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The Antenna Party

Created by on 2010-07-20

The Antenna Party

A short story by Don Keith, N4KC
www.n4kc.com
www.donkeith.com

Everybody says it so it must be true. The performance of a homebrew antenna is directly proportional to how rotten the weather is when it is installed.

That was one reason why we had high hopes for young Jack Oakley's aerial that hot, summer day. Several of us had gathered early, while it was merely sweltering and not yet hellish hot, as it would be in a few hours. We came equipped with tools, rope, wire, insulators, a balun, feedline, a short section of coax, a slingshot and a fishing reel--all we needed to build a proper multi-band dipole antenna.

Jack met us at the door, excited, greeting us with a string of "Thank yous" as he shook each of our hands. He motioned for us to follow him through the small, dark house and out onto the patio behind. There, he had a tub waiting, filled with ice, sodas, and beer.

"Aw, Jack, you didn't have to do that," I told him, but that did not prevent us from reaching in and grabbing ourselves some cold drinks.

"You guys didn't have to give up your Saturday to come do this, either. What can I do to help?"

"I think you just did," Win McCullers, our ace-slingshot-shooter told him. As he sipped, he was already eyeing some high tree limbs on the tall elms that lined the back of Jack's small lot. He took a swig of his soda and winked at the rest of us, then headed off toward the far corner of the yard.

"How high you reckon you can get it?" Jack asked.

"High as it needs to be," I told him. "We'll cut it for the low end of 80...you still want to do some CW down there, don't you?...and if I know Win, he may hook one end of it to the moon and the other one to Mars."

"Are you sure you have enough room?" Jack asked. "I don't think my lot is big enough for...what?...a hundred and thirty-five feet?"

"We'll make it work," I told him. "Win is an expert at lot stretching. I once saw him fit a rhombic into a phone booth."

Jack had an odd look on his face. I didn't know if he was unfamiliar with the term "rhombic" or "phone booth." Kids! Well, he was somewhere in his early twenties and that certainly made him a "kid" to me.

Meanwhile, Grady Harrison was unspooling the flexweave copper wire, taking one end toward the other side of the yard.

"You gonna stand there and tell lies or you gonna bring one end of the tape measure over here?" Grady asked, employing his usual gruff old grouch demeanor. "I don't know for certain, but I suspect it will get hot here directly."

I tapped Jack on the shoulder, told him thanks again for the drink, grabbed the 100-foot tape, and headed that way. Win was already about to launch a lead weight attached to s spool of fishing line, his slingshot aimed for a nice, horizontal limb about fifty feet from the ground. He had painted the weight a brilliant yellow, and I could easily follow its arc as it flew perfectly over the limb and disappeared behind the leaves on the other side.

"First time!" Win whooped. "Sometimes I amaze myself."

"Even a blind pig finds an acorn..." Grady started but hushed immediately as he tied off the end of the antenna wire to a bush. "Here, give me the tape and see if you can remember your numbers long enough to take it yonder way sixty-seven-feet-six-inches."

"You sure you have the strength to hold onto it, there, Grady?" I jibed. "I know how weak you old folks get if you miss your daily dose of Geritol."

As soon as I marked the spot with a piece of electrical tape, Grady quickly wrapped his end of the antenna wire around a ceramic egg insulator.

"Measure it again, just to make sure," he told me. "I'd hate to have to un-cut it if you get it too short." But the wire was right on the money and I pulled a pair of wire cutters from my pocket and cut it a few inches past my mark. Grady handed me a commercially made center insulator, designed to keep strain off the ladder line that we planned to use for a feedline. While I attached the one leg of the antenna to the center insulator, Grady fussed.

"I can't believe it. Time was, we would have made that insulator out of a chunk of Plexiglas or whatever we could find in the junk box instead of going out and buying a contraption like that," he grumbled.

