I often say "just run a vertical up a tree and throw some radials down" – but I realised I’d never actually shown it properly.
So in this video, I build a 20m tree-supported vertical entirely from scrap: old wire, abandoned radials, questionable coax, and whatever I could find in the workshop.
No spreadsheets. No perfection. Just get something in the air and test it.
Once it was up, I compared it directly against my main field vertical using a proper A/B WSPR test – same band, same power, same stations, swapping antennas every two minutes.
The result? Doing it "properly" still buys you margin and calmness on receive – but a tree canopy and a simple ground system do not suddenly make HF impossible.
Which is good news. Because it means if all you’ve got is a bit of wire and a tree, you’re not excluded from the game.
https://youtu.be/c845_k48EjI – The full ABABAB method.
Enjoy your radio — and try something for yourself! Callum.