"Jimmie D" wrote in message
...

snip

There are a lot of alternatives betwenn the rubber duck and yagi antenna.


He's right. I made my first FD contacts on 2M using a TV-twinlead J-pole in
a length of PVC pipe. Worked one contact over 100 miles with my 5 watt
Yaesu FT-530 very near ground level. (Yes, the other end had a beam.)

The TV-twinlead J-pole is a bit tricky to build. I much prefer using copper
water pipe, but I made one of twinlead since that first FD. Twinlead's big
advantage: it rolls up and fits in your pocket, as there is no ground
plane. With a simple plastic loop at the top, it can be hoisted aloft with
kite string or hung by a stray nail on Uncle Hank's porch roof, etc. Rigid,
permanent mounting is always optional but never required.

Plus, it gets them ol' RFs away from yor haid.