"Yeah, then you would get the opportunity to replace it with some other piece of jury-rigged junk the first time a bird lit on the thing." I'd learned a long time ago that Grady Harrison loved to argue and complain almost as much as he loved cobbling together tube-type amplifiers and jawing with his buddies on the air. He was of the opinion that nothing good had happened in electronics and radio since 1952. And anybody unfortunate enough to not have been around or in the hobby of ham radio before that could not be a part of his fraternity.

Grady was a decent enough guy. His presence this blistering hot day to help a young ham who needed it was proof enough of that. But sometimes his curmudgeon act wore a bit thin. Especially as the temperature and humidity rose ever higher.

I felt a tug on the half-built antenna. Win was already tying a piece of strong, UV-resistant rope to the insulator, ready to draw that end over the tree limb when the time came.

"Reckon you can make another piece of wire exactly as long as this one without doing any damage?" Grady asked.

"I can get it close."

"If we just wanted `close' I could have left my tape measure at the house. You want a balanced antenna. That means both sides are the same length. Balanced."

"Really? Grady, I don't know what I would do without you?"

I caught a glimpse of Jack Oakley. He had moved his wheelchair a few feet to get into a patch of shade on the patio.

"You got the transceiver warmed up?" I called to him. "We'll be working DX in a few minutes."

"It's all solid state. I didn't think you had to warm those up."

"Humph!" Grady said, just loud enough for only me to hear him. "Where do they get their licenses these days? Out of cornflake boxes?"

"Grady, that kid..." I started, but Win was there, torch in hand. He also had a bundle of coiled-up ladder line.

We made quick work of punching a hole in the middle of the line and attaching it to the center insulator with a nylon screw and nut, and then we wrapped each of the two feedline conductors around the opposing legs of the dipole. Being careful not to get the wires too hot or melt the insulator, Win soldered everything together, allowed it to cool, then pulled hard in every direction. We had good connections all around, but Grady insisted on pulling out his volt-ohm meter and checking continuity all the way to the far end of each leg of the aerial and to the end of the ladder line.

It was really getting hot as we watched Win step off the distance to a tree in the front corner of Jack's lot. He then looked up and considered the various branches above him.

"Just enough," he announced. "We won't have to make this thing an ugly `Z' after all."

It took him several tries to get his fishing line and sinker over this limb since he had to avoid any chance of shooting it as far as a power line across the street or have his brightly colored weight go through the neighbor's picture window. A group of neighborhood kids had gathered on the sidewalk, too, and he did not want to bean one of them.

There is no correlation that I know about between blood, concussions, and antenna performance.

"It'll never fit," Grady firmly announced. He had been eyeballing the distance between the two trees at the corners of Jack's lot. "Ain't far enough between them trees."

"Grady, you are about the most optimistic fellow I think I have ever encountered," I told him sarcastically. He really was beginning to irritate me.

Win simply winked at me, grinned, pulled his rope over the limb, and tied it snugly onto the other egg insulator.

"Go pull the other end up so the insulator is a couple of feet from the limb," he told me. I did. Grady just stood there in the middle, shaking his head before he stomped off. The feedline, hooked to the center of the antenna, uncoiled as the insulator rose into the air. Then Win pulled the rope on his end. Sure enough, when we pulled the wire reasonably taut, he had about three feet between his insulator and the limb. The antenna just fit, as if those trees had been planted there just for that purpose.

"Lucky vegetation," Win called it.

Grady was not paying any attention to us, though. Proven wrong, he was now on a stepladder, grumbling all the time, attaching a small, enclosed balun to the underside of an eave on the house, just above the window to Jack's den. He checked a marking on the ladder line, cut it there, and hooked it to the balanced side of the balun. His grumbling grew even louder as he screwed the connector on the end of a short piece of coax to the other side and then stuck it beneath the screen, poked beneath the narrow opening where the window was barely raised, and fed it inside.

