Here are my current ideas on building an antenna system to operate my station when my boat is hauled out for major maintenance.
Here are my current ideas on building an antenna system to operate my station when my boat is hauled out for major maintenance.
20' high 10" dia. PVC pipe wrapped with 10' copper mesh and copper-capped for a true cage monopole. Might slot the pipe in sections for more air and less possibility of material conductivity.
Tuned induction coil included at bottom of 10' antenna section.
Inside the pipe, filled with dirt and fertilizer below the antenna section, with 20' of ground rod (10' above outside ground level, plus 10' below).
That ground rod will be connected at external ground level to 10' dia. copper mesh, bonded to 24 - 20' bonded radial extensions, all covered with mineral-rich fertilizer.
If I use a SSTRAN 5000, it will be mounted inside the PVC tower right below the coil.
My goal will be to send the audio to the TX via optical cable, and to power the system by batteries, recharged from a combination of solar energy and grid-power transformers. If the power goes out, the transmitter/antenna system will still remain online. I would like to get extra charged batteries for the laptop for audio.
Now, I admit, that's a more ambitious project than I would normally get into for a 'temporary' setup, but it's also an experimental project to see just how much I can get out of it.
Whaddya think aout that?
Would it be possible to make the installation a permanent backup antenna?
When your boat is back you would be able to run one system while doing work on the other, and could recover right away if the operating transmitter goes off.