Ugh! The Leaves Are Back!!

[Enforcer52]

Well in a matter of 3 days the trees all started to leaf out, so spent the day yesterday tweaking out the antenna's. Range was much better without all the leaves on the trees, but that's what you get when you live in the Piney Woods of East Texas.

Now it's a fight with the pollen from the Oak and Pine trees with the cars and everything else. covered in yucky yellowish-green pollen. Glad I'm not allergic to the pollen like a lot of folks.

 

[ScannerSK]

I used to throw a rock and string over the top of a tree and then pull up an antenna, mounted on a board, with coax leading down to the scanner. Then I had great reception! The only drawback was storms/lightning and wind pulling lightly on the coax cable.

 

[Enforcer52]

I used to throw a rock and string over the top of a tree and then pull up an antenna, mounted on a board, with coax leading down to the scanner. Then I had great reception! The only drawback was storms/lightning and wind pulling lightly on the coax cable.

Funny you should mention that, because that is exactly what we did for neighbor, except we used a "potato gun" to shoot the line over a high branch about 70' high. Used a mobile 3 band antenna attached to a 18" square piece of metal. Then we put guy rope on the antenna to help stabilize it in high wind. Been thinking about doing that here.

 

[VK3RX]

Well in a matter of 3 days the trees all started to leaf out, so spent the day yesterday tweaking out the antenna's. Range was much better without all the leaves on the trees, but that's what you get when you live in the Piney Woods of East Texas.

Just the opposite down here - the leaves are about to fall so my VHF/UHF coverage is about to improve

 

[Brales60]

No leaves, just palms. No issues.

 

[BinaryMode]

Funny you should mention that, because that is exactly what we did for neighbor, except we used a "potato gun" to shoot the line over a high branch about 70' high. Used a mobile 3 band antenna attached to a 18" square piece of metal. Then we put guy rope on the antenna to help stabilize it in high wind. Been thinking about doing that here.

I remember years ago in the '90s studying for my Ham radio license when I read in a book many Hams use ingenious ways to get an antenna in a tree, and I've read and heard a number. But a potato gun is by far the best I've heard thus far. LOL!

I remember seeing those plans for a potato gun advertised in the back of Boys Life magazine (I was a cub scout) and I think Popular Mechanics as well and I often wondered about how effective they really were. Then fast forward several decades and I see The Mythbusters build and use one. Though, it was just a few months ago I actually saw that rerun episode for the first time on Pluto TV. LOL!