"Don't tell anybody you just saw me doing this," he said. "It would surely ruin my reputation. Baluns? Ladderline? Automatic antenna tuners? No wonder nobody can hear most of these guys on the bands these days, unless they're runnin' a California kilowatt."

Win and I tried to ignore Grady's grousing. He was still convinced every radio should have tubes and anything between the output of the radio and the feedpoint of the antenna--anything besides open wire feedline--was an atrocity. Anybody caught using such should have to turn his license back in to the FCC.

We quickly surveyed our work. The antenna was stretched from one convenient tree to another, high above the yard from one extreme corner to the opposite one. The ladder line fell straight down from its middle for forty feet or so before it stretched over to the balun Grady had reluctantly hung beneath the eave. We had tied off both end ropes for the time being and would come back and use opposing 8-penny nails as cleats to do a more permanent securing. We would install a spring on one end to take the tension if a strong wind decided to blow the two trees in opposite directions.

"All right, let's see how she plays," Win said.

Jack was already inside with the radio on. Grady followed with the toolbox and the volt-ohm meter. We stopped long enough to grab drinks and went inside. Win twisted the coax into the back of the automatic matching device on Jack's desk, then made sure the other jumper led from the HF antenna connection on the transceiver to the input of the tuner and that all connectors were screwed on tightly.

"Ready to go, Jack," Win announced. "See if she works."

Jack pushed a button on a small box that rested on the desk in front of his radio.

"Three point eight three zero," said a tinny, mechanical voice. Jack spun the dial on the rig and hit the button on the box again. "Three point five one five."

He felt for the button on the front of the automatic tuner and punched. Relays chattered inside the device and the cross-needles on the dial swayed rhythmically up and down. Win and I looked at each other as the box rattled away for a good ten seconds, then it sent "di di dit" and waved the two needles in surrender.

The SWR was too high. The matching device could not tune it.

"Hmmm," was all Win could manage.

"It's all that computerized stuff and that dang balun," Grady said from the back of the room. "Told you. I got some coils and a capacitor in my junk box and we could breadboard up a quick tuner that would match a butter knife."

"And have as much loss as a ten-foot two-by-four and enough stray RF to cook supper, too," Win told him, taking a long draw from his bottle of soda as he considered this development. "Besides, it might be a hassle for Jack to have to mess with a Rube Goldberg apparatus like that."

I tried to ignore the look of disappointment on Jack's face as I turned to address our official club curmudgeon.

"Grady, we got some other problem going on here and we'll figure out what it is and get some fire in the wire for old Jack, here," I told him, mostly for Jack's benefit. What with the humidity and heat and the trouble with the antenna, Grady was really beginning to grate on my nerves. But I held my tongue.

"Most likely that store-bought balun. We could have left that out altogether if he didn't have that rice box for a radio."

Win was gazing out the window, studying the antenna, its center conductor high in the air, swaying just slightly in the breeze. The feedline came down perfectly to the terminals on the balun and the short run of coax fed--without being pinched beneath the window--to the tuner output.

"Let's see," Win said. "Let's do this logically. We measured twice and cut once, right? And we checked continuity at the feed point, too?"

"I did," Grady confirmed.

"And the feedline?"

"It's okay...for that dang ladder line stuff, anyway."

"No reason to suspect a problem with the balun, Grady. It was working fine last time I used it."

"Baluns. Hummmph!"

"Jack's been using his tuner on that little short loop of his and it has worked okay in places."

"Tuner? That ain't nothing but a bunch of micro-processors and relays!" Grady spat out "micro-processors" as if it was a dirty word.

Win was scratching his chin. So was I. There just was not much that could have gone wrong. The antenna was about as simple as they come. I was about to start wondering if maybe Grady was right about the balun or tuner being on the fritz.

"Did we check the coax?" Jack suddenly piped up. "That seems to be the only thing we haven't looked at. I think the jumper from the rig to the tuner is okay. At least it was working last night when I used it."

"Naw! Can't be the other run of coax. I built that up myself last night," Grady said.

