"DesignGuy" wrote in message news:2ND0d.173828$mD.134815@attbi_s02...
"Steve" wrote in message
om...
I'm always curious about people's antennas, though they often go
unmentioned here. So, what's in your back yard (or on your roof, or in
your attic....)?

55 ft. random wire coax-fed via balun
Eavesdropper dipole

Hi, I'm very curious about the Eavesdropper-T and Eavesdropper-C
dipoles (see Universal-Radio online catalog) for my attic. The
Eavesdropper-T is a trapped dipole center-fed with 100' of 72 ohm
balanced feedline. The Eavesdropper-C is identical except it includes
a coax fitting and does not include a lead-in cable. Both models are
43' long (ideal for my attic space) and include static arrestors. For
the first thirty feet of my attic, there is electrical wiring to the
lights running 3'-4' from the peak of the roof, and for the last ten
feet within a foot of the peak. My questions are will this antenna
mounted at the very peak of the attic:

1. Be safe from lightning strikes?

2. Increase the chances of frying my radios even if electrocution is
not an
issue?

3. Suffer interference from the electrical wiring described above
whether the
lights are on or off?

4. Or interference from the utility lines outside the house which run
both parallel and perpendicular to the proposed antenna 15' to the
side
and 10' below?

5. Need to be grounded? (I believe I have read somewhere that a
balanced
dipole does not need to be grounded in order to deliver an
acceptable
low-noise signal. Is this wrong?)

What I have in mind, especially if I don't need to ground the antenna,
is moving my shack up to the attic and listening to DX on long winter
nights with a jug of corn liquor to keep me warm. Any advice would be
greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Grumpus




Slinky dipole (currently unused)
Radio Shack discone antenna (for scanner)
All in attic of my house