Recently got back into radio after 15 year absence..... Have a
question for you antenna gurus. I want to put up a 135 foot doublet.
Question is: Does it need to be supported in the middle? The layout of
my property has no support for the middle of the antenna.

Butcherman wrote:
Recently got back into radio after 15 year absence..... Have a
question for you antenna gurus. I want to put up a 135 foot doublet.
Question is: Does it need to be supported in the middle? The layout of
my property has no support for the middle of the antenna.

Actually, the two end supports which tend to make the
antenna horizontal are more useful than a single
center support for an inv-V. Short answer is "no", you
don't need a center support.
--
73, Cecil http://www.w5dxp.com

Butcherman wrote:
Recently got back into radio after 15 year absence..... Have a
question for you antenna gurus. I want to put up a 135 foot doublet.
Question is: Does it need to be supported in the middle? The layout of
my property has no support for the middle of the antenna.

It depends on how much sag you can tolerate. Less sag and/or more feedline
& antenna weight = greater tensioning.
Bryan WA7PRC

On Wed, 3 Dec 2008 13:43:59 -0800 (PST), Butcherman
wrote:

Recently got back into radio after 15 year absence..... Have a
question for you antenna gurus. I want to put up a 135 foot doublet.
Question is: Does it need to be supported in the middle? The layout of
my property has no support for the middle of the antenna.
KD3Y,
I have a 220 foot dipole with a substantial amount of dacron rope
to the end supports.

I use a 40lb box of Cat Litter on one end to terminate the rope
which runs through a pulley. Although I use lightweight feeder
spreaders, the center does dip some which might affect the
resonant frequency of the antenna, I use a tuner and the
antenna "works" on all bands.

If you don't use a setup like this, it is difficult to get enough
tension and prevent the tree supports from breaking the
antenna. The antenna, made of #10 copperweld, has
stayed up through a number of NE winters.
Regards,
Ed, N5EI

To sort of sum things up, how your antenna is supported, center/ends,
isn't going to make a lot of difference. Of course, building the
thing strong enough to support it's own weight is a 'biggy'. Making
it 'fit' the area you have to work with is also a 'biggy'. Then it's
just a matter of 'making do' with what you got, sort of. Probably
won't be the absolute bestest in the world, but so what, it'll work.
- 'Doc

(when you figure out where to place those 150 foot towers, and make
the whole mess rotatable, THEN you can worry about it... right?)

Thanks everyone. One thing I have in my garage is empty litter cans
that I can fill with sand and use!!
Hope to get antenna up in next couple of weeks. Right now I am running
a approx 40 foot doublet in my
garage roof, anxious to get the larger outside antenna up.

Those empty litter cans and sand is one alternative. Personally, I
just go down the hall to that little square room. Whatever.
- 'Doc