"Did you check it after you put the connectors on it?" Win asked.

"I didn't have to. I've been soldering coax connectors since `fifty-one. Ain't never had one fail yet."

"Just for giggles and grins, let me see your meter, Mr. Marconi," Win said.

Grady shook his head as he handed the volt-ohm meter over to Win. I unscrewed the coax from the back of the auto-tuner and gave it to him. He touched one probe to the outside of the connector and the other to the center pin. The meter flew over to the right-hand peg.

"Shorted," Win reported for Jack's benefit. Grady and I could see it for ourselves. "Dead short."

"It's that dang balun. I told you. Something's shorted inside that thing."

"Okay, go take the other end loose, then," Win told him, but Grady was already headed out the backdoor, anxious to show us the error of our ways. He climbed back up on the ladder and unscrewed the cable from the balun's SO-239 connector.

Again, Win touched the two sides of the coax. The meter once more flew to the right. Win turned to me and grinned. We could hear Grady snorting through the window. He saw the glee on our faces.

"Let me guess," Jack said. "It's the coax that's bad."

"Yessir," Win confirmed for him. "The Coax King out there either grabbed a bad piece of cable or shorted something when he put on one of the connectors. Most hams would have at least checked it once they got it built. Reckon we ought to make him turn in his license to the FCC?"

"No!" Jack said. "He didn't..."

"Just kidding," Win told him. "But it is kind of sweet to see him get his come-uppance once in a while."

"Look, I have another jumper over there under the table," Jack said. "It's RG-8X. I was going to use it from the rig to the solid-state amp when I get it."

"Don't let the old man hear you say `solid state' and `amp' in the same sentence!" I told Jack. "He'll have a stroke right there on your patio." We both laughed.

We quickly handed one end of the new cable out to Grady and screwed the other onto the tuner. Again Jack touched the "Tune" button. Again the box chattered, but this time only a couple of quick clicks. The digital readout on the device said "1 : 1." So did the tinny voice from the little box on the desk.

We looked on as Jack moved up the band and tried tuning up in several spots. The automatic tuner made quick work of it. Then he tried several other bands. Though it took longer to find a match in a couple of places, it still managed it just fine. We could also hear some very strong signals and occasional bursts of static.

Then, on the low end of 20 meters, a station on an island off the eastern coast of Africa was working a pileup. Jack used his sense of touch to flip the mode switch to CW and synch up and then split the VFOs.

"Reckon I ought to give him a try?" he asked.

"Why not?" Win and I told him in unison.

All the while, Grady sat in the back corner of the room, intently studying the short piece of coax as if he had never seen such a thing before. As if he could spot the short just by staring at it.

When the DX station paused to listen again, Jack sucked in a deep breath and sent his call with the old paddle he used. The station answered and quickly worked someone else.

Again, Jack sent his call letters. Nope. Another station.

Jack shrugged.

"Oh, well. Maybe I'll see how the antenna tunes up on 17."

"Hey, don't give up so easy," I told him. "He's got a good signal, and I'll bet he isn't running any more power or any better antenna than you are."

He breathed deeply again and sent his callsign one more time.

Silence.

Then Jack's call letters, coming back from the other side of the world, followed with "599."

For a moment, I thought Jack was so shocked that he would not even be able to respond. The young ham's hand was shaking so badly he could hardly answer, but he managed his own "599 TU 73," even with his trembling keying hand.

"TU 73," came the response.

Jack Oakley's dark glasses were slightly askew on his nose when he spun around in our direction, but the broad smile on his face told us all we needed to know.

"I got him! I got him!"

He quickly typed out the call letters and signal reports on his Braille keyboard. Then, he turned right back to the radio and began twisting the dial, eagerly searching for more signals, more worlds to conquer.

Meanwhile, Grady sat there watching the whole thing, a sheepish expression behind his full beard.

"Who'd he call? Did he copy him?"

