Thanks, Pat, and I'll await other comments/suggestions from all of the 
knowledgeable G5RV experts out there!

One thing I can also say, which I forgot in my initial post, is that the 
G5RV is way way quieter than the screw-driver ever was.  That does not 
surprise me, since it's a horizontal wire antenna, but it is much more 
pleasant to listen to on the receive side of things.

73 from Tom Behler: KB8TYJ

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Pat Byrne" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2012 11:34 AM
Subject: Re: G5RV Update: Good News!


> That is in fact great news Tom.  I think that a solid piece of coax
> would be far preferable to chunks with their barrel connectors.  And
> perhaps fifty-five feet might bring you down to the low part of
> forty.  From what I read last week, it seems that the coax can be
> neatly coiled and stuck behind your rig or under the operating bench
> or in any other convenient place.  Or wherever the combined list
> wisdom suggests.
> Congrats and good for you to stick it out and win!
> Pat, K9JAU  At 10:20 AM 8/26/2012, you wrote:
>>         Hi, all.
>>
>>Well, I have some good news on the RV G5RV front this morning.
>>
>>Yesterday, I did a bunch of checking on feed lines, etc., and since all
>>looked ok from a continuity stand-point, I took the leap and put the G5RV 
>>up
>>again.  This time, it is in some trees, and pretty much in the clear from
>>nearby RV's and other metal structures.  The center is not that
>>high--probably only about 20 feet, and the ends are probably about 20 feet
>>high as well.  The ladder line comes down at about a 45-degree angle to 
>>the
>>feed line connection point in a tree just to the back of my RV at about 
>>head
>>level.  The antenna orientation is northwest to southeast.  I lashed
>>together about 50 feet of coax jumpers that I had lying around to add to 
>>the
>>15 or 20 feet of coax that runs from the antenna connector on the back
>>corner of the RV, to my operating position inside.
>>
>>I found that the antenna tunes, using the auto-tuner on the TS480,  on 10,
>>15, 20, the upper half of 40, and the lower half of 80.  At one point, I
>>actually got it to tune on the lower end of 40, but after doing some other
>>things, have not been able to replicate that condition.
>>
>>The antenna does seem to get out.  I worked a bunch of stations for the
>>Kansas QSO Party on 20, and probably jus as many for the Ohio QSO Party on
>>40.  In fact, I worked one station right after Steve (KW3A) worked them. 
>>On
>>20 meters, I also worked into Europe both on SSB and CW.  The signal 
>>reports
>>I got were good, for the most part.
>>
>>So, now, I am in tweaking mode.  Do you guys have any ideas for getting 
>>the
>>antenna to tune on the lower part of 40 meters?  I have seriously thought 
>>of
>>purchasing  a nice solid 50-foot chunk of RG8X coax, and putting that in 
>>the
>>feed line system, in hopes that it might do better than the 
>>lashed-together
>>arrangement that I currently have.
>>
>>One specific question I also have is this--where do I put the excess coax?
>>Do I put it outside near the RV antenna connection, or inside the shack at
>>the transmitter--or, doesn't it matter?
>>
>>I won't be out at the RV next week-end for Labor Day, because the XYL and 
>>I
>>will be traveling to Missouri to visit our son and his family, but I will 
>>be
>>out there the week-end after that, and hopefully, for the remaining
>>week-endss in  September before they close down the camp ground.
>>
>>Any thoughts or suggestions for improving the performance of this antenna
>>would be appreciated.
>>
>>73 from Tom Behler: KB8TYJ
>