The size and layout of our city lot means that I can fit a 40 meter dipole
in the back yard with one end supported at the peak of the roof, but with
no way to guy a mast to hold up the other end. Power lines run directly
along the property line in back, there electrical service line runs right
across the roof of the detached garage and there are no trees back there.

I picked up a couple of [cheap] 10' steel mast sections at the local Radio
Shack and attached the lower section to our fence with conduit clamps, but
just the weight of the antenna under minimum tension causes the upper
section to bow significantly.

I'd like to replace the far-end support with something that will stay erect
under tension without guys. Getting higher than 20' would be nice too.

Can anybody offer practical suggestions to someone with essentially no
mechanical skills, pointers to articles on the subject or commercial
products?

--
Bert Hyman W0RSB St. Paul, MN