G5RV up high

By | September 8, 2019
G5RV 55' high in the air
G5RV now 55′ in the air

We had some tree work that we needed done so decided to take the opportunity to use the crew’s climbing and rigging skills to move the antenna and get it up higher in the air and oriented with the lobes directed East-West.

We hired Family Tree Care since they have done work here two years ago and we were completely satisfied with their prices and the work they did for us. We had a dead fir tree that we needed removed and while here they limbed up/thinned another tall fir and another cottonwood which will serve as anchors for each side of the dipole. Each side is between 50-55′ in the air.

Clearing limbs for hanging the antenna
Cleaning up the fir for anchoring the antenna
Cottonwood tree anchoring one side of the dipole
Cottonwood all cleaned up

Once they finished cutting limbs, they rigged a pulley around the trunk and fed my Dacron rope through the pulley so I could raise/lower the antenna as needed. When the crew had finished, I got the antenna fastened to the Dacron ropes and raised it up in the air. I tried to keep it as horizontal as possible, but left a little slack to allow the trees to move in the wind. On the cottonwood side, I attached a counterweight which keeps the tension on the line and the other end is tied off to the fir tree.

ladder line to coax transformer
Sealed the connectors on the ladderline-to-coax transformer

So far so good! Signals are much stronger and from much further away. I know that many people don’t like the G5RV, but as a first antenna I’m happy! The SWR readings are all decent, with the exception being 30m (6.8 SWR), and lowest on 20m (1.5 SWR). The internal antenna tuner on my TS-590SG has been able to handle it without complaints, but I am adding a new external antenna tuner to my set-up anyway to allow for expansion as I experiment with new antennas and maybe other rigs.

We had a severe thunderstorm last night and I am happy to report we survived without any damage to any equipment. So glad I got the single point ground system set up and that I can shunt the antennas direct to ground when not in use. The rigging also survived the storm and best of all we got some much needed rain. I know… We will have month upon month of rain soon enough but for now my garden, trees and pasture are happy.