[Elecraft] Elecraft antennas in trees

[Tom Boucher]

Another warning! 

A few years ago I used a catapult and a drilled golf ball with some braided nylon line over an oak tree. When it became stuck in a branch, I wound the line round a piece of wood and gave it my full weight to release it. The end result? I literally shot myself in the foot, breaking several small bones and was on crutches for 4 weeks. The braided line probably had a breaking strain of at least 300lb so I had devised a pretty effective self-destruction machine. I'm just glad it didn't hit me a few feet higher!

The funniest part was trying to explain to the guy in the Accident & Emergency Department how I broke my foot with a golf ball and then listening to his sniggers as he told the story to his colleagues.

These days I use a lead fishing weight with some fluorescent mono-filament fishing line. I can get it to 60 feet plus, but if it gets stuck, I pull back very, very slowly to prevent it winding around a branch. 

Be careful!
Tom G3OLB