On Feb 13, 11:11*am, "The Shadow" wrote:
"Swoozie Pellegrino" wrote in message

...
On Feb 11, 10:41 pm, Rick Frazier wrote:





Swoozie Pellegrino wrote:
Hi, all.

I'm about to become a General class licensee, and I'm
trying to work out a HF antenna plan for my new apartment.
I have a small balcony on the top (4th) floor, which is good,
but unfortunately there's a roof overhanging it and is
8' over the balcony floor and juts 4' out over the balcony edge,
so a tall vertical is out of the question.

What about a 'vertical' that is angled about 45 deg. down
from vertical? Will that be good for phone DXing on any
HF band?

Also, sadly, the balcony is all metal and so is the top of
the roof.

What about some kind of loop?

Thanks!

~swooz

How about a vertical suspended from a hunk of plastic pipe ? Try
letting it hang down from the balcony, as far out as you can safely
suspend it. I've gotten away with using a 24 guage wire suspended with
a collapsable/extendible fishing pole with reasonable results, compared
to trying to use a short dipole inside a hotel room....

Though far from optimum, sometimes almost anything is better than nothing.

--Rick AH7H- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I could fashion a 24 gauge 1/2-wavelength 20m dipole, which I know
about its footprint when strung horizontally at 1/2-wavelength above
the ground, but is it of any use stood on end (as in dangled from
my balcony and tapped in the center)?

Thanks,
~swooz

Sure is -- tis a vertical dipole - works well at low heights where a
horizontal dipole should be elevated above ground - half wavelength +

Be sure to center tap it for proper impedance match. Not end fed.

Feedline should be 90 deg from the dipole or as near as you can get it.

I use a vertical dipole on six meters - works well

Lamont- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thanks for the info, Lamont. Well, it's going to be difficult to get
that
90 deg angle at the central feed point, since the 'dipole' will be
something
like a 10-meter long magnet wire hanging from my balcony with a weight
at the bottom. I could run coax down alongside for 5m and have it
connect
there in the center.

Hmmm...wonder if a Buddipole clamped on my balcony railing and
pointed out at a 45 deg angle will work better for me.

Thanks,
~swooz