Re: Topband: Inverted L's etc

[CUTTER DAVID via Topband]

My favourite wire is enameled copper (magnet wire).  It needs to be stretched 
first but is the slipperest wire you'll ever come across and never tangles.  I 
pass it through a large polypropylene egg insulator for 100% no-snag 
arrangement and cannot freeze up. 

I posted this last week but it didn't appear.

David G3UNA

> On 29 September 2021 at 00:56 W0MU Mike Fatchett  wrote:
> 
> 
> Spiderwire works great.
> 
> W0MU
_
Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector

Re: Topband: Inverted L's etc

[W0MU Mike Fatchett]

Spiderwire works great.

W0MU

On 9/28/2021 11:58 AM, Michael Fischer wrote:

Stan - LOVE "just my 2Hz worth" stealing that from you om!

First of all thank you to each one of you who have contributed your thoughts 
particularly around the mechanical considerations for suspending the InvL, You 
guys are great teachers. Says the guy whose dad was the ME in the family and 
raised a son who had a tough time with math so he went into sales...  I am 
grateful for the grace you guys have for those of us to whom engineering does 
NOT come naturally..

FWIW, my weapon of choice for the past several years for launching lines over 
very high tree limbs has been the PVC cannon discussed in QST some number of 
years ago. My only changes to the design have been (1) to fill the projectile 
(also made from PVC) with lead fishing weights, initially so it could pull the 
monofilament I was using as a tag line back down the other side of the Douglas 
Firs which present a lot of friction.

I learned that (2), braided fishing line is lighter, tangles far less ( limp by 
nature), weighs much less and therefor can be shot much higher, presents less 
friction over the branch (almost guaranteeing you can get it to drop back to 
earth) and is much stronger as a tag line for pulling the heavier rope or 
paracord etc back over the branch ( that you ultimately use for suspending the 
antenna).

The PVC cannon is very accurate and I often get compliments from people about 
being able to choose the branch and put it exactly where I want it. Its' a 
great tool. I can comfortably shoot the projectile over 125' with approximately 
90PSI in the cannon

Hope this helps someone..

73,
Mike
K7XH (forever a TB newb)
_
Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector


_
Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector

Re: Topband: Inverted L's etc

[Bill Weaver]

I’ve seen people using a mini crossbow with the head removed from the bolt and 
replaced with a golf ball. It is extremely accurate.

73,
Bill WE5P

Comfortably Numb

> On Sep 28, 2021, at 14:54, Pete Smith N4ZR  wrote:
> 
> FWIW, the only thing that would concern me about that sort of solution is 
> the projectile, and its potential for damage if it should hit someone (or 
> something).  I personally prefer the tennis-ball cannon (antennalauncher.com) 
> for that reason.
> 
> 73, Pete N4ZR
> Check out the new Reverse Beacon Network
> web server at .
> For spots, please use your favorite
> "retail" DX cluster.
> 
>> On 9/28/2021 1:58 PM, Michael Fischer wrote:
>> Stan - LOVE "just my 2Hz worth" stealing that from you om!
>> 
>> First of all thank you to each one of you who have contributed your thoughts 
>> particularly around the mechanical considerations for suspending the InvL, 
>> You guys are great teachers. Says the guy whose dad was the ME in the family 
>> and raised a son who had a tough time with math so he went into sales...  I 
>> am grateful for the grace you guys have for those of us to whom engineering 
>> does NOT come naturally..
>> 
>> FWIW, my weapon of choice for the past several years for launching lines 
>> over very high tree limbs has been the PVC cannon discussed in QST some 
>> number of years ago. My only changes to the design have been (1) to fill the 
>> projectile (also made from PVC) with lead fishing weights, initially so it 
>> could pull the monofilament I was using as a tag line back down the other 
>> side of the Douglas Firs which present a lot of friction.
>> 
>> I learned that (2), braided fishing line is lighter, tangles far less ( limp 
>> by nature), weighs much less and therefor can be shot much higher, presents 
>> less friction over the branch (almost guaranteeing you can get it to drop 
>> back to earth) and is much stronger as a tag line for pulling the heavier 
>> rope or paracord etc back over the branch ( that you ultimately use for 
>> suspending the antenna).
>> 
>> The PVC cannon is very accurate and I often get compliments from people 
>> about being able to choose the branch and put it exactly where I want it. 
>> Its' a great tool. I can comfortably shoot the projectile over 125' with 
>> approximately 90PSI in the cannon
>> 
>> Hope this helps someone..
>> 
>> 73,
>> Mike
>> K7XH (forever a TB newb)
>> _
>> Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
> _
> Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
_
Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector

Re: Topband: Inverted L's etc

[Pete Smith N4ZR]

FWIW, the only thing that would concern me about that sort of solution 
is the projectile, and its potential for damage if it should hit someone 
(or something).  I personally prefer the tennis-ball cannon 
(antennalauncher.com) for that reason.


73, Pete N4ZR
Check out the new Reverse Beacon Network
web server at .
For spots, please use your favorite
"retail" DX cluster.

On 9/28/2021 1:58 PM, Michael Fischer wrote:

Stan - LOVE "just my 2Hz worth" stealing that from you om!

