[MRCA] static discharge reel for antenna

[W2HX]

Hi folks. 

BACKGROUND
I have an 8m mast on the back of my 72 land rover. When I deploy, I either run a wire up it for a vertical (which seems to work fine) or hang a dipole on it as an inverted V.  I am always trying to make deployment as simplified as possible. So I was thinking of using one of these retractable reels used for static discharge in situations like fueling etc.  Basically it's like the old laundry line in the back yard. Spring loaded, retractable. The idea would be to mount it on the land rover and have the cable attached to the top of the mast. Then, all I need to do is raise and lower the mast and the wire is already in place.

There seem to be two main types of these reels that I can see. One type uses un-insulated wire and uses the body of the reel to complete the connection to ground. Meaning the paint is removed from the mounting points of the reel to make electrical connection to something metal as ground.  The second type uses an insulated cable and the internal end of the cable connects to the outside of the reel, making the internal end accessible. In turn, again, the reel is grounded. 

In the first case, I would need to mount the reel in such a way that it is insulated from the body of the vehicle so that I can use it as an antenna radiator. This will be some small challenge to accomplish.  The base of the reel body, insulated from the vehicle body, would then connect to the output of the antenna coupler.  

In the second case, when the cable emerges from the reel, I was thinking of putting on a single-conductor connector (like a single power pole) when the cable is fully reeled out, I can then connect a wire from the antenna tuner to this power pole.  By disconnecting the internal end from the reel and connecting to the power pole, the reel and reel housing are no longer part of the circuit and can mount on the body as needed.

QUESTION:
The second type of reel (with insulated cable) seems to come in 50-foot lengths. This means that about 25 feet will remain on the reel in a loop about 3-4 inches in diameter. I am worried that this will create an RF choke and reduce the performance of the radiator. Or, it might make some kind of base loading, I really don't know.  

Of course an alternative would be to cut down the cable to 25-26 feet or so, but I was wondering if anyone had thoughts about the effect of having this 25' coiled before the vertical radiator.

Thanks for the bandwidth of a very wide band email!


 
73 Eugene W2HX