Antenna Rope

[CampDavid]

Had anyone installed the antenna rope SSB antenna. My question is how did you attach it at the mast head, can it lowered or raised?

What type of performance did you get?

Fletch
Camp David

[SoonerSailor]

There is no reason it should not do just as well as a backstay section of the same length, or a length of wire or SS cable of the same length. Even if you take the vendor's claim that it has a 1.2 db gain over a backstay antenna, that is an insignificant increment in the radio communication scheme of things.

You would be best off using a halyard of some sort to raise this antenna.

If you like paying $185 for a wire antenna like this, you can also find almost equally expensive counterpoise 'systems' that do the work of $20 worth of wire.

Chip

[daddle]

Get some cheap single braid like spectra, maybe 4-6mm. Insert a 14ga stranded insulated wire as it's core. In practice the antenna conductor does not reach the masthead but some few feet or meters short of it. You'll get best results by hoisting if as far as possible from other conductors...for example not parallel to an existing metal backstay.

Simple and cheap.