"Grady, you really ought to learn CW sometime," I told him.

"I learned it. I learned it enough to get my General Class license way back when. Ain't touched a key since. Never seen a need. That stuff is old-fashioned."

Win and I looked at each other and grinned. Meanwhile, Jack had pounced on an SM5 and was already exchanging signal reports.

As we headed outside, we grabbed yet another soda from the ice in the tub. We needed to secure the ends of that fine antenna before a thunderstorm blew up. Then we would help Jack locate the connection on the back of the tuner so he would be able to unscrew it and drop it outside for lightning protection.

A nice breeze had sprung up and somehow, it did not seem nearly as hot and humid as it had only a few moments before.

THE END

N2FBV2010-08-25
RE: The Antenna Party
Loved the story brought a smile to my face with my morning coffee. Did the same thing with the coax myself more then once....hi only a single strand to short it out.
Reply to a comment by : WA4FOM on 2010-08-19

Jean Shepherd (K2ORS -- SK) would have been proud of this one. It ranks right up there with "A Christmas Story"! I think you should start negotiating the film rights. 73, Bob WA4FOM
WA4FOM2010-08-19
The Antenna Party

Jean Shepherd (K2ORS -- SK) would have been proud
of this one. It ranks right up there with "A
Christmas Story"! I think you should start
negotiating the film rights.

73,

Bob WA4FOM
K5TEN2010-07-25
The Antenna Party
Well written!

Two thumbs up.

Bruce
AE5JU2010-07-24
RE: The Antenna Party
Hey! I know those guys!!!

;-)


73
Paul - AE5Ju
Reply to a comment by : W8VZM on 2010-07-24

This article is about one of the least touted and most enjoyable parts of ham radio! Most of us got a "little help" when we got started, but few carry on the tradition! I have helped a number of novices and others who needed it. Always more satisfying than working the latest DX or the ragchew with old friends. I think it's time to find me a club near my new home and do it again. Thanks Don! Ron W8VZM Central VA
Reply to a comment by : K4YZ on 2010-07-24

Well crafted tale! Bravo! 73 Steve, K4YZ
DO5TMX2010-07-24
The Antenna Party
Tell me about Antenna Parties and shorted coax, haha. :)
W8VZM2010-07-24
RE: The Antenna Party
This article is about one of the least touted and most enjoyable parts of ham radio! Most of us got a "little help" when we got started, but few carry on the tradition! I have helped a number of novices and others who needed it. Always more satisfying than working the latest DX or the ragchew with old friends. I think it's time to find me a club near my new home and do it again. Thanks Don!

Ron W8VZM
Central VA
Reply to a comment by : K4YZ on 2010-07-24

Well crafted tale! Bravo! 73 Steve, K4YZ
K4YZ2010-07-24
The Antenna Party

Well crafted tale! Bravo!

73

Steve, K4YZ
KL7AJ2010-07-23
The Antenna Party
Modern day equivalent of the traditional community barn raising. :)

Except with antenna raisin's you generally have more kibitzers than workers. :)

Eric
W7KOA2010-07-23
RE: The Antenna Party
Thanks Don

Really enjoyed the story as I have enjoyed other writings and articles from you.I think we can all relate with the characters.Very nice reading and please write more.

73 Romel K7FRN
Reply to a comment by : AB0RE on 2010-07-22

Loved it! Great read, thanks. Loved the "hams helping hams" and "hams have a very high opinion of their opinions" aspect of the article - so true! 73, Dan / ABØRE
AB0RE2010-07-22
The Antenna Party
Loved it! Great read, thanks. Loved the "hams helping hams" and "hams have a very high opinion of their opinions" aspect of the article - so true!

73,
Dan / ABØRE
K9YNF2010-07-22
The Antenna Party
Nice one, Don!

From one storyteller to another, what you have here is the essence of ham radio. 2010 is my Golden Anniversary year in Amateur Radio and I can tell you, Don, that this story really resonates with me.

You have "the gift," my friend!

Thanks!

Wayne C. Long, K9YNF
www.LongShortStories.com
Where the Short Story LIVES!
K9FE2010-07-22
The Antenna Party
Yes, we almost don't need radios to show what a ham should be. Helpful to a fault, gracious and humble. OK, Grady is always in the wings, but he is outnumbered in almost every occasion.

I wish I could remember just how many times on my own projects I have cut the antenna perfectly, just to find it is too short. When we help another ham we always measure twice, add a bit and then cut. Much easier to trim than stretch. Connectors are another area not to get too complacent with. We all have done the connector that failed because "we have done it so often I never do one wrong". At least it wasn't 75 feet up a tower!

Love the truths of your story. I have to find your books.

73 and thank you,

Mike K9FE
WA2JJH2010-07-22
RE: The Antenna Party
Simply an almost NORMAN ROCKWELL story. Ham helping ham. Not too much of that today.

Reply to a comment by : W3MIK on 2010-07-22

Don...thanks for the very pleasurable read. My experience is that there are very few hams that would not have pitched in to help Jack. It must be something in the stray RF that that triggers "Hams helping Hams", and others as well. Oh my...and I think we all know a Grady :-) 73, de Mike W3MIK
WB4LFC2010-07-22
The Antenna Party
Good story Don.Reminds me of some of the stories I used to read in Popular Electronics back in the late
50's and early 60's.
Please write some more radio related stories.

73's from Jerry in Sylacauga
WA2JJH2010-07-22
RE: The Antenna Party
Simply an almost NORMAN ROCKWELL story. Ham helping ham. Not too much of that today.

Reply to a comment by : W3MIK on 2010-07-22

Don...thanks for the very pleasurable read. My experience is that there are very few hams that would not have pitched in to help Jack. It must be something in the stray RF that that triggers "Hams helping Hams", and others as well. Oh my...and I think we all know a Grady :-) 73, de Mike W3MIK
W3MIK2010-07-22
The Antenna Party
Don...thanks for the very pleasurable read. My experience is that there are very few hams that would not have pitched in to help Jack. It must be something in the stray RF that that triggers "Hams helping Hams", and others as well. Oh my...and I think we all know a Grady :-)

73, de Mike W3MIK
N0LOH2010-07-21
The Antenna Party
Great story!
WB4CVZ2010-07-21
The Antenna Party
Good article. I enjoyed it and I can just see this crew out there "working" away.
W8AAZ2010-07-21
RE: The Antenna Party
Its nice to help people but I don't do antenna parties anymore. As a foolish youth I was persuaded to climb towers to work with awkward dangerous antennas with ill thought out hoists and such. Hurt my hand hoisting a gigantic moonbounce array once and almost skewered a guy on the ground with his own antenna when his scheme failed for me up in the air. My antennas are not very high anymore as you might imagine.
Reply to a comment by : N4KC on 2010-07-21

Thanks, all, including "Cousin" Dennis up the way! I don't follow NASCAR as closely as I once did. I don't like the flat, boring tracks. I miss Darlington and the tracks with character. But some of the recent on-and-off-track clashes harken back to the old days. I do miss Bobby and Davy Allison (got to know both of them). I've had wonderful friends who were handicapped hams and marveled at how this hobby opens up so many possibilities for them. A little help here and there for them (or for anyone new to the hobby, for that matter) can go a long way, not just in allowing them to enjoy it more. It makes both us and our avocation stronger and better. 73, Don Keith N4KC www.n4kc.com www.donkeith.com www.n4kc.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/donkeith
Reply to a comment by : KB2DHG on 2010-07-21

Hey I am a NASCAR Fan too. Who's your driver? I go back to the Allison and Petty days but today I like Jeff Gordon, Tony Stuart, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards. I am having a watchful eye on Joey Lagano! I think he has potential to come up the ranks. Yes this was a very good read. I love this site. Being a ham for over 23 years I have learned more from this sit than most any other venue.
Reply to a comment by : NC4DK on 2010-07-20

Thanks for the breath of fresh air added to the technical articles (which are also good reading). Even though Don and I share a surname and two hobbies, ham radio and NASCAR, Don's writing style is far superior to anything I could produce. 73, Dennis Keith NC4DK
N4KC2010-07-21
RE: The Antenna Party
Thanks, all, including "Cousin" Dennis up the way! I don't follow NASCAR as closely as I once did. I don't like the flat, boring tracks. I miss Darlington and the tracks with character. But some of the recent on-and-off-track clashes harken back to the old days. I do miss Bobby and Davy Allison (got to know both of them).

I've had wonderful friends who were handicapped hams and marveled at how this hobby opens up so many possibilities for them. A little help here and there for them (or for anyone new to the hobby, for that matter) can go a long way, not just in allowing them to enjoy it more. It makes both us and our avocation stronger and better.

73,

Don Keith N4KC
www.n4kc.com
www.donkeith.com
www.n4kc.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/donkeith

Reply to a comment by : KB2DHG on 2010-07-21

Hey I am a NASCAR Fan too. Who's your driver? I go back to the Allison and Petty days but today I like Jeff Gordon, Tony Stuart, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards. I am having a watchful eye on Joey Lagano! I think he has potential to come up the ranks. Yes this was a very good read. I love this site. Being a ham for over 23 years I have learned more from this sit than most any other venue.
Reply to a comment by : NC4DK on 2010-07-20

Thanks for the breath of fresh air added to the technical articles (which are also good reading). Even though Don and I share a surname and two hobbies, ham radio and NASCAR, Don's writing style is far superior to anything I could produce. 73, Dennis Keith NC4DK
KB2DHG2010-07-21
RE: The Antenna Party
Hey I am a NASCAR Fan too. Who's your driver? I go back to the Allison and Petty days but today I like Jeff Gordon, Tony Stuart, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards. I am having a watchful eye on Joey Lagano! I think he has potential to come up the ranks.
Yes this was a very good read. I love this site. Being a ham for over 23 years I have learned more from this sit than most any other venue.
Reply to a comment by : NC4DK on 2010-07-20

Thanks for the breath of fresh air added to the technical articles (which are also good reading). Even though Don and I share a surname and two hobbies, ham radio and NASCAR, Don's writing style is far superior to anything I could produce. 73, Dennis Keith NC4DK
AI4HO2010-07-20
The Antenna Party
I too, am a partially disabled ham, and have been on the receiving end too many time to count. As has always or usually happens,I need help when I am physically unable to do it myself. When I needed help erecting my tower 2 years ago, I had almost the whole club over to help, I can never thank them all enough for the help and guidance I have received. There is always a Grady, but thankfully the last time I needed help "Grady" wasn't available. Thanks Don for a great story, will have to get a couple of yer books and brush up on my reading skills.



73 de Mark
W3LZK
K9CTB2010-07-20
The Antenna Party
What a heart-warmer, sir!!!

Others have said it better than I could .... THIS is the whole other half of ham radio. One can operate all the modes and all the frequencies and all the DX in the world, and yet still miss out on half of our great hobby and service! Well done!

73,
K9CTB
VK5SW2010-07-20
The Antenna Party
Don, thanks for a great story.

