Years ago...about 30, I had 2 ele 40, th7 and th5 and Higain Hightower and double extended zepp ladder line fed cut for 40 which I used for 160-40. Jobs change and that really changes one's life. I started traveling and as such could no longer maintain the 3 towers so down it came all the radios antennas and towers were sold. 23 years later, only being home for 1 month a year, I finally retired. In the meantime, we sold the 2 story house on the highest point in the city, and bought a ranch about 300 feet lower surrounded by trees and hills with no view of the horizon in any direction from the ground. Well a man has got to have something to do. My wife spent disposable income on remodeling the house room to room. New kitchen, 3 new bathrooms, walls were moved or taken down and space opened up. Everytime I came home for a weekend, something had changed. And of course, each room needed new furniture. Upon retiring, I told her I was putting up a tower. I bought a Tashian 52 footer with a motor, and the arguments began...which later changed to many heated discussions. Finally, a compromise was made. I told her, I was perfectly content with not having ham radio with towers and that I was going to buy a new $18,000 motorcycle and I would come home maybe 6 months a year. I started getting my bike ready for trade in and she started softening up after a few road trips when I was gone for a few days. Then I went to Alaska for 21 days and 10,000 miles solo on my bike. I did not miss the radio at all. It was a great time. When I got back she agreed to compromise, especially when she saw me maping out 4 corners, Nova Scotia, PEI, Iceland and Europe. A compromise was quickly made. I put up a tower and bracketed it to the house. All approved by the city engineer and building permits were obtained. I have a 38 foot Rohn 45G tower with Navassa 5 antenna and an inverted L/vertical in the backyard for 160/80/40. The entire antenna farm is 68 linear feet. As I have gotten older that is all that I want and want to maintain. It is a pretty bombproof setup and is easy to climb. During contests I put up other antennas for experimentation in the front yard. I take them down after the contest. If I get complaints, I just go out to the garage and start the motorcycle for a few minutes and that pretty much ends the conversation.
I wish you well in your antenna endeavors. LOL! 73, Morgan NJ8M BS + MS + $2.98 = COFFEE Real Life Experience = Priceless, says the man who set his back yard on fire with a breadboard tuner loading a 160 meter inverted L with 1000 watts. LOL On Mon, Dec 20, 2021 at 9:14 AM <eda...@aya.yale.edu> wrote: > Here's another, utterly impractical, solution: > > When my wife and I built our weekend home in the Colorado mountains we > chose > the site for its natural beauty. Antennas are unnatural. I was content > with having only dipoles and Vees, but even they spoiled the view. So, > every time we were at the house and I wanted to operate, I would raise them > up. When done, I lowered them, leaving the supporting ropes dangling > against their trees with a snap-bolt on each rope's end. The dipoles > themselves -- including a multi-band for 10-15-20 and, at the time, Vees > for > 40 and 80 -- were rolled up, the coax feed lines were disconnected from the > sockets under the deck of the house, and it was all put away out of sight. > > I no longer do that, and haven't in recent years given age and a bad > shoulder. But during the first few years I learned how to deploy and store > my farm in minutes. > > Ted, KN1CBR > > On Sunday, December 19, 2021, 8:04 PM, Rich WC3T <r...@wc3t.us> wrote: > > When we moved to this QTH about 20 years ago my wife (SWMBO) remarked on > how > the location was perfect for ham radio as we are on top of a smallish hill. > ? So. Much. Win. ?Or so I thought.? > Years later when I had the temerity to launch an OCF dipole across two > trees, the first words out of her mouth were ?What is THAT POS?? ?? > Obviously she didn?t have the same mentalImage as I did. ? I quietly filed > the tower plans and am now QRP mobile. ? > > 72, > Rich Hurd / WC3T /?DMR:?3142737??Northampton County RACES, EPA-ARRL Public > Information Officer for ScoutingGrid:?FN20is > > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > Message delivered to mbaileyc...@gmail.com > ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
