Topband: Balloon Supported Vertical

[W0MU Mike Fatchett]

We tried a balloon vertical at V47 in the 80's.  We used an advertising 
balloon.  It kinda worked but it kept getting pin holes in it.  We 
believe it was from the sand in the air.  Our location was just off the 
end of the runway in St. Kitts. We got a visit from some official 
looking official's but they just looked at it and left.  The helium cost 
us about 500 dollars if I remember right.

The new kite type balloons probably would work much better.

W0MU

On 11/9/2021 8:10 AM, Grant Saviers wrote:
> Having watched/been watched by the TARS aerostat radar off the coast 
> of FL, I would think that the "balloon" shape that generates lift with 
> wind would be the better choice for 160m verticals.
>
> Helikite also balloon plus kite
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allsopp_Helikite
>
> Never tried one, but then a challenge is the wire strong enough to 
> counter the max wind lift.
>
> Grant KZ1W
>
> On 11/8/2021 18:24, W7TMT - Patrick wrote:
>> As others have mentioned losing the balloon and/or getting hung up in 
>> nearby hazards is a serious risk. Consider this, learned from flying 
>> them from my sailboat.
>>
>> What if the tether point for the balloon is raised above the 
>> surrounding terrain? In my case I was trying to make a 45-50 
>> foot/13-15 meter vertical longer. My setup involved raising the 
>> tether point for the balloon above the ground/feed-point. The tether 
>> point for the balloon was nearly 50 feet/15 meters above the water so 
>> when the wind blew it was pivoting at that point rather than at 
>> ground level and subjected to all the closer hazards.
>>
>> Have a pushup mast? Try setting it up so the balloon is actually 
>> tethered from the top of the mast rather than at ground level. This 
>> is a whole new ballgame. A scrap of graph ruled paper will easily 
>> sort it all out.
>>
>> I got it down during the day by using a plastic cable tie ring slid 
>> over the wire and attached to a piece of fishing line. Walking away 
>> from the mast allowed me to pull on the ring and get the down-pull 
>> process started. Once a bit of the support wire/line moved thru the 
>> ring the rest came down easily.
>>
>> At the time the boat was out on the end of a dock with no other 
>> sailboats and their pesky masts close by. Even when the 20+ knot 
>> winds were laying the balloon supported wire almost horizontal it was 
>> free of physical hazards. While the transition from vertical to 
>> Inverted L during the gusts made the tuner in rig go nuts at least 
>> there was no physical damage.
>>
>> Just an option to consider.
>>
>> W7TMT
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