Good advice - the 80 meter trap is twice as long as the 40 meter trap usually.

The number of turns varies because it is dependent on the diameter of the coils, spacing of the turns and the size of the capicator making it resonant on a given band.  If both traps are made by the same company - the shorter one is for 40M and the long one is for 80M. The 40 meter trap is placed closest to the feedpoint at about 32 feet. The 80M trap is placed farther away from the feedpoint. Adding some more wire the antenna can work on 80M, 40M, and 160M.

Walter K5KNE

If you can get the antenna away from the house - the better off you will be. Buildings have a maze of electrical wires to the wall plugs, switches, lights etc.  Often these have a lot of noise on them and if the antenna is close (like in the floor of attic or alongside the metal flashing) - the antenna doesn't work as well as it would out on the clear.

Just try different things and see what seems to work best.  A sure fire answer for one location may not be right for a different location.   

Walter  K5KNE

I experienced something really odd today on HF.  I could not pick up a single decent signal on 75, 40, 20, 15, or 10 meters.  The solar flare really blacked out the HF bands.  After a few hours I heard signals and talked to a couple of ajacent states.

I hear that it is not over.

Walter   K5KNE   Belton, TX

I think that the way to overcome the problem is to use CW.  Over a few months you speed will increase and the steps will not be a factor.

If you just start out slow and uses it enough the code speed will increase rapidly.

It is still a very interesting mode and I find that simple rigs with QRP are still a challenge.

Good Luck.  73    Walter  K5KNE

Vertical antennas radiate equally poorly in all directions.

A mobile antenna mounted on a good ground plane (radials) should work as good or better than it does on a car. You are also going to pick up some local noise around you neighborhood that you can drive away from in the car.

It is worth a try. Just hook it up and see how you like it. I would not bury the radials until I was happy with the way it worked.

Good Luck,  Walter K5KNE

LMR 400 will work fine - if you have it on hand or can get some easily.  I use Belden 9913 for my runs up the tower and one run goes to my tribander. I just had 9913 and decided to make all the runs up the tower with it.  RG-8U will work fine for the HF bands and LMR 400 and 9913 are both overkill because they are made for VHF and UHF.

I don't like putting on n connectors, but I use them.  PL-259s with RG-8U is sure a lot easier for me.

73   Walter  K5KNE

Yes, I recently purchased a 6:1 balun for making an ocf antenna. I think with the wires cut to the design length (about 30% feedpoint) of the length for the feed point - should be the same antenna the expensive one is.

You can buy baluns from W2AU and others.  Look on internet for 4:1 baluns and you will find a source - for about $30 to $40. There are different types and you can spend a lot more.

I would check the balun out carefully before saying it is bad.  You know the wire is not bad - so the connections are sure suspicious. The baluns I have torn open are pretty well water-proofed.  I have one that I tore up the case and just used PVC pipe fittings to re-encase it.

Good Luck,  Walter K5KNE

If you can get a coax to the outside of the building to yagis - you will see a world of difference.  If you can get it on the roofs - it will be great.  Whether you use the radios hooked directly to the coax - to the yagis or make a passive repeater like mentioned above - you still need to get thru the wall or up to the roofs with good coax.

Good Luck, Walter  K5KNE 

Trying to make an antenna work very close to the ground and other objects is a tough situation. You might think about trying a black vertical (with ground radials) that you only put up after dark and take down before dawn. There are some fiberglass rods that lend themselves to make a long whip by putting a wire around the rod.  You can put an antenna tuner, preferably at the base of the antenna in a waterproof box, to make it work best on the band you want to use.  Use an antenna analyzer like the MFJ 259B or similar to adjust the antenna tuner then hook it up to the transceiver. I don't know where I got my 32' black telescoping fiberglass whips that look a lot like long fishing rods.  MFJ makes a little simple tuner that is about $100 - no meter and it would be fine for even putting outside in a box.
I have thought about putting them on the eave of the house like long rabbit ears and using the little tuner to set it to a band I want to try.

I don't know what time of day you do your hamming, but I hope that it is dark ouside.

 I don't like verticals, but if it is the only thing you can put up - O.K.  I recently talked to a guy clear across the country using two back to back ham sticks on 20 meters - like you were thinking about doing. You again need the analyzer to set the ham sticks and poke them up as high as you can get away with - maybe just at night. You can rotate the pole to get some directional effect.

There are a lot of stealth antenna articles on internet. However, all of them put the secret wires up in the air.

