[600MRG] My Tree-Tenna Experiment - 8-13-2014

[D.J.J. Ring, Jr.]

Andy,

Stew Perry, W1BB experimented with a submerged beverage to see what he
could hear.  I began playing around with insulated wire placed on salt
water marsh grass and later submerged wire in brackish but mostly salt
water.

I (and Stew) observed a good signal strength when the wire was on the
ground (marsh grass) but much weaker when submerged.

However, the signal to noise ratio was much improved when the wire was
submerged.  With a pre-amp, I was able to hear low power European signals
that I could not hear otherwise.  This is back in the 1970s.

73
David N1EA



On Wed, Aug 13, 2014 at 6:24 PM, Andy - KU4XR <ku4xr at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Greetings all:
>
> I don't know which of my emails will post to the list, or if either one
> will. So, if this makes it thru,
> I'll be happy, and if it happens to come thru on both my email accounts;
> please forgive the repeat..
>
> Here are the latest empirical observations with my experiment with the
> Tree-Tenna..
> Today (8-13-2014), I cut the " wire " that comes into the shack, at the
> bottom of the tree trunk to see
> what effect it would have on received signal levels.. I have been using
> one of the A.M. stations
> I work at as a steady signal reference. The Tower is 40 air miles from me,
> and The power is 1 KW..
>
> The tree is a 70 foot Hickory Nut with full foliage.. I have about 80
> feet, +/- of " wire " coming from
> the  tree into the shack.. I ratchet'ed in a 3-1/2 inch lag bolt into the
> tree, 12 feet above ground,
> and connected the " wire " to the lag bolt..
>
> First signal measurements were with the " wire " suspended about 8' AGL to
> permit mowing..
> The received signal on the TS450S in A.M. mode - 6 KHz IF BW, showed a
> level of S-9 +5 over..
> the atmospheric noise was quite noticable..
>
> Second signal measurement was done a few weeks later.. With the extremely
> high storm static,
> I placed the " wire " directly on the ground.. This made a considerable
> improvement in dealing with
> the static.. The received signal level from the radio station dropped to a
> level of S-7-1/2 ..
> Reception of the 630 meter WSPR stations improved .. With less atmospheric
> interference; I started
> to audibly hear interference from various devices in the house..
>
> Third signal measurement done today, 8-13-2014, I cut the " wire " at the
> base of the tree.
> The received signal level from the radio station dropped to a level of
> S-4-1/2.. I left the " wire "
> laying on the ground in the same location.. With approximately 70 feet of
> " wire " on ground, and
> un-terminated, the S meter is peaking up to S-1 with the typical daytime
> static level here..
> I made no changes to my matching after cutting the " wire " so as to see
> if the tree was actually
> having any effect on received signal levels.. For the sake of " Saying I
> Did "; I plan to leave the
> " wire " disconnected from the tree for a few days, and monitor the 630
> meter WSPR stations to
> see the results..
>
> Summarization:
>
> " wire " suspended 8' AGL and terminated to the tree; the radio station
> signal : S-9 +5 over
>
> " wire " placed on the ground, and terminated to the tree; the radio
> station signal : S-7-1/2
>
> " wire " cut at base of the tree, laying on the ground, Un-Terminated; the
> radio signal : S-4-1/2
>
> Thanks for reading, and have a great day:
>
> Andy - KU4XR
>
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