Colin,
Thanks for theidea. I thought of pvc, but it's too flexible. Do you have 
url for a site that sells the military masts?
Tnx
Tom

On Sun, 2 Apr 2006, Colin McDonald wrote:

> hi tom:
> there are military surplus fiber glass sectional masts availible on Ebay for
> very reasonable prices.
> They come in four foot sections with ends that connect together...and you
> can buy a bass plate and top section as well....they are obviously
> non-metallic, easy to take down and put up, and pretty cheap.
> As was stated already on this list, a metallic mast or tower won't be an
> issue as long as you have the twin lead portion of the antenna away from the
> vertical antenna support structure.
> And if its at an angle away from the tower from the feed point, even better.
> I am considering the fiber glass sections myself since my antenna structure
> has to be light weight, easy to take down and easy to put up.
> 73
> Colin, V A6BKX
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Tom Karnes" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Sunday, April 02, 2006 1:54 PM
> Subject: Re: antenna problem
>
>
>> Thanks for all six of the responses I have received so far. The Kenwood
>> 850 has an internal antenna tuner. It worked fine last year  at Handihams
>> radio camp in Malibu.  That was with a G5RV. The R7 is just like it was
>> when I acquired it from the estate of silent key Bob Larson, except for
>> one joint half way up the mast and the 10 radials at the base. Would
>> polishing up the surface do any good or does rf not care? I couldn't use
>> it San Francisco because my lot was only 22 feet wide, but now I have 75
>> by 300 feet. First I'll try the suggestion from two of youto put the twin
>> lead straight and perpendicular to the long line, but at an angle to the
>> ground. I's new and connects directly to the transmitter. I've used two
>> different coax cables on the R7 with identical results. The ground is
>> fine. I could get the G5RV higher if I could figure out what to use as a
>> non-metallic mast. Any ideas?  Would it be worth buying an external
>> antenna tuner to use instead of the internal a t in the K850?
>> Again, thanks for all the quick help. I don't stay on this list because
>> there is too much traffic for me to add to what else is coming through,
>> but it is great to get back on now and then. I'm always available at
>> [log in to unmask]
>> Tom Karnes K6FUN
>> 73
>>
>