Andy writes:

I would like to hear some discussion/advice on the feasibility of
putting
an antenna for, say, 30m in the attic versus on top of the roof...

Here is the situation :
The roof peak of my house is about 50 feet and is straight. Given
the
need for a dipole which is 44 feet wide, it can be mounted in either of
two
places:

1) Just above the roof peak, straight along it, about 1 foot above.

2) Just below the roof peak,inside the attic, about 1 foot below .

Let's assume there are no other options...


So it sort of boils down to whether the wood and asphalt barrier ,
free
of metal except for an occasional nail, actually attenuates the signal
enough
to bother about, or affects the antenna impedance enough to bother
about.....

Having made dozens of ham antennae over the last 40 years in
configurations
that probably violate the laws of physics and having had them work, I,
personally,
haven't found that such a difference in the antenna placement makes a
hill
of beans worth of REAL difference (no pun). But a lot of guys here
have been
doing this for 40 years also, and I'd really like to see what anyone
has to say
about it.....

I generally use one rule of thumb on antennae:

" If when I connect the antenna to the receiver, the background
noise
of the receiver increases, the antenna is doing a good job".....

Yeah, I know, but it needs some thinking about because if the cosmic
noise
level picked up by the antenna is higher than the receiver noise level,
then
it has to be working........assuming it is cut to the proper frequency
for the
band used.....

So, what about it ? Anybody want to put in their two cents worth ?


Andy W4OAH