First of all thank you to each one of you who have contributed your thoughts 
particularly around the mechanical considerations for suspending the InvL, You 
guys are great teachers. Says the guy whose dad was the ME in the family and 
raised a son who had a tough time with math so he went into sales...  I am 
grateful for the grace you guys have for those of us to whom engineering does 
NOT come naturally..

FWIW, my weapon of choice for the past several years for launching lines over 
very high tree limbs has been the PVC cannon discussed in QST some number of 
years ago. My only changes to the design have been (1) to fill the projectile 
(also made from PVC) with lead fishing weights, initially so it could pull the 
monofilament I was using as a tag line back down the other side of the Douglas 
Firs which present a lot of friction.

I learned that (2), braided fishing line is lighter, tangles far less ( limp by 
nature), weighs much less and therefor can be shot much higher, presents less 
friction over the branch (almost guaranteeing you can get it to drop back to 
earth) and is much stronger as a tag line for pulling the heavier rope or 
paracord etc back over the branch ( that you ultimately use for suspending the 
antenna).

The PVC cannon is very accurate and I often get compliments from people about 
being able to choose the branch and put it exactly where I want it. Its' a 
great tool. I can comfortably shoot the projectile over 125' with approximately 
90PSI in the cannon

Hope this helps someone..

73,
Mike
K7XH (forever a TB newb)
_
Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector

_
Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector

Topband: Inverted L's etc

[Michael Fischer]

Stan - LOVE "just my 2Hz worth" stealing that from you om!

First of all thank you to each one of you who have contributed your thoughts 
particularly around the mechanical considerations for suspending the InvL, You 
guys are great teachers. Says the guy whose dad was the ME in the family and 
raised a son who had a tough time with math so he went into sales...  I am 
grateful for the grace you guys have for those of us to whom engineering does 
NOT come naturally..

FWIW, my weapon of choice for the past several years for launching lines over 
very high tree limbs has been the PVC cannon discussed in QST some number of 
years ago. My only changes to the design have been (1) to fill the projectile 
(also made from PVC) with lead fishing weights, initially so it could pull the 
monofilament I was using as a tag line back down the other side of the Douglas 
Firs which present a lot of friction.

I learned that (2), braided fishing line is lighter, tangles far less ( limp by 
nature), weighs much less and therefor can be shot much higher, presents less 
friction over the branch (almost guaranteeing you can get it to drop back to 
earth) and is much stronger as a tag line for pulling the heavier rope or 
paracord etc back over the branch ( that you ultimately use for suspending the 
antenna).

The PVC cannon is very accurate and I often get compliments from people about 
being able to choose the branch and put it exactly where I want it. Its' a 
great tool. I can comfortably shoot the projectile over 125' with approximately 
90PSI in the cannon

Hope this helps someone..

73,
Mike
K7XH (forever a TB newb)
_
Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector

Re: Topband: Inverted L's etc

[Stan K]

"A 100# Bow and arrow was used for years to launch polyester string over
50-100 ft treesOne day, as I released my arrow, the lead weights and
string I had tied to the tail of the arrow came off, and the arrow damned
near went in orbit. Lost sight of it, so I listened carefully for a thud on
a neighbors roof. To my great relief, No Thud"

I've used a bow and arrow for the same thing. Although the arrow was
modified so maybe it wouldn't be considered an arrow anymore.

I took off the arrowhead and instead attached a bolt, roughly 3/8" by 3", to
where the arrowhead would have been. Just a regular bolt like you use in a
hardware situation. Of course that slowed it down but I could still get it
as high as I needed it. Since it was heavier, even if the fishing line I
was using had broken it wouldn't have gone too far.
An advantage using the bolt instead of an arrowhead is that if I was
shooting through a tree I could tell by the sound if it hit a limb. Also
the weight of the bolt helped the arrow come down.
Accuracy was not real great but it served its purpose, and was relatively
safe.

Just my 2Hz worth.

Stan K8LL
_
Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector

Topband: Inverted L's etc

[W3HKK]

1. Had a fabulous 95 ft Buckeye tree at the rear of my last property.
After staring at it for a couple years, it got me on 160m with a 1/4
wave Inv-L (apex around 90 ft) Top Band came alive with my 100w,
producing 550 Q's on the CQWW160 SSB contest. I was hooked on TB.

2. Winds. I had $5000 worth of trees planted on my current property (
3 acres, but just one 20 ft tree.) , including four 20 ft maples. The
guy asked if I wanted to guy them. I asked his opinion and he said he
thought it wasnt necessary.
So I didnt. Three weeks later we had a storm that dropped 4" of rain
followed by 50 mph winds. My four maples now were about 15-20 degrees
off normal, Still are..

3. A 100# Bow and arrow was used for years to launch polyester string
over 50-100 ft trees. At the last house, I was always very careful not
to shoot the arrow in the direction of any neighbors house, no matter
how far away. One day, as I released my arrow, the lead weights and
string I had tied to the tail of the arrow came off, and the arrow
damned near went in orbit. Lost sight of it, so I listened carefully
for a thud on a neighbors roof. To my great relief, No Thud. I never
even saw where it came down. But somewhere up the street, Im convinced
a neighbor came across a perpendicular arrow in his yard. Or maybe it
was in the adjacent golf course. Im not sure

4. Per the above, "an abundance of caution" is never too much to ask
of yourself. 

_
Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector