[Hallicrafters] New QTH

[Mike Everette]

Best way to get 450 ohm ladder line out of the shack
is to use two feed through insulators, through the
wall or  through a 2x4 inserted across the bottom of a
window if you don't want to drill holes.  The best
ones to use are the beehive type if you can find them.
 Smooth ones collect a lot of moisture and may flash
over with really high power, or high RF voltage on the
line, as a result.

If you have 2 trees the right distance apart for a 40
meter dipole, you are lucky indeed.  Try this: Feed it
with about 42 feet of 450 ohm line.  If you can bring
the line into the shack at a right angle to the
antenna, and keep the line more or less straight, so
much the better.  With a balanced tuner it will load
on any band from 80-10 meters.  And get out like Gang
Busters.  GA-RON-TEED.  Tie the feeders together and
feed it as a single-wire and it will load on 160.

Been there, done that, got the shirt.

Buy or make up a lightning arrestor for the 450 ohm
line.  Look in older editions of the ARRL Handbook
(prior to 1965) or ARRL Antenna Book.  A pair of horn
gaps will work well and is easy to make.

But the best (ONLY) "Real" lightning protection is a
BIG-ASS DPDT knife switch, OUTSIDE the shack, to
disconnect the feeders and ground them!  Something
like a main battery switch on a boat.

Use a GOOD ground.  2 or 3 eight foot rods.  If you
can, cad-weld the ground wires to the rods.  If you
can't, periodically clean the connections with steel
wool and keep them bright.

The "wrist rocket" type slingshot devices are
advertised in QST.  Or find a good archer!  Or
somebody with a bucket truck.

73

Mike
WA4DLF

 

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