Ham Radio Antenna?

[K8MHZ]

Ya'll are starting something here with all the greenhorn comments! Who will beat mine? 12yrs old, 1965, novice. 12.5 yrs old advanced (took extra and passed it and 20wpm at same time at Detroit FCC field office, but at the time you had to be a ham for 2 years before you could get extra - so that had to wait a bit)... Then First Class for commercial radio repair in 1972... The challenge is out!

On the OP, the answer is simple and I am wondering why no one gave it yet: Buy a Ham Radio Antenna Tuner for the guy and resell it to him for the slight profit you deserve for solving his problem once and for all! He will have NO significant reflected "current if you want to call the high SWR that."

And since he had you run 54' 1/4 wave radial(s?) he obviously is using 80 meters, so get a low band tuner; just ask him what max power he runs so you get one rated high enough....

I would be a bit concerned over shocking swimmers though if they touch the cage while he is transmitting. You can fully light a 4' florescent bulb just holding it near an antenna with 150 watts...

How do we know he doesn't have a tuner? If he doesn't, and he is running power, a tuner is pricey, like $500. What if his problem is something a tuner won't 'fix'? What if his antenna system is fine and his problem is in his amp, a bad connection on the feed line, or bad feed line, especially if he is running coax?

I have never heard of anyone trying to use metal near a pool as a radial set, and you may indeed have a point about safety. Especially if he is trying to run legal limit, or 1500 watts.

 

[kwired]

A pool cage can not sustain a snow load.
That's why y'all yankees have never heard of one.
It's a southern thing y'all.

It's an aluminum framed structure, most commonly sharing a common wall with a building, often a single family home, with screening as the wall and roof panels.
They keep the bugs off the people and the leaves out of the pool.
When you see news video of storms ripping through south Florida and you see those piles of aluminum framing and screening, those piles used to be pool cages.

A. there isn't as many pools here as there is where you are.

B. many of the pools that are here are "outdoors" and only used from ~May to September~, we aren't as interested in swimming when temp falls below 75-80 degrees anyway.

C. Such a structure isn't going to be very energy efficient in cold weather where we do have indoor pools.