Dipole adventures

General Installation

I have a dual standoff at 70ft which makes a great place for pulleys, in this view looking south the east and west pulley points can be seen. Above the west pulley is a 2m/70cm vertical.

A side view, the ends are easier to make out than the wire itself.

 

Not wanting to hang 70ft of feedline from the connector, I use a cable grip which in conjunction with a directional hitch above the balun, and a short section of cord transfers the load around the balun. In the photo below, the dog leg in the feedline which can be seen below the far balun is caused by this stress relieving arrangement.

Originally made to tie down round bale tarps, I use these simple “T” weights to tie off the pulley line as well as the dipole ends. Once I lock down a location for the ends I will install posts to get the ends up higher to make mowing easier.

I have found these weights to be very handy in my experiments, the T forms a natural cleat which makes tie off a simple affair. Construction is simple, a scrap of pipe welded into a “T” and half a bag of concrete or so depending on the size of the bucket used as a form.