Hi everyone;
The snow is gone, the antenna is history, and there are still lots of trees 
down.  I was using a kushcraft r8 which was roof mounted.  It was convenient 
in that it came with a counterpoise which supposedly avoided the need for 
long wire tuned radials.  It would appear that it just isn't sturdy enough 
for this area, however.
I have looked at the gap but some of the reviews on e-ham were not exactly 
encouraging.  Butternut makes a good product but it can be hard to initially 
tune and then we have to deal with a set of radials.  The step-ir was also 
very interesting but I was never certain if it was self supporting and then 
we go back to radials.
Are there some exciting options out there I haven't looked at?  This is a 
reasonably sized city lot about 50 by 140 problem is there is one pole at 
the rear of my yard which services my home and both neighbors.  Needless to 
say there are lots of wires al ready up there.  I would much prefer a nice 
simple dipole and it certainly would be easier to put up.
73
Rich