hi. i'm about to be a new ham. i hv only 1 chance for an antenna for
80m (or 40, even 20). there's a 120' oak tree in the yard with 70'
clear on either side. so i thought a ladder-line center-fed inverted
vee dipole (63' per leg, 14ga teflon insulated stranded) would be my
best bet...so at 100W, even 600W ...am i going to set the tree on
fire? any ideas on how to keep bad things from happening? thank you
very much?


My own opinion, I do not like Oak trees for antenna work.... when the
leaves are on, they are difficult, to say the least. However, with
winter here, I'm sure you will be able to configure the apex of your
inverted V OK in that big tree.

Have you actually considered the amount of real estate you need for
an Invertet V for 75M ? With a center height of only 40 feet, your 1/4
wave legs will extend out barely over about 47 feet each side of center.
You may be able to do what you are thinking with a simple center mast
instead of using the Oak tree. It certainly would make working on your
antenna and changing things a bit easier.

Good luck, either case.

Ed K7AAT

in Oregon, too.