To RFRY:

I see the efficiency of such a vertical as I'm proposing is 10 per cent.  I can't make the vertical element much longer. If it falls, it could fall on power lines or into a neighbor's yard.  Or into my house.

What software is that you're using?
Greg

'KEC
Recommendations are great, but to find what you're looking for, I'd recommend craigslist.  
You may get lucky and find something in your area.  
I find it better than ebay.

You're in MN, so use http://geo.craigslist.org/iso/us/mn

If you want to search ALL of craigslist, use
http://www.searchallcraigs.com/

I've used it many times with good results.
The first question I ask is will they ship.
Most folks don't or won't.
But it doesn't hurt to ask first.

73 & GL
Greg, K3ANG

I have been reading this thread with much interest.  I plan on building a vertical for 160 'someday soon.'
Note the quotes.

It will be a base-loaded vertical like yours, just for simplicity.  The vertical elements will be old downspouting to a height of @ 35 feet. No HOA here.

I also plan on building my own coil, like you are.
Instead of wire, I'm going to use a Lexan Spacer Bar and Copper Tubing of the type used for ice makers in refridgerators.  Example can be found here.
http://www.seed-solutions.com/gregordy/Amateur%20Radio/Experimentation/HiQCoil.htm

I don't know the link owner, but I did chat with him a long time ago.  YMMV.
73 & GL
Greg, K3ANG

Go to http://www.nytimes.com/ and enter 'Marconi Wireless' in the search box.
Not to worry; it's free.
The query returned more than 7(!) URL pages of articles, the latest from 1930, the earliest from 1907.

BTW, I did not find the HF acronym in the eham article, but I stopped reading on page 7.

73
Greg
K3ANG

Richard, I see from the satellite photo you live in a single family home.  Have you explored the possibility of using your rain gutters and down spouts as antennas if they are metal?  You would have to make sure of solid contact between lengths.  Friction contections are trouble.  If they are vinyl, you would run a wire up the downspout and across the gutters.  Use jacketed wire so it could be painted to match the paint of the gutter and downspout.
There are many sites that offer insight into this.
Google rain gutter antenna or search eham.  There are many references.
73
de K3ANG

LTFB

Send an email to k3ang@hotmail.com and I'll send it your way.
73
de K3ANG

I found an article in the Nov. 1957 edition of QST titled "Beam Support for Old Men" that is right up your alley.  The article describes in detail how the ham attached his rotator and turning pole -for his quad- to the telephone pole.  There is some metal cutting involved, but good food for thought.

Do you want a copy?

Greg
de K3ANG

Justin,
Wide areas of discussion, you bring.

You're gonna get so many opinions and ideas here that the weight of them is going to confuse you.
Before you do any asking here, get with your elmer or another seasoned amateur in your area to talk about your antenna ideas OFF LINE AND IN PERSON.  

Now to stick my own foot in my mouth....

'Telephone' poles (or any wooden pole used by a utility company) are a good alternative to a metal tower.  But they do eventually rot.  Then you gotta get a replacement.  It can takes years for one to rot.  From my experience, when/if you get a pole, they are poles taken out of service from a utility company.  So you do not know how long it's been outside before YOU get it. [That last sentence is the caveat about getting a 'telephone' pole.]  And the people you bought the pole from may not install it, so you gotta look for someone else to do that.  You're gonna need to rent a power augur to do it yourself.  More $$$.
 
Personally, if I had a dad in the building trades as you say you do, I'd ask him to bring home some decent lengths of scrap 2X4s (from the site dumpster), get some tools, some paint, the assorted necessary hardware and BUILD myself a 20-foot high windmill tower, maybe two.  If you need plans, go here: http://www.windmillservice.com/tower/.  I've don't know the URL owner or have ANY connection (personal, financial, etc) to him, but his plans look good to me.