If you have a metal patio cover or table in the back - it is possible to make some contacts on a mag-mount with a whip. I play with antennas and I have taken a CB mag-mount whip and made the coil do 10, 15, and 20 meters - and made contacts.  40 would be a stretch for it.

Good Luck,   Walter  K5KNE

I would not use an antenna tuner and a beam for other bands.  It will work some, but not right.  The antenna tuner only fools the transmitter to thinking it has a good antenna for the frequency being transmitted.  The elements on the beam are for certain bands and the spacing is to reinforce the beam effect. 

Walter  K5KNE

Read every comment on here and elsewhere.  You can make it work, but look out for the pitfalls that everyone commenting on why they are not in a club now.

Keep in mind, having an enjoyable experience is paramount or the really good ones will not waste thier time coming to club meetings.  The "dufuses" will come, because they need to belong to something. I am a very old ham and the program meeting needs to be good for me to go to a club meeting.  I have so many times went and wish that I had just stayed home and hammed or watched TV.

Get your team working together to make the club fun and useful. Get lots of input. Talk to those who have dropped out of the club. Why? Don't listen to the naysayers and stay on the important things, training, helping newcommers, and welcoming new people. Don't let petty things dominate the meetings.
 
Thank you for accepting a role of leadership.  I wish you the best. Have a good year.

73  Walter  K5KNE

The comments are right about liability.  It used to not be a factor in helping each other.
 
Having the special tools like gin poles, jacks etc. should be under the care of a custodian of club equipment. Rather than loaning it out it would be better if a club team familiar with the tools took them over and helped the ham do what is needed.

Loaning club tools is worse than loaning the tools in your garage. If you loan them to people they tend to not bring them back. I had rather go help somebody than to just let them have my tools and hope that they know how to use them, won't get hurt, won't break them or will not bring them back.

Walter  K5KNE

May I suggest a survey to be handed out at a club meeting where the members can write in what areas they would like to see as a club program.  Don't forget to give them a place to suggest something that they might like to present in a program.

We have conducted the survey like that and found that simple show and tell type things are of interest to a broad spectrum of the hams.  Even a "what is it" box of parts stimulates a lot of courisoty and discussion.  The more that the members can explain - not you - the better they will like it. Of course you have to sum up and bring it to a close in the alloted time.

The program, if about a project, should be something that is practical, fairly simple and not too technical.  Something that they understand and might even want to try themselves.  I have seen club programs that were highly technical, expensive and beyond the scope of most hams ability and resources - that was a waste of time.  Keep it simple - make it fun.

73  Good luck on your program.

Walter K5KNE  Belton, TX

 I think that there are a few old timers that have life memberships (free).

You can find the various dues for diffferent catagories on "Temple Amateur Radio Club" website and look at the left side of the page under "Pay Dues".

This schedule has worked good for some time.

Walter  K5KNE

Most Clubs do not plan their field day very well.  Since a club is a volunteer organization - everybody thinks that they know how it should be and try to make it their way.  Really, nobody is in charge - it just happens.  The very serious hams are so busy rigging up their superstation and operating it that they have little time to just be friendly and maybe even teach some of the newer hams some stuff.  The inexperienced hams are often ignored or left out of the action because they don't know much or nobody has showed them what to do.
Visitors are often not included by the group or have what is happening explained to them in a simple manner. Some people who are just greeters would be good. The operators just go till they are dead tired and there is nobody to relieve them. This is not much fun for anybody.

I have run some Field Days and putting up some good antennas and rigs, a antenna setup and take down team, schedules for operator shifts, letting newcomers and visitors "give it a try" on contacts and logging, good food and drinks and having it in a good location are important.  The emphasis should be on everyone having an enjoyable experience and learning a few things. Making a high score should not the top priority.

Staying up for 30 hours is not the way to for anyone to enjoy Field Day. If the bands get poor propagation at late night - it might be best to just shut down and let a fresh group start up the next morning when the bands open. There are a lot of stations on there Sunday morning when most operators are wiped out.  If points are a big deal to the group - you can make more points in an hour with good band conditions than you can all night.

You can do Field Day by yourself!  Itmay be more enjoyable with a couple of other hams, but you don't have to be in a Club or group to participate.

Next year there will be another Field Day.  Check around the area and see what and who is going to do it and how. Surrounding towns often have better Field Days than where you live.  I'll bet that you can find some hams that want to enjoy it - and not be a slave to it.

73  Walter K5KNE