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

Thanks for the info.  I live in Florida where hurricanes are the problem and 20 below seldom happens!

I've read several posts on the internet in which people have hooked up 1KW inverters to the 12 volt starting battery on their Toyota Prius hybrids.  That battery is charged from the large 200+ volt propulsion battery in the vehicle.  When the starting propulsion battery volage drops below a certain point, the gasoline engine turns on and recharges the propulsion battery.  The advantage of this system is that the gasoline engine runs only when necessary and consequently burns only about one quart of gasoline per KWH.

I wonder if any readers in this forum have used this sort of system with the Prius or with any other hybrids.  If so, what sort of results have you experienced?

The FCC will do whatever congress tells them to do.  Clearly the FCC has no intention of taking any sort of independent action - unless they want their appropriations cut.

I'd like one that works with K-cups to make coffee.

Stayvertical has given an excellent functional explanation of how language is used to tell not only about an event but (perhaps more importantly) about the background of the person reporting the event.  Ham radio jargon is another example of how the particular word one chooses communicates as much about the speaker as about the object of his speech.  A ham may have a "QTH," rather than a location... a "handle," rather than a name.  A "linear," rather than an amplifier (even if it is Class C)   - particularly if he or she is a "newbie."

English, supposedly,  has the largest vocabulary of any language.  I suspect this may have happened because of a preoccupation with class and where everyone fits into the social order.  I also think it is because the English weren't above stealing anything that wasn't nailed down - including perfectly good foreign words! Supposedly the main effect of the Norman conquest was the importation of about 20,000 French words into the English language.  Later on the English had a pretty big empire for a while and managed to "borrow" thousands of words from the many languages of their colonial possessions.

The usage of many current words often makes my toes curl.  "Issue" for "problem".  "Impacted" for "affected."  "Awesome" for the most insignificant and mundane sorts of things. etc. Much as current usage and ab-usage of good old words bothers me, I believe that this is the way languages evolve and there really isn't much any of us can do to stop it.

The French apparently are extremely concerned with linguistic purity and seem determined not to import words into their language.  I'm still not sure whether their linguistic guardians have decided whether or not to recognize "le hamburger" as a legitimate French word.

BTW, I have no idea what "CP" means but I'm sure it's awesome, dude.