Random Wires

Hung out in the yard yesterday afternoon with a radio and a random wire antenna.  Tuner, counterpoise wire slung out along the driveway for a "ground" (well, it was close to dirt anyway), and the truck's battery made it all come together:

Squint, and you can just see the green wire antenna.

The tripod is just to hold the wire off the ground, enough that it doesn't completely sag down from the end that's hanging in the oak tree.  Nothing particularly engineered, beyond a 35-ish foot length of wire, 3 pieces of PVC, some painter's tape, and enough paracord to get the far end up 25' to a limb.  For all the improv here, it was still easy to hit stations on 40m all over Georgia – doubly so with the GA QSO party in full swing.  40m tuned up easily, as did 17m and up, but for some reason 20m didn't like the wire that day.  No great loss.  Not bad for what amounts to just about the worse damn antenna this side of a dummy load.  Stop by next next time and I'll introduce you to my friend R.F. Burns.

Yes, I have proper antennas too.  But the weather was nice, and sometimes it's fun to spend a few hours of a spring afternoon lashing up a rig like this in the side yard.  Because I can, and just to see how well it works.