A big shout out to Joe K9TUW who advised me how to tweak my roof loop that Jeff KO4NCC advised me to put up. I first ran 16 ga around the roof….about 190 ft. probably 100 ft was laying on gutter, remainder over roof and down roof line. Used a 4:1 unun. Results ok. Reran today cutting down plastic 2in J hooks for pvc pipe and tie wrapping onto the gutter supports so wire extended about 3-6 inch away from gutter and roof (besides blown insul, attic has foil backed insulation between the rafters). Following Joe’s advice, I took out the 4:1 unun, ran 16 ga ant wire down to station with 300 ohm old tv ant wire. I also purchased a AH-730 remote tuner (I have an IC7300) from Ed N4EDD (Ed is selling a bunch of stuff…suggest you take a look and make his missus happy) and ran the tv wire to the remote. On all bands, the IC7300 says my swr is holding less than 1.5. More importantly, I am getting out, albeit a little weak, but clear. I haven’t raised my power out above 60 watts. I read somewhere that 20m band and having 15-20 ft elev I should only need 40 watts??????

So, having given my shouts to Joe, Jeff and Ed, I also want to thank those of you who were so gracious to comment on my now old plan of using my palm tree for a vertical (and I am sure my palm tree adds its thanks) ….amazing how great thoughts are murdered by bare facts.

Which leads me to this question….in maybe the next year I hope to be somewhat proficient in cw (or the year after)….I’ve been told (for what its worth) most cw is on 40m band. If so, I want to optimize my loop for 40m…7.1 probably (down by the wiaw). I have a NanoVNA. I don’t see in user manual, or on google, if I need to do anything different to check swr/smith chart/ etc using a remote tuner like the AH-730. Its seems that I should I check the parameters on the ant after the remote tuner. So appreciate guidance

And I hope to hear from Glenn…I did not catch his callsign….i briefly spoke with him tonight on 3.589 (?)

KQ4VPD

Dave Alford