Ditched the coax

[W7SOE]

Under the guise of taking down the Christmas lights I managed to swap out my coax feedline for window line.  I did it in record time!!

I think there will be Hell to pay when the aesthetics are noticed.     I plan on painting the feedline and the supports various colors in an attempt to camouflage it a bit.

Once again I find a use for my rock climbing equipment.  Since having kids it is used as my rooftop safety line and it also works great for pinatas!

Rich
W7SOE

[flintstone mop]

Nice fast work!
It should pass all of those "home inspections" ok.
It might take a while to notice the ladder line.
I don't think painting the feedline will be good for RF. Live on the wild side and see what happens.
Do you have a tuna?

Fred

[W7SOE]

I have a Johnson KW Matchbox.  I tried tuning the coax with it but that was a complete failure!

I think I will HAVE to agree to paint the feedline.  I think it will be ok if there is no metal in the paint.  There used to be titanium dioxide in whites, that can't be good.

The section coming down the side of the house will match the house paint and for the stuff on the roof I was think of one of those gray speckle paints.

It seem that if there is no metal in the paint then it would be ok........

Rich

[W2PFY]

Are those stand offs home made or from some store source?

Are there other products out there for working with window line? I have 265 feet of it up.Home brew ladder line, the way I would make it would weight a ton. So I'm looking for things that could give you a nice corner bend as an example.

Nice job

[W7SOE]

Are those stand offs home made or from some store source?

Nope, just some little wood tees whipped out from scrap wood.

Rich

[N2DTS]

You need to get some fiberglass mast sections, the heavy duty stuff, that way you can come right down along the mast.
That pre made owl sure shows up, you need some clear plastic insulators spaced far apart, it would be almost invisible...

What do you call that antenna, an inverted v v?

So how does it work?

Brett

[W7SOE]

You need to get some fiberglass mast sections, the heavy duty stuff, that way you can come right down along the mast.
That pre made owl sure shows up, you need some clear plastic insulators spaced far apart, it would be almost invisible...

What do you call that antenna, an inverted v v?

So how does it work?

Brett

The fiberglass mast is a really good idea!!!  Anyone have a source?

Owl??

Yes it is an inverted V cut for 75m, I'll let you know how it plays.....

Thanks


Rich

[N2DTS]

Owl: Open Wire Line......

I got 60 feet of the mast off ebay, its very heavy duty, I have about 6 four foot sections off the place where the electric feed to the house used to bolt to (a nice heavy pipe), and it holds the center of the 40-10 meter dipole up.
6 sections was the most I could manage by myself.

The antenna is tight, and the wind has been really high, but i think the mast sectons have some give or something as they are still up.

On a side note, we have been hearing an owl at night around the hood!


Brett

[k4kyv]

If you are worried about the appearance of the ribbon line, why not try real open wire line, using bare or enamelled wire and little plastic or fibreglass spreaders every foot or two.  It would have less visual impact than painted ribbon line, and work better too.

[W7SOE]

If you are worried about the appearance of the ribbon line, why not try real open wire line, using bare or enamelled wire and little plastic or fibreglass spreaders every foot or two.  It would have less visual impact than painted ribbon line, and work better too.

That is a good idea as well.  I just ordered fiberglass mast.  I like the idea of a couple of bare wires run with as few spreaders as possible.  My only concern is that the pair make a couple of ninety degree turns before the shack...


Rich

[nq5t]

The fiberglass mast is a really good idea!!!  Anyone have a source?

Max-Gain -- http://www.mgs4u.com.  High quality, lots of options, inexpensive.

Grant/NQ5T

[N2DTS]

I tried a number of (not so cheap) masts, the telescoping stuff is no good for anything but the very lightest antenna's, while the mil spec stuff is VERY strong, and some has the renforcement rings around the joints.
The stuff i got is green, about 1/4 inch thick, and about 1/2 inch with the rings.

The problem with 4 foot sections is getting them up, once you have about 5, its hard to stand on the roof, lift 20 or 25 feet of mast up to fit another section.
Adding the last section, I almost lost it....

When I did OWL, I made my own and it did not show much, even with #12 wire.

Brett

[N3DRB The Derb]

Rich

 I have some 72 ohm Belden KW twinlead that is working real well for me here, it has the cross section of RG8X coax but no spacers. it's 72 ohms balanced line. I got 300 ft of it at the bargain price, and I want to keep some of it, but if I can spare the length you need I'll send it for shipping cost. I can use regular ladder line no problems.

this stuff will not work for any other band than what you cut the antenna for, as the loss will be high compared to ladder line. But it's as low profile a balanced line as you can get, literally. If you can make do with a 1 bander, it would be real hard to spot.

This is Belden 8210 KW twinlead, 13 awg copperweld conductors. you can see how thick it is in this picture, it's coming off the terms of my KW matchbox.

[W7SOE]

Derb,
    That is a very kind offer, thank you very much.  I am reviewing ideas in my head for a while.  Right now I am thinking of going with Don's idea of open wire line.  I have ordered fiberglass mast sections to replace the metal one. 

I am envisioning a single spreader at the feedpoint and then two taught feedlines coming down either side of the mast to near the bottom of the mast.  Then they go to the edge of the roof and are held tight so only a couple spreaders are needed. 

Then I would probably need four or five spreaders to get around the rain gutter.  I then plan on having the two wires come down the side of the house, with no spreaders, held tight.

I am still not sure about the two ninety degrees turns into the shack (holes drill into the wood above the sill plate sitting on the foundation, into the basement shack man cave).  Perhaps all I need to do is keep the wires apart and the same length?

I think all of this will greatly reduce the "visual footprint".

Thanks again Derb.

Rich

[k4kyv]

Further reduce the visual impact by using solid plexiglass rods for spreader material.

[W7SOE]

Further reduce the visual impact by using solid plexiglass rods for spreader material.

Good idea!  Perhaps a trip to Tap plastics......

How about using copper clad antenna wire as a feedline?  It is stronger than solid copper which I am afraid will stretch when I tension it.  Plus it is cheap!

Rich

[k4kyv]

It's ok if the insulators and spreaders will take the stress from the  springiness of the stuff.  I use #10 copperclad both for my antenna and feeders.  Wish I'd had the big roll of #8 copperclad that I acquired a couple of years after I had already put the antenna up.

Just be careful that the wire doesn't try to twist and cause the spreaders to break.

[W7SOE]

#8 or #10 is pretty fat for me.  The window line that I am using is #16.....

Rich

[KC4VWU]

I need to check my Tractor Supply catalog for some Copperweld prices. Thinking about taking down the 'freebie', well worn Copperweld doublet and putting up something new.

As for the fiberglass mastpoles, I bought a set from a fellow on Ebay last year. 12 qty. in a tote bag for roughly 15.00 + shipping. I can't remember his seller name, but he was located here in N.C.: Fuquay-Varina which is just on the other side of Raleigh.

Trivia - Which well known electronic parts manufacturer was based in Fuquay-Varina, NC?   

Phil