View Single Post
  #32   Report Post  
Old February 18th 08, 07:17 PM posted to alt.radio.amateur,rec.radio.amateur.antenna
David G. Nagel David G. Nagel is offline
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by RadioBanter: Jan 2007
Posts: 99
Default keeping wire antennas up

Myron A. Calhoun wrote:
From Rain City (Seattle). I did this in a Maple forest. I did mine
with pulleys top and bottom with a continuous loop like a flag pole. I
snip


Instead of pulleys, I use large screw-in insulators like you might see
on a
power pole. They are slick enough to act as pulleys, large enough to
take
two ropes (one for the continuous loop and the other for holding the
antenna), they don't cost much, and a rope NEVER jumps out of the
"pulley"!

I've also used a screen-door spring (or two in parallel) between the
rope
and the end-of-the-antenna insulator (with some more rope in between
so the spring doesn't add much capacitance to the antenna proper) to
give some strain relief.

--Myron A. Calhoun, W0PBV.
Five boxes preserve our freedoms: soap, ballot, witness, jury, and
cartridge.


Myron;

The only problem with your insulators is that the tree is alive and
still growing. It will eventually grow around the insulator and embed it
in the wood. This will take a long time but they are still finding
cannon balls in trees left over from the Civil War.

Dave WD9BDZ