"Michael" wrote in message
ups.com...
I want to build a long wire antenna for AM use, and run it from the
peak of my house to the peak of my barn. That will give me about 120
feet of antenna running basically north/south. I've never done this
before, so I'm looking for advice. I know enough to use ceramic eggs to
string the antenna ends, but how do I terminate the ends so that 1) the
end at the barn supports the tension; and 2) the end at the house
supports the tension and allows a connection to the radio? Also, how do
I connect a lightning arrestor to the antenna and how do I properly
connect the coax to the antenna?

What you'll want to do is provide some sort of counterwieght and pulley
system to provide wind strain relief. At each end is great, but you'll want
to do it to at least one end. Run the support rope at the end of the
antenna through a pulley mounted at the peak of the roof. Attach the rope
to some sort of wieght, like a couple of bricks or a sandbag. You'll
probably want to run the rope through an eye at the top of a pole first and
attach the wieght at the bottom. This will keep the wieght from swinging
around in the wind and will allow it to slide up & down. This keeps strong
winds from breaking your wire antenna.

At the far end of the antenna, simply wrap the wire through one hole of the
insulator and if it's stiff copper-clad steel wire wrap it back around
itself. If you're using more flexible insulated copper stranded wire, it's
OK to tie it around the insulator.

At the near end, you will want to do the same thing. Attach the support
rope to the peak of the roof while leaving a long wire downlead hanging down
from the insulator. You can either bring the downlead all the way into the
shack and feed your receiver this way, or else attach it to the center
conductor of the coax at the base of the house, while attaching the shield
braid to a suitable ground. You can either connect direct to the coax or
use a spare SO-239 jack. Be sure to weatherproof the coax connection. Then
just run the coax in to your receiver.

--
Tom Sevart N2UHC
Frontenac, KS
http://www.geocities.com/n2uhc