I’ve been looking for a small powerful antenna for my Yaesu VX-6 and KK6ES recommended this to me…

It’s basically a roll-up J-Pole antenna.  I have a line with a weight on one end that I can toss up over a tree branch and just pull it up into a the tree and use that as a mast.  I tried it out the other night and was able to get really good transmission and reception on a local repeater.  It was marginal with the rubber ducky antenna that came with the radio.

Today I tried to come up with a portable mast.  I have a telescoping windsock pole that I use when I fly my powered paraglider but it’s made of aluminum and the antenna is not as efficient when hung next to metal.  So I bought some sections of PVC tubing and some slip couples and made a mast.

However, it was too floppy.  I had to use the tree to prop it up so that it wouldn’t flex too much.  If I can come up with a way to stiffen the PVC pipes it will work nicely.  Or… maybe the folks out there have better ideas?