On Dec 22, 4:43*am, RHF wrote:
On Dec 21, 11:51*am, JoanD'arcRoast wrote:
Friend of mine bought an old farmhouse in the country. A tenant 30
years ago worked for telco, and used to throw things away in the woods
behind the house. I now have approximately 700 feet of black outdoor
telco line. It looks like zipcord or 2-conductor appliance wire. It has
a *very* tough jacket; the copper hasn't oxidized *at all*. The longest
contiguous piece is 240', the second is 140'. 2 more are about 100'
each. 3 more smaller pieces. I just finished untangling it.
I live in the 'burbs. Nine 100' Loblollies; Six 80' hardwoods. Back
property edge ends in a stream, eight feet down in a gully. Wind
recently brought down my horizontal loop and my TTFD, so in effect, I'm
(mentally) starting over.
What would you do? Unzip and solder the phone line for a 1000' Beverage
fastened with zip-ties to the shrubbery above the stream? (I doubt any
neighbors would even notice the wire.)
Are there any good antenna designs that take advantage of zipcord?
-j
PS: I'm going to repair my TTFD and hang it along the stream bank. That
should provide a good ground plane, neh?
JDaR,
The Type and Size of your Antenna depends on the Size
and Shape of your Property; plus the lay-out of the
Structures and Natural Antenna Support-Point on it.
Size of the Property :
[ ] 1/2 Acre or less
[ ] One Acre {209 Feet by 209 Feet}
[ ] More Than an Acre
[ ] Several Acres - Oh Boy ! 
)
Distance from the House to the Creek ?
Distance across the Back of the Property.
FOR BASIC SHORTWAVE RADIO LISTENING (SWL)
-THINK- INVERTED "L" ANTENNA
Consider building one or more Inverted "L" Antennas
using the "Low Noise Antenna" design concepts that
were popularized by John Doty.
* SWL Longwire -by- John Doty
[ Shortwave Listener (SWL) Longwire Antenna ]http://www.google.com/group/rec.radio.shortwave/msg/9e3dd73e36381d46
* Low Noise Antenna Connection -by- John Dotyhttp://www.google.com/group/rec.radio.shortwave/msg/1cde8bb62764b23a
* Grounding Is Key To Good Reception -by- John Dotyhttp://www.google.com/group/rec.radio.shortwave/msg/5fd8fe1179a5c6c8
* The "John Doty" Reading List courtsey of Hard-Core-DX.Comhttp://www.google.com/group/rec.radio.shortwave/msg/48c9ce8dea3d0b06
IMHO - For most Shortwave Listeners (SWLs) the Inverted "L"
Antenna is the most effective for their general needs.
FWIW - The Amateur Radio Inverted "L" Antenna is often
made-up of two Equal 1/4 WL Sections : One Vertical Leg
and One Horizontal Arm and is Band Specific.
-While- The Shortwave Radio Listener's (SWL'er) Inverted
"L" Antenna is usually made-up of two Un-Equal Sections :
A Shorter Vertical Leg with a Longer Horizontal Arm.
With a 20 Foot High by 100 Foot Long Inverted "L" Antenna
being a fairly nice Antenna for Shortwave Radio Listening
(SWL).
The Creek* is at the Back** of the Property and assumed to
have Wet-Soil all-year-round. This has Two Good Points :
* Good Wet-Soil {Ground} for a Good Ground.
** Back of the Property and Far Away from the House.
There are Several Tall Trees on the Property to use as
Natural Antenna Supports. *This has Two Good Points :
* Use What's There and No Need to Build
* Gets the Antenna Wires High-in-the-Air
* Gets the Antenna Wires way above the Head for Safety
Grounding - Place a Ground Rod in the Ground at the Back
of the Property; near a Tree if possible; and a few Feet
before the Edge of the Gully.
* Run a Heavy Solid Bare Copper Wire down into the Gully
as far as you can go into it without standing in Water.
* Place a second Ground Rod here and Connect both Ground
Rods together using the Copper Wire.
NOTE - If you can pick a Tree to locate the Ground Rod
near that is at the Back of the Property and at near one
of the Back Corners of the Property - That is better.
TIP - Place the Ground Rod about 3~5 Feet Away from the
Trunk of the Tree and ideally under a Large Branch that
is about 20 Feet or Higher above the ground.
Coax Cable - Run/Route a Coax Cable from the House along
the Ground; better would be under the Ground a few Inches;
out to the Ground Rod that is near the base the Tree.
