"Ian White, G3SEK" wrote in message
...

But Richard's situation reflects the reality for many British hams whose
house is at one end of a short and narrow rear lot. With neighbors very
close on all sides, we're lucky to have even one mast, so center-fed
antennas are often not very practical for us - they either sag in the
middle or wind up in a very sharp inverted-V configuration.

As a result, we're very much forced towards considering end-fed or
base-fed solutions.


Although center-fed is not totally impossible or out of the question, you
are right, a lot of UK hams have small back lots/gardens and so many of us
do tend to seek verticals or end-fed arrangements with the feed point away
from the house. In my particular case, the problem with a vertical is that
it would practically be surrounded on all sides by either trees or the
house, so I'm not sure if going for a vertical alone would be a good idea,
and that's why I'm considering either an inverted-L or zepp or something
better.


However, I wouldn't go near an end-fed long wire or zepp configuration,
because of the very high risk of feeding the RF return currents into the
mains. Been there, done that, had the doorbell ring!

Noted.

Living in that situation myself, my best solution has been a 30-33ft
vertical at the far end of the garden, fed against the best ground
system I can manage. This can be fed directly on 7MHz; with an ATU at
the base it is good for 10, 14 and 18MHz, and is usable on the higher
bands too.

Yes. Any vertical at my QTH would be about 10 metres away from the house to
the south, and about 2 metres away from tallish conifers to the north. A
vertical would seem to be hemmed in to me. No clear take of in any direction
actually.

The problem with using a center-fed arrangement, is that the most I could
put up in backgarden would be ap 40 metre doublet as per:


x-------------------
| \
| \
| \
| \
| \feedline

back garden

But the feed would be at the top of a 10 metre mast. I would have to have
the feedline go in at an angle.

So one thinks perhaps I need to end-feed as per:

-------------------
|
|
|
|
|
x

back garden

BUT, I could be daring and do this:


/ | \
/ | \
/ house \

back garden front garden

Erect a 40 dipole, feeding at point of small mast on chimney stack of house.
That means half of the antenna ends up in front garden.

Or even put up cobra:
http://www.k1jek.com/index.html
Junior does not do 160 though.