put my UHF/VHF J pole antenna back up in the tree..

[orangetom1999]

My UHF/VHF home made J pole antenna came down from the tree wherein it had been up for a couple of years.

It was laying on my roof in a pile of pine needles...from the large pine tree wherein I had placed it a couple of years ago ..some 60 plus feet up in the air.


I took my ocean-going boat pole and tossed a 3 oz.tear drop lead weight over some limbs and then reeled back a one eighth inch nylon line back through the upper branches. Then I tied it onto the antenna after climbing the roof of my house. While up there I swept off all the pine needles and tied on the antenna....

Then going back to the ground, I reeled it up to some 60 feet...close to it's previous height. and then tied it off. I can hit the Richmond repeater some 70 plus miles away....mostly at night.

Nonetheless..I am glad to have it back operational and for now...Q5.

I want to put it up some ten to fifteen feed higher, but it will call for some study and more serious casting with this boat rod and reel.


My non Ishmaelite .02,
Orangetom

[orangetom1999]

A footnote about antennas.

I am ever grateful to my teachers or Elmers as it is stated in ham jargon....for encouraging me not only in the workings of ham radio ...but also to make/;fabricate my own antennas.

This has saved me a great deal of monies as well as the satisfaction of being able to do it myself.

I have ..with prepping in mind...stored sufficient materials to make several J pole antennas as well as the olde fashioned long wire antennas..for the various frequency bands...

Aluminum solid rod from True value hardware as well as ladder line and coaxial cable as needed. Also some angle bar...aluminum.


Nonetheless..I am grateful to the olde ones who never stopped encouraging me to get my license...even when I was still operating on the CB b bands.
They never gave up on me.


Orangetom
Not an Ishmaelite.

[orangetom1999]

I often remember and fondly ....my olde friend and Elmer Bonner Johnson....WA4YOB....and his constant encouragement. May he rest in Peace.

I remember going to see him in the Hospital when he underwent some surgery.....

He told me on that visit and back when I had gotten my Advanced Ticket...that I was going to make Extra Class...and so too was another fellow. He also stated that so and so ...and also so and so would not be making Extra Class.

I suspect that Olde Bonner had some kind of Radar working for him because that is exactly how things turned out.


On the day when I passed the Extra class test...I stopped by the river...up in Glouster, Virginia and used the river water to aid in my call back home....with stronger signal...and caught Bonner ....and told him...."Temporary Extra "

You could hear the grin across his face...as he told the other fellows in the net he was on...."What did I tell you fellows....What did I tell you!!!??"

And I was very glad to give him the news.


I am ever grateful fo these olde timers for not giving up on me.


I look back fondly at olde timers like Bonner Johnson....and imagine him looking down on me with that smile on his face.


I have tried in like manner to encourage others to take the test and offer any advice and encouragement in radio knowledge and application.


May you rest in Peace Bonner.....thanks to you and others I am still Q5 here...


My non Ishmaelite .02,
Orangetom

[Tugaloo]

I'm familiar with callsign/ae

My Elmer was W3DXA or DX America. In WWII, he was an OSS CW operator. Bill knew International Morse and American Morse. The biggest difference is International Morse is formed when the key makes contact. American Morse is formed when the key breaks contact.
As American Morse was sent over telegraph lines, when they were not being used were shorted.

https://pic2-d.avaluer.org/imgspic/d/l/d/m/k/-lionel_j___38_vintage_straight_telegraph_morse_code_cw_key_rare_production_run-1_49.jpg

The extra lever shorts the line so others can use it.

I used to be a VE and also taught Ham Radio.

Sounds good.

You kind of lost me. Is the antenna mounted to the roof or the pine tree?

When I lived in western MD on a mountain, I built a 2 meter twin lead J pole to monitor a DX cluster in northern VA. When operating QRO with a DJ2UT antenna, it cross talked with the J pole.
Not desiring to give up the DX cluster's advantages, I built a 2 meter 3 element Yagi aimed at the DX cluster. That cured the problem.
I've built a variety of antennas myself.

This site has some interesting designs: http://www.iw5edi.com/ham-radio/5166...le-for-uhf-vhf OTOH, the internet has a multitude of antenna designs.

DX lured many CB'ers to Ham radio. Actually, the many modes of today and the variety of QSL collecting on each also lured many to Ham Radio.
My old radio club in Maryland had a couple of former Hi-Fer (above channel 40 or 27.405 and below 28.000 MHz) SSB types. The FCC caught one and let him "donate" is radio and amplifier to avoid the fine.

[orangetom1999]

by Tugaloo..

You kind of lost me. Is the antenna mounted to the roof or the pine tree?

i have a large pine tree in the front of my yard.

Though I have a tree climbing outfit...I am hesitant to climb a pine tree with that thin loose bark with tree spikes.


I solved this problem by tossing a three oz. teardrop sinker and 25 lb. line high into the tree...and hooking a 1/8th nylon line to the other end when it landed and reel it back. Then I tied on the J pole antenna and coax and hauled it up some 60 plus feet into the tree.

Once in a while it comes down and I once again shoot the line back up into the high limbs.

Oh...and by the way....thanks for that bit about International versus American Morse 'code. I was not aware of that difference

So that is what the separate lever is about on some straight Keyers.??

I have an Iambic keyer but never got used to it.

I still use an olde straight key.





Orangetom
Not an Ishmaelite.

[Tugaloo]

After you pulled it up; how did you attached it to the tree? Or did you let it hang?

With a real belt and good spikes trees are pretty safe to climb. In Michigan, I hung a Carolina 10 to 160 meters up about 65'. I rocked on the low bands.
I built a 2 element 40 meter quad up about 60' in pine trees. Way, way, too close to the ground; however, it was potent in the directions, I could point it. Getting over the West Coast from the East for rare DX isn't easy.

That is what the extra short to ground was for. Today, we send CW by making contact. Wired telegraph sent it by breaking contact; however, so others could send everyone else had to "short" their key.
The real old timers would tune their rig by using a "lead" pencil. The stronger the blue spark, the better the match.

I use a Curtis 555 chip and an original Bencher chrome iambic keyer. I started with a J38 straight key; however, they are limited as far as speed, Next was a Vibroplex bug. This is the one I have https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qekmyx31Uxw. However, to go faster yet, the iambic was the solution.
My Elmer could run a bug faster than I can an iambic.

[orangetom1999]

I just let it hang Tugaloo...

Orangetom
Not an Ishmaelite.

[Tugaloo]

Hey, if it works good, it's good.

The G5RV doesn't work well on 15 meters. I built one using twin lead and a 4:1 balun. My first contact was in Chile. It was a major success for a Novice. LOL

Wire antennas are, were and will always be a lot of fun. Long wires are a lot of fun; IF one has a means of grounding them.

Andy was in his late 80s and didn't switch the ceramic knife switch to ground his long wire. His wife was going to call LE or the FD. Andy said call the club or the idiots will fry my radios. It made my hair stand up. LOL

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/1b/c7/6b/1bc76be12af8f0b461596002d66c3ac5.jpg

It was a yo Andy which way is ground moment.
When we used a wood broom shaft to switch it, there was was a large blue flash when the precipitation static was close enough to the ground side to jump it, there was a large blue flash.