? What is the Distance between the House and the Ground
Rod in Feet ?
Matching Transformer {MLB} - Mount a Matching Transformer
on the Ground Rod and connect the Coax Cable to the
Matching Transformer.
Oops !
ABOUT the Matching Transformer {MT}
http://www.hard-core-dx.com/nordicdx...d/magbal1.html
This is a 9:1 Matching Transformer which is often called
http://www.hard-core-dx.com/nordicdx.../magbalun.html
a Magnetic Longwire Balun and is actually an UnUn.
http://www.hard-core-dx.com/nordicdx...d/magbal1.html
*New* Low Cost 9:1 Antenna Matching Transformers - KD9SV
http://www.radiobooks.com/products/svamtb.htm
New designed 9-1 Matching Transformer uses Stainless Steel
Hardware, F-Connectors and Isolated Ground Connections.
The KD9SV Model SV-ATMS is Ideal for Shortwave Radio Listeners
(SWLs) using Quad-Shield RG6 Coax Cable with F-Connectors and
a Ground Rod at the base of an Inverted "L" Antenna.
* LowBander - Longwire Balun 9:1 Matching Transformer
http://cgi.ebay.com/_W0QQitemZ180198243591
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZlowbander
* RF Systems - Magnetic Longwire Balun (MLB)
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/sw_ant/1484.html
* WinRadio - LWA-0130 Long Wire Antenna Adapter
http://www.grove-ent.com/WR0130.html
* Palomar Engineers - MLB-1 Magnetic Longwire Balun
http://www.palomar-engineers.com/MLB-1/mlb-1.html
http://www.antennex.com/palomar/page_6.htm
* Durham Radio - Longwire Impedance Matcher
http://www.shortwavestore.com/sws/pr...5&cat=0&page=1
* Wellbrook - Universal Magnetic Balun UMB
http://www.wellbrook.uk.com/UMB.html
HOW TO -
http://www.wellbrook.uk.com/longwire.html
* I.C.E. Model 180 Series Broadband Impedance Matching Units
by Industrial Communication Engineers
http://www.iceradioproducts.com/reco...age%20Matching
DIAGRAM of a typical "Low Noise Antenna Setup" using
a Longwire Antenna to Coax Cable Matching Transformer
http://www.geocities.com/qrp_baluns/app-lmz-75.html
The Wire Antenna Element - Use the Twin TelCo Wire 'As Is"
for the Wire Antenna Element. *Use the Trees to Hang the
Wire Antenna Element from. *Rig the Wire Antenna Element
from the Trees either with Rope or Stand-Off or both.
TIP - A 24-Foot Extention Ladder and some Stand-Offs
can Safely get your Wire Antenna Element Up-in-the-Air
18~20 Feet. -OR- Rig the Wire Antenna Element from
Branch to Branch using a separate Rigging Rope with
each Tree. *Some will simply lay the Wire Antenna
Element on the Ground and Tie the Rigging Rope directly
to it; others will use Antenna Insulator along with
the Rope.
Antenna Rigging Rope - Black Nylon/Poly 3/16"~1/4" seems
to be the Rope of choice for Rigging most Shortwave Radio
Listening (SWL) Antennas.
Advoiding the Noise-Zone - Back to the Distance in Feet
between the House and the Ground Rod. *Divide this number
of Feet by Three (3). *The Horizontal part of your new
Antenna should only be 2/3RDs of this Distance; and leaving
1/3RD of that Distance; which is the closest to the House
as a Noise-Zone Buffer.
NOTE - For most Shortwave Radio Listeners (SWLs) a Random
Wire Antenna that is about 100 Foot long is 'Good Enough'
for their Shortwave Radio Listening Needs. After all 98
Feet is ~ 1/4WL for the 120m Band.
-WRT- The Inverted "L" Antenna the 100 Feet can be the
Total Length of the Antenna -or- The Horizontal Length
of the Top Section can be up to 100 Feet by itself.
-However- If you are into AM/MW DXing or Longwave (LW)
DXing 'NDB' then 200~500 Feet long Antennas may better
'Fit' your Radio Listening Needs.
RIG - The Wire Antenna Element starting at the base of
the Tree with the Ground Rod. *Straight-up and Parallel
from the Tree 3~5 Feet to the first Antenna Support-Point
Stand-Off or via Rope. Then to the next Tree and it's
Antenna Support-Point and so on until the Last Tree.
Rig the End of the Wire Antenna Element with a Counter
Weight and Pulley as Stress/Loading Relief for the Wire
Antenna Element in Weather and Wind.
