[HCARC] HCARC Digest, Vol 24, Issue 12

[Kerry Sandstrom]

Thanks to all who commented on my antenna suggestion on the net.  It has 
always been one of my favorites.  I've hung onto a copy of that article just 
so I wouldn't forget it.  It is hard to find as the title doesn't give you a 
clue.  Yes, QST used to be fun to read.  One of the great W6ISQ stories from 
days gone by was the field day group (are you listening Jeff) that decided 
they should build a beer can vertical for 2 meters.  They enjoyed the 
materials gathering process so much that the target band kept changing until 
it reached 160 meters!  Yes, I guess it really is a Beverage antenna. 
Harvey, I'm sure that steel beer cans are still available.  Have you ever 
really dug down into the "junk boxes" that you see for sale at the ham swap 
fests?  For those with money who desire the panache from being able to say 
they have an authentic beer can vertical, I'm sure you can still find 
unopened honest-to-goodness steel beer cans in the collectors markets. 
There is no reason , other than status, that you couldn't use old soft drink 
cans as well.  But, telling everyone that you have a Shasta vertical just 
doesn't put you in the same class.  As a final thought, now that real 
tin-lead solder has been outlawed, I'm not sure aluminum is any more 
difficult to solder than anything else.

73 and have fun, I am!

Kerry

Oh, yes, Jeff, another one of the classic W6ISQ stories was about the field 
day group that put up a Yagi on a portable tower.  Everything was fine until 
the guy at the top saw a nudist camp next door.  Soon the whole club was up 
the tower with predictable results!  Field day can be fun, but you've gotta 
send the organizer off on an errand so you can really have fun.