</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (KC0LNU @ Dec. 12 2003,06:49)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">OK -- how about this.
Scenerio 1
Have a plot of land that is about 60 x 80, no trees one story home in a development with a city restriction stating antennas cannot be higher than 20 feet.
Want to get on the air without attracting too much attention -- have about $200 to spend.
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A little too easy. You can even purchase a commercial antenna for this situation. Anybody's vertical that fits the height restriction, ground mounted. Four "radials" tied to a ground rod near the antenna. All four "radials" rise up as they leave the ground rod, about a 45 degree angle, until the 10 foot height. Monofilament fishing line can be attached to the vertical to establish the first "10 foot high" point. Radials then head outward to whatever supports you want to plant. I have often used 1 X 2 pine, treated with Thompson's water seal.
It would have been more difficult if you had said "community does not allow antennas at all". The fact that they state a max of 20 feet means you have free reign to install support structures anywhere you need them.
By proper top loading of a vertical, you can do quite well on frequencies as low as 80 meters, with a 20 foot high vertical.
Also, bear in mind that you have a "restriction" of 20 feet only if someone actually inspects and measures. Most of the time they don't, so I'd start at 30 feet and if someone says it's too high, I'd invite them to measure it. They'll usually back down. If they don't, and they measure 30 feet, I'd say "oops. I thought I measured it at 20 feet."
If the restriction was "no antennas", I'd fabricate a reasonably loaded vertical into a 4-8" diameter PVC pipe, like the Ventenna, and plant it on the roof, with some radials slipped underneath the shingles.
If this is all in the back yard, you won't attract much attention. If you homebrew the vertical, you won't be able to spend $200.
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Scenerio 2
Members of the local ARES unit and want a quick, portable HF solution that can be used in an emergency without taking up lots of room.
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Not quite enough information. Are you using HF for local communications or cross-country? And what is the restriction on room? Vertical or horizontal?
Practically speaking, in the event of an emergency, nobody's going to prevent you from throwing wires in trees, concrete blocks on building roofs, etc. I would simply have some nice long spools of copper wire, insulators, rope, a slingshot, and dead weights in the "go kit" and fabricate what I need on site.
The backpackers have some exceptionally good solutions. Lightweight wire for a dipole, fed with lightweight 300 ohm twinlead, makes an antenna that can be supported by the flimsiest branches.
There are some telescoping 30 foot masts available, light enough that very lightweight twine can guy them to darn near anything at ground level. If you're in a completely paved area, the guy strings attach to car bumpers.
Three masts is ideal - one to hold the feed point and one for each end. Any length antenna can be erected.
For this exercise, I focused on horizontal dipoles, as I assumed your needs were primarily local.
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This is fun!
Doc