I like to build my own antennas (dipoles and verticals) and mount them in my 100-foot oak tree (via slingshot). I also use a 20-foot length of fence top rail, one end on the ground and the length of it bungeed to my 10-foot high deck.  I can un-bungee the pole to work on them.  And I got the pole FOR FREE.

73 and WA-AY more than what I'm used to writing.
de K3ANG

http://www.nwrweek-radio.info/

This is a current (a/o 9/11/2008) "stray" on eham.

I'm not knocking this.
IMHO, with the space these places offer (as RF-free zones, HUGE areas for antenna hangings, no other humans around, etc), maybe next time this is offered it's combined with Field Day.  

My two cents.
de K3ANG

Here are two real-life examples of hams using rain gutters & downspouts as antennas.
Hope they inspire you.
http://www.qsl.net/wb3gck/spout.htm
http://www.qsl.net/wm0g/The_Rain_Gutter_Antenna.html

I have not used this type of compromise antenna, but a friend of mine has.  He is in a CCR neighborhood.  It did work (with an antenna tuner, of course), but it stopped working when it rained.  Any connections the gutter and downspouts had within the "water channeling system" were either friction or rusted rivet connections.  When it rained or snowed, the SWR was all over the place.  He had no recourse but to stop as all the other townhouses in his row share the same gutter.  For him, it was a 'dry weather-only' antenna.  Later, we were able to throw a 100' of 28 mil black-jacketed wire over the townhouse roof to a tree behind him and use that for an antenna.  That worked much better.  

I'm sure there are other options.

73 & GL
de K3ANG

The quarter wave GP is a good first antenna project.  Another is the center-fed dipole.
For a center-fed, wire dipole, this formula is 468 / frequency in megahertz.  
I cut mine for 146.52 mhz. Just a little over 3 feet long.
If the SWR is high for you, retrim the ends @ 1/4 inch at a time, retest.
Don't feel any remorse about this.  
It's all part of the learning process.  
EVERYBODY goes through this when they build their first project, whatever it is.

73, GL and keep trying.
Greg

Hi, Joe.

Welcome to the world of homebrewed radio.

RE:The antenna is currently mounted in my attic. I don't have many restrictions on antenna, just didn't want to go through the pain of drilling into the house at this point for a simple project.

Yer NOT gonna like this, but do you have the $$ to build another one per the specs and then mount the new one OUTSIDE (temporarily) for tuning and testing?  You would not need to drill any holes for coax, just open a window or door nearest the operating position (hope it's a nice day tho).  Perhaps mount it on a pole (or wooden rake handle) bungeed to a deck rail (if you have one) or to a deck rail itself.  

If you can't build another one, take the one you have built OUTSIDE and test it.  See what happens.

I'm not saying your did (or doing) anything wrong, per say. But what is implied in the specs is that this thing is going to be mounted outside, NOT inside.  Also, you might have corrupted your current build by doing the tuning and testing inside.  That's why I asked if you have the resources to build another and test that one outside.

Personally, I have built a number of 2m wire dipoles inside with no problems.  But the one you're attempted is just a bit more complicated (2-band vs. 1-band).

73 & GL
Greg
K3ANG

I use an old 20-foot length of fence toprail bungeed to the outside rail of my deck to support a 6-meter GP. NO problems in 7 years. I use 4 3-foot bungees. Bungees do rot out over time, but I manage to stay on top of things so the pole does not come down unexpectedly.

Hope this helps.
73
de K3ANG

Me again.
Check out this link.
http://www.qsl.net/wb3gck/spout.htm

73 & GL
de Greg/K3ANG

Hi, Steve.

If you have plastic (or vinyl) rain gutters, you could not use them as an antenna.
However, you could run a length of wire either inside or outside the rain gutters and downspout.  The rain gutter and downspout would be supporting the wire.
Once the wire is in place, how you decide to configure it for your "situation" (random wire antenna, inverted-L, whatever) is up to you.

Hope this helps.
Greg/K3ANG