"Irv Finkleman" wrote in message
...

Another interesting thing is how I can feed the antenna through
the door to the balcony. I can't drill holes, but I currently have
a piece of RG-58 squeezed through the closeddoor. Every day I
check to see if anything has happened to it such as migration of
the center conductor to the point where it shorts to the sheild.

You might benefit from something like this:

http://www.cometantenna.com/pdfs/CTC..._and_instr.pdf

Alternatively, leave the door open a crack while passing coax through
the opening but seal the opening with a full-height strip of masking
tape to keep out the wintery winds.

I'm not desperate, but nearly so, and anxious to get on the
air again.

Have you considered single band whips? The names "Hustler"
and "Hamstick" come to mind but there are others. They
need a counterpoise to work but the following anecdotes
will provide some insight, I hope:

I assembled and successfully demonstrated (for Field
Day this year) a quick-and-dirty portable HF rig.
I used the following crap:

a pair of steel chassis slides bolted together at the ends
and laid on the ground at a right angle. Their weight
and orientation will keep them where they are placed.
They are magnetic;

a very thin single-use aluminum pan with two 20m
radials (about 15 feet) bolted firmly to opposite
sides of the baking dish; It laid on a flat part of
the chassis slides;

an MFJ magmount base (from a 1724B I think,
whatever one has the 3/8 threaded socket), with
the whip removed. It was placed onto the pan in
such a location as to stay magnetically "stuck."
the magmount base is capacitively coupled to
the pan with the radials; (Would direct wiring
from the shield to the radials be better? Dunno.)

A Hustler 20m element screwed into the above
magmount base.

This foregoing electrified junkpile worked multiple
stations in the Midwest from San Diego on 20m
for Field Day. I used it on 20 and 40 (different
whips and different baking pan radials, of
course) while on a trip earlier this month with
considerable success.

The radials might prefer to be stretched out
but this, too, can be worked-around. I've
used them with the ends drooping off the
corners of a balcony and had no trouble
getting a match with a $5 swap meet manual
tuner.

More radials would likely be better but
unwinding and re-winding radials around
the baking pan is already a pain with just
two.

Irv, does any of this resonate with you
and your balcony?

Aside: Maybe I can improve the described
radial scheme, like something that involves
retractable metal tape rules. Then I'd just
need one pan and I can set my radial lengths
at will.

New thought: If I bolted the free ends
of some retractable metal tape rules directly
to the steel chassis slides i would eliminate
the baking pan, altogether. It offers a
certain bizarre appeal.

"Sal"