On Sunday, August 25, 2013 2:45:00 PM UTC-5, Irv Finkleman wrote:
I am running a random wire antenna. The line runs from the back of my tuner

tand through a metal window frame about two feet away from the rear of

the tuner. I feed it through the window using a plastic tube through a

small hole

drilled through the window frame. Once outside, the wire runs a short

distance

to a nearby tree. I can run about fifteen feet to the tree so it's not much

better than a horizontal whip antenna. I also wonder what the effect is if

I lengthen the antenna somewhat and drop the free end through the tree

to near ground level?



My question is what effect, i.e. losses will I incur (just a rough estimate)

by

going this way? I am on the second floor of a senior's residence and it

appears

that this is the best I will be able to manage. I run 5W QRP all band CW &

SSB.

Inside I use a tunable counterpoise to avoid RF burns etc.



I've been hamming for over fifty years and don't want to quit.

A little something is better than nothing!!



Any opinions or ideas on the matter are welcomed.



Thanks



Irv VE6BP

I don't see any problem going through the screen.
As far as the wire, just depends on the band used, etc..
IE: a lower band, you are likely to be less than a 1/4
wave length even with the extra dropped wire. Being as the
current maximum will still be at the feed point, I see no
real problems, and likely would improve performance.
But if you were on a higher band, and the extra length
placed the current max farther out on the wire, or in
certain cases, out on the lower end section, it could
possibly make things worse. It's just one of those tack
it on and test it type of deals..