On Sat, 18 Mar 2006 14:54:25 -0500, "Basil Burgess"
wrote:

Thank you, Ralph

I'm sorry if I am giving inadequate information. Besides the basic
description of the antenna, I'm not sure what else to offer. I doubt it took
anyone long to realize that I am a novice and have as much info on antennas
as one learns for the Canadian basic exam, and and can glean from a borrowed
copy of the ARRL Antenna Book.

The only additions I have are that on closer inspection, the balun is Van
Gorden's (the manufacturer of the original antenna) Hi-Q Center Insulator.
Also, I am using an external automatic tuner, a Z-11 Pro by LDG. It
apparently tunes the antenna down to an SWR of 1.5, but doesn't have the
means to give a more accurate figure. My FT-875 displays SWR, as a bar
display, but when the tuner has done its job, the rig seems to display no
SWR bars, which I take to mean the rig sees a 1:1 or close to it. Still, I
guess that's no guarantee that the power is being used efficiently.

Anyway, thanks again for your help

73
Basil Burgess, VE3JEB

For a first attempt, it sounds like you've built a complicated affair:
slinkies, twinlead, balun, coax, tuner, etc. You might try the other
extreme, simple. A dipole of two straight wires cut to frequency, and
a length of coax to the rig. Make the antenna a little long, and use
your rig's swr meter to adjust the length down to resonance.

bob
k5qwg