Please allow me to apologize in advance, but I can't resist asking:

"If a dipole falls in a forest and there's no one there to hear it,
does it make a sound?"


Yes, the sound of its owner swearing up a blue storm at having to get the *&%$
thing back up over "just the right tree branches"....

Been using a "random" dipole (actually configured in an inverted vee with 50
foot legs) made from insulated house wire, fed with 450 ohm line, hooked to a
little MFJ tuner. QTH is DEEP in the woods and the antenna is VERY close to
trees and actually passes within inches of many leaves/branches. Work mostly
40 CW but every so often will wander around from 80 to 10 CW and SSB. Sure,
I'll never have a "big gun" signal with this antenna, but it works, its cheap
and easy, and I can always find someone to chat with. Once and a while, I even
manage to snag some pretty fair DX.

The only thing I try to avoid is letting the antenna actually touch any thing.

Good luck and good DX

de N3TWN John