[TowerTalk] Wires in trees

[Wes Attaway (N5WA)]

>From personal experience (years ago; am not on 160 now) I can attest to the
fact that a vertical antenna "wire" within 20 or so feet of a large Pine
tree will be affected.  In my case, the effect was to cause the tuning to be
quite a bit broader than it would have been without the nearby tree.  I had
quite a few big Pines in the vicinity (most were over 100' tall and 3 or
4-feet in diameter at the base) but only one was real close to the vertical.
The vertical wire was hung from a Pine tree limb about 70' off the ground.

However, I worked 157 countries on 160 using that arrangement so I guess the
situation was not all bad.  Hey ..... I could QSY anywhere in the band
without retuning!

In your situation, I would suggest that you proceed as planned and just do
the best you can.  Put the antenna up and get on the air and continue to
think of alternatives as you are making some QSOs.  If you spend too much
time worrying you won't ever get on the band.

   -------------------
Wes Attaway (N5WA)
(318) 393-3289 - Shreveport, LA
Computer/Cellphone Forensics
AttawayForensics.com
   -------------------
-----Original Message-----
From: TowerTalk [mailto:towertalk-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Steve
Boone
Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2018 12:25 AM
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] Wires in trees

This is a topic that I have never seen addressed and Google has not
revealed any similar situations:

I am installing a quarter wave, 160m inverted-L between a 40' Ponderosa
Pine and my tower. The first 30' of the antenna will run parallel to the
tree trunk and through the branches. I am using copper coated wire for the
element. I have four elevated radials at the 10' level.

My concern is whether I need to worry about contact between the wire and
the tree. With the very low humidity that we get during Colorado summers, I
am wondering if there is a fire danger here.

I will be running a 1.5 kW.

Thanks,

-Steve, W7WM
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