Rob - www.vk5sw.com

N6AJR2010-07-20
RE: The Antenna Party
AS an old, disabled ham, I too have been on the recieving end of a bunch of "radio" work, in the shak, on antennas and such. I relate to this excellent story, and by the way, thanks to all my friends for all the help over the years..
Reply to a comment by : NC4DK on 2010-07-20

Thanks for the breath of fresh air added to the technical articles (which are also good reading). Even though Don and I share a surname and two hobbies, ham radio and NASCAR, Don's writing style is far superior to anything I could produce. 73, Dennis Keith NC4DK
WA1RKS2010-07-20
The Antenna Party
The Beauty of this story,is that its nostalgic to lots of us!.I helped out a blind ham,doing the exact same thing, I know Win, and Grady,they just had different names when we did it!. Great story Don! I really enjoy reading works of art like this. Kudos keep it up! I'll look and read all you post!.This is what I love about ham radio,38 yrs and still being humbled and surprized! 73 all gud dx! CW Rules' de Ellis. Wa1rks
NC4DK2010-07-20
The Antenna Party
Thanks for the breath of fresh air added to the technical articles (which are also good reading). Even though Don and I share a surname and two hobbies, ham radio and NASCAR, Don's writing style is far superior to anything I could produce.

73,
Dennis Keith
NC4DK
W8CAR2010-07-20
The Antenna Party
What a great story! Wish I had a nickel for every time I thought I'd checked EVERY last item in the antenna system only to find out it was the one item I did'nt think to check. Good writing style and very entertaining!

Dan W8CAR
W8DTW2010-07-20
The Antenna Party
Terrific story... As a Ham with a disability I have been the benificiary of the helping tradition of several "Elmers" along the way.
K0BG2010-07-20
RE: The Antenna Party
Don's not one to brag, but he's written a number of books. I haven't read them all, but the ones I have read, I've enjoyed.

Alan, KØBG
www.k0bg.com
Reply to a comment by : K3AN on 2010-07-20

Nice job. If you've never helped a newbie or disabled ham get on the air then you're missing a wonderful experience.
Reply to a comment by : N5XTR on 2010-07-20

This is a great story! Thank you very much! 73 . . N5XTR
K3AN2010-07-20
RE: The Antenna Party
Nice job. If you've never helped a newbie or disabled ham get on the air then you're missing a wonderful experience.


Reply to a comment by : N5XTR on 2010-07-20

This is a great story! Thank you very much! 73 . . N5XTR
N5XTR2010-07-20
The Antenna Party
This is a great story!
Thank you very much!
73 . .
N5XTR
KG4TKC2010-07-20
The Antenna Party
What a pleasant surprise with a morning cup of coffee. Sure did not expect this little gem on eham today,but a breath of fresh air is always welcome. Thanks you very much for this Don Keith(N4KC)! Great Story! I think we all know Grady,he has quite a few cousins with the same family traits,,:) A few of them enjoy hanging out at eham,,:) 73 and thanks again-KG4TKC
N2IK2010-07-20
RE: The Antenna Party
Fine story. Hams help other hams. Pay it forward. Keep it that way.

73 de Walt N2IK
Reply to a comment by : KB2DHG on 2010-07-20

SO TRUE... When I put up my home brew G5RV it was a pleasant spring day. I got it up and it worked OK. Then this past winter a storm pulled it and the mast down. So with temps in the low 10's wind blowing amd 8 inches of snow on the roof I erected a new mast and antenna. I used a better mast, better wire and good quality hardwear and installed it securely. It has not only been through several storms since and performes so much better. So thats my antennas story good article it is all fun! 73!
K4LJA2010-07-20
The Antenna Party
Don -- always the Best. Made my morning. Thanks.
Randy K4LJA
KB2DHG2010-07-20
The Antenna Party
SO TRUE...
When I put up my home brew G5RV it was a pleasant spring day. I got it up and it worked OK. Then this past winter a storm pulled it and the mast down.
So with temps in the low 10's wind blowing amd 8 inches of snow on the roof I erected a new mast and antenna. I used a better mast, better wire and good quality hardwear and installed it securely. It has not only been through several storms since and performes so much better.
So thats my antennas story good article it is all fun! 73!
K0ACP2010-07-20
The Antenna Party
Great Article / Story! This is the essence of Ham Radio.

Thank you for sharing.

73,

Art
K0ACP