[Elecraft] Portable Wire Antenna Weight

[Terry Schieler]

Stan,

Great suggestion.  However, I would need to use a borrowed golf ball as mine would find WATER even in the high desert.

73,

Terry, W0FM



-----Original Message-----
From: stan levandowski [mailto:sjl219 at optonline.net] 
Sent: Friday, June 17, 2011 10:17 AM
To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [Elecraft] Portable Wire Antenna Weight

Here's something I 'invented' yesterday.  I'd like to think it's an 
original idea but I cannot imagine it hasn't been done time and again by 
others.  But since I've never seen it written anywhere let me describe 
it here.  It might help someone.

1 golf ball (from your golf bag)
1 small screweye (from your workshop junkbox)
1 small snap swivel  (from your tackle box)
1 small length of 8 lb. monofilament (from your reel)

Predrill an undersized hole about 1/4" into the golf ball.  Screw in the 
screweye.  Tie the monofilament to the sreweye with the standard 
fisherman's knot.  Tie the other end of this six to eight inch 
monofilament to the snap swivel and then clip the snap swivel to a loop 
at the end of your wire antenna.  You could also solder a ring connector 
to the end of the antenna wire for the snap swivel.

Now throw the golf ball up into the tree.  Nine times out of ten you can 
pull the wire out intact.  If it manages to get hung up in a branch "V" 
one day, the mono will break before you exert enough force to break or 
damage the wire.  The golf ball falls to the ground, the antenna is 
easily retrieved and all you have to do is replace the short piece of 
mono and you are back in business.

Golf balls are nice and heavy and can travel pretty far on a throw.

Stan WB2LQF