I have an MFJ 998 (not the remote model) I keep in a Rubbermaid storage box on my back porch to feed a 23 foot flagpole thru 13 feet of buried coax.  It's worked fine for several years.  Occasionally it hangs up and I have to go out on the porch and turn the power off momentarily.  This happens very seldom.  It tunes my flagpole on 40 thru 10 meters.  I switch in additional base loading out at the pole  to help it tune on 60, 80 and 160 meters.  I think its a great bang per buck and am very happy with it.  I've hit it with up to 1200 watts once in a while and it handles it with no problem.

I think the basic internal workings of the remote model of this tuner are very similar to the one I have.

Why not uise the flagpole itself for an antenna?  My flagpole  23 feet tall and insulated from ground.  I use it with an autotuner on 40 thru 10 meters with no problems.  I use an adjustable loading coil at the base to help the autotuner match it on 60, 80 and 160 meters. 

I should have stated that the figures quoted in my  earlier post are for 60 feet of tower.

Additionally, for 80 MPH they do not rate 60 feet of tower but do rate 50 feet of tower for 1.5 square feet (no ice) with similar cables running up the tower faces.  The figures for 90 MPH are 2.2 square feet for 45 feet of tower.  

BTW I finally found the foundation details for Rohn 55 in a self supporting configuration.  It calls for 8.9 cubic yards of concrete in a square  base 7 feet 9 inches on each side. Do the math and the hole needs to be about 4.5 feet feet deep.  It calls for #7 re-bars 12" on center going both ways (N/S and E/W) with the usual 6 inches of compacted sand/gravel as a drainage bed at the bottom of the hole.  

You're tackling a major project!

That is a whole lot of concrete and re-bar!  You're gonna need a crane or a really beefy gin pole to put those sections up.  You may even need a smaller gin pole to put up a larger one!  LOL.

BTW, the Rohn Catalog I got the information from is listed as Form 98-2854.

I have an old Rohn "Consumer Catalog" with no date on it.  According to that catalog Rohn 55 in a self-supporting configuraton is good for (8/10) of a square foot of antenna at 70 MPH (no ice) assuming two 7/8" lines on each tower face (total = 6).  I could not find a foundation diagram in the catalog applicable to Rohn 55 when used in a self-supporting configuration but I suspect it would call for an awful lot of re-bar and many yards of concrete.    In my handwritten notes I wrote that this seems to correspond to a maximum allowable bending moment of 15,800 pound feet but I don't recall how I computed this figure.

I would think that a two meter whip and several wire antennas should be OK  for a 70 MPH windload but I shudder to think what the foundation will cost you.  70 MPH is pretty marginal in many areas of the country.

Just add a top loading wire and turn it into an inverted L for 80.  Put a loading coil in the wire for use on 160 and jumper it for use on 80.  Helluva lot cheaper than buying any kind of new antenna.

Why not get some of that plastic fencing and place it around the verticals so that the kids and dogs can't even get close to the antennas?

I like K5LXP's suggestion about running coax to the attic and having a remote autotuner close to the antenna feedpoint. 

If you're really set on the ladder line idea, consider whether or not you can run it inside PVC conduit up the side of the house.

I have a dipole in my attic and it really picks up a lot of electrical noise on 80 and 40 meters.

My main antenna is a 23 foot "flagpole" in my back yard with 50 20-foot radials that works well on 40 thru 10.  I feed it thru 13 feet of buried coax going to an autotuner inside a Rubbermaid cabinet on my back porch with about 75 feet of coax going from my rig to the autotuner.

N2RRA - Thanks for the information.  I have a cheap 400 watt inverter that I plan on trying out while running a 75 foot extension cord into the shack.  If the noise is not too bad maybe I'll go ahead and spring for a 1200 watt sine wave inverter. 

The report on the congress-mandated FCC/Department of Homeland Security study of the role of the Amateur Radio Service in emergency communications and impediments to the Amateur Radio Service is due in congress by August. It would seem that the congressmen most likely to be paying particular attention to that study are members of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology - part of the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives along with the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet - part of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.  Their names are listed below should you have any interest in contacting them regarding your opinions about the role of amateur radio in emergency communications and about impediments to amateur radio - such as unreasonable antenna restrictions imposed by developers and HOAs.

I'm sure the congressmen most concerned with these two issues will rely heavily on the findings in the FCC/Department of Homeland Security study but may also be influenced by hearing directly from amateurs.  If you have any interest in these two issues I suggest you contact one or more of the members of congress listed below and make your feelings known prior to this August.

Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives
(Subcommittee on Communications and Technology) - Representatives
­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­
Greg Walden   Lee Terry      Cliff Stearns   John Shimkus
Mary Bono Mack   Mike Rogers   Brian Bilbray   Charlie Bass
Marsha Blackburn   Phil Gingrey   Steve Scalise   Bob Latta
Brett Guthrie   Adam Kinzinger   Joe Barton   Anna Eshoo
Ed Markey   Mike Doyle   Doris Matsui   John Barrow
Donna Christian   Ed Townes   Frank Pallone   Bobby Rush
Diana DeGette

Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
(Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet) - Senators

John Kerry   Daniel Inouye   Barbara Boxer   Bill Nelson
Maria Cantwell   Frank Lautenberg   Mark Pryor   Claire McCaskill
Amy Klobuchar   Tom Udall   Mark Warner   Mark Begich
Jim DeMint   Olympia Snowe   John Thune   Roger Wicker
Johnny Isakson   Roy Blunt      John Boozman   Patrick Toomey
Marco Rubio   Kelly Ayotte   Dean Heller

Here's a design you might be able to use on 20 meters.  It does require a small loading coil at the base of the AN-29-C.  Use 4 radials, each 17 feet 8 inches long.   Have them make an angle of about 33 degrees with the vertical.  This would put their far ends out about 8.5 feet horizontally from the feed point and about 13 feet below the feedpoint.   Make a tapable loading coil using number 12 wire - 10 or 12  turns wound on a 2 inch diameter form over a length of 2.5 inches.  The loading coil needs to be in series with the AN-29-C.

The antenna will be somewhat inefficient because of it's short length on 20 meters but should be more than adequate to make many contacts, particularly on the digital modes.

Good luck!

Got on for about 5 hours last night with a less-than-great 160 meter loaded inverted L.  Managed 30 Q's for 78 points before taking the clandestine antenna down in the dark and hitting the sack.  Heard DL6FBL with a big signal but couldn't work him.  N4PN had a huge signal.  KV4FZ was in most of the evening and I finally managed to work him. 160 sure is a different band in the summertime!

I realize that the policy of the FCC is not to respond to petitions but, like you, I hope that if we get enough signatures the FCC will review their position on HOA restrictions.  More importantly, I hope that the congress will come to realize that a significant number of amateurs feel the HOA restrictions are hurting the service and its potential for assisting in times of disaster. Thanks for signing.

The petition had 3115 signatures as of about noon EDST today ( Wednesday 6/13/12).  Many of the signers included informal comments when signing.  As of this moment there have been 200 formal comments filed with the FCC on the matter.

   " Out out, damned spot!"   

The online petition asking the FCC to void existing restrictions by developers and HOAs and requesting that "reasonable accomodations" be made is closing in on 3000 signatures.  Please check the petition out by clicking on the link listed below and consider signing if you haven't done so already.

http://www.change.org/petitions/federal-communications-commission-void-antenna-restrictions-by-homeowner-s-associations-and-developers