[Elecraft] ridge vent as antenna?

[Raymond Albers]

Has anyone had any experience loading an aluminum ridge vent as an antenna??
   
  We just bought a second home, which is lovely (definition: my wife is thrilled with it!) but has restrictive covenants - no outside antennas. Grrr.
   
  I have mounted an ATU in the attic and attached a 1:1 balun directly to it, with about 25 ft of wire going out from each side - in other words, a non-resonant dipole - all inside the attic. It loads OK on all bands 80 thru 10 and I've made several decent contacts with it.
   
  What I don't like is that there is a lot of junk in the attic, like AC ductwork, tho most of it seems non-metallic. Mostly I don't like the aluminum ridge vent that runs the length of the attic - so I mounted the wire several feet below the ridge of the roof. Not sure how this affects the antenna, but it can't be very good.
   
  I am contemplating using the ridge vent as part of the antenna: I could position the ATU at one end of the attic, connect one side to the ridge vent and the other side to a stealth wire that I could run to a low tree or maybe the peak of the garage roof. 
   
  Has anyone had any experience using ridge vents as antenna (or part of an antenna)? Effect of rain wetting the roof shingles?  Comments??
   
  73
  Ray K2HYD