[Elecraft] ridge vent as antenna?

[Don Wilhelm]

Ray,

The ridgevent is not likely to be a continuous conductor.  It would work
fine if you bonded all the sections together - in dry weather that is - when
it gets wet, the characteristics are likely to change because there will be
conductivity to the shingles as well.

An idea...
What is the possibility of supporting a wire a short distance above the
shingles (on the back side of the roof).  You could use TV type standoffs
screwed into the roof sheathing and tar or caulk around the bottom so the
screw-hole is waterproofed - run the end of the wire through the endcap on
the ridgevent for an end feed, or snake some ladderline through a small
access cut into the center of the ridgevent for a center fed antenna (easier
to feed IMHO).  If the roof is not long enough to hold a decent length
antenna, fold the ends and run them along the eves (again on standoff
insulators).

73,
Don W3FPR

> -----Original Message-----
>
>
> 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
>