We spent a couple hours trying to replace my Ham Radio antenna. I had a nice trapped dipole strung between two trees in our yard. It was about 70-feet long and ran pretty much over the house and was about 25-feet high. Over the last winter, while we were cruising in warmer climates, the thing came down. It's held up at the ends with nylon cord and the tree branches finally rubbed through them.

So I bought new cord, a replacement antenna, and climbed up ( a little way) into the tree. Mostly I just stood at the top of the extension ladder and used a slingshot and a weighted line to shoot the line over a strong-looking limb.

The tree in the front yard will sway 'out-of-synch' with the one in the back. I have the support ling running from the front tree, through a pulley hanging in the backyard tree, and down to a weight about 8-feet off the ground. As the trees sway, the weight just moves up and down, keeping the antenna tight, but letting the length change.

Anyway, now it's up. But as we raised it the support lines caught on a couple of the lower branches and will not let go. Two problems with that: First, the antenna is not high enough to clear the roof and is laying on the shingles. Second, the branches will quickly abrade through the lines and the whole thing will fall down, again.

When we have another good weather day we'll try lowering the antenna away from the offending branches and, with a line over those branches holding them out of the way, re-raise the antenna. Might just work. Till then I'm still off the air.

My main rig is an Icom 706MkIIG.

It does double duty as both a base station and the Marine SSB onboard Galena. But I also have a new NorCal 40a QRP transceiver and would like to try it out.

I need a lot of practice on my Morse Code and QRP is a great way to get it. I also have a new Kent straight key and Bencher iambic paddle.

Also, I have to setup this new laptop to receive weather faxes and control the PACTOR modem for e-mail when sailing on the high seas (next winter). I want to have all the working well before spring.