Well
I center feed the dipole and got a 1:1 match on 3.9Mh, But I guess the band is dead today I can't hear anyone...
Thanks
George

I am changing my long wire antenna into a center feed or off center feed dipole antenna, I am 10 feet short of coax being able to connect in the exact center of a 1/2 wave for 80 meters, will feeding 10 feet off center make a big difference? I am using a 1:1 balun
Thanks
George

I was thinkin about this last night and i can extend the ground side up to the roof and probably pick up a 100 feet, this would give me a center-fed antenna with 100 feet on the roof and 140 feet on the fence. I would also remove the ground rod, do you think it would be wise to wrap 40 feet of wire around a piece of plastic pipe to make it balanced or is that mental masturbation 
Thanks
George

The Positive side of the balun is connected to the long wire and the negative is to a ground rod, the balun is a 1:1  the coax runs about 50 feet into my shack. I didn't want a transmission line at ground level in the front yard kids might chew on it??
I was also thinking of center feeding the wire, truth is I had more copper wire than coax so I went with what I had
always open to suggestions the more dumb questions I ask the more I learn
George

I just installed a long wire antenna on the top of my fence, just laid the wire on top of the fence around my backyard in a "U" shape around the property approximately 140 feet long about 6 feet high. It receives well but doesn't get out very well. I realize if it was a 1/4 wave high it would work much better <GRIN> anyway my question is would adding a parallel wire below the long wire maybe 5 feet below connected to the ground on the balun improve my transmission?
Thanks
George

Great Advise
I actually read the manual, but figured something was wrong when it things didn't go as planned  So just like driving a car, there's a learning curve and Ill get it figured out Soon!!!
Thanks For the Help!!! the curve would be longer with out it
George

Well I finally got it to tune in, All the advise paid off!!!
Jim K9TF wroteWhat do you mean??
Thanks
George

Yep
I have the feedline connected to the two balanced line terminals and the wire between the line and one of the feedline pins.
The antenna is a Cobra Ultralite Kid with a total length of 41 feet with 40 feet of 1" ladder line. the antenna is mounted on the roof horizontally about 20 feet above the ground.
Thanks
George

I installed the ladder line though the vent screen that vents under the stairs that leads to my shack, just a 6 x 12 piece of 1/4 inch chicken wire, I sleeved the ladder wire with 1-1/4 plastic tubing about 12 inches long.
 My SWR seems high I can't seem to bring it down, I am using a MFG 949e tuner and no matter which inductor I use it stays at 1:1.75. The tuner is connected to a Kenwood ts-130s. I have found that when I get the SWR down my power output from the transmitter increases.
Kenwood on this model is supposed to have a safety device that lowers the power when there is high SWR to prevent damage to the output transistors. So getting the SWR down means more output two ways.
Any suggestions would be appreciated
Thanks
George

Thanks For all the help
The antenna went up without a hitch, used some heavy vinyl tubing to act as a chase were it went through the metal vent. when I switch between my old antenna and my new antenna the signal strength meter jumps from 3 to 5.
Haven't got to talk to anyone yet
Thanks again for the help
George

Hi All
I am putting up a dipole with ladder line going from the antenna to my rig, what should I look out for?
is it OK to pass though metal air vents to get inside the building? and do I need clearance when going through sheetrock? how should I secure the ladder line to the building? or should I....
Thanks
George

Thanks Guys for all the help, I am going to put up a folded dipole tomorrow morning, Wife wouldn't let me on the roof after dark<grin>
I have learned a whole lot since we started this thread. When I hook up my new antenna is it permissible to run ladder line through a metal vent on the side of the house that goes into my shack? and what precautions should I take?
Thanks Again
George

Just for the record My antenna was bought and installed for a legal CB, I do not want to operate my Ham Rig on CB frequencies. I was trying to dial my antenna in to the 80 meter band, and was not getting very good results.

So my fears were founded that a horizontal antenna 10 feet off the ground would be a waste of time and money, I will take your advise and read a old ARRL handbook (just happen to have one from 1970)

Thanks everyone for all the help
George

Thanks for all the information.
I woke up this morning and tried a few things. on 10 meters I can get the swr down to 1:1 at 50 watts. seems to recieve OK have not been able to contact anyone YET

I read up on dipole antennas and was thinking about setting one up on the fence. The fence is aprox 30 feet from my radio (no problem) down the right and left side of the yard is 44 feet long and across the back is 40 feet wide. all the utilities including cable, telephone and High voltage run across the back of the yard. I was thinking about running a quarter wave antenna about 3 feet above the fence which brings height to about 10 feet. Not sure what the best way to go about this is..... The good news is I have about 200 feet of 18 gauge copper wire.
Thanks
George

I know my antenna is short, only 18 feet high Buttttttt thats why I got a antenna tuner<GRIN> Should I be happy with the 1.5 match? in till I can get a better antenna? What antenna should I be dreaming about?
Thanks
George