Oops !
CONNECT the Antenna Wires to the Matching Transformer.
Strip-off the and Inch or two of Insulation from the
Two TelCo Wires. Twist and Solder them together. Then
'connect' them to the Matching Transformer. It is not
neccessary to do the same on the other end of the two
Wires but some people do.
Out-Side Grounding at the House - Install a Ground Rod
outside the House where the Coax Cable comes into the
House. *Use a Grounding Block/Pass-Through-Connector
to Ground the Coax Cable here before it Enters the House.
Note - Connect (Bond) this Ground to the House's AC Mains
Grounding Point.
Connecting the Radio - Run a Coax Cable from the Out-Side
Ground into the House and to your Radio/Receiver.
THAT SOMETING EXTRA - A Second Wire Antenna Element at
90 Degrees {Perpendicular} from the First Wire Antenna
Element. Connected to the same Matching Transformer.
* BETTER would be a Second Coax Cable with a Second
Ground Rod at the base of the same Tree. *The 'Space'
between the two Ground Rods would be 3~5 Feet; and both
Ground Rod would be connected via a Heavy Solid Bare
Copper Wire. *Rig the Up-Leg of these two Wire Antenna
Elements *3~5 Feet apart and 90 Degrees Away from each
other. *These two Wire Antenna Elements can be the same
Length or different lengths.
* ALTERNATIVE would be a Second Wire Antenna Element that
is Rigged under the First Wire Antenna Element by 3 Feet
that has a Horizontal Length of 62% of the Longer Upper
First Wire Antenna Element. *Repeating this with a Third
Wire Antenna Element that is Rigged under the First Wire
Antenna Element by 6 Feet that has a Horizontal Length of
38% of the Longer Upper First Wire Antenna Element is as
far as you can go with this scheme.
** First 'Top' Wire Antenna Element 98 Feet (~100%)
Horizontal Section would be ~ 1/4WL @ 120m
** Second 'Middle' Wire Antenna Element 59 Feet (~62%)
Horizontal Section would be ~ 1/4WL @ 75m
** Third 'Bottom' Wire Antenna Element 38 Feet (~38%)
Horizontal Section would be ~ 1/4WL @ 49m
hope this helps - iane ~ RHF {pomkia}
*.
Shortwave Listener (SWL) Antennas Group =http://tinyurl.com/ogvcf
GoTo =http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortwave-SWL-Antenna/
The SWL Antenna Discussion Group =http://tinyurl.com/ogvcf
Shortwave Listener (SWL) Antenna HELP =http://tinyurl.com/ogvcf
Shortwave Listener (SWL) Antenna NEWS =http://tinyurl.com/ogvcf
Shortwave Listener (SWL) Antenna INFO =http://tinyurl.com/ogvcf
* * * All Are Welcome : Including ELMERS and 'Want-to-be-Elmers'
plus plain old "Mister-Know-It-Alls"; and even those Newbees with
"I Know This Is A Really Dumb Question - But _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "
*.
Shortwave Radio Listener QSL Reports News & Info Grouphttp://groups.google..com/group/shortwave-listener-qsl-reports
Read & Post Your Shortwave Listener (SWL) Reception Reports
SWL-QSL-REPORTS =http://tinyurl.com/3awlyr
*.
The Shortwave Listener's Blessing :
SWL BLESSING =http://tinyurl.com/s2bjm
May You Never Tire of Listening to the Radio and Always
have Strong Signals and Noise Free Reception ~ RHF {ibid}http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortw...a/message/9233
*.
Tous Sont Bienvenus ! - - - Groupe par Radio
d'auditeur d'onde courte pour des Antennes de SWLhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortwave-SWL-Antenna/
*.
Alle Sind Willkommen ! - - - Shortwave Radiozuhörer
Gruppe für SWL Antennenhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortwave-SWL-Antenna/
*.
Tutti Sono Benvenuti ! - - - Gruppo Radiofonico
dell'ascoltatore di onda corta per le Antenne di SWLhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortwave-SWL-Antenna/
*.
Todos São Bem-vindos ! - - - Grupo de Rádio
do ouvinte do Shortwave para Antenas de SWLhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortwave-SWL-Antenna/
*.
¡Todos Son Agradables! - - - Grupo de Radio del oyente
de la onda corta para las Antenas de SWLhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortwave-SWL-Antenna/
*.
= = = = Plain Old American-English Translation = = = =
All are Welcome - -
read more »- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -...