On Wed, 08 Jun 2005 17:57:21 -0000, (Dave Platt)
wrote:


Similar issues are likely to exist in recent-model cars which have a
lot of fiberglass or other composite-plastic panels and structure.

Back in the good old days, I was the proud owner of a 1956 Corvette,
one of only 3467 built and along with the '57s, the prettiest ones
ever buit. (damn I wish I had that car back). As are all Corvettes,
it was fiberglass.

The soft top was stored under a flip up hatch behind the seats and
there were two toggle clamps that secured the rear of the top when it
was up. These penetrated the hatch cover so that it was possible to
snake a vertical whip through them. I used a 17" aluminum
transcription disk (common in broadcast stations of the day) with the
coating stripped off for a ground plane under the hatch.

Best DX using a Heathkit "Twoer" was from the driveway of a friend in
Tempe, AZ back to another friend in Tucson; about 100 miles.

This wasn't long after QST magazine had breathlessly reported that the
"difficult path" between Tucson and Phoenix had been bridged.