40/80 meter single feed line vertical dipole antenna update

WOW!!! It is hard to believe that 10 days have gone by so soon. It is like somebody push the fast forward button on us. Maybe it is just that as we get older it seems that everything is moving faster, but in reality everything is the same, but we old guys may be the ones that are moving slower. It could be critical if you have to punch someones time clock but when you are on your own, retired, and living one day at a time, it is a totally different story. Don't for a minute think that there is nothing to do, because XYL's always have something for you to do [at the wrong time], and if you don't do it right the first time, well you know ... these days it is not the rolling pin [ours are made from marble], they know where to find the switch for the surge protector.

Before I tell you about today, I have come up with the solution to a problem that some of us could have. The most portable HF rig in the world may be the Flex 1500. It is powered from the Laptop USB. I could see myself operating from under my sour sop tree in the side yard, or from some secluded spot, undisturbed, for hours. Now this is not meant to escape from the XYL or any "home" activity, because if it is perceived that the Flex1500 is coming between us, it might accidentally end up in the kitchen, on the table, and on the butcher block. BAM!!! I never saw a cleaver that made a joke. I could cause the cleavers to be misplaced. One [1], maybe two [2], but not all three [3]. So, I will be walking with my Flex1500 in my pocket wherever I go. Better safe ....

Today was going great until the rain came down around lunchtime. The day was hot so I started work on the antenna again. Then a ham radio buddy dropped by and we got to talking, everything but ham radio, in the breeze under the sour sop tree. After he left I made a few more frequency runs on the antenna, and then the rain came down. I have been watching the weather here for the last few days. Historically our stormiest time is mid-September around the Independence Celebration time. Independence Day is 19th September.

The 40/80 meter top and bottom loaded vertical dipole using a single feed line is made up of one [1] top load wire for 80 meters, connected to the top of a 31.5-foot vertical element, one [1] top load wire for 40 meters, connected at a point that is 17-feet up the vertical element, one [1] bottom load wire for 80 meters, and one [1] for 40 meters to which the coax cable braid is connected. The load wires are made from the wireman stock antenna wire #504 and it works for me, hose clamped to the vertical element, 31.5 feet of 1.25" OD /1.5" OD aluminum tubing.

So far we have a 1 to 1 swr ariund 7.15 mHz and a 1.4 to 1 swr around 3.618 mhz. My next trial run may be to shorten the 80 meter vertical element and to lengthen the 40 meter vertical element. My preferred operating frequencies are 7.100 mhz and 3.800 mhz.

Working on this antenna has been interesting. It is critical which of the load wires are pruned [top or bottom] to get an swr of 1 to 1. If an antenna tuner is used no further adjusting and tuneup may be required, but I do not use antenna tuners, so the antennas must be pruned and tuned until each one shows an swr of 1 to 1 at my preferred operating frequency.

The showers have passed but the grass is wet, so the antenna activity continues on another hot summer day. In the meantime I am spending some time on facebook, not in Farmville or any such game which wants to expose my innermost secrets, sex life, love live or whatever. I took a quick look at the facebook ham radio groups, and have to spend some more time there to see if I can gain any benefit from any group associations. I am on facebook as "Keeth France", spelt just like this, for any new ham radio friends. See you here or face book, whichever comes first.

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