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Author Topic: Electric horse pasture fence antenna  (Read 654 times)

N8OXQ

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Electric horse pasture fence antenna
« on: February 01, 2020, 11:52:01 AM »

I have a horse pasture that is 146' by 72'. In addition to five runs on non electric white poly coated wire it has four runs of bare electric wire with the top run about five foot off the ground. If I cut the tap to that top run would it make a good receive antenna? The wire is Galvanized 14 gauge.
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KM1H

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Re: Electric horse pasture fence antenna
« Reply #1 on: February 01, 2020, 12:27:42 PM »

You wont know until you try. Ive used similar or worse with mixed results
What frequencies and what modes?

Carl
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VE1YY

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Re: Electric horse pasture fence antenna
« Reply #2 on: February 01, 2020, 12:45:36 PM »

"The wire is Galvanized 14 gauge."

I recommend that any fence charger be off when using the wire(s) for receive. Electric fences make a lot of noise.

I have used galvanized fence wire for low antennas and for ground radials. Any wire nick compromising the galvanized layer soon rusts the wire and causes failure, as you probably know.

As KM1H says "You won't know until you try."

73,  Bill
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ZL1BBW

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Re: Electric horse pasture fence antenna
« Reply #3 on: February 01, 2020, 02:14:14 PM »

Check when your ence is OFF that there is no induced voltage in it from other fence's.

Some days depending on how dry things are, we can 5 or 600 volts induced into our boundary fence from the one next door, just enough to give you a tingle when your not expecting it.
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ex MN Radio Officer, Portishead Radio GKA, BT Radio Amateur Morse Tester.  Licensed as G3YCP ZL1DAB, now taken over my father (sk) call as ZL1BBW.

N8OXQ

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Re: Electric horse pasture fence antenna
« Reply #4 on: February 01, 2020, 04:09:36 PM »

Thanks for the replies.  Only listen and transmit on HF LSB USB and some AM. 10-80 meter. Might just drag a battery, short length of coax and the HF rig from the den and give it a try. If it works well I will take the time to make it permanent (fence is about 100' from house. 
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KF4ZGZ

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Re: Electric horse pasture fence antenna
« Reply #5 on: February 02, 2020, 03:05:26 AM »

Replace the top run with the aluminum fence wire. Then no worries.
I've been using the aluminum wire for coils for screwdriver antennas for years with no issues.
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Matt

K3UIM

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Re: Electric horse pasture fence antenna
« Reply #6 on: April 09, 2020, 08:47:40 AM »

ZGZ: screwdriver antennas ?? What's it?
Charlie
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Charlie. K3UIM
Where you are: I was!
Where I am: You will be!
So be nice to us old fogies!!

K0UA

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Re: Electric horse pasture fence antenna
« Reply #7 on: April 09, 2020, 09:07:53 AM »

ZGZ: screwdriver antennas ?? What's it?
Charlie

Motorized mobile HF antennas.  With the adjustable coil having sliding finger stock moving up and down the coil driven by a screw thread rod driven by a small high torque low speed motor.  The original homebrewed antennas used motors out of small electric screwdrivers for the low speed high torque properties. Hence ever since they were called screwdrivers.  The Tarheel little tarheel II would be one example.  I have one and it works well.  :)
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73  James K0UA

K3UIM

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Re: Electric horse pasture fence antenna
« Reply #8 on: April 09, 2020, 07:13:31 PM »

Thanks, James. Now it makes sense. Hi.
Charlie
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Charlie. K3UIM
Where you are: I was!
Where I am: You will be!
So be nice to us old fogies!!

K0UA

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Re: Electric horse pasture fence antenna
« Reply #9 on: April 10, 2020, 09:16:20 AM »

Thanks, James. Now it makes sense. Hi.
Charlie

yes, interesting how things get named for some property and the name "sticks".

From what I understand Don Johnson W6AAQ may have made the first one. He was an old seaplane pilot and experimenter. 
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73  James K0UA

VK3HJ

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Re: Electric horse pasture fence antenna
« Reply #10 on: April 27, 2020, 02:18:39 AM »

I have about a mile of "heavy galvanised" high tensile steel fencing wire in the air for my six Beverage receiving antennas. As it is a permanent (hopefully) installation, I have silver soldered copper wires to each end to connect to termination and feed units. Galvanised steel can be soldered reasonably easily.

Your proposal would probably call for some crocodile clips for temporary connection. It will receive signals. How well it receives what you want to hear is the question. Please let us know how you go!

73, Luke VK3HJ
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KL7CW

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Re: Electric horse pasture fence antenna
« Reply #11 on: May 01, 2020, 09:33:04 PM »

For sure I would give it a try with battery power at the site.  If it looks promising, I would then consider some type of antenna matching unit.  If it still looks like a viable antenna (a good signal to noise ratio) I would then figure out how to feed it to your shack without it picking up stray noise (common mode) or RFI on the feedline.  My RX array is 250 feet from my shack, but I still picked up RFI from various devices in my house, and probably neighbor houses, and noise and RFI being re radiated from my towers and perhaps guy wires.  After I installed common mode chokes on the feedline in my shack, just outside the house, and about 30 feet from the RX array, most of this RFI was eliminated.  Next project is to actually tame the devices in my house with lots of ferrite.  In my case my feedline was cat5e ethernet cable and my chokes were 14 turns on FT240-31 ferrite cores.  I use this array for BCB DX, 160 meters, and occasionally even on 80 and 40 meters. It is NOT magic, but sometimes is a little bit, or perhaps a significant help compared to my regular TX antennas.  In my case since I had a low gain antenna a good preamp at the array was indicated, but may or may not help in your situation.  Happy experimenting, and there is a possibility, but no guarantee that this antenna will help.    Rick  KL7CW
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