have some helium ballons up on weekends.
Try seraching www.arrl.net
good luck
hank wd5jfr
Its (The Dawn Soliloquy) wrote in message
...
I may have posted this before, I don't remember.

I have taken a Helium Balloon and lacquer coated wire, perhaps 100 feet,
and
used the balloon to lift the wire. A single balloon, the metallic (Mylar)
kind, was sufficient to lift the wire and its spool. My ability to lift
the
wire was limited by two factors:

1. A high tension wire was present in the front of my house:
2. The wind.

PLEASE NOTE, the two items above conspire to make the experiment quite a
dangerous one, as the distance that the wire can be lifted is limited by
the
distance to the high tension wire. (whether 110 volts or 3000 volts).

The wind, even moderate, tends to take the wire considerably off a
vertical
orientation. Perhaps more balloons would have given the situation a more
significant lift.

IF one were to live in an area without any high tension (110 Volt or the
much
greater primary voltages) and had a sufficiently windless day, thereby
succeeding in lifting 100 ft or more of wire, how efficient would this be
for
the purposes of receiving shortwave?

In theory, on property of sufficient footage, one could go 100 feet or
more
away from the house, use the balloon to lift the wire, tie the balloon off
(actually it could be guyed, limiting its range of motion) with an
independent
string or such, then take the wire itself back to the receiving station at
the
house. This would produce a slope with the upper end of the slope
considerably
off the ground.

Would STATIC be a serious consideration for such an arrangement due to the
exposure to winds?

Just a thought, as I am again at a property with insufficient acreage to
conduct such an experiment.



De Gustibus Non Est Disputandum: -There's no arguing about matters of
taste.
Multum in parvo: - Much in little (small but significant)
Sine qua non: -Indispensible part
Non sequitur: -It does not follow
Cogito ergo sum: - I think therefore I am.
Nota bene: - Note well
Tabula rasa: - Clean slate