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KU0DM
08-11-2007, 01:21 PM
Just had an amusing antenna story and wondered what else is out there...

I have an 80M inverted-v at my Grandparents farm. The way it is supported is by some rope that was tied to the antenna, then thrown over a section of an old tower (Why didn't I use the tower? If anyone asks I'll answer that). I then used my Magical system to pull the antenna up to where I wanted to tie it off. It wasn't pretty but it worked. Well, 6 months later the rope broke and the antenna fell down to the ground, no biggie. So I go out there to inspect it, I pick up one of the wires and use a word I often use when soldering. I was shocked (literally). I thought maybe...no not possible. I went looking around and found that both legs of the wire had fallen across an electric fence. I didn't have gloves handy so I thought I could just suck it up and pull the wire off...doesn't work that way.
The type of fence is for cattle, when a cow or whatever touches it, it is just like a little burst, but if something (or in my case someone) is constantly touching it or holding for instance, it becomes continuous to keep the cattle or whatever out. If anyone is wondering the fence was on my Grandparents property, it was to keep goats out of their garden.


Remember people, common sense seems to be something Hams may have little of at sporadic moments

WS2L
08-11-2007, 01:38 PM
I don't want to go into details as you can probably figure it out yourself.

15' mast to the rotor then another 5' mast supporting a 15 element yagi for 2 meters. Three guy wires, ice storm, one of the guy wires snaps off thus threatening the whole thing coming down. Luckily the antenna never fell, neither did I but I had to restore that one guy wire during the storm. NOT FUN

VO1GXG
08-13-2007, 08:06 PM
out up my 1/4 wave ground plane but forgot to put the radials on http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

KI4YJL
08-25-2007, 10:06 PM
Sorta funny. I really don't know what I was thinking when I was doing this. I am normally not this stupid.

I have my 2m J pole, under the deck, UNDER, and some 60ft trees. So I thought, well, better coverage out of the trees. So, I think no problem. I get a rock, tie some line to the antenna, then the rock, throw it up, and then it works. I tie it of to another tree. Awesome. Go inside. plug it up. Turn the machine on. Nothing, no interference or ANYTHING. I key a repeater, no coutesy tone. I go back outside, oh snap. I forgot to hook the other end of the coax up. So, I bring it down, an hour later (wasn't so lucky the second time), and then it works. ALWAYS hook up your coax. I'm glad I didn't burn my radio up.

Don't laugh. It was a long day. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

73s from,
KI4YJL

VA3SAX
08-26-2007, 01:14 PM
yep I have a similar story. I was hilltopping so I put the 2m yagi on the top section and I slowly put in the other sections under it. and I go to start putting in the guy line and then I look at the antenna and realize that I've just put the ting 15 ft into the air with my coax patch still in my bag with the radio...had to go through all the work of pulling the thing down again to get the antenna hooked up

KB1OJU
08-27-2007, 02:33 AM
today, woke up around 1pm to finish my end fed antenna proj. and i finished round 3ish. and not a lot of people have been believing me on this but i cut the antenna for 40m and it has horrible swr, so i added a short, 3.5 foot ground wire that is jabbed into the ground with a tent stake. and it still had a horrible swr, got a lil better, but not enough for safe transmit. so i got flippin ticked, and switched over to 80m and it had perfect swr........so i said okay...whats it like on 160...horrible. jumped down to 30m...perfect swr....20m, okay swr but still safe to transmit, 17m. perfect, 15 perfect, 12, perfect,10 perfect, and 6m was okay, still safe to transmit, but still i wouldnt take the chance. so pretty much....the best "resonant" antenna i have ever stumbled upon!!! if you want pictures or anything, email me and ill get you pictures, exact lengths, and all that other stuff that you want. i am using a LDG balun, a 12 inch patch cable from the balun to the rig (857, and soon to be the new convoy of pixie 2's) pretty crazy antenna though. but still if your interested, email me and ill get yall pics and info. 80m, 30m,20m,17m,15m,12m,10m is all perfect swr, now hows that for having a bunch of luck!!!

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