On my way out to the shack, I had to stop and admire the J-pole mounted to the top of my 45′ mast.
Of course, I then had to ask myself why I never connected an analyzer to the mast.
The mast consists of nine 5′ sections of interlocking rusty pipe and is weaved through our Horse Chestnut tree for standing support.
Equipped with my driver and a self tapping screw, I connected the center conductor to the bottom of the mast, and shield to the falling down wire fence next to it.
The VNA results were quite surprising!
Better than 3:1 SWR on 160M, 80M, 60M, 40M, and 30M!
After a brief QSO with KK7MA 20 miles away with good report, of course the next logical step was to jump on FT-8 to see if it actually works.
